Approaching His Day Of Destiny

For the Lamb of God (see The Lamb And The Lion Of God), the days approaching Passover (see also What Really Happened During Christ's Passover?) were a preparation, not merely the setting of a table, but the setting of a stage - the fulfillment of a vital stage in the process by which the salvation of humanity would be made possible (see our Calendar of Christ's Holy Days for studies and Sermons dealing with the meaning and purpose of each of the true Christian Holy Days).

The Christ knew what was coming:

"^26:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, ^26:2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified." (Matthew 26:1-2 KJV)

In their diabolical way, even those who conspired to kill Him knew what was coming:

"^26:3 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas [see The High Priest's Deal With The Devil], ^26:4 And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him. ^26:5 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people." (Matthew 26:3-5 KJV)

"Behold, thy King cometh"

The events of that ultimate Passover were no surprise in another way. Those days were filled with prophetic fulfillments. Just in reading the verses quoted below, you are personally taking part in fulfilling a prophecy made by Jesus Christ that week i.e. "Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her."

"^26:6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, ^26:7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.

^26:8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? ^26:9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

^26:10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. ^26:11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. ^26:12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. ^26:13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her." (Matthew 26:6-13 KJV)

The traitor Judas was also fulfilling a prophecy made about him (see The Long Shadow Of Judas).

"^26:14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, ^26:15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. ^26:16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him." (Matthew 26:14-16 KJV)

The resurrection of Lazarus was an object-lesson prophecy of what was about to happen to the Christ Himself (see When Was Lazarus Resurrected?).

"^12:1 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. ^12:2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. ^12:3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.

^12:4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, ^12:5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? ^12:6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

^12:7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. ^12:8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.

^12:9 Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. ^12:10 But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; ^12:11 Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus." (John 12:1-11 KJV)

The "triumphal entry" was a prophecy that was recorded centuries before (see Hosanna and Hosanna To The Son Of David), and yet is also going to be fulfilled in an even greater way when Christ returns (see Two Very Different Triumphal Entries):

"^12:12 On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ^12:13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.

^12:14 And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, ^12:15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.

^12:16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.

^12:17 The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. ^12:18 For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. ^12:19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him." (John 12:12-19 KJV)

Fact Finder: Was the Messiah always fully aware of the His life's destiny i.e. destination?
See The By-The-Book Messiah

This Day In History, April 12

1204: During the Fourth Crusade (see The Crusades), Constantinople was taken from the Muslims by the Crusaders. Constantinople was founded in 330 by the Roman Emperor Constantine, after whom the city is named (listen to our Sermon Constantine's Papacy). Centuries later, the city became the capital of the Ottoman Empire (listen to our Sermon The Ottoman Empire).

1606: King James of England (after whom the King James Bible is named) ordered a "Union Flag" combining the crosses of St. George of England and St. Andrew of Scotland. The origin of the Union Jack.

1654: The Ordinance of Union came into effect, uniting Ireland and Scotland with England.

1782: The British, under Admiral Sir George Rodney, won a naval victory in the West Indies over the French off Dominica.

1796: Napoleon's forces defeated the Austrian and Sardinian armies at the end of the Battle of Montenotte. It was Napoleon's first significant victory.

1861: Confederates fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina, beginning the U.S. Civil War.

1945: U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt died at age 63. In his last weeks, he had reportedly turned "anti-Zionist" after a meeting with Arabian King Ibn Saud after the Yalta Conference. The "pro-Zionist" Presidential assistant, David Niles, later asserted: "There are serious doubts in my mind that Israel would have come into being if Roosevelt had lived" (see also Anti-Zion Is Anti-Christ).

1955: The new Polio vaccine was announced as being safe and effective.

1955: Albert Einstein collapsed at home in Princeton, New Jersey from a ruptured aortic aneurysm; he died in hospital 3 days later.

1961: Yuri Gagarin of Russia became the first human in space.

1981: The first U.S. space shuttle launch, the Columbia (the U.S. and Russia deliberately sought to overshadow important dates of the other's accomplishments; in this case, the first U.S. space shuttle launch on the same date of Russia putting the first man in space 20 years earlier). Columbia completed 27 missions before disintegrating during re-entry on its 28th flight, on February 1, 2003. Seven astronauts, including the first Israeli astronaut, were killed.