The Impossible Day

Lost Boy.

I remember when I saw my friends come home from church who attended the Catholic Church, they all came with some Palm leaves in their hand.

as a boy, I thought why did they get Palm leaves and I didn't Our Baptist Church never did anything like that, I thought. I'm missing out. But, of course, when I got older, I realized that Palm Sunday is not just about Palm leaves. I knew that sending kids home with Palm leaves was just a tradition that the Catholic Church ball, it wasn't something that was there in the scriptures a commitment. In the gospel, narratives, Palm Sunday, begin the passion week of Jesus. Commencing in his death, burial and Resurrection on the following weekend on Resurrection, Sunday weekend. But it wasn't until much later still. Then I came to know that Palm Sunday wasn't impossible day in history humanly speaking. It is Not only did the events of that day happen have to happen. Just the way they did and unfolds just the way they did. But it was also the only day in human history when those events could have happened. And that day was predicted over five centuries earlier. Humanly speaking the events of Palm Sunday, it would have been impossible if God wasn't in the details. And put the icing on the cake. There was something in Jewish tradition of the day. That put a spotlight on those events of Palm Sunday. And we'll see that in the passage today. As we look at the Palm Sunday this morning and let the significance of those events. Shout out to you. That the Bible is inerrant. It's infallible. And the Christianity alone is true. So let's get into Lux account. Jesus. From, if you go to in the middle of Luke 9, it says snowing at the time of his resurrection is Drawing Near Jesus resolutely set up for Jerusalem. It online through 19 in Luke's gospel. You have the Journey Down the Jordan River. Valley coming through Jericho where he's blind Bartimaeus and coming up the back side of the hill. To Bethany to Bethany. He's coming to Jerusalem for the last time and his public Ministry, or he's going to be crucified. Luke 19:29. When hey, that's Jesus, Drew near the Bethpage and Bethany. As the mountain at the mount, that is called all of it. He sent two of his disciples saying go into the village in front of you, wear on entering, you will find a cold one, which no one is ever sat untie it and bring it here. Now, when I encounter things like this I have to say, where else in scripture was there anything anywhere near as similar to this, but there's one place and one place only

Busted back in the Old Testament. History, Define. The only similar biblical Passage David had several children. One of those children was called named at Aniya and that and I decided that one day, he should be king. Forget David and he began making some moves to have himself proclaimed King. And that she became into David and David. You promised that my son Solomon would would follow you. And and just as she was saying that Nathan, the prophet came in. Have you heard about that? And I is doing

David was agent at this point and he knew that the time to lay aside the kingship was at hand And says, in 1st Kings chapter 1. David said, called amazing. The priest Nathan, the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Joy. So they came before the king and the King said to them, take with you. The service of your lord and have Solomon. My son Ride On My Own mule. And bring him down to get Han and zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet their anointed him. Sloman King over Israel. A Long Live King Solomon, you shall then come up after him and he shall come and sit on the my throne. For he shall be king in my place and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. When the time came for David, the past that kingship on the Solomon, David took, and had his Solomon ride on his own mule. Now, that doesn't sound all that. Surprising stupendous. But in our day, it's like when a president get sworn in in Washington, d.c. he rides in the limousine of Pennsylvania Avenue and it would it was coronation day for the king. Then by riding on David's mulat. Everybody knew that Solomon was now the King on Palm Sunday. Jesus was in essence being proclaimed, King of the Jews by running on that donkey the cold, but he received that kingship from no human being. Instead, it was a father's doing and that's why it was a cold one, which no one has ever said. Matthew and his gospel site. The prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9, right? At this point in his, in his narrative, that drives this point home. Matthew 21 Reeves this way. This took place to fulfill, what was spoken by the prophet saying, say to the daughter of Zion behold, your king is coming to you humble and mounted on the donkey on a Colt, the whole of a beast of burden. It Harkens, you back to thinking about David and Solomon became king. What Jesus directed his disciples to say to anyone who asked why they were running time. This cold verse 31, if anyone ask you, why are you on tying it? You're still say the Lord has need of it. Now, it doesn't say our Lord, and not a Lord, but the Lord Imagine yourself being an owner of this cult. and, You find yourself questioning strangers who were untying your property one day.

What would you have thought if they told you the Lord has need of it.

That's an interesting question to ponder. Would you have thought about the promised Messiah? Possibly. 19/22. so, those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them, Now, think about this for a second.

Just say Jesus. If Jesus were just a man, if he were not God, this one which is But if he were just a man and not God could he have directed them to this cult? Yeah. Possibly. But it happened just as Jesus said, verse 33 and as they were untying the cold. Its owner said to them, why are you on time to call Denise and they said the Lord has need of it. It happened just as Jesus had said, and his owners. Let the disciples take it. If somebody came to you and said that I need the keys, your car, the Lord has need of it.

Could you look up naked?

There's a similar situation there.

