Despite the prophecy
of a promised messiah,
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the Jewish people
rejected and crucified Christ.
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He didn't fulfill their
expectations of a Savior who
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would save them from the
Roman rule, and turn them into
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a great nation.
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We're here at Nazareth, the home
of Joseph and Mary, to find out
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what they should
have been looking for.
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This is Nazareth, the
home town of Joseph and Mary,
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and where Jesus grew up
as a boy and spent most of
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his life here.
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I don't think the Bazaar
has really changed very much
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since Jesus' day.
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We're going to walk through it.
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Well, there's some nice
fruit and vegetables here.
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I'm sure they're being sold
just about the same way as they
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were two thousand years
ago when Joseph went to do the
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shopping for the family.
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This is a carpenter shop here,
but it's very different from the
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days when Joseph
did his carpentry.
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They've got power
tools going in here.
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Nevertheless, it is a
carpenter shop in Nazareth.
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This is the Church of
the Enunciation in Nazareth.
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It's a very fine church, fairly
modern, and it is said to have
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marked the place where the
incident of the enunciation
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of the angel
Gabriel to Mary took place.
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Around the walls there are
a number of representations
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presented by different countries
with their concept of what the
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enunciation was all about.
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They are rather interesting
paintings, or murals,
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or whatever they are;
in some cases mosaics.
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Well, how do you like Nazareth?
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I find it a fascinating place.
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There's so much atmosphere here.
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It really carries us
back for 2,000 years, I think.
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And, of course, what impresses
me, what fascinates me,
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is to think that here,
in this city, Jesus Christ,
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the Son of God, came and
lived for most of His life.
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In fact we're at the Church
of the Fountain, and this is the
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only fountain in Nazareth, so it
is very likely that this is the
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place where the Virgin
Mary came to draw her water.
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Now you might say to me, Yes,
but look, how do we know that
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Jesus Christ was the Son of God?
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Well, the Jewish people had
been expecting a Messiah for
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thousands of years.
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In fact, when Adam and Eve first
sinned and were thrown out of
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the Garden of Eden, they
were promised that a savior
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would come.
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When Eve had her
first baby she said,
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I have gotten a
man from the Lord.
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She thought that was the
promised Messiah, but thousands
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of years were to go by.
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And how were we to know
that Jesus Christ was that
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promised Messiah?
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Because in the Old Testament,
hundreds of years before Christ
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came, there are many prophecies
that specify just who we should
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be looking for.
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And when we see Jesus Christ
fulfilling all these prophecies
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we can be sure that He
was the promised Messiah.
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I want you to notice,
for instance, in Isaiah 7:14
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where it says, Therefore
the Lord himself will give you a
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sign; Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son,
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and shall call
his name Immanuel.
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So they were told
that the Messiah would be
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born of a virgin.
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Immanuel is the Hebrew
word meaning God with us.
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In fact in Isaiah 9:6 it says,
For unto us a child is born,
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unto us a son is given: and
the government will be upon his
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shoulder: and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counselor,
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The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace.
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So this was the sort of
Messiah they were looking for.
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Now how would they know
that this was the Messiah?
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Well, let us
notice, for instance,
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just concerning His birth.
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Remarkable really!
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In Micah 5:2 it says,
But you, Bethlehem Ephrata,
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though you are little
among the thousands of Judah,
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yet out of you shall come forth
to me the one to be ruler in
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Israel; whose goings
forth have been from of old,
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from everlasting.
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Okay, so now it tells us here
that this promised Messiah was
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to be born in Bethlehem.
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Now that's a very
strange thing because remember,
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we're in Nazareth, and this
was where Joseph and Mary lived.
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This was where the angel came
to Mary and said, Hail Mary,
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and told her that she
was going to be the mother of
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the promised Messiah.
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And they would have stayed here,
and the baby would have been
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born here, and the prophecy
would not have been fulfilled,
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except for one
very interesting thing.
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Away over there in imperial Rome
the Roman Emperor made a decree.
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You know it don't you?
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In Luke 2:1, where it says,
And it came to pass in those
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days, that a decree went
out from Caesar Augustus,
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that all the world
should be registered.
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You know, in Ankara, in Turkey,
there is a temple to Augustus,
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and on the wall of that temple
is recorded a decree for the
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whole Roman world to
be enrolled, or taxed.
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In fact there are
three decrees there.
