Who and When | Crossed Paths | Pastor Rob Koke | Shoreline Church | Message

never we move move move the few And then here in Matthew 21, it records that the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed, brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks upon it for Jesus to sit on. And a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the ground. And Zechariah turns to his friends and says, I told you so. I told you it was going to happen. I wrote it in my book 518 years ago. Listen to what Zechariah prophesied in Zechariah chapter nine in verse nine, rejoice greatly daughters Zion, shout daughter Jerusalem. See your King comes to you righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey on a colt, the fowl of a donkey. And Zechariah was told his friends says, he was like, I told you, I knew it was going to happen. And you know what his friends told him? You ought to go to Vegas. Here's the truth. This event that we celebrate today, Jesus coming into Jerusalem was actually foretold 518 years before it happened. And you know what? It wouldn't have been lost on those in the first century who were experiencing it, the similarities of Jesus riding on a donkey into Jerusalem and what would often happen when a returning King who was victorious in battle would do riding on a magnificent horse. They would ride into the city and people would put their coats down and they would get some palm branches. This was something that they had seen before, but now Jesus is doing it. He's riding on a donkey victorious into Jerusalem and everyone is waving their palm branches and they are shouting praises to God. That was probably pretty familiar, but what you may not realize is that the palm branch for the children of Israel living in Roman occupation was not just a branch. It was a symbol of the resistance. It was one of the things that they would do. It was like a, a sign that, that they would often express to one another, they would wave a palm branch or they would draw one in the sand or, or somehow that they would, you know, place this in a public setting to let everyone

know that they believed that this Roman occupation wouldn't last and that one day they would be free. One day they would be victorious. One day they will not be as it is right now. So not only was it a celebration of victory, it was also a symbol of the resistance. That's what this palm branch meant to the children of Israel in the first century. This moment that we celebrate this Palm Sunday leading into Good Friday and then leading into Easter next Sunday is the most significant event in all of human history. It is by far the most consequential series of days ever. And what's really remarkable about the timing of Jesus coming into Jerusalem when it happened in history and the fact that it was Jesus, what's really remarkable is how foretold this event was, how much evidence there was already prior written in scripture that these events were going to happen. Everything that we celebrate this week was foretold. Even this whole idea of when Jesus would come and who he was, it was foretold. So in other words, why this time and why this person, if you answer those two questions and you see it recorded in scripture, it is going to boost your faith like nothing you have ever experienced. In fact, when I was preparing this message, I was so filled with joy and so filled with faith and anticipation of celebrating Good Friday together and celebrating, you know, Easter Sunday together, because when you absorb the information I'm going to share with you here today, it is actually going to blow your mind. There is more evidence, there is more foretelling. God wanted you to be absolutely convinced. In fact, I am more certain about the meaning of the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus on the third day than I am about anything in all of the world. And I have a feeling you are too when we're done today. So why this time? Why this specific moment in history? Why did Jesus come when he did? Well, the obvious answer to that question in Galatians chapter four, verse four and five

is because that's the time that God appointed. But when the set time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law that we might receive adoption to sonship. When the set time, the time that God had set when the time was fully come, he sent his son. Now for me, that kind of settles it because I have a built-in bias and many of you too that this is God's actual word. And so every recorded word in this book is God-breathed, it's out of the heart of God. And so sometimes when it comes to things like this, I got the attitude that God said it and that settles it and I don't have to even think about it any more than that. God just recorded it in his word. He said, this is the time and so Jesus came. But I wanted to add a little bit more, I don't know, evidence for you. Scholars generally agree that the specific time period in which Jesus was born offered a very unique convergence of historical and cultural and political and spiritual factors that allowed his life and message to spread in ways that would have been impossible earlier and significantly harder later. This idea that Jesus came when he came is the soonest possible time that Jesus could come with the convergence of a number of different really important factors. One of them is called the Roman contribution.

The Roman peace, the Pax Romana. For the first time in centuries, the Mediterranean world was not fractured by war. Caesar Augustus, who was a ruler at that time that Jesus was born had unified much of the Western world and in this few decades of time, there was peace. And in that place of peace, the message of the gospel and the message of Jesus could flourish. It could be presented and people could receive it with enthusiasm. They talk about the Roman roads, Roman resources that had previously been used to wage war were now reallocated to the development of a remarkable system of roads. Maybe you've heard it said that all roads lead to Rome and that was certainly true in the first century. Every road in the known world had its origins in Rome and then spread throughout the entire empire. Why is that significant? Well, it facilitated all kinds of trade, but it also provided for the facilitation of ideas and the spread of messages. In fact, the early church Christians would use these very roads to traverse, to share the good news of Jesus and the wonderful message of the gospel. So you have the Roman contribution, but you also have the Greek contribution and the Greeks contributed this unified language. What's really kind of significant

is that if Jesus had come any earlier, then all of the different dialects, hundreds of them would have been in place at that time and the message would have been almost impossible to communicate. Greek was the language of the known world. A merchant in Rome, a teacher in Alexandria, a tent maker in Jerusalem could all speak the same language. It allowed the New Testament to be written and that people from all walks of life could understand it. And Greek philosophy also carried this openness to trying to discover the secrets of the universe or why the world is the way that it is. And it was that infectious curiosity that the Greeks brought to the equation that made them open to the idea of God and his love. And then there was the Jewish contribution. They laid the foundation for the one true God. And we'll get to it a little bit more in just a moment, but their prophets foretold of the coming Messiah. God used his people to get the word out that a savior would be born. In previous exiles, the Jewish people would be scattered throughout the known world and wherever they went, they would build a temple or a place of worship. And it was these synagogues that Paul would actually visit on his missionary journeys and share the good news of the gospel. It was all pre-set up.

So when you consider the Roman contribution and the Greek contribution and the Jewish contribution, you realize that the convergence of all of this was the soonest possible time that God could send his son. But what really blows my mind is a prophecy that's recorded in Daniel chapter nine and verse 25. It's a very specific prophecy about this coming Messiah. And it gives you an exact amount of years. It's incredible. In Daniel chapter nine and verse 25, know and understand this, the Bible says, from the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the time the anointed one, the ruler comes, there will be seven sevens and 62 sevens. Well, in ancient times, a week was often referred to as a week of years. And so if you have seven sevens and then you have 62 sevens, you put those together, that's 69 sevens. That equals 483 years. And from the time of this prophecy, 483 years later, using the calendar of the day, it would land on 33 AD. Not just any day, but Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, it landed 483 years for that particular week. Come on, somebody.

Come on. So it's not just the timing that supercharges my faith. It's how clear hundreds and thousands of years before he arrived, that the scriptures predict that he would come. The evidence is overwhelming. And when you think about the evidence of the Old Testament of the coming of the Messiah, the evidence comes from three broad categories, symbols, stories, and signs. Now the symbols, symbols are important. They obviously were put in place throughout the whole Old Testament because God wanted your faith to be built. God wanted you to see the symbols that he hid in the Old Testament so that when I would preach it on this particular Sunday morning, you would go, wow. I know that Jesus is the Messiah. But there are also other reasons for symbols. They show the hidden nature of God's grace, the message of redemption that started at the very beginning of time. They relate to human experiences. When you see things like bread and water and light, they are all things that we can relate to and speak to us. And there are all kinds of symbols in the Old Testament that speak about Jesus. Now the, you know, the most famous one.

And maybe the one that you've heard a little bit about would be the Passover lamb. The children of Israel put blood of the sacrifice lamb on the doorposts of their homes and dwelling places in Egypt. And when they did death would pass over that house all throughout the old Testament. The Messiah is referred to as the lamb of God and is reinforced in new Testament scripture like John chapter 1 verse 29. He's called the lamb of God and the blood that we apply to the doorposts of our heart causes death to pass over us and we will live for all of eternity. But there are other symbols like Jacob's ladder that represented a bridge, a connection between heaven and earth. And that's exactly who Jesus was, a connection between heaven and earth. In the old Testament, there's this story about the bronze serpent and anyone who looks upon the serpent would be healed. Someone no less than Jesus himself interpreted that and said, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up. The serpent represented the curse of sin and Jesus became a curse for us on the cross and all who look to him in faith will bring healing from the venom of sin. And you think about the manna in the wilderness, manna came down from heaven and sustained the children of Israel. And Jesus said, I am the bread of life. There was a moment in the old Testament where the children had, the children of Israel had no water. And so Moses struck a rock. And when he did water gushed out, the apostle Paul makes the connection in first Corinthians chapter 10, that out of the side of Jesus referring to the same episode of the rock in the old Testament, living water will flow. There was a moment, a very holy moment in the journey of the children of Israel that would happen once a year, the day of atonement, when the high priest would lay hands on a goat and would transfer the sins of the entire nation of Israel to a goat. And we even, you know, kind of use that expression in our own vernacular when we, we say, you

