 chapter 19 of the Gospel of Luke. I'm gonna share with you out of verses 28 through 40, but I'll read verses 28, rather to 44, but I'll read to you from verse 28 to verse 40, and we'll get into our study. We're looking at the triumphant or triumphal entry of Christ into the city of Jerusalem. It says in verse 28, Luke chapter 19, when he had said this, he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem, and he came to pass when he came near to Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called Olivet, that he sent two of his disciples and saying, going to the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a cult tied on which no one has ever sat. Loose him, bring him here. And if anyone asked you, why are you loosing him? Thus you shall say to him, because the Lord has need of him. So those who were sent departed and found it just as he had said to them, but as they were loosing the cult, the owners of it said to him, why are you loosing the cult? And they said, the Lord has need of him. Then they brought him to Jesus and they threw their own garments on the cult and they set Jesus on him. And as he went, they spread their clothes on the ground. Then as he was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying, blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Some of the Pharisees called to him from the crowd, teacher, rebuke your disciples. But he answered and said to them, I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out. This is Jesus's last major public appearance before his crucifixion. This entrance into the seat of Jerusalem takes place during his final week of ministry and it's so important that all four gospels record this particular event. You see it also recorded in Matthew 21 in Mark chapter 11 as well as John chapter 12. It's that important. Now Jesus has just passed through the ancient city of Jericho. If you were to look at verse one in chapter 19, it tells you that Jesus is there in Jericho. And so while he's there in the city of Jericho, Luke records how he heals two blind men, how that he ministers to a man by the name of Zacchaeus and how that he gave a parable, a teaching in parabolic form. And now he continues his journey. He's entering into a city called Bethpage. It's a village that is adjacent to the city of Bethany. So that tells us where it's at. It's a couple of miles to the northeast of the city of Jerusalem. Now in Jesus' teachings, he had made it clear that he came to bring salvation to the world. In Luke chapter 19, at verse 10, he was speaking to Zacchaeus and he said the son of man came to seek and save that which was lost. So he's made it clear that his coming into the world was to bring salvation. And he was gonna bring salvation by voluntarily laying his life down. Even as it says in John 3.16, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. So Jesus was proceeding with a willingness to suffer and to die on our behalf. He was not a reluctant savior. Jesus Christ was a willing sacrifice. In John 12, 27, he says it like this. He says, now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this purpose I came to this hour. Luke told us in chapter 12 verse 50 that Jesus said I have a baptism to be baptized within how distressed I am till it be accomplished. So the Lord was not a reluctant savior but a willing sacrifice. And so he's now going into that time that he's gonna fulfill the purpose that he had come for. And so as it says in verse 28, he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem. In verse 29, it came to pass when he came near to Beth-age and Bethany at the mountain called Olivet that he sent two of his disciples saying, going to the village opposite you whereas you enter, you will find a cult tide on which no one has ever sat, loose him and bring him here. If anyone asks you, why are you losing him? Thus you shall say to him because the Lord has need of him. So notice with me that he gives a command. And the command is go into a village opposite you and bring a cult back to me. Now up to this point when you read your Bible you'll notice that Jesus had on many occasions actually discouraged public recognition. In various times in scripture he actually tells people not to say anything about him. Matthew eight verse four when Jesus had cleansed the leper and Jesus speaking to the leper said to him see that you tell no man but go your way show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded for a testimony to them. Or in Matthew in chapter 12 verses 14 through 16 Matthew records the Pharisees went out and plotted against him how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it he withdrew from there and great multitudes followed him and he healed them all. Yet he warned them not to make him known. In Matthew 16 20 he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. And then when he did a miracle for Jeros with Jeros' daughter in Mark 543 he commanded them strictly that no one should know it. So Jesus was at one point saying don't tell anyone. Now he knew that the authorities sought to kill him especially because he had healed a paralyzed man on the Sabbath day. And they especially rejected him not just because of the healing but because of what he said after he healed the man. It says in John 5 17 and 18 that Jesus