But the Lord knew. What was the score of the Broncos going to be said and that they would let them first 35 and they brought it to Jesus and throwing their clothes on the cold. They said Jesus on it. And as they rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. Now, John, 12:13 at this point, the record that they also went out to meet him with branches of palm trees. And hence, we called this date palm Sunday, the other gospel say that they took branches of trees and threw them down as cold as walking down, and the assumption is that is clear suction. Palm branches were ones that were being placed there in front. Verse 37. As he Jesus was drawing, they're already on the way down on the Mount of Olives. The whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice. For all the, all the mighty things that they had seen to this. This wasn't them just saying, who is this guy? they, they had had some history thinking about Jesus, Saying blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord peace in heaven and glory. In the highest I want to do is I want to take the two statements within verse 38 separately. The first one. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Matthew 11 9, and John 12, 3-13 record that another word began his. This statement praising the crowd Hosanna. As a boy, I knew I knew the word I had heard that word. I mean, I've been attending church this nursery and I I heard that word every Palm Sunday Hosanna and sang it. In, in the song today, we sing at every Palm Sunday since I was born there. I could sing What does it mean? Where's that word? Come from? Comes from the first word in Hebrew. First two words in Hebrew of Psalm 118. That is to call the worship. Save us. We pray. Oh, Lord. And in the English Standard Version, other versus there's an! At the end The word, the two words that are translated by the English word Hosanna are the words, save us, but there's but it, but I'm going to add the! Because the Hebrew is actually pronounced, hoshiana is now, and hope she is safe now. And that's where the explanation point! Comes from. That's what I was just blessed, is he who comes in the name of the Lord? And that's where you had that first statement I love that all that verse. We bless you from House of Lourdes. Now, for some Jewish tradition that the time. Psalm 113 through 118, have a very famous title to them. They're called the hell, hello, meaning praise. These songs were red and sung every year at the Passover and on other festive occasions. They would be red and sung, including this verse Hosanna. They would be reading something all over Jerusalem. Four days later at the Passover. It was these words from Psalm 118 that those who greeted Jesus shouted that day as he came down the Mount of Olives to the Temple mount. These words would have been sung and read later that we get the Passover and these word shouted on Palm Sunday, clearly reporting the Jesus as the Messiah.

Now let's go back to the first Stargate again. Blessed is he who comes in the name of Lord peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Again, I'd like to go back and find out where anything similar was said, and there is one place, it's only found. In the words of the Heavenly Host to the Shepherds. When Jesus was born, Glory to God in the highest and on Earth, peace among those. With whom he is pleased, and it gives you again. The idea that the crowd that met Jesus coming down the mountain walls. Add a new a lot more about, Jesus his history, this human history, then just meeting him for the first time coming down that mountain.

Were the people who were saying these things were counting the circumstances of Jesus's birth, possibly, very possibly. It seems in any way in any case the goddess had planned their words. The Passover during the passion week took place also on the 14th day of the Jewish month. We know that from the Mosaic law According to the Paso Robles on Thursday night. But according to the Mosaic law, something else was to happen. A few days earlier on the 10th of the month. It says in Exodus 12, 3, tell all the congregation of Israel that on the 10th Saturday of this month, every man shall take a plan. According to those fathers, their father's house, has a land for a household and that's the 10th. And then on the 14th and verse 6 and says Angel, keep it until the fourteenth day of the month when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel to kill their lives at Twilight. The Passover Lamb, that was slain on Twilight of Thursday evening had to be chosen on Palm Sunday.

there's a Prophetic word. Within that, passage of Exodus. Not only was Jesus coming as king of the Jews. He also came as a Passover Lamb and that would be mentioned later by the Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 5:7. Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new love for you really are unleavened for Christ. Our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed We've already covered a lot. But there's something even more surprising. There's a prophecy that was given the Daniel over 500 years earlier, and it's one of the greatest Prophecy in the whole scripture. As we go, screw it, think how absolutely impossible? It would be for you to predict very specific events like this over five hundred years in the past and name, not only that. But name the exact day, when they would take place on if God had not revealed them to you, this is what it is. We find in the Book of Daniel Know, therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and rebuild to Richmond and Daniel's, not raining in Cecil County. He's running down with the angel told him to the coming of the anointed one, which is a, the word translated. Anointing one is the word. We get our word Messiah from. And if you remember when David was anointed king of Israel, by saw its annual the, the anointed one has to do with kingship also, Until the coming of the anointed one, the prince. There's a little me 7 weeks. And then 462 weeks, it will be built again with squares and a mote mote. I never read anything about alligators around Jerusalem. Well, there was a dry moat, that's fifty some-odd feed, deep that when Herod the Great expanded the Temple Mount, he filled that in with rubble and that was the most as being talked about it. And wasn't one that filled with water and had two alligators in it. And after the 62 weeks and anointed one shall be cut off and have nothing. And the people of the prince, who is the come, which is not the not the promised Prince, the Messiah. But this would be the Antichrist. She'll destroy the city in the sanctuary and it's, it's essential come with a flood in some way. It was in 70 AD. The Titus destroyed Jerusalem. And so this prophecy had to be fulfilled prior to 70 AD. We find it a decree to rebuild. Jerusalem was given by King artaxerxes in Nehemiah chapter 2, verses 5 and 6. and me, and my two of those verses that says, when I said to the king, if it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight,

