Handel's Messiah: The Person and Work of Christ

17. The Deliverer Out of Heavenly Zion Comes to Earthly Zion

By Dr. Paul M. Elliott
The Messiah from the heavenly Zion made two "triumphal entries" into earthly Zion - one before the cross, another after His resurrection.

From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part 17 of a series. Read part 16.

The Messiah out of the heavenly Zion made two "triumphal entries" into Jerusalem, the earthly Zion - one before the cross, and another after His resurrection.

We continue our focus on the passage that is the basis of the next section of Handel's Messiah:

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! (Isaiah 40:9)

As we have already noted, in the pages of Scripture the name Zion has a crucial significance as both type and antitype in God's redemptive plan. Earthly Jerusalem, often called Zion in Scripture, is a type - a prophetic representation - of the heavenly Zion, the dwelling place of God.

Messiah's First "Triumphal Entry" Into Zion

On the first day of the week in which He was crucified, the Deliverer out of the heavenly Zion made His triumphal entry into earthly Zion. Jesus had entered Jerusalem on many other occasions, as an infant, a child, and an adult. But His final entry before the cross was unique. In fulfillment of prophecy, He make public His claim to be the Messiah:

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).

Jesus rode into earthly Zion, the city that Jehovah had chosen as His terrestrial dwelling place, as a conquering king. He no longer commanded His disciples to be quiet (as in Matthew 12:16 and 16:20), but now received their worship openly.

However, the praise that even His disciples shouted on this day was not because they as yet recognized Him as their Savior from sin - the spiritual Conqueror of prophecy. They were expecting a temporal king who would lead them in breaking the bondage of the Roman Empire. Their focus was on the earthly typical Zion, not on the heavenly antitype, the Zion outside of time and space from which He had come. Within less than a week the hosannas of the crowds would change to cries of "Crucify Him!" and the Deliverer out of the heavenly Zion would be tried unjustly in earthly Zion, condemned to death, and crucified outside its gates.

An Even More Triumphal Entry

But on the third day He would rise from the dead. The Messiah would again come into earthly Zion - this time unannounced, but in far greater triumph, as He entered the room in which the disciples had locked themselves:

Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (John 20:19-23)

In his parallel account, Luke gives further details:

Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."

When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence.

Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise[h] from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." (Luke 24:36-49)

Thus the disciples' witness to the saving work of the risen Messiah would soon begin at the earthly Zion, as recorded in the opening chapters of the book of Acts. All the evangelistic work of the last 2,000 years had its beginnings in that city. But the heavenly Zion from which Messiah has come, to which our risen Lord returned, and where He now reigns, also has a special relationship to every believer in Jesus. We shall explore this great truth next.

 

Next: "The Mother of Us All"

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