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Now it doesn't apply to the
particular one we're talking
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about, but from that we know
that these decrees were made
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by the Emperor Augustus.
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So just at the critical moment,
when it was expected that the
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baby would be born, here comes
this decree, and Mary and Joseph
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have to go back to their
home town of Bethlehem, and that
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is where the baby Jesus was born
according to the prediction.
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We can be sure from these
prophecies, and many others,
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that Jesus Christ would
be the promised Messiah.
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We are visiting Bethlehem
now; a city which is about
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10 kilometers from Jerusalem.
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This was the city
where Jesus was born.
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He is the Church of the Nativity
which is traditionally marking
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the spot where
the birth took place.
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It's rather interesting
this doorway that is here.
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It's very low.
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You have to bend
down to get into it.
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You'll notice
it's been bricked in.
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There was an arched doorway
here, but it was suggested that
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Arab horsemen,
during the Muslim era,
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may have ridden into the church.
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To prevent that, well of course,
they stoned it up so people had
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to bow down to get in, and the
Arab horsemen couldn't either.
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Inside the church is
administered by three different
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denominations: the
Greek, the Armenian,
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and the Roman Catholic.
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Over there is a grotto
where many people believe that
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Jesus Christ was actually born.
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Now, of course, there's no way
of identifying that, but it's a
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place of
pilgrimage for many people.
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However, we do know the
type of manger in which Jesus
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was laid when He was born.
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There are many stone
mangers that have been
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excavated and found.
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They're made out of
limestone with a cavity on top,
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and there the food
for the animals is placed.
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And, of course, there the baby
Jesus could have been placed.
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However, behind all this scene
a terrible tragedy was lurking.
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I am at present in the Herodian,
which is a palace and fortress
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built by King Herod the Great.
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He built this palace and
fortress up on top of a natural
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hill with all these walls,
palace buildings, and so forth.
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He often took up residence here.
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Well, it's not very far
from Bethlehem where a terrible
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tragedy took place.
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You see, Herod was a
very suspicious character.
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When the wise men came from the
East and enquired, Where is he
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that is born king of the
Jews? Herod was very suspicious.
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Herod was very suspicious.
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When he found out where
this baby was born he sent his
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soldiers out there.
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It says in Matthew
2:16, Then Herod, when he saw
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that he was deceived by the
wise men, was exceedingly angry,
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sent forth, and put to death all
the male children who were in
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Bethlehem, and in all its
districts, who were two years
00:11:03.17\00:11:05.25
old and under...
00:11:05.54\00:11:06.60
Well, of course, this
was a terrible tragedy.
00:11:06.63\00:11:08.70
The little baby Jesus,
and his mother, and Joseph,
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escaped before this happened,
but it left a lot of suffering
00:11:12.37\00:11:16.09
and tragedy in Bethlehem.
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The mothers, of course,
were very distraught and wept
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vigorously, as you can
imagine, with the baby's torn
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from their arms.
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And do you know that all of this
had been foretold in the book of
00:11:25.89\00:11:28.94
Jeremiah, because it says in
Jeremiah 31:15, Thus says the
00:11:28.97\00:11:34.48
LORD; A voice was
heard in Ramah, lamentation,
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and bitter weeping; Rachel
weeping for her children...
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Now not very far,
just outside of Bethlehem,
00:11:40.71\00:11:43.01
is the tomb of Rachel.
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The Jewish people
still go along there to weep,
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and to pray today.
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Well it was a terrible tragedy,
of course, but I want to tell
00:11:56.24\00:11:59.40
you this: the Jewish people
should have known when their
00:11:59.43\00:12:03.64
Messiah was due, because
in the prophets it had been
00:12:03.67\00:12:07.60
predicted the very year in which
Christ, the Messiah, would come.
00:12:07.64\00:12:12.58
I'll explain that to you.
00:12:12.61\00:12:14.67
In Daniel 9:25 an angel came
to the prophet Daniel and said
00:12:14.70\00:12:22.22
in verse 24, Seventy weeks
are determined for your people
00:12:22.25\00:12:27.33
and for your holy city,
to finish the transgression,
00:12:27.36\00:12:30.73
to make an end of sins, to make
reconciliation for iniquity,
00:12:30.76\00:12:33.81
to bring in everlasting
righteousness, to seal up the
00:12:33.84\00:12:36.51
vision and prophecy,
and to anoint the most Holy.
