It was the week of the Passover celebration. Hundreds of thousands of Jewish pilgrims came to the temple to commemorate their deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:1-28). On the Sunday preceding the Passover, Jesus had allowed the people to honor Him as king as He entered Jerusalem—something He hadn’t allowed them to do earlier (John 12:12-16).
Over the past 3 years Jesus had deliberately kept a low profile (John 6:15, John 7:10, John 11:54). But now, just 5 days before His death, Jesus intentionally drew attention to Himself. This was the only time He had permitted a public demonstration on His behalf, and He did so for two reasons:
• John says that Jesus did so to fulfill a 500-year-old prophecy that God’s chosen King would enter Jerusalem “riding on a donkey’s colt” (Zechariah 9:9). This was a truly unusual way for a triumphant king to enter a city. Jesus wasn’t riding a war-horse. He came in peace and for peace, demonstrating meekness and lowliness and establishing peace between God and us (Zechariah 9:10; Acts 10:36; Colossians 1:20-21).
• Jesus also did so to force the Jewish authorities to take action. The religious leaders had already decided that Jesus needed to die (John 11:47-53). Fearing that the people might riot, they decided “to capture Jesus secretly and kill him,” but only after the Passover celebration (Matthew 26:3-5). God, however, had already ordained that His Son be slain on the day of Passover (Matthew 26:2).
Overturning man’s scheming and orchestrating the events according to His own decree and timetable (Luke 22:22), God made sure that Jesus died at the same time the evening sacrifice was offered (Exodus 29:38-45; Mark 15:34-42).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 1 Kings 3:16-28
More:
Read Psalm 2:1-12 to see God’s sovereignty over all mankind.
Next:
How have you seen evidence of God’s timing in your life? How has His sovereignty been demonstrated?
gshafer11 on April 14, 2014 at 8:43 am
Interesting… I never realized that Jesus died on the day of passover. I have a better understanding now of how the final plague before exiting Egypt ties into the death of our Savior. The blood of the lamb saved the ancient Israelites just like the blood of Jesus saves us today.
Tom Felten on April 14, 2014 at 10:01 am
gshafer11, isn’t it incredible what God has orchestrated? With the apostle John, we can say of Jesus, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
gshafer11 on April 15, 2014 at 10:29 am
Thank you Tom. Have a wonderful week. Only a short while before Easter. Please enjoy!
daisymarygoldr on May 1, 2014 at 2:24 pm
Great post on God’s sovereignty in synchronizing Christ’s crucifixion with the killing of the Passover lambs! God did this so we may know Christ our Passover and not be deceived by many who will come in His name claiming to be the Christ.
The sacrifice of the Lamb of God for our sins was foreordained before the foundation of the world. God spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through David, saying, ‘Why did they waste their time with futile plans?’ Everything they did to the Messiah was determined beforehand according to His will (Acts 4:25-28).
Everything is already determined in eternity. It is only a matter of when each event is brought to fulfillment at God’s appointed time on our earthly calendar. Even the birds know the time to migrate and return at the proper time each year. The harvest is finished and the summer is gone, yet the people are not saved (Jeremiah 8: 7, 20).
Wisdom is to be mindful of God’s timing in our lives. Jesus was constantly conscious of God’s time and allowed His every step to be directed accordingly. Sovereignty decrees that we follow God’s plan and submit to His schedule.
The Passover not only points back to the deliverance of Israel from Egypt but also points forward to its fulfillment in the Kingdom of God (Luke 22:16). The kingdom has been prepared for us from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34).
At the right time God will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. He chose us in advance, and makes everything work out according to His plan (Ephesians 1:9-11).