The Sacrificial Lamb
Palm Sunday is a Day that we Celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to do something that would CHANGE EVERYTHING for you and I…. you see without His OBEDIENCE to enter the City… there would have been NO cross. Without the Cross there would have been no ATONEMENT for sin… without the atonement, there would have been NO forgiveness and without the forgiveness and the cleansing, there would have been No resurrection… and its the resurrection that gave us LIFE!
1. Palm Sunday is about peace and salvation.
The then Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, would come into Jerusalem with his soldiers for Passover, showing his strength through the arms his men carried. Jesus, however, came on a donkey with all His disciples unarmed, to demonstrate the Kingdom of God and His peace.
It was customary that during a time of peace a king would ride on a donkey, while a king would come sitting on a white horse after the victory in a battle, as suggested in Judges 5:10 and 1 Kings 1:33. So Jesus came as King but not to judge the people. He came to demonstrate God's grace.
2. Palm Sunday is the fulfilment of an Old Testament prophecy.
Matthew 21:4-5 notes, "This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: 'Tell the people of Zion, 'Look, your king is coming to you, unassuming and seated on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey,'" referring to Zechariah 9:9 in the Old Testament.
3. People accepted Jesus as Messiah.
Through the way in which Jesus entered into Jerusalem, He publicly declared Himself as the Messiah — the Savior that God had promised to the Jewish people. And He was accepted, at the time, by the people.
John 12:12-13 records, "The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, 'Hosanna!' 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!’"
4. People misunderstood Jesus' message.
Evangelist Billy Graham once explained why the same crowd that welcomed Jesus turned against Him at the time of His crucifixion.
"One reason the crowds turned against Jesus was because He refused to be the kind of king they wanted — a political and military leader who would free them from the hated Roman government," Graham wrote on his website. "Roman soldiers had occupied their land for decades, and they hoped Jesus would lead them in a successful revolt."
Jesus made clear to them that His goal was different.
"God had another purpose for Him — and that purpose was far greater than any mere political or military victory. His goal was to establish another kingdom — the Kingdom of God," Graham continued. "This, He taught them, wasn't to be a political kingdom, but the rule of God over our hearts and minds — and ultimately, over the whole universe. To the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, He declared, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight …. My kingdom is from another place' (John 18:36).”
Graham added: "How could this happen? It could happen only if sin and death and Satan were defeated — for these keep God's Kingdom from becoming a reality in our lives. And how could they be defeated? Only by Christ's death and resurrection for us — for by His death and resurrection Jesus Christ conquered sin and death and Satan.”
Graham concluded by asking the readers these questions: "Where would you have been during Jesus' final days? Would you have been in the crowd demanding His death — or would you have been among the minority who remained true to Him? And are you true to Him today?”
5. Palms represent immortality.
In Egypt, there was a tradition of people carrying the palm to funeral processions as it represented eternal life. The palm branch was also a symbol of spiritual triumph over death.
Today I want us to take a fresh look at Jesus, the sacrificial lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.
1 Peter 1:18-20
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
- Jesus is the sacrificial lamb.
John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
I want to look at two Old Testament sources to glean understanding of this aspect of Christ’s life and purpose.
Read Genesis 22:1-19
This is a hugely misunderstood passage of scripture. Many people attribute all kinds of nasty and sinful characterizations to the Father as a result of not properly understanding these events and their ultimate meaning. Many people read this and assume that it is an example of God giving us something very precious and then demanding that we surrender it. I have heard this passage used to explain why a child has died and all sorts of terrible things. In fact this is another case where we see God establishing what He is going to do in the earth by laying down a preview, or pattern or type if you will. This passage is not about father Abraham and his son Isaac. This is a type established for all time of Father God and His son Jesus.
Genesis 22:6
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac…
John 19:17
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).
Do you see the established pattern here?
Genesis 22:6-8
…and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
Notice who carried the knife and the fire. Who killed Jesus? Did the Jews kill the Messiah? Did Pilot or the Roman guards kill the Christ? No this was the Fathers plan from the beginning.
John 10:17-18
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
“This command I received from my Father.”
One more thing I want you to notice before we move on to the next point.
Genesis 22:13
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
Once the pattern is established, the only son, the son of promise, will be the sacrifice and the Father will offer him on the altar, then a substitute is introduced until the appointed time arrives.
2. Jesus is the only acceptable sacrifice.
Read Hebrews 9:1 – Hebrews 10:13
The earthly tabernacle was a type of the heavenly one, which is why the specifications had to be followed exactly.
Hebrews 8:5
They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
Goats and bulls were a temporary substitute to illustrate what was to come in Christ the final sacrificial lamb. God was never pleased with these, they were a temporary fix.
Isaiah 1:11
"The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?" says the LORD.
"I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
Hosea 6:1-7
"Come; let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."
"What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.
Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. Like Adam, they have broken the covenant— they were unfaithful to me there.
Also notice that blood is a requirement for forgiveness. A will is not put into place until the death of the one who owns the estate.
Leviticus 17:11
For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.
The sacrifice Christ offered on the heavenly altar is “once for all”, which brings us to this mornings final point.
3. Now He waits.
Hebrews 10:11-38
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
"This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." Then he adds:
"Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day apronaching.
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while,
"He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
We live in a time when our message (The gospel) is being rejected. That is not a reason to change the message.