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Now that's all referring
to the commencement and work
00:12:39.90\00:12:43.40
of Jesus Christ.
00:12:43.43\00:12:44.64
He was anointed with the
Holy Spirit; you know, when the
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heavens opened and the
Holy Ghost descended like a
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dove upon Him.
00:12:51.22\00:12:52.19
He was anointed
there at His baptism.
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So it is referring to that.
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Alright now, all of this was to
happen during the time of this
00:12:56.34\00:13:01.06
seventy weeks.
00:13:01.09\00:13:02.06
What does that mean?
00:13:02.07\00:13:03.04
Well, let us put here on the
board a big arch, and we'll put
00:13:03.05\00:13:09.18
seventy weeks up here.
00:13:09.21\00:13:11.09
Now we'll have to reduce that
to days, and in seventy weeks,
00:13:12.63\00:13:16.13
of course, there will be
four hundred and ninety days.
00:13:16.16\00:13:20.25
If you turn to Ezekiel
4:6 you'll find that in Bible
00:13:20.28\00:13:25.39
prophecy a day
represents a year.
00:13:25.42\00:13:28.16
So here then is a
period of 490 years.
00:13:28.19\00:13:33.92
When did it commence?
00:13:33.95\00:13:35.96
We're told here in verse 25,
Know therefore and understand,
00:13:35.99\00:13:40.57
that from the going forth of
the command to restore and build
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Jerusalem, unto
the Messiah the Prince,
00:13:44.29\00:13:46.48
shall be seven weeks,
and sixty-two weeks:...
00:13:46.51\00:13:50.02
So the commencement point
is given: the decree to restore
00:13:50.05\00:13:54.35
and build Jerusalem.
00:13:54.38\00:13:55.35
See when this prophecy was given
to Daniel Jerusalem was just a
00:13:55.36\00:13:59.78
heap of ruins.
00:13:59.81\00:14:00.79
Daniel was in Babylon.
00:14:00.82\00:14:02.13
So a decree was to be made
to restore and build Jerusalem.
00:14:02.16\00:14:05.72
Well, now there
were three decrees made.
00:14:05.75\00:14:07.32
It was not until the third
one, in the time of Arterxerses
00:14:07.35\00:14:12.27
king of Persia, that the
decision was made to not only
00:14:12.30\00:14:16.93
restore and re-build
Jerusalem, but give it a measure
00:14:16.96\00:14:21.54
of independence.
00:14:21.57\00:14:22.96
So that was in the 457th
year B.C., which would be
00:14:22.99\00:14:28.60
456 complete
years before Christ.
00:14:28.63\00:14:34.36
Alright now, subtracting 456
from this to bring it to an A.D.
00:14:34.39\00:14:40.94
date, we would
have the year 4 and 3.
00:14:40.97\00:14:47.82
Is that right?
00:14:47.85\00:14:48.82
Yes.
00:14:48.83\00:14:49.80
There we are; 34 A.D.
00:14:49.81\00:14:52.69
So all of this was to
happen in this period.
00:14:52.72\00:14:55.67
But I want you to particularly
notice what was to happen
00:14:55.70\00:14:58.69
in the last seven years,
or the last symbolic week
00:14:58.72\00:15:03.68
of this prophecy.
00:15:03.71\00:15:05.90
In verse 27 it says, Then he
shall confirm the covenant with
00:15:05.93\00:15:09.66
many for one week: but in
the middle of the week he shall
00:15:09.69\00:15:12.72
bring an end to
sacrifice and offering.
00:15:12.75\00:15:15.28
Do you remember when Jesus was
crucified on the cross the veil
00:15:15.31\00:15:19.76
of the temple was split in
two; symbolizing the end of the
00:15:19.79\00:15:23.87
Jewish sacrifices.
00:15:23.90\00:15:25.08
As far as God was concerned
they had no more antitypical
00:15:25.11\00:15:29.04
significance.
00:15:29.07\00:15:30.22
So there was this period of
7 years, symbolized by the week
00:15:30.25\00:15:40.45
or 7 days.
00:15:40.48\00:15:41.47
7 years from that
would bring you to 27 A.D.
00:15:41.50\00:15:47.95
That was the very year,
according to historical records,
00:15:48.03\00:15:52.25
in which Jesus Christ was
baptized in the River Jordan.
