Peter said to Jesus, “Are you now going to restore the kingdom.” (Acts 1:6). Many Jews believed in what Ezekiel said. “David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also WALK IN MY JUDGMENTS AND OBSERVE MY STATUTES and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and MY SERVANT DAVID SHALL BE THEIR PRINCE FOREVER.” (Ezekiel 37:24-25)
The most common Jewish expectation for the Messiah was as a “Son of David“, to come as a CONQUERING MESSIAH, restoring the political fortunes of the Jews. Many OT passages clearly depict a victorious Son of David. The problem is that these Jews failed to notice the Messianic prophecies which presented a Messiah not to their liking. Because of this, most Jews expected a messiah TO LEAD A REVOLT AGAINST ROME AND ESTABLISH AN EARTHLY KINGDOM AT ONCE. The Essenes did have a concept of a suffering servant (Isaiah 53), but it seems that the Jews, in general, did not tend to pay nearly as much attention to this role of the Messiah. Jesus did not establish a kingdom on earth at his first coming. Instead, He said, “MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD” (John 18:36).
“Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and BRING THEM TO ME.” (Matthew 21:1-2) This took place to fulfill the prophecy (Zechariah 9:9) that said, “Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt.” (Matthew 21:4-5) “They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “HOSANNA TO THE SON OF DAVID!” “BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!” “HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST HEAVEN!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city WAS STIRRED AND ASKED, “WHO IS THIS? The crowds answered, “THIS IS JESUS, THE PROPHET (not Jesus the Messiah) from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Matthew 21:7-11) They just could not bring themselves to recognize Jesus as THE SON OF GOD! And still do not today! There is so much very violent protesting going on right now in Israel (Israel’s Herzog Seeks to Avert Crisis Over Judicial Shakeup Plan (usnews.com)), the perfect time for the anti-christ to RISE UP AND OFFER A PEACFUL SOLUTION. But he cannot be revealed until the Holy Spirit takes God’s Church UP AND AWAY.
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham