What a wonderful blessing it is for us to have God's Word. And within that Word to be able to find things that He has said is going to come to pass that come to pass. And that gives us confidence that the things that are yet to come to pass will also come to pass. I, I don't know about you, but it, the, when we study fulfilled scripture, it gives you confidence in the rest of scripture. Not that you lacked any confidence, but it just strengthens the confidence that you had. Zechariah chapter number 9 and Matthew chapter number 21 tonight. We'll turn, turn to these two places. Zechariah 9, just going to look at one verse. One of the verses we dealt with last week. as we are looking at the vision of the comings of Messiah, and we looked last week at the prophecy relating to his first coming, there in verse number 9, Zechariah 9, 9, let's go ahead and read it. Zechariah 9, 9, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy King cometh unto thee. He is just, and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. And, and so we'll, we'll leave that. If you want to keep your place there, you can, as I'll refer back just to certain portions of it if you want to check on it. But we're going to be mostly in the New Testament tonight as we take a look at the fulfillment there of what is given to us in Zechariah 9.9. The prophets often foretold Messiah's first and second comings, but they foretold them a lot of times in just one vision. They, they, they didn't see the valley of time and events separating the two events. And so, in verse nine, we see the Messiah's first advent, and as we come back next week, Lord willing, and we'll see the second advent side by side begin, begin to tell us of the second advent. Now, as Israel recognizes the one for whom they have been waiting for so long, their response is to have no bounds according to what we just read. We looked at the three characteristics of the coming King. We saw that the Messiah King is just, as mentioned in that verse. In other words, He's righteous. He would be just both in character and in conduct, perfect in judgment and sinless in deed. That's our Messiah. Secondly, the Messiah is the King is salvation. The Messiah King is salvation. Man's greatest need for salvation or deliverance is the deliverance from sin. Messiah came the first time showing himself as Savior in the spiritual realm by becoming the Savior of the world. And no doubt Messiah will save his people at the end of the tribulation, but his greatest action was in providing salvation from their sin and our salvation from our sin. I mean, what good does it do to have physical deliverance if one dies and goes to hell? You know, it wouldn't have been, it wouldn't have been a situation where he would have wanted to just give them physical deliverance from the tyranny they were experiencing with Rome if they didn't have salvation. And so, the Messiah King is just, the Messiah King is salvation, and we saw thirdly, the Messiah King is lowly. And that he's humble, poor, afflicted, submissive to another, what that means, an illustration of the Messiah's lowliness is what we're going to see tonight, is that he would appear riding on an ass, on a donkey. not very keenly, but by doing so he proclaimed that he had no interest in earthly political priorities. His first coming was to provide salvation for all. So Zechariah's prophecy there in verse number nine was literally fulfilled when the Lord came the first time. And I'm gonna give you a couple of other places. They're in other gospels too. Not only Matthew 21, which where we will be at. You'll hear me refer to Mark 11 and also Luke chapter number 19. Mark 11 verses one through 10. And Luke 19 verses 29 through 38, these are three accounts of what we see there in Zechariah's prophecy. You'll find in the Old Testament scriptures that God ordered that a donkey, in contrast to all other animals, but in the same way as a man, could be redeemed through a substitutionary lamp. If a donkey was born, he was the firstborn, the only way that you either had to break his neck or you had to redeem him with the lamb. We know that all the firstborn among the unclean animals had to be redeemed with money or they had to be sold. because you don't sacrifice unclean animals to the Lord. All the firstborn among clean animals such as cattle, sheep, or goats had to be sacrificed, and that's according to Numbers 18 verses 15 through 17 onwards and Leviticus 27 verse 26 and 27. I'm going to turn over there tonight. But only human beings and donkeys could be redeemed through the sacrifice of a lamb. Listen to Exodus 13 verses 12 and 13. Exodus 13 verse 12. that thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast. The males shall be the Lord's, and every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb. And if thou will not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck, and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem. when they were breeding with lambs as well. I read where one of the original breeds of donkeys that lived in the Orient at the time, which also exists even today, and it features a dark horizontal stripe over its shoulders, and a vertical stripe that begins at its neck and travels down its back. If you were to look at it from above, You see a picture of a cross. It looks as if the donkey is carrying a cross on its back. If you want to know the name of that donkey, it's a Nubian donkey. Be careful how you look it up though, okay, because it'll take you, I would say, yeah. Sometimes the internet does strange things to you, so just be careful is all I've got to say. But did the Creator do that on purpose? I believe so, amen. Matthew 21, let's go ahead and read here. The first 11 verses says, When they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethpage, unto the Mount of Olives, then sent Jesus to disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her. Loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say, Ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them. All this was done, notice verse four and five, all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet saying, tell ye the daughter of Sion, behold thy king cometh unto thee, meek, sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass. And the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. and brought the ass and the colt and put on them their clothes and set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way. Others cut down branches from the trees and strode them in the way. And the multitudes that went before and that followed cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. And when he was coming to Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. So this was Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This is how Passion Week began. The Messiah, who was crucified in just a few days from this, whose