March 22, 2013

The Lamb of God

By Skip Heitzig

On what we call Palm Sunday, the “Triumphal Entry” of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem took place. After many claims and many signs, Jesus openly presented Himself as Messiah.

The date on the Jewish calendar was the tenth of Nisan. That’s significant because that’s the date that Jewish families selected the lamb to be sacrificed at Passover. The book of Daniel gives a precise prophecy on when the Messiah would appear—and on that exact date, Jesus presented Himself as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” as John the Baptist called Him (John 1:29).

Passover was the focal point of the history of the Jewish people. Their calendar revolved around it. But it was the same thing every year. And the people, frankly, wanted something more than their religion was giving them—more than the endless rituals, more than the prescribed prayers, more than the same sacraments and ceremonies.

One source tells us that around the time of Christ, 256,000 lambs were slain in Jerusalem for just one Passover. According to ancient Jewish law, there were ten people required for every one lamb. So that puts the population in Jerusalem for Passover at roughly 2.5 million people plus!

And the multitude cried out, "Hosanna!" That word means simply “save now” or “bring salvation now.” It was not a praise; it was a prayer, a desire. They were saying "Do for us what our religion has not done for us all these years. Save us, bring salvation and deliverance, and bring it now!"

And some also said, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel." They were quoting Psalms 118, a messianic victory psalm, straight out of the scriptures.

Zechariah 9:9 predicted this scene: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey."

So Jesus came into Jerusalem sitting on a donkey, fulfilling Daniel's prophecy, fulfilling Zechariah's prophecy, fulfilling Psalms 118. And the people were left with a decision: Would they accept Jesus as their messiah?

In Luke 19  as Jesus descended the Mount of Olives on the donkey, he stopped and wept over the city. He said, "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” (v. 42). He was saying, "This is the day you should have known about." He was holding them accountable.

My point is this: You have that same decision to make. What’s it going to be? What's your decision concerning Christ?

If you have never hailed Him as your savior, the Lamb of God who can take away your sin, what better time than now?

Copyright © 2013 by Connection Communications. All rights reserved.

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