"Jesus Announces His Crucifixion"

www.mybethanybible.org

Matthew 26:1-2: Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.

The words: "IT'S TIME" always makes me think of those old movies where the fellow is waiting in his cell to be executed. The warden comes in, and says "IT"S TIME." Here in Matthew 26 we have Jesus telling the disciples that in two days, "IT'S TIME."

Several earlier times Jesus had avoided angry crowds who wanted to kill Him, because it was not the right time. People who have calculated the 70- weeks of Daniel 9:24-27 have with a 360 day year as was customary at that time found that the Decree to restore the temple made in March, 445 BC would have a terminal point on the second Friday of April, 32 AD. (Check our website Mybethanybible.org to get the full details on this in the section on "JESUS." Whether the calculation is exact or near the date is missing the point--the point is that God knew exactly when Jesus would be crucified and that was revealed to Daniel around 539 BC. That would be as astounding as someone saying at the time of the fourteenth century murder of Archbishop Thomas a Becket that in November, 1963, the American President would be slain.

The time that God chose for the crucifixion was Passover. It was a fulfillment of the fact that Christ is our Passover, sacrificed for our behalf. The night that Israel was delivered from bondage a Passover lamb was slain and the blood placed over the door in the form of a cross. That was 1480 BC. Now, in 32 AD this is fulfilled. And Jesus says, that the Passover is just two days away.

Note also the sovereignty of God in all of this. We are not looking at chaos, we see a divine plan. Jesus uses the term "will be delivered up" in reference to His crucifixion. He will be delivered just as major movie stars are delivered in a limosine to the site where they will be filming (so that they are there on time, if the producer is honest). Christ is ready for the day, our redemption draweth nigh!