That you send me the Judah to the city of my father's grave that I may rebuild it and the King said to me and the queen beside him. How long will you be gone? And when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. There was the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. The decree was given in the Jewish month of Nisan in the third 20th, 20th year of King, artaxerxes me know that from me and my 2:1 the date. In the Julian calendar has been dated to March 14th. 4:45 BC for that. By the way, when you go back in and you begin looking at calendars on this, your mind explodes, you know, that in the year 2000, we had a leap year in in our calendar that they won't have again for 400 years because it on on centuries, only one one century in every 400 years, has a leap year. So it in in at the end of another hundred years ago, 8 years between leap years in our counter, but you go back and you think we're not going to come from and you go. Well. there's a shift in the Gregorian calendar and when we've made that shift there, there were about 11 days that just disappeared off the calendar because they had to fix the timing of the Jewish calendar instead of having a four-year cycle with a leap year, every 4 years in Jewish calendar as a 19 year cycle with five leap months, That are spaced in that 19 years and there's the month that happens around October, that he is has either one or two leap days depending upon observation.

And you go back and You Begin tracing calendars back and you realize that between the year Beast 1, b, c and 1 AD. There's only one year not too and we can when you going to get in the calendars it gets it gets all kinds of crazy.

I listened to a paper. Let me go back here. A second. There's a real famous work by Sir, Robert Anderson. But this has been republished by kregel Publications. it is one of those classic works that a lot of commentators go back and referred to in that booking details the calculations for Daniel's Prophecy from March 14th. 4:45 BC taking the prophetic year of 360 days of the lunar calendar and adding appropriate leap years. you arrive at the date of April, 6th, 32nd the date of Palm Sunday, His calculations are followed by very many scholars including John walvoord Harold Hunter, who wrote The Life of Christ and many others. You also find many commentaries find following the same calculations, And his dating a palm-sized Sunday nicely coincides, with the date of Christ's baptism. I had the opportunity to sit in a paper at a theological conference in November. And for the first time I heard definitive proof coming from Roman coinage, the dates, the Baptist, the baptism of Christ. That proof is connected to John. The Baptist ministry that began like it says it looks 31 in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Sir, Robert Anderson. if he was correct, and I think he was Jesus had to have been presented as the anointed one, the Messiah, the King on one day and one day only in history Palm Sunday. He could have come in here earlier or later you couldn't have come a day earlier or a day later. He had to come had to have come on that specific day and scripture over, 500 years in advance, names that day. And look at the connections, I made it hurt Meg made earlier in the sermon that pointed to Jesus being the Messiah.

And if God wasn't directing these events, it would have been absolutely impossible for Daniel to have guessed by human intuition and human wisdom alone, the date when the event of Palm Sunday would take place. That's why it's an impossible day, but not with God. Let me read those verses from Daniel again. No, therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and rebuild, Jerusalem into the coming of the anointed. One Prince, there shall be seven weeks. And by the way these weeks or week, that there's no word for weeks and Hebrew, it's 77 and everybody almost across the board. Understands this at 7, Periods of seven years and it took that long to rebuild Jerusalem 7/7 and 462 weeks and we'll be in good build again with squares in them out. But in a troubled time and after the 62 weeks, 69 weeks and anointed one should be cut off the Messiah. and have nothing in the people of the prince, who is the come Is the gum. Satanic. Was the straw, destroy the city in the sanctuary essential come with a flood flood and it do it to the end of the war. Desolations are, decreed Now, you can better understand the next 2 weeks to verses in the Gospel of Luke. And starting verse 39 and some of the Pharisees to the crowd said to him, teacher rebuke your disciples for what they were saying. Geez, that's what I tell you. If these were silent, the very Stones would cry out.

Here's a question for us.

Have you ever been tempted to doubt? The inerrancy of the Bible, the truthfulness of the Gospel, or the Rock Solid reality of the Christian faith.

As a growing up on occasion, those thoughts will come across my mind and I wrestle with them for a day or two or a week and then come back and say yeah.

Anymore. I think about Palm Sunday and when those thoughts breathe through my mind takes about a millisecond for me to come back and take this right.

Palm Sunday is The Impossible day and think about this. There is no other religion in the world. There never has been there. Never will be that has prophecy that can even hold a candle lit. What we have in the Bible one of the things that said multiple times in the book of Isaiah is God says, I'm the Lord, I can, I know, I can tell you what's going to happen tomorrow and nobody else can only me The Bible is in a class of its own. Be solid in your face when you think when those thoughts run by your mind. And my, believing the right thing, is Christianity really real run Palm Sunday by your mind and say it is Let's pray. Father. Father, you have given us so very much you've given us. Jesus Christ. And salvation through him. Father, we you've also given us the holy spirit that dwells us and you've given us your word. Lord, we pray. That. Every day as we think about what you've given us in our faith and Eternity. That's been promised us Father, help us to think about those things with our Rock Solid commitment to you and a rock-solid encouragement that these things are true and help us to never walk away from that. Lord, we pray that as we talked to people, that you would give us the words to say the help, Explain some of these things to them. And perhaps Lord, you may give us the opportunity to pray with them to receive Jesus Christ as our own personal Savior. And thank you for that. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.