The Passover prophecy of his return

Hosea 5:15 “I will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.’ (see Mk.11:9; Mt.23:39)

This refers to Jesus who said you will not see me again until they, His people (Israel) cry out for him. It will be in the time of their affliction; the Tribulation period is when this will occur (Zech.12:10).

From the beginning of his revealing by John baptizer, he introduced Jesus as the Passover lamb to the people. This was his mission in becoming a man, to be the last sacrifice for sin (Rev.5:12)

Luke 13:34-35 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

The day Jesus rode into Jerusalem before his crucifixion they spoke these very words, but they were celebrating the wrong feast, Tabernacles is about God with us permanently. But it was the feast of Passover, the lamb being sacrificed which has to come first (According to the sequence of the prophetic feasts in Lev. 23) for God to eventually be with us permanently with us.

They sang the psalms of ascent as he entered Jerusalem. Ps. 118:25-28 “Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. God is the LORD, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You.”

Matt 21:9 “the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David!' Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!"

Jesus (as God who became man) was the sacrifice, bound to the altar (the altar was the object and place the Romans had for crucifixion). He as the Lord who is God is able to save us by doing his sacrifice willingly. It is God who is the savior according to the Scripture and he died suffering for Israel’s sins (Isa.53). He died for sinful mankind, of which we all are in that category.

Heb. 9:26 “but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself”

Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men”

Before the Entry of his last week

It is in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, the disciples complained of using the costly oil from Judas’ lead in complaining (Matt 26:6-8).

John 12:1-3 “Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.” Judas complains of the expense.

V.7-13 Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."

We read in John 11:2-3 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

Lets see how these events all come together. Jesus hears Lazarus is sick.

John 11:4 When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

John 11:11 Jesus says “he sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up,” he then plainly tells them after days Lazarus is dead.

Apparently the whole family were believers (Jn.11:5). Jesus purposely waited 4 days to come.

Martha first met Jesus without Mary her sister and said “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

V:27 She then confesses out loud the same that Peter said, that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

V.32 Mary then came where Jesus was, falls down at His feet, saying to Him (what Martha her sister said previously), "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." “He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.” (John 11:33-34)

Jesus purposely waited 4 days because this would coincide with him then entering Jerusalem for the last week culminating with his crucifixion.

John 11:40 “if you would believe you would see the glory of God? What Jesus is saying is that he (LAZARUS) `will be resurrected from his tomb (a precursor to Jesus’ resurrection shortly after, showing he has power over death. Fulfilling what he spoke in John 2:19 “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

John 11:45-53 We find that some Jews who had come to Mary, witness what happened with Lazarus,…believed in Him. Others and reported this to the Pharisees.  The Pharisees have a council that after nearly 3 years of Jesus ministry they had enough, afraid “everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation." V.49 Caiaphas, the high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish." He unknowingly prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation.” V.53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.”

This timing is orchestrated by the Father for his entry into Jerusalem. After his discourse in Mt.25 explaining to his disciples of the future and His return. We find the timing in Matt 26:2 “after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."

The Pharisees plotted to take him but they knew it could not be on the feast of Passover.

Matt 26:12-13 refers back to being at Simon the lepers house.  “For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."

The significance is that Jesus was anointed for being crucified/ and being buried.

The time of entry

What we have in this sequence is Jesus coming to Bethany again where it is now 6 days before the Passover (Jn.12) to sit and eat with the family (Martha, Mary, and Lazarus). It is after Lazarus was raised at this time Mary anointed Jesu with oil.

We continue in John’s account: John 12:9-10 “Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.”

Jn.12:12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: "Hoshanna!' (in Hebrew pronounced Hoshanna, not Hosanna) “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!” (they were quoting Psalm 118 which was for the feast of tabernacles – God with us, when this was the Passover the feast of when the lamb is to be slain).

We read in Luke 19:41-42 “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and 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.” Jesus had recently raised from Lazarus from the dead, of whom it says he wept (Jn.11:35 twice in Scripture we find Jesus weeping. He wept over his friend’s death and now weeps over Jerusalem.)

“As they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two disciples. “Go to the village ahead of you,” He told them, “and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt beside her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone questions you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”  So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them”

Notice both the donkey and its child were used to enter Jerusalem, this is an important illustration.

The colt that Jesus sat that never carried a load followed behind its parent into Jerusalem (donkeys are a poor mans horse, known as carrying burdens). Donkeys are spoken often in the scripture. When someone led by riding on a horse it meant victory in a war. Here we have Jesus riding on an animal that was never used, and it was behind its father. Besides it illustrating him as the humble righteous King, one who comes to serve, not conquering, fulfilling Zech.9:9 “the King comes onto you meek and lowly riding upon a donkey.” Solomon (King David’s son) rode his fathers donkey on the day he was to become the new king of Israel. (1 King 1:33,44). Also Jacob’s blessing on his son Judah (Jesus is from the tribe of Judah) includes speaks what seems prophetically speaking of a donkey and a donkey’s foal (Genesis 49:11).

A symbolic reference to this is in Ex.13:12-13 every firstborn that comes from an animal (males) shall be the LORD's (Ex.34:20), the firstborn of a donkey can be redeemed by a lamb (see v.15-16).

This was another sign to the people, a colt that was unused for work carrying the Messiah as a humble entry into Jerusalem is an illustration of the son who would be carrying the burden of sin to be forgiven by the father.

We read in John 12:14-16 “Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey's colt."  His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.”

The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest!”

Elsewhere it says, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"   (Lk.19:38)

John 12:13 they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: "Hosanna!'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! 'The King of Israel!"

Mark 11:9-10 "Hosanna!' Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

Some Jews (few religious leaders) during this period recognized he was the Messiah. Unfortunately they were celebrating the wrong feast by waving the palms (this was for celebrating the feats of Tabernacles)

Also Jacob's blessing on his son Judah (Jesus is from the tribe of Judah) includes speaks of a donkey and a donkey's foal (Genesis 49:11).

“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!"  Luke 19:37-38)

It was the Pharisees that then called to Jesus 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."

Stones are an inanimate creation from God, they can’t speak. What stones was he speaking of, the temple stones. Using it as an illustration, that if you who claim to know God do not bless his messiah who comes into Jerusalem, the stones of the temple will. The stones of the temple were carefully prepared (1 Kings 6:14, 7:19 see also Mt.24:1-2) Stones were used as altars for sacrifice, two tablets of stone had the 10 commandments o them. Stones can be a symbol of people, we are later likened to living stones, (2 Pt.2:5) who are made alive in Christ.

“Now as He drew near, He saw the city and 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 days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and 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." (this took place in 70 ad)

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' "  And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.”

Jesus made a beeline to the temple of which they made it into a place of merchandising. No prophet would say the temple is their house, but the one called the King of Israel did! This would be the last of 7 times Jesus visited Jerusalem.

Again “His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. (John 12:14) when he resurrected was his being glorified.

As Jesus spoke previously in his ministry “No sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.” (Luke 11:29-31)

And what of his return?

Zech. 12:10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”

 Israel will call upon the Lord, then Israel will be saved.

Ps 80:17-19 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. Then we will not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!”

Zech. 13:1 "In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness”