Triumphal Entry, Triumphal Return
Zechariah 9:9 NIV; Matthew 21:1-9; John 12:12-16; Matthew 24:30-31 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Five hundred years before Jesus was born, Zechariah foretold His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. When Jesus was getting ready to enter Jerusalem for the last time, He sent two of his disciples into a village to fetch a donkey and her colt that He said they would find there. They followed His instructions and brought Him the donkey and colt. Jesus rode the donkey colt into Jerusalem, on a road paved with people's cloaks and olive branches. The people shouted praises to His Name and sang the words of Psalm 118:26a, "Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord!" Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem was triumphal, creating an uproar in the city unlike anything it had seen before. That crowd did not realize that this was not His entry as the conquering King… this was His entry as the Lamb of God, the final Sacrifice.
This prophecy by Zechariah was just one of the many that foretold of the coming Messiah. The Good Shepherd. The Lamb of God who would be sacrificed for all of our sins. The One who would be our salvation. One at a time, each of the prophecies about Jesus' incarnation were fulfilled, from the place of His birth to the method of His death. This day – the day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem as the Messiah was not only foretold by Zechariah, but also the prophet Daniel, in Daniel 9:25 (NIV), prophesied the specific day that the Messiah would be revealed. He said, “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the r uler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench but in times of trouble.” From the date of the decree Daniel mentions until Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the day we call “Palm Sunday” was 173,880 days, the EXACT number of days that Daniel had prophesied!!
That is just one of hundreds of examples. Those prophecies were ALL fulfilled. They are a part of history, pieces of factual information to which we refer when substantiating our belief that Jesus is the Messiah. But the story doesn't stop there. And neither do the prophecies. Because Jesus is coming again.
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Just as we believe the prophecies that were fulfilled with His first coming, we must also believe the prophecies that tell us about His return. No one has any idea exactly when that will be… but we can study the scriptures to get an idea when the time is close. Jesus said in Matthew 24:36-44 (NIV), “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as the Lamb of God, the final Sacrifice, was triumphal. His return in the sky to call His own up to Him at the Rapture will be swift and will be marked by the sound of a trumpet heard worldwide. (1 Corinthians 15:52) But His return to earth as the King of Kings will make the first triumphal entry look like a Sunday picnic. Several people have asked me, "How will people know it's Jesus? There are so many so-called 'Messiahs". How will we know it's really Him?" Folks, as I told those people who asked this question, it will be impossible to mistake who He is!
Jesus described His return to the earth this way, "At the time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." (Matthew 24:30-31 NIV) So, again, there will be a loud trumpet call, but this time, He’ll have an overwhelming number of people with him – His Church – the Body of Christ, made up of all the people saved by His blood shed at Calvary – billions of people who have been waiting with Him in heaven for this final triumph – some that had died during the thousands of years since creation, and some that were raptured out seven years earlier – all of whom will be gathered by the angels “from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to another”!!!
Are you ready for that? Do you look forward to His return with fear or with joy? Do you think that those who remain on earth at that time will have any problem figuring out what's going on? Sadly, far too many will have been foolish enough to let someone – a false prophet like Jim Jones or David Koresh or any number of other pretenders – mislead them. I pray that not one person reading this devotional will be among those who will have been deceived, and as such, will end up witnessing this awesome event from the ground. Jesus said, "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible." (Matthew 24:24)
Jesus did one other thing for us. He told us ahead of time (Matthew 24:25) what to watch for. Study His Word so you can be sure you're watching for the right person. If you don’t know Him personally today, then study His Word to learn who He is, and then accept His free gift of salvation. Because, no matter what else happens in the coming days or weeks or years, at some point the King is coming! If it happens within your lifetime, it’s your choice whether you will witness that event from the air or on the ground.
