What is Prophecy?

Matthew 21:1-11

Shall we begin with a question; what is prophecy?  The online dictionary gives this definition: say that (a specified thing) will happen in the future.  That’s not a bad definition, but the apostle Peter expands on the origin of prophecy in 2 Peter 1:20-21, “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”  With that stated, let’s explore Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, He and the guys, and a very large crowd have come to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives.  You may be asking why the large crowd?  It is time to celebrate the Passover and at Passover the faithful would come from all areas of the world to worship, and they all had one thing in common they wanted freedom from Rome.  The have been looking for the Messiah and Jesus gave them hope that He would deliver them from Rome’s power.

It would be surprising if many in the crowd recalled the words spoken by the prophet Zechariah who lived around 625 B.C.  This is recorded in Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” It is 625 years later, and most of us do not recall what we heard yesterday, and that is why this account is so important.  This is what Jesus said to His disciples: “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

You may want to read the apostle Mark’s account, for Mark tells us that when they untied the colt those who were standing there ask what are you guys doing, and the answer they gave them was what Jesus had said and they let them go.  But Mark gives us more detail about what happened after they untied the colt, this is his account beginning in Mark 11:7-10.  They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it and many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.  Those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

If you are one of the twelve this is a great day, the day you have been waiting for, it looks as if the whole world has awakened to the understanding that Jesus is the Messiah.  But the gospel according to John gives us a look into the mind of Jesus; in John 2:23-25, “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.”  Jesus was not just referring to the crowd, but also the twelve, one would deny Him three times, another would betray Him for money, and the rest of them took off for safety.  The sign on the “Back Porch” is correct, “Smile you rascal, God knows all about you, and He loves you anyway.” 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice