THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES

 

Sunday, April 13, 2025

 

THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES

 

John 12:12-16

12 On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

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.

14 And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,

15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.

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.

 

Ps 118:24-27

24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.

27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

 

Zech 9:9

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.

 

          Whereas Zechariah prophesies directly of Palm Sunday, Psalm 118 is an indirect reference; it is thought to picture The Feast of Tabernacles [Sukkot] Yet its implications could easily be understood as prophetic. The seven feasts of Leviticus are prophetic of God’s program of redemption. Every year, the Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem follows the same route that Jesus walked from Bethany to Bethpage, up over the Mount of Olives and down to the Kidron Valley, ending at the gates of Temple Mount. The feast of Sukkot is a time of joyful celebration and remembrance of God's provision and protection during the Israelites' 40 years in the wilderness. Palm branches played a big part in this.

 

          As Albert Barnes notes, the promise of Zachariah was not for “a king” but THY KING. It is hard to miss the reference to Messiah. This King would not be riding like other earthly kings. Titus, after his triumph over the Jews in 70 A.D., rode in a quadriga, a chariot drawn by four horses. No, Israel’s king represents not raw and violent power but rather meekness, lowliness, and mercy.

 

Rev 19:15

16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.