said my father's always at work to this very day and I too am working. For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him. Not only was he breaking the Sabbath but he was even calling God his own father making himself equal with God. And so when Jesus had done this miracle and had made this statement they had determined that they wanted to kill him and it was common knowledge that the Jewish authorities were bent on killing him. But in spite of the death plots he is now determining to enter into Jerusalem and what does he do? Well he gives an order that keeps him from being accosted by any enemies. Again Jesus is aware that the authorities are seeking to arrest him. John 11 57 says the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment that if any man knew where he was he should show it that they might take him. And so the Lord Jesus Christ is aware that they want to take him and yet now it's time for him to make this public entry to demonstrate who he is. Now when Jesus is speaking here and he says I want you to go into this village and notice verse 30 again where you'll enter you'll find a cult tide on which no one has ever sat loose him and bring him to me. If anyone asks you why are you losing him thus you shall say to him because the Lord is need of him. The question has been asked is this a prearranged kind of thing? More than likely Jesus had arranged it that would keep his disciples from any distractions. Now if Jesus did prearrange it it doesn't take anything away from his ministry it doesn't reduce him in any way. It was just a simple way to avoid any unwanted attention that would distract from his mission. But I want you to see something with me. I wanna make an application here. I want you to see what Jesus is doing here because the word that Jesus is giving here is setting this cult free for his use. When Matthew was writing about this in Matthew 21, two and three it says that Jesus had said immediately you'll find a donkey tide and a cult with her. Loose them and bring them to me and if anyone says anything to you you shall say the Lord has need of them and immediately he will send them. So I wanna spend a moment with you looking at something here. Again, the Lord has need of it is what he says in verse 31, he has need of him. Now when he says he has need the word need in the original language simply speaks up a necessity. It's humbling when we begin to realize that God actually is spoken of as having a need for something. I want you to see that with me. In verse 31 again, the Lord has need of him. It's a humbling thing for to realize that God is spoken of as having a need of something. Because let's face it, what does the Lord really need? Has God ever called you up and said I need five bucks? I mean, what does the Lord really need? Does he call us up and say I need some counsel? Can you give me some advice? And so when you think about an all sufficient God for me the idea that Jesus would actually make a statement tell him that the Lord has need of him. That's a revolutionary thought because it gives to me insight that we are working alongside of him not doing his work because he's the one who works through us. But that we have a cooperative relationship with God where he leads us to do certain things that actually are a benefit in the long run to the kingdom of heaven. And there are things that our God, the Lord, would in your life and my life actually be able to say I have need of this. But what the question is is what is it that the Lord has need of in you? What is it that the Lord has need of that you have possession of in one form or another? So that if he were to say to you I have need of this you would know what he was speaking about. Because here he says I have something set up. They're gonna ask you why are you losing the cult? All you need to do is say the Lord has need of him and the Lord needed this cult and we'll see this in a moment that he might write it into the city of Jerusalem. But what is it again that the Lord may have need when it comes to you? Many years ago I was in my office and I had an appointment with a man who represented a radio station and he was selling commercial time on radio and he had come to see me to try to see if we would advertise on the radio station that he was representing. And so we had a conversation. I still remember as we were speaking concerning it and he was sharing what it is that he wanted me to know. And then finally as we finished our conversation and he was about to get up and leave he said to me this. He said, you know, I used to be a pastor and I looked at him and I said, you used to be a pastor. He said, yes, I used to be a pastor. I no longer pastor, but I was a pastor. And I said, you've got to explain to me how it is that you at one time were a pastor and no longer pastor. How'd that happen? And he looks me in the eye and he says, my wife. He said, my wife said to me, either it's the ministry or it's me, but it's not both. What is it going to be? The ministry or me? He said, I chose my wife over serving the Lord. He says, I now sell radio time to other people. And I thought to myself that this is a man that God could have used, could have continued using. But you see, sometimes the wives will not release the husbands to serve the Lord. And God