Jesus Warns Us – His Last Week
Today is Palm Sunday. This is the first day in the last week of our Lord’s ministry. He already knew of His fate well before this day. He already knew the pain and suffering He was about to endure in order to save us, the sinners, from His Father’s wrath.
Last year, we went over this week in pretty good detail, so I won’t spend a lot of time going over that again but, for those that were not present, here is a brief re-cap of that week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion
- Sunday – Jesus makes His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Zechariah 9:9 – “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
- Monday – The cleansing of the Temple and healing of many.
- Tuesday – Jesus teachers on the Temple Mount… and is questioned by the authorities. They find no guilt.
- Wednesday – Undocumented. Silent Wednesday.
- Thursday – The Last Supper. Jesus prayers to have his cup taken from Him.
- Friday – His trial, crucifixion and burial.
- Saturday – The Passover.
The Predictions
In my summary, I only read one of the scriptures purposely as that is what I’d like to talk about this morning. You heard where Zechariah, a great prophet from the Old Testament, foretold of how our Savior would enter into Jerusalem (lowly and riding on a donkey)… and so, we can see, in just one example, how God gives us insight into our future from the scripture and why it is so important that we read our Bibles to help us understand what lies ahead for us.
Jesus was the greatest prophet of all as, being the Son of God, He obviously had far greater insight into what His Father had in store for His people. During His last week, he provided more signs to His disciples that we should be paying close attention to in these days we’re in today.
Christ’s Warnings – End of Days
Matthew 24:1-2 – “Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ‘Do you see all these things?’ he asked. ‘Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’”
During Jerusalem’s long history, Jerusalem and her temple, has been attacked 52 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, besieged 23 times, and destroyed completely twice.
To this day, the Temple has been replaced with The Dome of Rock, an Islamic shrine.
Questioning Jesus, His disciples asked Him in Matthew 24:3, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?”
False Messiahs
Matthew 24:4-5 – “Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.’”
Moon Sun Myung – He founded the Unification Church which had large followings in the United States and South Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.
Moon who was born in North Korea and was raised Presbyterian claimed he saw a vision of Jesus aged 15 and it was revealed to him that he, Moon, was anointed to represent the kingdom of heaven on earth
Moon and his followers said he was Jesus Christ reincarnated for the purpose of finishing the work Jesus was unable to finish owing to his early death by crucifixion.
He believed humanity would be restored to perfection through a sinless generation born of the couples he blessed.
At one point he declared himself the savior of humanity and that he and his wife were the parents of true humanity.
Jim Jones – Was an American secondary teacher who found his true calling in evangelism and founded a church called the People’s Temple.
When he claimed divinity he also cast a wide net saying he was Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi and Lenin. He managed to grow the Peoples Temple to several thousand followers from 1956 to the 70s.
For all Jones’ life, work and claims to divinity, it was his death that he remains very well known for. Jim Jones died in 1978 along with over 900 followers who had followed him to Guyana, the location of a church commune. The followers had drunk poison while he died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Vernon Howell (a.k.a. David Koresh) , was a self-proclaimed prophet and the final leader of the Branch Davidian sect.
Howell changed his name to David Koresh, and became the church’s new leader and Messiah.
Under his control, rumors of child abuse and illegal weapons within the Branch Davidians ran rampant, resulting in The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and FBI issuing a warrant for Koresh’s arrest on February 28, 1993. Four ATF members died in the resulting shoot-out with the Davidians, who lost six of their own.
Negotiations with Koresh dragged out over 51 days. He stalled for time by confusing negotiators with biblical imagery and claimed he was writing religious documents he needed to complete before he surrendered.
The siege finally ended when the FBI carried out a final assault to take members of the sect by force. The “last days” the Roddens had predicted for the Davidians were finally at hand–the compound caught fire and 76 members of the Branch Davidians, including David Koresh, perished inside.
Wars and Rumors of Wars
Matthew 24:6-7 – “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.”
How may conflicts do we have going on in this world today? I can name some of them…
Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Mexico, Somalia, Nigeria, Sudan, Libya, Pakistan and Egypt to just name a few.
Yes, we’re (USA) involved in many of them but, nonetheless, don’t you think these could be the “wars” Christ spoke of?
Kingdoms Divided
Let’s talk about Kingdoms divided. No, let’s just talk about what’s going on in America today. I’m not much into politics but you can’t help but turn on a TV and see the internal battles going on within our own government… just as Jesus warned us…
Matthew 12:25 – “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.’”
How is our Nation standing? How can anything positive come from all that is going on amongst our chosen leaders?
Stay Alert
Jesus gave His Disciples warning of the things to come… the end of times. We, therefore, through His Disciples’ writings of His teachings, are warned as well.
Matthew 24:32-33 – “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”
What do you think Jesus meant using such a simple example? I think it’s pretty straight-forward. He has given us warning and we should be ever-watching for the signs.
But should we, as children of God and Brothers and Sisters in Christ be afraid? I don’t think so. For He said to us, simply…
Luke 21:28 – “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Our redemption is drawing near. For us, this is the blessing that we’ve all been waiting for.
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In Conclusion
Once again, this week represents our Lord and Savior’s final week of His ministry. Take the time and walk with Him every day this week.
- Today – Walk with Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem. Shout praises and glorify His name!
- Monday – Clean out your Temple. Remove all that is evil from your hearts and heal yourselves in His name!
- Tuesday – Teach others the lessons you have learned from Him. Show compassion for others as He so did for all of us!
- Wednesday – Take your rest, just as He did!
- Thursday – Have supper with Jesus. Hear His last words and payer with Him!
- Friday – Cry this day. Remember the pain and suffering our Lord sustained for us and give thanks!
- Saturday – Pray for and await His rising, for the next day, His name will be glorified!
As it comes to the end of times… stay aware and watch for the signs. Don’t ignore their presence and understand what they might mean.
Most of all, do not be afraid. Know that you are Loved and have been forgiven. As He has asked us… teach the less fortunate. Help them to understand as you now do. Offer them the opportunity to face these times with Love and understanding knowing that we… will not be overlooked!
Go with God; be good to one another; always stay humble; always be kind… God Bless (Amen)