Palm Sunday

In this podcast we see that in the Old Testament as God Almighty was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, a very interesting drama began to unfold. That drama found its resolution in Palm Sunday and the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Transcript

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In today's podcast, we're going to see that in the Old Testament, as the Lord was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, a very interesting drama began to unfold. That drama found its resolution in Palm Sunday and the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is Wes Ruff and you're listening to the REVIVALin2020 podcast. Everybody here looking for a revival, in their own hearts and across the land-

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Take a moment and consider part of the journey of the Israelites who were led out of Egypt by God. As we examine some of the Scripture verses in the text, we begin to see a story unfolding that requires a second look to give it the attention that it deserves. Here's what I'm referring to in Deuteronomy chapter 32, verses eight through nine, we see the following.

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It says, When the most high gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples. According to the number of the sons of God. But the Lord's portion is his people and Jacob, his allotted heritage. Now, these two verses tell us something very important and necessary for the Gospel to advance. As it turns out, the Sons of God or supernatural beings, these were not human rulers from Israel or another country.

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And the original tongue of Scripture makes this clear. We also understand from the Book of Genesis that there are 70 nations described as important as we follow. The drama through the text were led to believe that these 70 nations understood to be apart from the nation of Israel, had decided to forsake Norway and follow their own gods. And Deuteronomy Chapter 32.

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Again, we find God giving these supernatural beings each a nation, to oversee according to their number. God's perspective was that if the peoples of these nations refused to follow him, he would make a way to restore them. But he would allow them to have their own way and they would follow pagan gods. In spite of this, though, he has always been determined to redeem even the last sheep of these nations.

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And there's no one who can stop him. It's important to remember, and keep in mind that the 70 sons of God were having authority over 70 nations. The idea that evil beings would have authority over the nations mentioned in the text of Scripture highlights that reality of spiritual warfare in that day and time. This also seems to point to what the Apostle Paul said when he stated that our conflict is not against flesh and blood, but it is against the authorities and principalities of darkness.

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In other words, it's against spirits who have rebelled against God, and they have jurisdictional authority, in some cases over different geographical localities. Fast forward a few thousand years. God had stated that the Gospel of his Son would first go to the nation of Israel before it went anywhere else. And in Romans 116, we're told that Paul stated, I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is a power of God into salvation.

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First to the Jew, then to the Gentile. And we're shown in Luke, Chapter nine that the Lord sent out the 12 disciples and empowered them to preach the Gospel and to operate in supernatural ways through healing and casting out demons. And they went to Israel first. Later, in Luke Chapter ten, we're told that once again, Jesus commissioned 70 or so disciples to go out to surrounding towns to prepare the way for him.

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He, in fact, gives both groups directions to preach, heal the sick, and cast out demons. All of these things were necessary in proclaiming the gospel. All of these things ran roughshod over the evil influences from the 70 nations that were working overtime to disconnect Israel from God by perverting and twisting the truth and holding people captive in many forms of bondage.

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And this God kept His promises that the Gospel of freedom through the Messiah would go first to the nation of Israel, whom God kept for Himself out of all of the surrounding 70 nations. And then the Gospel would be preached to the other nations and other places. So when the Lord sent out the 70, they were going to unchurched, obviously unchurched people, groups who had been engaging in thousands of years of pagan worship and idolatry.

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Imagine if you were following the Lord back then as a resident member of the Israeli community. Your worldview would be similar to this, that as the text of Scripture records Israel your home nation, is surrounded by 70 other nations, each led by pagan beings whom God allowed to hold authority over these nations. Your homeland, which is Israel, has been in constant conflict with these nations and their pagan gods.

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At different times in your history, these gods attempted to move into Israel, violating their directives from Yahweh and forcing confrontations like Elijah and the prophets of Bale at Mount Carmel. Mt. Carmel was in God's own land. Israel always desiring to move in the always territory and was confronted by God's own power, and they always beaten badly that day.

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God would have none of it. He was clear that Israel belonged to him alone and that he was going to bring the Messiah who would take the writ of judgment against Israel and the rest of the world into himself, nullifying the claims of the spiritual accusers who have accused God's human family of many things over thousands of years.

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So imagine yourself as an ancient Jew, and I understand that your worldview was very different from what we accept today in the modern age. And if you were an ancient you and you were faithful to your way, you would expect power encounters. You would also expect a message of freedom to be preached, even if you mistakenly believe that the Messiah would be a military figure.

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You would expect a deliverance with power because of centuries of prophecies from the prophets that God Himself installed in your nation. And because miracles and power encounters would be a part of your history. That also starts to become evident in the text that Jesus, the Messiah, saw his role as one involving confrontation. He would confront the evil spiritual powers of his day, while he would simultaneously preach freedom and faith to anyone who was willing to listen to anyone who knew that they needed him.