may be speaking to a wife right now, saying to you, the Lord has need of your husband. I had a lady who said, pastor, can you pray for my husband? I want him to be on fire for Christ. And when he got on fire for Christ, she said, I really don't want him that hot for Jesus. When our church was young, we started small groups and my wife Marie had a small group that she was a leader over. And she would go on a night and she'd spend time with the ladies and it was in a home. And we had eight small groups in different homes and Marie was a leader over one of them. And we had small children. And at a certain time when she was supposed to have left, I would give a call to the house that she was meeting at and the woman of the home would answer the phone. And I would say, hello. And she'd say, Pastor David. And I'd say, yes. And she'd say, I'll let her know. And I'd say, thank you. And I would hang up because I was calling to say, come on home, mama. That's what I was doing. And Marie would come home. And I did that for a long time. I mean, how dare you leave me with these snotty nose brats, you know? Taking care of them and bathing them and putting them in bed. Well, you're out serving God. And so the Lord spoke to my heart about that. And he said, I have need of her. This is her ministry. You're quenching the spirit in her life by keeping her from doing what I have called her to do. And so what is it that you have that the Lord has need of? A husband or a wife or your children for that matter? I mean, we dedicated our children to Christ, you know? And we saw them as a gift that God gave to us. And then the time comes where they say, I wanna move and go somewhere else and I wanna have a life in another place, another city, another state, another country. God has called me to the mission field. Dad, I wanna go out and I wanna serve him. And here I am saying to myself, oh Lord, you know, I want my child to serve you, but not that far away. They have a 20 minute, you know, that's as far as they can go from me. And you wanna take them to another state? You wanna take them? Now, sometimes you might be praying, please. Take them to another state. Taking them to another country, Lord, in Jesus' name, thank you. Or your grandchildren. That God wants to do a work through them. And you can say, no, I don't want them away from me. I don't want them to be apart from me. You know, the Lord has told us there are things that really are not your possessions. You know, God may be saying, I have need of you and I want some of your time and you're saying, no, no, my time is my own. The Lord may say, I want some of your possessions and you say, oh no, you can't have that. You know, I'll give you anything but those things. What is it that the Lord is saying to you today? I have need of. I wanna use it for my glory. And if you yield it to me, I will do wonderful things with it. What is it? You see, it's humbling when we realize that God is spoken of as having a need of something. But we need to remember that we don't belong to ourselves. In 1 Corinthians 6.20, it says, you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods, which belong to God. Redemption means that he purchased you with the blood of his own son. So I have not my own. I am bought, I am owned by him. I am literally in the scriptures regarded as his slave. I'm his servant. We have taken the word slave and because of the connotations we Americans have for such a word, we've actually divested it of its actual meaning. And what God is saying is, you are my slave. I own you. We say, oh no, no, no, I own you. You belong to me. I purchased you and the purchase price of redemption was the blood of my son Jesus Christ. You are mine. So you have nothing of your own anymore. It belongs to me. We need to understand that because the Lord has needed something with us today and the question has to be asked. What is it that I have? What is it that you may have? That the Lord could actually say I want that because I have need of it. Now when Matthew was writing, his account includes a quotation found in the book of Zechariah chapter nine, verse nine. The book of Zechariah is an Old Testament book that was written around 520 years before Christ. And in that book, you have what is called a messianic prophecy, a prophecy related to Messiah, to Jesus. In that book, messianic prophecy is given. When we read Matthew 21, four and five, Matthew writes, all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet saying, tell the daughter of Zion. Behold, your king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the fall of a donkey. And so by their simple obedience, here's the second application, by their simple obedience, Zechariah's prophecy is to be fulfilled. This is a very simple order that really doesn't demand anything but simple obedience. And their obedience to this simple command is actually a way of seeing their maturity. God doesn't ask us to do anything that is overwhelming because he supplies the power to perform that which he commands. But what God wants, and this is a principle for us as believers to begin to embrace and a lot of us haven't yet, but we will. When God is speaking to our heart, he gives us the power to fulfill that which he commands. But his desire is for us to obey him. And it's not