00:15:52.28\00:15:56.09
Now in the midst of this
week he was to be crucified,
00:15:56.12\00:15:59.90
and bring all the
sacrificial systems to an end.
00:15:59.93\00:16:03.20
Well, half of this period
would bring you to 31 A.D.
00:16:03.23\00:16:08.15
And here again, the very
year in which Jesus Christ
00:16:08.18\00:16:13.25
was crucified.
00:16:13.28\00:16:14.47
And so when the veil of
the temple was rent in two,
00:16:14.50\00:16:18.25
in the midst of this prophetic
week, the ceremonial system
00:16:18.28\00:16:22.34
lost its significance as
far as the divine attitude
00:16:22.37\00:16:26.09
was concerned.
00:16:26.12\00:16:27.09
So, you see, the Jewish people
should have known just exactly
00:16:27.12\00:16:31.61
when their Messiah was coming.
00:16:31.64\00:16:33.13
They really had no excuse
for not recognizing that baby
00:16:33.16\00:16:37.85
in Bethlehem.
00:16:37.88\00:16:38.85
So when Herod's men came
and slaughtered the children in
00:16:38.86\00:16:43.04
Bethlehem, it was a tragic
thing, but they should have
00:16:43.07\00:16:46.76
been able to
recognize their coming Messiah.
00:16:46.79\00:16:49.57
It had all been foretold in
prophecy, and it reveals the
00:16:49.60\00:16:53.30
fact that Jesus Christ was
indeed the promised Messiah
00:16:53.33\00:16:58.01
of Israel.
00:16:58.04\00:16:59.01
After His baptism, Jesus Christ
spent three and a half years
00:17:00.92\00:17:05.26
in public ministry.
00:17:05.29\00:17:06.48
What a dramatic three
and a half years they were!
00:17:06.51\00:17:09.40
Much of the time was
spent in the region of the
00:17:09.43\00:17:12.03
Lake of Galilee where the
peasant people welcomed Him.
00:17:12.06\00:17:16.04
Many of them accepted
His message of salvation,
00:17:16.07\00:17:19.09
but the priests at Jerusalem
were plotting His death.
00:17:19.12\00:17:23.85
On Palm Sunday Jesus Christ
rode into Jerusalem in triumph.
00:17:23.88\00:17:29.54
He commandeered a donkey up
there at Bethphage; over at the
00:17:29.57\00:17:32.95
other side of
the Mount of Olives.
00:17:32.98\00:17:34.38
Then He rode across
the top of the hill.
00:17:34.41\00:17:37.60
He wept over Jerusalem.
00:17:37.63\00:17:39.45
Oh Jerusalem; you
that reject the prophets.
00:17:39.48\00:17:43.54
How often would I have
gathered you as a hen gathers
00:17:43.57\00:17:46.60
her chickens.
00:17:46.63\00:17:47.60
But He rode into Jerusalem;
a sight something like this
00:17:47.61\00:17:51.56
I suppose, and the
people welcomed him in triumph.
00:17:51.59\00:17:55.86
You know, all of this had
been foretold in the writings
00:17:55.89\00:17:59.85
of the prophets nearly
five hundred years earlier.
00:17:59.88\00:18:02.45
It's in Zachariah 9:9.
00:18:02.48\00:18:04.98
It says: Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion;
00:18:05.01\00:18:07.80
shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:
behold, your King is coming
00:18:07.83\00:18:11.74
to you: he is just, and having
salvation; lowly, and riding
00:18:11.77\00:18:15.41
on a donkey.
00:18:15.44\00:18:16.41
So there it is.
00:18:16.44\00:18:17.64
Just exactly as
the prophecy said.
00:18:17.67\00:18:19.61
Jesus Christ
fulfilled this prophecy.
00:18:19.64\00:18:21.59
On Thursday night Jesus
Christ and His disciples,
00:18:23.01\00:18:25.78
after celebrating the last
supper, crossed over the Brook
00:18:25.81\00:18:29.54
Kidron and came to
the Garden of Gethsemane.
00:18:29.57\00:18:31.80
This is the traditional garden
here with its olive trees.
00:18:31.83\00:18:35.20
It was in the Garden of
Gethsemane that Jesus Christ
00:18:35.23\00:18:38.69
prayed that memorable prayer,
Oh my father, if it be possible
00:18:38.72\00:18:43.01
let this cup pass from me.