know, somebody, you know, was a scapegoat. They were, they were unjustly put, you know, in a place where they were the guilty ones, even though they weren't guilty. That whole idea of a scapegoat was hidden in the old Testament that God one day would take the sins of the entire world and put it on Jesus and he would pay our price. That whole thing is hidden in the old Testament. And even the buildings, the temple and the tabernacle, they were physical buildings where God dwelt with his people. But in John chapter one in verse 14, Jesus tabernacled among his own people. He dwelt with them. The tabernacle and the temple was also a symbol of the fact that God wanted to be with us. And every part of the temple, all of the elements of the temple, they had a symbolism that Jesus fulfilled. The gold, the incense, the curtain, the holy of holies, the lampstands, the mercy seat all tell a story within a story, a symbol to describe who Jesus is. And you think about the scarlet thread of redemption that theologians say is woven through every chapter and verse of the old Testament. It all speaks to Jesus. There was that moment when Rahab the harlot took that scarlet thread and, and she put that in the window so that the children of Israel would save her in the midst of the battle. And that scarlet thread of redemption is what saves us over and over and over again. We see these beautiful symbols that God hid in the old Testament that all point to Jesus. But there aren't just symbols. There are stories all throughout the Bible. There are these stories that tell. what happened, but within the story, there is another story. It's like a type or a shadow of what God intended. And one of the most profound stories

is a story that quite honestly, for most of us, is really hard to understand because God asked Abraham to sacrifice his own son, perhaps the most brutal request that you'll ever see in scripture. And you wonder to yourself, is there something about God that I don't know? And yet, it is in this story that we see the unbelievable, beautiful message of redemption that God told Abraham to do what he did because he wanted to show us what he was going to do. And the similarities of Abraham and Isaac and God and Jesus are simply profound. Abraham had one beloved son. God had one beloved son. Isaac would put wood on his shoulders. Jesus would put wood of the cross on his shoulders. Isaac walked up Mount Moriah. 2,000 years later, Jesus would walk up the very same mountain. The journey would take three days. In Abraham's mind, Isaac was dead, and on the third day, he rose. Jesus died on that cross, and on the third day, arose. Isaac could have resisted his father, but he went willingly. Jesus in the garden said, "'Not my will, but your will be done.'" When Isaac asked where the lamb is,

Abraham prophetically answers that God himself will provide a lamb. And there was a lamb, and his head was caught in the thorns of the bush. 2,000 years later, Jesus would wear on his head a crown of thorns. Then God provided the ram as a substitute for Isaac, and Jesus died as a substitute for us. Can you see the story within the story? And God put it there that our faith would be energized. But there are so many stories like that, stories that maybe you've never seen or even heard. And so I wanna play a game with you here this morning. I'm going to describe some things, some stories, and I want you to guess who it is I'm talking about. I'm gonna give you all a chance to guess. First story, as a baby, he escaped the decree of a king and avoided certain death. He lived in Egypt as a child, but later returned to his homeland. He was known by his followers to be both humble and strong. He was tempted while in the wilderness. God confirmed that he was with them through signs and wonders. He worked a miracle at the sea. He miraculously fed thousands of people with bread. God spoke God's word and taught God's law from a mountain. He was the mediator between God and his people. Who is that? Ready? On three.

One, two, three. Who is that? Moses. All right, Moses. You guys didn't come to the first service, did you? Okay, here's another story. His name was translated from Hebrew, which means God saves. He descended from a man named Joseph. He had a humble, obscure beginning, but rose to a place of honor. He was anointed by God. He was filled with God's spirit. He led and shepherded his people. He did for God's people what Moses could not do. He promised rest and provided it. Who is that? One, two, three. Shout it out. Here it is. Joshua. But do you see the story within a story? Do you see how each one of these stories also points to the coming Messiah? You guys want another story? All right, another opportunity for you to show your theological brilliance. He was the special object of his father's love. He was underestimated and discounted by his family. He had the ability to resist temptation. He was the bread of life to the Gentile world.