the huge things, it's the simple things that we usually fail in. Somebody says, I wanna be a pastor and I wanna pastor a church of 10,000 people. I really feel I've got the charisma, the personality, the eloquence, I've got the biblical knowledge. I've got all of that and I wanna pastor 10,000 people. And so you say to them, can you serve in the children's ministry? Oh no, no, no, no. I'm called to reach the intellectuals of the world, not the children. Well, I've discovered something. I've discovered that if you can teach a child the things of God, you can teach anyone the things of God. And you don't have to have eloquence and you don't have to have an incredible intellect. It's nice if you have those, but those aren't requirements. What you need is the simple truths of the gospel that are presented in a way that people can grasp and God can use so that lives are changed. When I was a young man back in 1973, that tells you how long ago I was a young man, I began teaching the Bible and I was going to Bible college at that time. And so I would be there in the Bible study and I was teaching my parents and a few neighbors and all there may be six or eight people that were coming to that Bible study. And I was going to college and I was beginning to increase my vocabulary. You know, one of the things that in my life was is I got into drugs at the age of 15. I stopped reading, I stopped doing anything that intellectually was stimulating and all. And so I was basically dwarfed in the things that other people had grown in. And now I'm in college and I'm learning through my professors, things that were heady, they were things that were so far above me. And I started reading more and I started learning words and I started learning concepts because that's what happens when you're in Bible college and now I'm taking these concepts and these words and I'm applying them in my Bible studies. And so I still remember giving this one study and my dad was seated across from me. And as I was speaking, I was using my college vocabulary and my dad was smiling at me with that big smile. He was so proud of me. And the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said something I've never forgotten. He said, your dad is very proud of you. He doesn't understand a word you're saying. I'll never forget that. And it wasn't because my dad wasn't intelligent, my dad was intelligent. It was because my dad wasn't educated because my dad came from the period of time when he was 13 years old, you stopped going to school and you started working to help the family. My dad came up from a family of migrant workers and so my dad would go with his dad and other brothers and all and they would pick. That's what they did. So my dad didn't have a chance to finish school. Eighth grade was as far as they went. He had to provide for the family and they all would pull the resources so the family could eat. That was just the way it was. So my dad never finished anything beyond eighth grade. My mother went to ninth grade. She was higher education. She was a freshman in high school. My mama went to Manabello High School. My dad went to Whittier High School. Well, he didn't even go to Whittier High School. He went to school in Whittier. That was my dad. You see, now there I am saying tetragrammaton. That's a great word, but my dad doesn't know what that means. But he smiled there with that big smile like, oh, my son's smart. And the Lord said to your father, he's very proud of you, but he doesn't understand a word that you're saying. God wants us to be obedient in the simpler things. And the things that by simple obedience will give him opportunity to accomplish that which he determines to do through willing human vessels. It is God who works, but we work alongside of him as co-laborers. It is God who leads us. It is God who directs our footsteps, empowers us to accomplish, but the works that we perform are really accomplished because he has strengthened us and led us to do those things. So as Paul would refer to himself as a co-laborer, what God does is he works within us so that we might accomplish that which he's determining. He's telling his boys here, I want you to go, and I want you to find this cult. There's a donkey with a cult. And I want you to simply bring them to me. And when you do that, if somebody should ask you, what are you doing? Simply say, the Lord has need of him and they will release this and you'll be able to bring it to me. Now why would he do that? Well, he's again teaching them simple obedience and a principle behind that is found in Luke 16, 10 when it says he who is faithful in what is leased is faithful also in much. So a person who's willing to do whatever God calls him to do that requires what others would consider leased is actually something God sees as being significant because if they would have chosen to disobey and alter his directions, Zechariah 9 verse 9 would not have been fulfilled. You see, Jesus sent him to get a donkey because that represented his rule, a rule that was humble and a rule that was gentle. During the time of Christ, donkeys were domesticated. They were used for agricultural and riding purposes and a king riding a donkey actually symbolized a king who was entering in to a town in peace. He was bringing peace with him. When