00:18:43.04\00:18:44.64
Nevertheless, not my
will but thine be done.
00:18:44.67\00:18:47.96
The Bible says that
great drops of blood stood out
00:18:47.99\00:18:50.97
on His forehead.
00:18:51.00\00:18:51.97
It seems to me that He
endured more mental anguish,
00:18:51.98\00:18:55.65
which was worse than the
physical anguish, on the cross.
00:18:55.68\00:18:58.52
In fact I think that's what it's
referring to in the prophecy of
00:18:58.55\00:19:01.83
Isaiah in chapter 52 where
it says... my servant shall deal
00:19:01.86\00:19:06.49
prudently,... his visage
was marred more than any man,
00:19:06.52\00:19:10.19
and his form more
than the sons of men:...
00:19:10.22\00:19:12.87
And so I think this is another
prophecy pointing forward to the
00:19:12.90\00:19:16.48
suffering Messiah.
00:19:16.51\00:19:18.04
Then the mob brought Jesus
to the palace of Ananias and
00:19:20.12\00:19:24.69
Caiaphas where He was
subjected to three mock trials.
00:19:24.72\00:19:29.17
It was at one of these
trials that Judas was filled
00:19:29.20\00:19:33.19
with remorse.
00:19:33.22\00:19:34.19
You see he had sold Jesus
for thirty pieces of silver,
00:19:34.20\00:19:38.55
and he began to realize
he'd done the wrong thing.
00:19:38.58\00:19:41.08
So he came and flung the thirty
pieces of silver in front of the
00:19:41.11\00:19:45.72
priests and went
out and hanged himself.
00:19:45.75\00:19:49.28
Well, these pious
priests were a little doubtful
00:19:49.31\00:19:53.36
about what to do with the money.
00:19:53.39\00:19:54.36
We can't put it
into the treasury.
00:19:55.40\00:19:56.82
And then somebody got the bright
idea, well, we need a field or a
00:19:56.85\00:20:01.20
cemetery in which
to bury non-Jews in.
00:20:01.23\00:20:04.62
Why don't we use it to buy that?
00:20:04.65\00:20:06.55
And so they did.
00:20:06.58\00:20:07.55
They bought a piece of ground
from a potter which they could
00:20:07.56\00:20:11.81
use as a cemetery.
00:20:11.84\00:20:12.81
Now this was all fulfillment
of a remarkable prophecy made
00:20:12.84\00:20:17.47
hundreds of years earlier.
00:20:17.50\00:20:18.67
In the book of Zachariah 11:12
it says, Then I said to them,
00:20:18.70\00:20:24.87
If it is agreeable to
you, give me my wages;
00:20:24.90\00:20:28.09
and if not, refrain.
00:20:28.12\00:20:29.66
So they weighed out for my
wages thirty pieces of silver.
00:20:29.69\00:20:33.53
And the Lord said to me,
Throw it to the potter:...
00:20:33.56\00:20:36.98
So there it is, hundreds of
years before, just exactly what
00:20:37.01\00:20:41.20
Judas would do.
00:20:41.23\00:20:42.26
Then the priests took Jesus off
in the early morning to Antonio,
00:20:42.29\00:20:49.93
that is the fortress of Antonio,
or Antony, where Pontius Pilate
00:20:49.96\00:20:54.28
was in residence.
00:20:54.31\00:20:55.38
This place that we are in at the
present time was once thought
00:20:55.41\00:21:00.02
to be that fortress.
00:21:00.05\00:21:01.28
It has the paving
stones, and they're very old,
00:21:01.31\00:21:04.54
no doubt about it.
00:21:04.57\00:21:05.68
It has the striations where
the horses could walk along
00:21:05.71\00:21:10.17
without slipping.
00:21:10.20\00:21:11.17
And then there were these games
inscribed on the flagstones
00:21:11.18\00:21:16.75
where it was thought the
soldiers played their games,
00:21:16.78\00:21:19.49
threw their dice and so forth.
00:21:19.52\00:21:21.31
Well, just recently the
archeologists lifted up some of
00:21:21.34\00:21:25.11
these flagstones and they found
underneath some coins of the
00:21:25.14\00:21:28.25
third century A.D.
00:21:28.28\00:21:29.40
So we know that this flagstone
must be later than that.