He accurately foretold the future. He was sold by someone he trusted for pieces of silver. He was stripped of his robe and delivered to Gentiles. He stood falsely accused before the rulers and the assembly. His own people didn't recognize him who is that and the answer is Joseph Another story He was a descendant of Abraham of the tribe of Judah he was born in the town of Bethlehem He burst onto the scene from an unlikely social position. He was anointed by God to lead his people He was both a shepherd and a king. He amazed the elders as a young man. He spent time in the wilderness He had no place to lay his head His popularity angered the leaders of the time and he was betrayed by those he served Any guess and The answer is David But it also tells the story of Jesus You got time for another one? Don't you be leaving early on me His name was translated from Hebrew, which means God is salvation His ministry started at the Jordan River. He received the spirit of his father He was surrounded by more disciples than his predecessors. God worked through him with signs and wonders and miracles He raised a woman's adult son from the grave. He fed many people with just a few loaves and had more to spare He healed a leper he gave sight to the blind he was betrayed for money any guesses and The answer is Elisha Got time for more He preached repentance to Gentiles he knew that salvation belongs to the Lord He slept on a boat during the storm. He acted in the power of God to calm a storm

He chose to sacrifice himself for others He spent three days in darkness given up for dead after three days. He escaped death and taught for 40 days any guesses and The answer is John But here's the point These stories that I just shared with you and many many others are stories within a story There's stories that are hidden with truth about the coming Messiah and God put every single one of them there for you so that your faith would be Strengthened that you would know that he truly is who? he is And I know I'm giving you lots of information here this morning, but let me just close with Sharing some things with you and I know this is gonna be a little bit overload but I want you to know because I know some of you are gonna want to write this stuff down and Because it's so profound and so moving I I just wanted to let you know in advance that you don't have to break your wrist Writing these things down. They're all available at Shoreline net. We've made a You know a PDF of this particular sheet that I'm going to share with you that has the 450 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled in his life I'm just gonna share a few of them with you just to give you an idea of just how profound and overwhelming it is Some of these prophecies have to do with his ancestry and birth. He was born of a woman well all of us were So that doesn't seem too profound except that many people were wondering how this Messiah would come into the world and I think it's profoundly moving that he came as one of us from the line of Abraham Genesis chapter 12 from the tribe of Judah Genesis chapter 49 from the line of David

2nd Samuel chapter 7 born in Bethlehem Micah chapter 5 born of a virgin Isaiah 7 and just in case you're wondering Nobody else qualifies for that Called Emmanuel God with us Isaiah chapter 7 So some of them had to do with his ancestry and birth But some of them have to do with his ministry and character that he was preceded by a forerunner Isaiah chapter 40 a prophet like Moses Deuteronomy at 18 That his ministry would be in Galilee Isaiah chapter 9 that he would heal the blind and the deaf Isaiah chapter 35 that he would teach in parables Psalm 78 that he entered Jerusalem on a donkey We already shared this one's Zechariah 9 and verse 9 Some would have to do with his death and his suffering offering betrayed by a friend, Psalm 41 sold for 30 pieces of silver, silver, Zechariah 11, silent before his accusers, Isaiah 53, that his hands and feet would be pierced. Psalm 22. What's really interesting about this particular prophecy is that crucifixion hadn't even been invented yet. So they didn't even know that that form of execution existed, that his garments would be divided by lots, Psalm 22, that no bones would be broken, Exodus chapter 12, that he would be buried with the rich, Isaiah 53, about his resurrection and ascension, victory over death, Psalm 16, Isaiah 53, his ascension to God's right hand, Psalm 110. There are 450 of these prophecies all throughout the Old Testament that are fulfilled in one person, and his name is Jesus. In a bestselling book, Josh McDowell wrote evidence that demands a verdict. And he tried to describe the mathematical odds of just a handful of prophecies being fulfilled by one person. So he said, if you took just eight of them, the chances of that happening by accident would be 1 to 10 to the 17th. So 1 to 10 with 17 zeros behind that 10 would be the odds of that

happening just by chance. And he realized that just throwing out numbers like that would be really hard for people to wrap their understanding around. So he tried to illustrate it this way. He said if you were to take the entire state of Texas, now we live in the Austin metroplex, you know, we got San Antonio close by, you know, Dallas to the north, three hours, Houston, two and a half hours to the east. So there's a lot of the population that's here. But you know what, in Texas, there are lots of places where there is nothing for miles and miles, just windmills and oil rigs. He said, if you take the entire state of Texas and fill it two feet high with silver dollars, the entire state, and then take one coin and make it gold and hide it somewhere in the entire state. And then you take a person and you blindfold them, spin them around and say, you can walk for a day, for a week, for a month. You can travel all over the state, but you've got one chance to pick out of the two feet high silver dollars, the one gold coin. And the chances of you picking that one gold coin in one shot is the same as eight prophecies being accidentally fulfilled in one person. But it wasn't eight. It wasn't eight. If you were to take 45 prophecies, the chances of one person fulfilling those those prophecies by accident would be one times 10 to 157 zeros. And I don't even have an illustration that could make that somehow makes sense to you. I was thinking about putting 157 zeros on the screen, but I just fought my man. It's mind boggling. And he didn't fulfill eight and he didn't fulfill 45. He fulfilled 450. Come on somebody. We celebrate this Friday. Good Friday. And by the way, I really want to encourage you to come. It's going to be such a beautiful time celebrating communion together. And we're

