The Glory of the Lord Returns (2)
Palm Sunday • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
A. The Glory of the Lord in the Old Testament
Glory
All throughout Scripture, you will see the phrase the glory of the Lord, and while it always includes His awe-invoking splendor, in the Old Testament it often refers specifically to the Lord’s presence.
34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
In other words, the presence of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.
God is dwelling among His people.
B. God’s presence is not confined and Israel was and is God’s chosen people. The problem is we often see Israel think God’s presence was confined to the ark of the covenant, or the tabernacle, or the temple.
Essentially, they often viewed God as a genie they could bring out whenever they needed something.
We see an example of this in 1 Samuel 4.
Remember this story?
The priesthood of Israel has become corrupt. Eli’s sons are described in Scripture as worthless because they used their people’s sin offerings for their personal gain. The spiritual leaders of Israel were failing and thus the people were failing. So, God is angry with His people.
Remember, the Mosaic covenant was conditional. If you do what is right, you will be blessed. If you do not do what is right, you will be cursed.
God’s presence remained with His people only if they sought to maintain their covenantal relationship with Him.
The problem was, the people wanted a relationship with God on their terms.
So, shortly after God condemns Eli and his sons for the failure of leadership, Israel and the Philistines battle each other, and the Philistines are victorious.
What does Israel do?
They say to themselves it must have been because they didn’t bring the ark of the covenant, their genie god in a box, with them into battle! So they bring the ark of the covenant into the camp, pump themselves up, and go out and attack the Philistines again, and the Philistines slaughter 30,000 of them and take the ark of the covenant.
What did Israel miss?
Israel thought God’s presence was confined to their little box, and they could bring Him out whenever it was convenient for them. My study bible put it this way:
“They failed to understand that a symbol of spiritual things does not itself assure one of the reality to which it points.”
In other words, the ark of the covenant was meaningless without the people’s humble submission to God.
We see the same thing in our culture today, people who hold on to traditions thinking that’s what saves them. If I just check this box, I’m good to go.
Baptism is meaningless without a humble submission to Jesus Christ.
Communion is meaningless without a humble submission to Jesus Christ.
Coming to church is meaningless without a humble submission to Jesus Christ.
All of these are symbols which point to a greater spiritual reality.
And the defeat of Israel, not once but twice, demonstrated the glory of the Lord had left Israel.
C. The glory of the Lord departs
We see a similar account in Ezekiel 10:18
18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.
The glory of the Lord left because of the people’s idolatry. Their worship had become corrupt.
It is important to recognize it is not God who left His people, but His people who left God. He gave them what their hearts truly desired.
This establishes what is known as the intertestamental period between the Old and New Testaments, a period of 400 years of silence.
Shortly after the end of this period, is where our text picks up, with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
The Glory of the Lord Returns ...
Faithfully
Humbly and Meekly
As the Lamb of God
I. Faithfully
I. Faithfully
A. Why a Donkey?
While it is possible there are symbolic reasons to Christ riding on a donkey (King David rode on donkeys, 2 Sam. 16:2), we know for certain that a donkey was chosen to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Zechariah.
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
B. Why this Time?
Did you know this time was prophesied in Scripture?
Daniel 9:25 (NASB95)
25 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.
From the decree to rebuild Jerusalem
In Nehemiah 2, King Artaxerxes grants permission to rebuild Jerusalem in 445 B.C.
From this moment in Nehemiah, the 7 weeks and 62 weeks begins.
69 weeks x 7 years = 483 years
II. Humbly and Meekly
II. Humbly and Meekly
A. Jesus willingly went to Jerusalem, knowing what awaited Him.
17 As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”
8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
In the garden of Gethsemane
Quote from Martin Luther
Look at Christ. He rides not upon a horse which is a steed of war. He comes not with appalling pomp and power, but sits upon an ass, which is a gentle beast to bear burdens and work for men. From this we see that Christ comes not to terrify, drive, and oppress, but to help and take for Himself our load.
III. As the Lamb of God
III. As the Lamb of God
A. Passover Dates
Selection of the Passover lamb
Exodus 12:3–5 (NASB95)
3 “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household … 5 ‘Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
On Nisan 10, the Passover lamb was selected, brought into the home, and cared for for 5 days.
Passover lamb killed
Exodus 12:6 (NASB95)
6 ‘You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.
Because a Hebrew day begins at twilight, the lamb would have been killed on Nisan 15.
A shadow of things to come
1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.
B. The Significance of the Time
God has known the end from the beginning
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
6 days before Passover puts Jesus’ arrival in Bethany on Nisan 9.
The next day
12 On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.”
The next day, Monday, Nisan 10, Jesus enters Jerusalem.
The ultimate sacrifice
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
This coming Friday, when estimates of 260,000+ lambs were being sacrificed for Passover, Jesus would die as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of mankind.
Conclusion
Conclusion