00:21:29.43\00:21:34.59
Nevertheless,
it's the type of thing.
00:21:34.62\00:21:36.53
And it was here that Pontius
Pilate came out and said,
00:21:36.56\00:21:40.51
I find no fault in him.
00:21:40.54\00:21:41.89
But, of course, that only set
up a clamor, and the Jews raged
00:21:41.92\00:21:45.33
even more for his blood.
00:21:45.36\00:21:46.62
Crucify him; crucify him!
00:21:46.65\00:21:48.17
And at last Pilate washed his
hands, and Jesus had to leave
00:21:48.20\00:21:53.33
carrying His cross.
00:21:53.36\00:21:55.06
Jesus carried His cross along
the road that led to the place
00:21:58.50\00:22:03.17
called Calvary.
00:22:03.20\00:22:04.17
This is the Via del a Rosa here.
00:22:04.18\00:22:07.11
It is not the actual pavement
along which Christ walked
00:22:07.14\00:22:10.52
because the level of the street
in Christ's day is at least ten
00:22:10.55\00:22:14.61
to twenty meters below the
surface that we have here today.
00:22:14.64\00:22:17.21
But this Via del a Rosa, or
The Way of Tears, leads to the
00:22:17.24\00:22:21.59
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
where most people believe
00:22:21.62\00:22:24.72
where Jesus Christ
was crucified and buried.
00:22:24.75\00:22:27.29
This is the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre.
00:22:27.32\00:22:30.19
Inside is a slight rise which
is considered to be Calvary.
00:22:30.22\00:22:35.52
Not very far away is a tomb
which is considered to be the
00:22:35.55\00:22:39.46
tomb where Christ was buried.
00:22:39.49\00:22:41.25
There is, of course, quite a bit
of doubt as to the authenticity
00:22:41.28\00:22:44.60
of this sight.
00:22:44.63\00:22:45.60
It wasn't identified
until the fourth century A.D.
00:22:45.61\00:22:48.40
So some people prefer,
in fact many people prefer,
00:22:52.68\00:22:55.88
a place known
as the Garden Tomb.
00:22:55.91\00:22:58.70
General Gordon
was a pious Christian.
00:22:58.73\00:23:02.56
When he came to Jerusalem he
was very interested in looking
00:23:02.59\00:23:07.14
at the places that were
the traditional sites where
00:23:07.17\00:23:09.68
Jesus Christ had visited.
00:23:09.71\00:23:11.20
In particular he was interested
in the Church of the Holy
00:23:11.23\00:23:16.33
Sepulchre, but he
was not impressed.
00:23:16.36\00:23:18.12
He felt that there
was something wrong here.
00:23:18.15\00:23:21.32
One thing he noticed was
that this church was inside
00:23:21.35\00:23:25.36
the city walls, whereas the
Bible teaches that Christ died
00:23:25.39\00:23:29.48
outside the city walls.
00:23:29.51\00:23:31.02
He noticed that outside the city
walls there was a cliff face
00:23:31.05\00:23:37.98
that had the very
appearance of a skull.
00:23:38.01\00:23:41.22
Now the Bible says that
Christ was crucified on Calvary,
00:23:41.25\00:23:44.99
which is the Latin
word for skull, or Golgotha,
00:23:45.02\00:23:50.02
which is the
Hebrew word for skull.
00:23:50.05\00:23:51.62
Here was this cliff face
that looked just like a skull,
00:23:51.65\00:23:55.35
so he thought that that
must have been where Christ
00:23:55.38\00:23:58.24
was crucified.
00:23:58.27\00:23:59.24
But if so, the Bible says
that hereby was a tomb in which
00:23:59.25\00:24:04.40
Christ was laid.
00:24:04.43\00:24:05.40
So he went looking for a tomb,
and sure enough, just nearby
00:24:05.41\00:24:09.05
is what is now
known as The Garden Tomb.
00:24:09.08\00:24:12.31
Here was a place for
somebody to be crucified.
00:24:12.34\00:24:15.89
So he thought that this
was, for sure, the place.
00:24:15.92\00:24:19.19
He arranged, with a group
of people back in England,
00:24:19.22\00:24:22.89
to look after this place;
purchase it, and look after it,
00:24:22.92\00:24:26.04
and designate it as a place
where Protestants could remember
00:24:26.07\00:24:30.36
the death and the
burial of Jesus Christ.