cross would read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, and who would be slaughtered as a substitute for Israel and for the world, sat on the back of a donkey. We can already see the cross in this. Jesus sacrificed himself for man. Israel's future redemption and liberation are foreshadowed in this picture. There's an indication here of what Jesus accomplished on Calvary's cross for Israel. We know that John the Baptist had cried out, Behold the Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb of God. at the sight of Jesus early on in his ministry. And here Jesus came riding on a donkey as he approached the time to give his blood for the redemption of Israel and all of mankind. Now I want you to note how literally that Zechariah's prophecy was fulfilled. At his first advent, the Lord appeared as the meek and lowly one. You remember earlier in the book of Matthew, it's recorded in Matthew 11, 29 that Jesus said, take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart. And you shall find rest unto your souls. We know that he showed this meekness and lowliness in his life and also he showed it in going to the cross. Paul mentions this in Philippians chapter number 2 and verses 5 through 8 when he says, let this mind be in you. And he's talking about the mind of humility that Christ had. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. I want you to think about how, how humbling that is. God the Son came to the earth. I mean, he left the throne of glory. and came here. It says, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And that was predicted that his first coming would be in that humility. He was the ultimate and only valid eternal sin offering for Israel and for us. No other sacrifice would do. Sacrifices of bulls and of goats and lambs, none of it could wash away our sins. It just covered them. The folks that were offering those would offer them on an annual basis just for the covering of sin on the Day of Atonement. They would offer that to cover their sins for the year. But it could not forgive their sins. He is our sin offering. Jesus is. There is no sin for which Jesus did not die. Think about that next time you sin. Next time you disobey the Lord and the Holy Spirit grips your heart that you've done wrong, think about that Jesus died for that sin that I just committed. The Lord was meek and lowly. but he would behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, as how John the Baptist put it. He was meek and lowly, so sinless, so much God, the true Messiah, that he could sit upon a donkey colt, think about this, a donkey colt so young that it still was with its mother, never been ridden upon, Here Matthew 21 verse number 2 tells us that the colt was with his mom. Luke's account calls it a colt whereon yet never man sat. That's in Luke 19 verse 30. Now, normally it would be impossible to ride on an untamed colt. But the Lord not only did this, And I want you to think about this guy. But he also wrote it through a multitude of people who were calling out to him. I mean, they were yelling out, and they were waving palm branches. If you know anything about a donkey, a donkey has a tendency to halt. I mean, they'll just freeze up on you. But it did not happen. The colt did not shy. The colt did not kick out. It behaved as if it were tame beneath the Lord's body. Only the true supernatural and meek Messiah could ride this colt under these circumstances. This is a beautiful picture of really also of His rule. Quiet in the midst of noise. Now, I want us to see, also tonight, see Israel's present situation illustrated in Messiah's fulfillment in these passages. In Mark's account, in Mark 11 verse 4, it says, And they went their way and found the colt tied by the door. Three things in this passage illustrate Israel's present situation. The donkey was bound. The donkey was bound. It was controlled by another. Did I tell you that today the Jews are bound more to the power of America and the European Union than they are to God? They just are. As we view Israel today, we see that it's continually forced by Arab nations and those who support them to comply with demands that are not biblical. Even our nation sometimes makes wrong requests or wrong demands of Israel to give up land for peace. We know that Israel is not free because the Messiah's reign has not yet begun. She has to do what the other nations lay upon her and cannot move about freely because the time of the Gentiles has not yet ended. Now Jesus prophesied of the Jews In Luke 21, 24, he says, And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. So what we see going on with Israel right now is part of Jesus' prophecy being fulfilled. Now, in the Word of God, we know that Satan was called the prince of this world by Jesus in John 12, 31. It says there, now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. He was referring to Satan there. Satan is also called the prince of the power of the air by Paul in Ephesians 2, verse 2 and 3. Listen to Ephesians 2, verse 2. wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, and the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others, before we got saved. We were children of the devil. Amen. Being a child of Adam, Adam was disobedient to the Lord. We disobeyed the Lord in our natural flesh, in our Adamic nature that we came into this world with. Satan was called the prince of the pile of the air. Satan was also called the God of this world by Paul in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 3 and 4. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. We know that's the case, don't we? We too were blinded at one time. We did not know Christ. We did not believe the gospel. He had us blinded until the Holy Spirit quickened our heart through the preaching of the Word of God. We were drawn to our Savior because of His work. which we would never have come on our own. Realize that if it wasn't for the drawing of the Holy Spirit, we would not have come to the Lord Jesus Christ on our own. Now, all of this meaning that we know that Satan is the chief ruler of the darkness of this world. All that we see going on, I mean, boy, Are the powers of darkness at work today? I would dare to say like never before. Satan is the chief ruler of the darkness of this world and the spiritual wickedness that is obviously in high places. Ephesians 6 and verse number 12, Paul said, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Even though we're saved, we still have to battle Satan and his forces, don't we? We've been singing about it tonight. The fight is on. We were singing songs related to that. But in all of this, Satan has incited and he continues to incite the nations against the Jews and will continue to do so until Jesus comes back. This will continue to the return of Christ at the end of the tribulation period. Now, this is the only way to explain