they rode the donkey, they came in peace. So Jesus riding on a donkey represents his rule which is humble and gentle. In Matthew 12, 19 through 21, speaking of Messiah, it says he will not quarrel nor cry out nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break and smoking flax he will not quench till he sends forth justice to victory and in his name, Gentiles will trust. And so his rule is humble and gentle. That's why in Isaiah 9.6, he's referred to as the prince of peace because this gentle, humble Messiah brings peace to our hearts. Now, a horse in scripture can be associated with a king who's coming in war. When the king came in with a donkey, he came in peace. But if that same king were to ride in on a horse, very often that represented war. Revelation 19.11 reads, I saw heaven open and behold a white horse and he who sat on him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he judges and makes war. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey but the next time he comes in on a horse. Jesus was coming at this point in humility bringing peace. Another interesting thing about this is Jesus is riding on a colt and the colt that he's riding on is unbroken. In Mark 11, verse two, Jesus said, go into the village opposite you and as soon as you've entered it, you will find a colt tied on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it. He was riding on an unbroken colt. Now, I'm not a cowboy. I know you might think that I am, but I'm not. I've only ridden horses a few times. Whenever I've ridden horses they'll look at me and say, do you ride? No. So they'll say, bring glue stick out here so he can ride that. I mean, I'm not a horseman by any means. But I do know this. I know that you don't get on an unbroken horse. I know that you can't. I know that you can't just walk up to a horse that hasn't been broken and place the saddle on him and climb on him and expect to ride him around. That ain't gonna happen because they have a will against that because they resist that and yet what we have here is the Lord Jesus Christ being set upon an unbroken colt which gives to us some insight into his rule. You see, one thing, this was a horse that had never been ridden so that means it was reserved for sacred use. Jesus is gonna ride it and that is reserved for him. But two, it shows us that he has Lord over creation that he's able to not only steal the waves and calm the seas but he is also able to ride on that which has never been broken and this colt was willing to receive him and in receiving him demonstrates that we too can bear the Lord if we're broken ourselves by him. The Lord wants to make use of us too. Well, it says in verse 35, they brought him to Jesus and as they threw their own garments on the colt and they set Jesus on him, as he went, they spread their clothes on the road. Then as he was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen saying, blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven, glory in the highest. Some of the Pharisees called to him from the crowd, teacher, rebuke your disciples. But he answered and said to them, I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out. Rebuke your disciples, oh no. You see, everything went as Jesus had said. They brought the colt to him and now he begins his descent from the Mount of Olives as he's coming down into and about to ascend into the city of Jerusalem and there are people who are coming from the city of Jerusalem to greet him and there are those who are with him on the Mount of Olives who are descending with him and the two crowds are converging and as the two crowds are converging, some are taking palm branches, throwing them down and it's just an amazing moment as he's making this triumphal entry. It says in John 12, verses 12 and 13, the next day, much people who came to the feast when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took branches of palm trees, went forth to meet him and cried, Hosanna, blessed is the king of Israel, that comes in the name of the Lord. So they began to cry out, not simply blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest, they were crying out, Hosanna. The word Hosanna means save now and this crowd comes out and as Jesus is descending there and it's a royal entrance as he's about to enter into the city of Jerusalem and the excitement of the festival, a sense of joy and anticipation, all of this is taking place and they're crying out and they're yelling out to him, save now, save now, but as that happens there are some Pharisees and they call to him from the crowd and notice what they say, they say, teacher, rebuke your disciples. Does that happen to this day? Are there those who would cry out and say to those who worship Christ, why don't you shut up? Well, of course, of course. That's going on daily. That happens all the time. We don't want you, the world would say, to worship Christ. We don't want you to shout out, Hosanna, save now. We don't want that. If you want to believe that kind of thing, that's fine. Keep that kind of talk in your own, your little church buildings. Keep that kind of talk in the four walls but please don't bring it out into the city square. Please don't expect us to listen to what you're saying. We don't want to hear it. We don't want to hear that