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He did not deny himself to anyone. He came for us all. Christ Jesus was powerfully bold and confident in his mission in ministry, and he engaged in it with such vigor and faithfulness. What a standard he set for us. And again, if you had been an ancient Jew, it's important to remember that your worldview would include active pagan gods who rebelled against your maker.

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This worldview would find its root in the Old Testament as those inspired to write the Scriptures clearly called out that only Yahweh himself was worthy of worship, praise and adoration. The pagan beings were not, and they were corrupt. Psalm Chapter 82 gives us insight into the realities of the spiritual landscape of that time, and those who rebelled against their maker were preparing their own judgment.

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This rebellion led millions of people into spiritual darkness and God's will and desires to set it all free, set all of us free. It's against this backdrop of the story of Jesus Christ and what he has done for humanity begins to unfold. And this also explains why the Lord would be confrontational. He was coming in to overthrow the kingdom of darkness and to nullify their legal claim to humanity.

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After centuries of prophecies, power encounters, kings being overthrown or restored, we see that the Lord comes into the scene fulfilling centuries of messianic prophecy. He called for justice and truth to role in a never ending stream throughout the land. As a Lord moved into his ministry, his power and his name were being talked about all over Israel. As a side note, when the Lord went into the desert and Satan showed him the kingdoms of the world known at that time.

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It's possible he might have been showing the Lord the 70 surrounding nations and asking the Lord to bow, which would have secured the nations for Jesus, but would have caused Jesus to bend to Satan's will. This deceptive strategy was, of course, easily seen by the Lord, and He later entered the discussion with a strong rebuke to Satan commanding him away.

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While it's not known precisely, as far as I know which kingdom Satan was referring to, given the worldview that Jesus was confronting, which involved 70 nations led by 70 pagan beings, it's not far afield to suggest that the Kingdom Satan was referring to, or the kingdoms at Yahweh had allotted to his fallen sons. And as long as there's no conflict with the text, we can hold this loosely until we know firmly.

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And one day this story will be known in its entirety. Moving ahead. When Jesus sent the 12 and then the 70 into Israel and into other towns that he would choose to visit, he was sending them out to confront the works of darkness that brought so much death and pain into that part of the world and later into the world at large.

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He sent them out to prepare his way to many additional villages and places where the gospel of the Freedom and Christ had not been preached yet before. King makes a dramatic change. He will often send emissaries out to prepare his people for what is coming. And the Lord did the same thing. He came into the world as its king, humbly disguised as a tradesman and unwilling to use anything in the earth to advance himself, although he had the right to do so.

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He willingly gave of himself and followed the directions of his eternal father so that he might establish the Kingdom of God in the hearts of human beings. His coming to Israel should have been one of joyous proclamations with the people of Israel, recognizing that prophetic fulfillment was on the horizon. But as is the case with so many prophetic utterances, we often do not see or are not immediately aware of the timing of the fulfillment.

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Yet, despite what we do not know, God remains faithful and shows us whatever we don't know. God shows us. He will consistently show us. It may take time, but He will show us in the same manner that Jesus showed his disciples. So after thousands of years of prophetic signs, power encounters with pagan beings, bloodshed, war intrigue and nations falling and rising, the culmination of Jesus mission begins to come and to start focus.

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His ministry was, in so many ways, an announcement of the freedom that he was bringing to the human race with a deliberate poke in the eye to the supernatural beings in that part of the world who rebelled against their maker after effectively putting the entire spiritual hierarchy on notice on alert. And after fulfilling so much of his prophesied vision, Oh, the Lord came to Jerusalem.

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And as we all know, he came humbly not seeking the idolizing compliments of the crowd or using his formidable power to change the world only for himself. He came to reveal the father of all, and when he came to Jerusalem, the people shouted out hosannas to him. In fact, an interesting thing about the word Hosanna is that it comes from an interesting Hebrew word that means Pray save us.

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Over the centuries, this word has come into a more expanded meaning, but its original meaning is simple. It is a cry for help and a recognition of the one who would actually help. So when Jesus came to Jerusalem, the people were saying, Save us, save us, save us. And what were they calling for salvation from? In so many ways, they were not only calling for salvation from their own problems, and they were not clear on what those were, but they were calling for salvation from their maker, from the influence of the 70 pagan nations and from the influence of the Roman Empire that was taking over at that point.

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And when the citizens of Jerusalem shouted out to him, Hosanna in the highest, it's like saying it to the highest levels of heavenly authority. We appeal that you save us. It is as if they were saying, Only you can save us. Lord, only you know how like the rest of us. Little did they know what they were asking.

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First there was a dramatic entrance after a ministry that spanned three years and consistently and constantly confronted evil powers. Then and there were the emotionally charged moments like the Last Supper, his arrest, his trial, his crucifixion, and then his death. But what seemed like an end was about to become a trumpet blast of hope, healing and the inauguration of a movement that would one day restore the earth.

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Thank God resurrection morning was coming and this was the way. Everybody here looking for revival- Thank you for listening to the REVIVALin2020 podcast. For more information about the ministry, please visit REVIVALin2020.org