Lessons

Palm Sunday – Two Entrances Into Jerusalem. The passage in Matthew 4:12-17 identifies the beginning of the Lords ministry whereas Palm Sunday marks the end of His earthly ministry. The four periods of Jesus’ ministry was in this way: 1) The Offering of The Kingdom (Matt 4:12-17), 2) The Offering of The King (Matt 8:1-3), 3) The Rejection of The King (which is referenced four times in each Gospel book: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John… and in each reference shares a different aspect of His rejection – for example in Matthew, these four references are Matt 16:21, 17:22, 20:18, 20:28. In Luke these references are 9:22, 44, 17:25, 18:31. These also can be found in Mark and John), and 4) The Rejection of The Kingdom (Matt 21:1-10). The fourth part of Jesus’ ministry begins with His entry into Jerusalem. However, there are two distinct references to His entry into Jerusalem which does not sync up. This difference should not bring contradiction but shows us that there were actually two entrances into Jerusalem. The first entry was on the sixth day before the Passover (told in Matthew 21:1-10) and the last entry was on the fourth day before Passover (told in Mark 11:1 -11, John 12:1-15) which is considered the Triumphal entry into Jerusalem. There are five distinctions between these two accounts. Why is this important? The Word of God should entice you to study it to know that His way is perfect and His word is perfect. The truths in these passages are similar but not the same. it’s important to be diligent to study and understand the little distinctions in scripture because much can hinge on passages that are similar but not the same. This is a very important lesson in right division. Click here to listen to the lesson on April 4, 2004.