Prophetic Prospective Daily Devotional

Our reading for today is focused on the day, by tradition, that we refer to as "Palm Sunday". A quick reading of our extended portion for today seems to verify the account that we have long proclaimed as the presentation of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of prophecy, the long awaited Messiah. Indeed, the passage does reveal the events of at least three days in the life of Jesus Christ during Passion Week, the week of the death of our Lord.

Jesus was abiding at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus located in Bethany on the backside of the Mount of Olives. He had arrived on Friday afternoon just in time for the Shabbat meal, the special meal for a Jewish family on Friday evening which is technically the Jewish day of Saturday, the Sabbath.

John 12:12 states that the next day, Saturday, the official presentation of Jesus Christ as King took place with His "Triumphal Entry" into the city of Jerusalem. That means that it is "Palm Saturday" we should celebrate, not Palm Sunday as is the custom according to tradition.

Take a deep breath and simply look at the Scriptural facts. Jesus arrived at Bethany on Friday afternoon and the next day, entered the Temple Mount area having been hailed as the Blessed One, the One who comes in the Name of the Lord, verses 9 and 10.

Notice that the day of His Triumphal Entry He walked onto the Temple Mount as the "Potentate", the King of Kings, verse 11. The next day, Sunday, when He came to the Temple complex, the money changers were set up and doing business and He overthrew their tables and ran them out of the area, verses 15-18.

He had come to the Temple as the "Priest", the High Priest. That evening, He returned to Bethany and the next day, He returned to the Temple Mount as the "Prophet" and would teach His disciples "things to come", verses 27-33.

The narrative clearly teaches that the order of appearances on the Temple Mount is as I have described it. The money- changers were not in the Temple complex the first day, Saturday, or Jesus would have thrown them out then.

They were not there because it was the Sabbath and they did not work on that day. However, the next day, Sunday, the first day of the Jewish work-week, they were in their regular place and Jesus took care of them.

I present this to you because we must be correct on our understanding of Scripture. Luke 19:41-42 tells us that Jesus showed up the exact day He was to be there for the official presentation of Himself as King according to Daniel's prophecy of the day as foretold in Daniel 9:25-26.

He didn't arrive a day early or a day late - but right on time the day He was to be there to fulfill prophecy. God's word is exact and will be fulfilled as written.