Jesus Christ is Lord. We don't want to hear that He made an entry into Jerusalem. We don't want to know that He died on the cross. We're going to change the name of Easter and when the kids are off school, what we'll just call it now is spring break. We don't need to call it Easter vacation. See, again, I come from a different time. When I grew up, it was Easter vacation. It was Christmas vacation. That's what we had. We didn't have spring break. We didn't have winter break. Everybody knew it for what it was. Why are you taking time off? It's Easter. Why are you taking time off? It's Christmas. When you went and bought a tree, should you buy a tree? You didn't buy a holiday tree. You bought a Christmas tree. Why? Because it's Christmas. Even the Jewish people that people today say, oh, we're afraid to offend. Even the Jewish comedians, as I grew up, like Jack Benny and others, would have Christmas specials and they would say to one another, Merry Christmas. They didn't believe in Messiah but they certainly didn't tell the church to shut up either. And the funny thing about the church is if the world tells you shut up, you do. You just quiet down. We don't want to have prayer in our city council meetings. We don't want the name of Jesus spoken anymore. Shut up. And that's the same kind of sentiment that the Pharisees were saying when they turned to Jesus and said, rebuke your disciples. Tell them to be quiet. Tell them to cease. But guess what? Jesus' disciples do not cease worshiping him and Jesus said, even if they were to be quiet, the stones would cry out because God deserves glory. Never forget that. God deserves glory. He does. And that's what God has called us to do. Praise occurs and you cannot stop it. That's what Jesus is saying here. Even the stones themselves. Creationists, South will cry out for this moment that you are missing. In verse 41, as he drew near, he saw the city and he wept over it saying, if you had known even you, especially in this, your day, the things that make for your peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes for the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you, close you in on every side, level you and your children within you to the ground and they will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not know the time of your visitation. The word visitation is a Greek word that speaks of inspection. It speaks of investigation. It's usually used in context of investigating the facts of a case so that a righteous and fair judgment can be rendered. You, city, had a surprise inspection. And you weren't ready. When I was in the army, we had what they called surprise inspections. You'd be in your quarters and there'd be a knock on the door and you open the door, a sergeant would walk in and he'd be looking around to make sure everything was set up properly, your bed was made, there wasn't any dust and there on occasion they would come in and they would have surprise inspections and that's what Jesus was doing in a sense when he uses the word visitation to Jerusalem. And yet notice with me that as he's about to enter in and all this excitement, you gotta see this, all this excitement, Hosanna saved now, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord and they're waving the palm branches and throwing things before him as he's writing in and the excitement and all that's going on. The Pharisees say, tell him to be quiet, Jesus rebukes it and he gets to the point where he's about to enter into the city, he stops for a moment and he cries like a baby. He wept over the city. He wept over it. Strong tears, strong emotion. If you'd only known, if you'd only known, this is your day. These are the things that make for your peace but now they're hidden from your eyes. The days will come and you can see him as he's looking at the city and he knows what's gonna happen, the days will come when your enemies will build an embankment around you, close you in on every side and level you and your children within you to the ground and will not leave in you one stone upon another. You will be devastated. Your children inside of you, he wept over the city. Jesus wept over a friend by the name of Lazarus and he wept over an entire city because of what was happening. He was able to weep for friends and he was able to weep even for his enemies and you can see him as he's there. I don't know that any could ever portray the anguish that must have occurred in front of men in the midst of a party. There's a man crying, there's a man crying. In the midst of joy, in the midst of excitement, there's a man crying over a city. You didn't know the day of your visitation. Do you think it possible in any sense of the word that the Lord may still grieve over those who reject him? Do you think that God wanted to bring judgment? You didn't know your day, but you could have. Now what are you speaking about? Jesus when you're saying the time, he was referring to Daniel nine, the Old Testament book of Daniel. The prophet Daniel wrote in verses 24 through 27 a prophecy that should have been something that would cause them to be prepared. He said, 70 weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore it and build Jerusalem until Messiah the prince, there shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks. You add those, you have 69 weeks. The street shall be built again and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the 62 weeks, Messiah shall be cut off but not for himself. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood until the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering and on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate. Daniel's prophecy. Daniel says that there are things that are determined to be accomplished. He said the finishing of the transgression which speaks of ending Jewish apostasy, speaking of the Jews receiving their Messiah. Secondly, he had said to make an end of sin for sin to be completely dealt with and that took place through Jesus's voluntary sacrificial death. He said to make reconciliation which is accomplished through Jesus Christ. He said to bring in everlasting righteousness which occurs at the second coming to seal up vision and prophecy because they will no longer be necessary when everything's complete. And he said to anoint the most holy, Jesus is spoken of there in his reign as Messiah. So this amazing prophecy, it's really called the 70 weeks of Daniel. 69 weeks are separated from the seventh week. The 70th week is speaking of the last period of time in history that is referred to as the seven year tribulation. The 69 weeks are preceding that. There's gonna be a gap and then there's the 70th week. Now, Sir Robert Anderson wrote a book called The Coming Prince and he wrote concerning what is called the 70 week prophecy of Daniel. And what he did is he treated first this timeline as weeks of years because he had noted that nothing happened after a little, literal 490 days had passed. So he at first was looking at this 70 weeks as 70 days but that's only 490 days. Nothing passed in a certain timeline. I'll show you this in a minute. And so what he said is why don't we look at this in the Old Testament since of weeks of years because in Leviticus 25, three and four you find that there are things that are called weeks of years. And so that's what he did. And so he looks at the command to restore and build Jerusalem and that command came through a king by the name of Art Xerxes and that command is actually recorded for us in scripture in the book of Nehemiah chapter two. The command is something that even secular historians have stated occurred on March 14th, 445 BC. And so what Sir Robert Anderson did is he went to March 14th, 445. First he looked at 490 days from that point to see if anything significant happened if these things spoken of in Daniel 924 through 27 had been fulfilled and they hadn't been. So he says, well, it may be a week of years, speaking of weeks of years, let's see if that's what it is. And so he took 69 weeks, multiplied it by seven days, then multiplied that by 360 which is the Jewish calendar year. He added what we would call leap years and other things that would pertain to that. And he finally came up to the number 173,880. Then he went to March 14th, 445 and counted 173,880 days to see if anything significant happened from the going forth of the command to 173,880 days later. From March 14th, 445, he ended up April 6th, AD 32 which is the day that Jesus entered into the city of Jerusalem, wept over it and said to that city, you did not know the time of your visitation. That's how accurate scripture is. You didn't recognize your day. All you saw was Jesus as a rabbi entering into Jerusalem but you did not see him as a Messiah sent from God to save you. By their rejection, Titus of Rome came into the city of Jerusalem in AD 70 and destroyed the city. Exactly as Jesus said, what happened? There are accounts of the destruction of the city that are poignant, very touching accounts that they break your heart. Like how that the temple when the Romans were taking the city, they came into the temple the most beautiful spot and a soldier threw a burning torch into the temple. They had closed and locked the door so the soldiers couldn't come in so the soldiers would around found a way to throw a torch in and it hit some of the curtains in there. Curtains ignited and the entire interior that had any flammables went up in flames and the flames were so intense that they melted every gold object that was there. Jesus had said in Matthew 24 that not one stone would remain at the temple and what the Jewish, rather the Roman soldiers did is the stones were removed of that temple and the gold that had melted and seeped into the cracks between one stone and another the gold was peeled off, was put into bags taken back to Rome and Jesus's words were 100% fulfilled. The destruction of Jerusalem that occurred AD 70 and that's why he was there weeping over the city if you'd have known this your day that makes for your peace. But you didn't. So here you go, God's word speaks truth, do we obey? He has said it, shall he not do it? God's word is true. And so the Lord Jesus Christ enters in when men celebrated Jesus was getting ready to die. When men said tell your disciples to be quiet Jesus said, no, they're gonna praise because that's what I've come for to die so that men would praise. That's where salvation comes from because Jesus came to lay his life down for us. He entered into that city Palm Sunday the day that we celebrate today as Palm Sunday.