going to focus in on the first person that had a revelation of who Jesus really was. And it wasn't a disciple and it wasn't a relative. It wasn't even somebody that heard any of his preaching or saw any of his miracles. It's what he saw looking at Jesus dying on the cross that convinced him of who he was. And we're going to talk about that on Friday. It's going to be. Powerful, so beautiful. Celebrate communion together. But what we celebrate on Friday and what we celebrate this coming Sunday on Easter, it's not a hope. It's not a wish. It's not a myth. It's not some religious fantasy. It is a truth more certain than any other truth that's ever been presented. And how should we live in light of that truth? In 1941, the Nazi army had pretty much conquered all of Europe. And every European country, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, all of these countries were living under a darkness that they never thought would be lifted. But there was a radio free Europe broadcast and a Belgian radio host made a prophecy that victory would come. He just spoke it out, victory would come. And as a symbol of that victory, he challenged everybody to just write these wherever they could. And so sometimes people would be having coffee at a coffee shop and the dust on the table. They would just write with their finger, the letter V, the Morse code dot, dot, dot dash. That was the letter V. And so when people heard it, they would know that there was a symbol that was inspiring the people to know that victory would come and to not lose hope. Children would take stones and make the letter V in different dirt roads. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, the first four notes spelled the letter V. Some brave Europeans would chalk the letter V on the jeeps and tanks of the Nazis. All in an act of defiance, they were a part of the resistance. They had a prophecy that victory would come. And it inspired their faith. And in 1945, May 8th, VE day victory in Europe day happened. And the fulfillment of all of those symbols and all of those things written in sands and all of those prophecies happened on May 8th, 1945. And I'm here to tell you that every symbol, every story and every sign in the

Old Testament pointed to what we celebrate this Friday and Sunday morning and will have its ultimate fulfillment when Jesus comes again. So let's be inspired. Let's have hope that no matter what challenges we might be facing in our lives, victory is a sure thing. And when we gather on Friday night and gather next Sunday morning, let's celebrate the most certain truth that's ever been told. He is risen. Amen. So father, we thank you so much. We come before you here this morning, this afternoon, and Lord, I pray that the truth from your word would inspire us to live with confidence and faith and bring more meaning and joy to what we celebrate this coming weekend in Jesus name. If you wouldn't mind just remaining in an attitude of prayer for just a moment longer. If you came to church here this morning and you're not where you need to be with God, you'd say, pastor, I'm not living right. I'm not doing right. I'm not where I ought to be with God. I need prayer. Maybe you made a decision at one point in time, but you slipped away. And today you need to rededicate your life to serving him. And in light of the overwhelming evidence that we've displayed here today, you say, I want to do that. Or maybe you've never invited Jesus into your heart, but you want to this morning for the very first time, if you want to meet him for the first time or rededicate your life to serving him, would you please raise your hand quickly and boldly wherever you are? Wonderful, God bless you. God bless you. Hands are going up all over. All of you with your hands raised, I wanna lead you in a very simple prayer to invite Jesus into your heart. And I'm gonna ask everyone else, just as a reaffirmation of your faith in God, let's all of us pray together. Heavenly Father, come on, let's pray together. Heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus. Jesus, I ask you to come into my heart.

Forgive me of all my sins. I put my trust in you. And I will live for you from this day forward by your power, for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Would you give them all a great big hand clap? Wonderful. Those of you who raised your hands to get right with the Lord, whether to meet him for the first time or rededicate your life to serving him, would you please head over to our west entrance? I believe that's Renee over there, that she's got a sign that she's hanging up, a made brand new. We wanna give you a Bible and some information that'll really help you to live this Christian life that you just prayed to receive. We also wanna let you know at the end of every service, we have our prayer partners up here to give you an opportunity to be prayed for. So please take advantage of that. And that at every single exit, we just have a few, but I wanna encourage, we don't want a single one left today. Just grab some of those invite cards and invite everyone to Easter this coming Sunday. All right, let's all of us stand to our feet. And as you stand, it's our heart's desire

to welcome you to join us on Good Friday. It's gonna be a wonderful celebration together. Please join us. And then invite all your friends and neighbors to join us for the greatest event in all of human history. We've been preparing for months to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. We look forward to seeing you next Sunday. God bless you. We'll see you then. Have a fantastic, fantastic week.