00:24:30.39\00:24:34.11
Well, there's one thing certain.
00:24:34.14\00:24:36.36
Whether this is the exact
tomb or not, we can't be sure,
00:24:36.39\00:24:39.16
but there is one thing certain,
and that is that Jesus Christ
00:24:39.19\00:24:42.99
died according to the prophecies
that were made of Him.
00:24:43.02\00:24:45.90
For instance in Psalm 22:16
it says: Dogs have surrounded
00:24:45.93\00:24:53.16
me: the assembly of the wicked
have enclosed me: they pierced
00:24:53.19\00:24:56.90
my hands and my feet.
00:24:56.93\00:24:59.06
That's very
significant, you know.
00:24:59.09\00:25:01.10
You see, the way that the
Jews put criminals to death was
00:25:01.13\00:25:05.44
by stoning them to death.
00:25:05.47\00:25:07.01
And here with the psalmist a
thousand years before the Romans
00:25:07.04\00:25:10.77
on the scene, you might say,
saying they pierced my hands
00:25:10.80\00:25:15.16
and my feet.
00:25:15.19\00:25:16.16
That's crucifixion!
00:25:16.18\00:25:17.63
How did David know a
thousand years before Christ was
00:25:17.66\00:25:21.36
crucified that He was
going to be crucified?
00:25:21.39\00:25:23.58
I'll tell you something
else about His crucifixion.
00:25:23.61\00:25:26.87
In Psalm 34 it says in verse
20, He guards all his bones:
00:25:26.90\00:25:33.29
not one of them is broken.
00:25:33.32\00:25:35.68
Do you realize how
significant that is?
00:25:35.71\00:25:38.90
You see, when Jesus Christ was
on the cross He had His hands
00:25:38.93\00:25:44.45
and His feet pierced,
and finally He cried out,
00:25:44.48\00:25:48.56
Father, into thy
hands I commend my spirit.
00:25:48.59\00:25:51.92
So He died there.
00:25:51.95\00:25:54.81
Now, Nicodemus went to Pilate
and asked for the body of Christ
00:25:54.84\00:26:00.20
to give it a good burial.
00:26:00.23\00:26:02.10
And Pilate wanted to
make sure he was dead.
00:26:02.13\00:26:05.53
He'd only been on
the cross for six hours.
00:26:05.56\00:26:07.44
That was unusual.
00:26:07.47\00:26:08.70
So he sent some soldiers to
break the legs of all the three
00:26:08.73\00:26:13.62
people hanging on the cross.
00:26:13.65\00:26:15.00
So those soldiers came
along with the big lump of wood
00:26:15.03\00:26:19.31
and they raised it up and they
smashed the legs of the first
00:26:19.34\00:26:23.02
criminal that was beside Christ.
00:26:23.05\00:26:25.17
Then they went over to the other
one and brought the wood down
00:26:25.20\00:26:28.54
and smashed his legs.
00:26:28.57\00:26:29.87
And then they came to the body
of Christ and they were just
00:26:29.90\00:26:33.50
about to smash his legs
when somebody said, Wait, wait!
00:26:33.53\00:26:36.53
He's already dead.
00:26:36.56\00:26:37.98
Well, how can
you be sure of that?
00:26:38.01\00:26:40.25
So they took a spear and thrust
it into his side and the water
00:26:40.28\00:26:43.94
and the blood gushed out.
00:26:43.97\00:26:45.11
See how close He came
to having His bones broken?
00:26:45.14\00:26:49.50
But this prophecy said not one
of His bones would be broken.
00:26:49.53\00:26:54.98
Amazing, isn't it, how
Jesus Christ fulfilled these
00:26:55.01\00:26:58.31
Messianic prophecies?
00:26:58.34\00:27:00.08
So we can be sure that
He was the promised Savior.
00:27:00.11\00:27:05.08
Isaiah 53 predicted His
death and His sufferings.
00:27:05.11\00:27:10.65
Verse 6: All we like sheep
have gone astray; we have turned
00:27:10.68\00:27:14.77
every one to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
00:27:14.80\00:27:17.94
the iniquity of us all.