the politics of the nations and the media's one-sided reports against Israel. Satan's behind it all. He's behind it all. Recognize it for what it is. Sadly, I see some people buying into what the media tells them is happening, that poor little Palestinians are being harmed by old wicked Israel. Well, Hamas was the first one to attack. Israel has tried their best to maintain peace, but Satan keeps stirring up things. Every individual who has not surrendered their life to Christ is also presently in Satan's possession and involved in Satan's work. Jesus Christ is the only one who can liberate man from sin and the devil and from all bondage. Christ's blood is the ransom that was paid for us just as much as it was paid for anyone. It was paid for all. That's why it's vital that the Lord lay his work upon us and take possession and control of our life. Now Jesus said of the donkey, He said, loose him and bring him hither. Loose him and bring him hither. Only in Jesus can we find release from bondage and peace for our hearts. Only under his rule and the power of his word are we safe and without cause for fear. I really believe that Very soon, we're going to see some probably frightening things that are going to try to stir up fear in us as God's people. We need to be on our guard. We need to realize that God hasn't lost control. He's not lost His control. We are to stand strong in Him. This donkey was bound. This donkey was outside also. The donkey that was bound outside is a picture of man's alienation from God. Let's look at a couple of scriptures here. Look at Ephesians chapter 2, and I know this is speaking of the Gentiles, and we were outside of the promises of God there for a while, till the Lord Jesus Christ came and gave, gave himself for us. Look at Ephesians 2 and verse number 11. Wherefore remember that ye, being in time past Gentiles, in the flesh, which are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision, and the flesh made by hands, that at that time ye were without Christ. being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Now, we were alienated as Gentiles, but listen, Israel alienated themselves from God when they failed to recognize the Messiah the first time, His first advent when He came. They alienate, alienated themselves. Israel is in the same position as the nations insofar as she is blind, still living in alienation from God. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter number 3. 2 Corinthians chapter number 3. 2 Corinthians 3, look at verse number 14 through 16 here. 2 Corinthians 3 verse 14, speaking of Israel here, But their minds were blinded, for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament, which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, talking about their heart, the it there is the heart. The veil is upon the heart. Nevertheless, when it, the heart, shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. So the Lord is waiting for them to turn their hearts to Him. Well, that's going to take place when He comes again at the end of the tribulation period. Look at Romans chapter number 11, Romans 11. And verse number 25 through 28 here. Romans 11 verse number 25 through 28 says in verse 25, For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness, in part, is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved, and as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes, but as touching the election, they are beloved for the Father's sake. The day will come when Israel will be planted in the Messianic kingdom and will come under the Messiah's rule. That will take place. We can be assured of that. So the donkey was bound. The donkey was outside. The third thing is Mark mentions in Mark 11 verse 4 that the donkey stood at the crossroad. The Lord has said, as soon as you get in there, into the town, you're going to come across this donkey. As soon as you get in there. But Mark 11 verse 4 gives us an additional comment here. It says, And they went their way and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met. It stood at the crossroad. and they loosed him, okay? So, that's Mark 11, 4. Now, we know that in the future, according to prophecy, the Jews will be led to a crossroad where they will have to choose between the Antichrist and Jesus Christ as their Messiah. The Antichrist will have let them down terribly. He will have signed that peace accord and he'll break that thing. Then they will be under tremendous persecution, the Jews will be. You think it's bad now, it's even going to be worse then. Jesus will come. And they will believe on Him, and when they choose Him and believe upon Him, He will save them. And today we can see how that Israel is being brought closer to that decisive moment. And next time, Lord willing, we're going to come back and look at the Messiah's second coming prophesied in Zechariah 9 verses 10 and following. But tonight I wanted us to see this fulfillment, how the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled, and just as surely as He fulfilled the prophecy related to His first coming, so the prophecy related to His second coming will be fulfilled as well. These are interesting times we live in. I don't know about you, but I'm getting excited about the Lord coming back. It can't be too soon, can it? Even so, come Lord Jesus. We're looking for His coming in the air as believers. That's the next thing on the agenda is the rapture of the church. It's His coming in the air to resurrect the dead in Christ. They're going to rise first. We which are alive be called up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. He's not coming back to the earth. He's coming back in the air first time. When He comes back to the earth, He'll be coming back to defeat Israel's enemies at Armageddon and his enemies. If you're against Israel, you're against him. He will defeat them and then he will set up his kingdom and he will rule from Jerusalem. It will be his place. Jerusalem is special. He will rule and reign for a literal 1,000 years. You think about how long 1,000 years is. We're going to be ruling and reigning with Him. We'll be coming back. He's going to come get us, take us home to be with Him, and then we're going to come back with Him, and we'll be ruling and reigning with Him. We'll be kings and priests of the Lord. Think about a thousand years. But things are going to be different. It's not going to be like it is now. Things are going to be much different. when the Lord comes back. I hope that encourages your heart. It does mine. It encourages my heart when I see a scripture such as this fulfilled in Christ's first coming. Then when we look at the second coming next week and understand, hey, we're standing very close to the Lord fulfilling the second part of what is written there by Zechariah according to the word of the Lord. Well, let's pray. Father, we thank you tonight for.