00:27:17.97\00:27:19.40
He was oppressed, and he was
afflicted, yet he opened not his
00:27:19.43\00:27:23.40
mouth: he was led as a lamb to
slaughter, and as a sheep before
00:27:23.43\00:27:27.31
his shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
00:27:27.34\00:27:31.18
He was cut off from the
land of the living: for the
00:27:31.21\00:27:34.23
transgression of my
people he was stricken.
00:27:34.26\00:27:36.98
In other words,
He died for our sins.
00:27:37.01\00:27:39.97
And they made his grave with
the wicked, but with the rich
00:27:40.00\00:27:44.53
at his death.
00:27:44.56\00:27:45.53
That seems an
anomaly, doesn't it?
00:27:45.54\00:27:48.32
With he made his grave with
the wicked, but with the rich
00:27:48.35\00:27:52.48
at his death.
00:27:52.51\00:27:53.74
But isn't that
just what happened?
00:27:53.77\00:27:55.66
Crucified with two wicked
thieves, but buried in a rich
00:27:55.69\00:28:01.80
man's tomb.
00:28:01.83\00:28:03.13
This is not the tomb of Christ,
but it's very similar to what
00:28:03.16\00:28:07.73
it must have been.
00:28:07.76\00:28:08.73
This is actually the
tomb of the family of
00:28:08.74\00:28:11.47
King Herod the Great.
00:28:11.51\00:28:12.67
But you'll notice it
has similar features.
00:28:12.70\00:28:15.15
For instance the entrance here,
the stone here, which the Bible
00:28:15.18\00:28:19.64
record says the angel rolled
back and sat on the stone.
00:28:19.67\00:28:22.45
Nobody could do that, you
see, on a big stone like this.
00:28:22.48\00:28:25.21
So Jesus Christ came out
of the tomb and is a living,
00:28:25.24\00:28:30.04
resurrected Savior.
00:28:30.07\00:28:31.87
You know, this also was in
fulfillment of Bible prophecy
00:28:31.90\00:28:36.78
because way back there in
Psalm 16, a thousand years
00:28:36.81\00:28:40.67
before Christ came to
this world the Psalmist said:
00:28:40.70\00:28:43.78
You will not leave my soul in
Sheol, that's another word for
00:28:43.81\00:28:47.71
the grave; nor will you allow
your Holy One to see corruption.
00:28:47.74\00:28:53.69
And so before His body
decomposed Jesus Christ rose
00:28:53.72\00:28:56.81
from the dead; another evidence
of the fulfillment of prophecy.
00:28:56.84\00:29:00.33
All these prophecies,
from the beginning of His life
00:29:00.36\00:29:03.22
right through to the
end, all were fulfilled by
00:29:03.25\00:29:06.15
Jesus Christ, and He, I believe,
is Israel's promised Messiah.
00:29:06.18\00:29:11.22
And that being the case,
then I think His offer to us
00:29:11.25\00:29:15.21
is very valid.
00:29:15.24\00:29:16.21
He says in John 3:16, God so
loved the world, that he gave
00:29:16.23\00:29:23.02
his only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in him
00:29:23.05\00:29:26.96
should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
00:29:26.99\00:29:29.78
Whoever, that means everyone.
00:29:29.81\00:29:31.47
It means you.
00:29:31.50\00:29:32.99
Just whoever believes in Jesus
Christ can have everlasting life
00:29:33.02\00:29:37.54
through faith in Him.
00:29:37.57\00:29:38.92
I found it a deeply
moving experience walking in the
00:29:40.74\00:29:44.14
footsteps and
pathways of Christ.
00:29:44.17\00:29:46.52
When you think about it, what
a sacrifice He made; leaving the
00:29:46.55\00:29:50.81
security of heaven for
this dry and dusty land,
00:29:50.84\00:29:53.79
to live and die for us.
00:29:53.82\00:29:55.34
I think we've got every
good reason to follow Christ,
00:29:55.37\00:29:59.02
and to believe in Him.
00:29:59.05\00:30:00.92
In our next program
we go a step further.
00:30:00.95\00:30:04.06
Who is God?
00:30:04.87\00:30:06.02
What's He like?
00:30:06.05\00:30:07.22
Our quest takes us to mystic
India where we view a masked
00:30:07.25\00:30:11.04
Tibetan dance that few
Westerners have ever seen,
00:30:11.07\00:30:14.03
and to Zeresh, the
best preserved Roman ruins
00:30:14.06\00:30:17.46
in the Middle East.
00:30:17.49\00:30:18.46