The Christian Worldview

David Wheaton: Approaching Christ’s Passion Week with purpose. That is the topic we’ll discuss leading into this Easter weekend right here on The Christian Worldview radio program, where the mission is to sharpen the biblical worldview of Christians and to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. I’m David Wheaton, the host. The Christian Worldview is a non-profit listener-supported radio ministry.

Our website is thechristianworldview.org, and the rest of our contact information will be given throughout today’s program. As always, thank you for your notes of encouragement, financial support, and lifting us up in prayer. Before we get to today’s topic, I want to say just a few words in honor and tribute to John Sterbicky, a great friend and brother in Christ who went to heaven last week after experiencing a sudden heart event in Florida.

John was 65 years old. He was a founding board member of the Overcomer Foundation, which is the name of the non-profit organization that directs The Christian Worldview. He will be greatly missed in that role and for the regular encouragement he gave us. John was a blessed man. God saved him, was sanctifying him, and gave him a godly wife, Sue, who herself worked for The Christian Worldview for years.

He also gave him two children and several grandchildren, all of whom he adored. John was faithful to his local church and used his spiritual gifts well, from discernment to service to encouragement to giving. He was a good and godly man. I always enjoyed spending time with him and playing golf together on occasion. Of course, we were all shocked to hear the news about John’s heaven going.

But we know that God wasn’t caught off guard. In fact, God ordained to bring John to himself in his eternal home the exact day and the way he did. And so, while we grieve our loss, we rejoice even more to know John is with the Christ he believed in and faithfully served. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die."

And that is our confident assurance for our good friend John Sterbicky. Thank you for remembering his family in prayer and for praising God for his grace in John’s life. And so now we are entering Easter week, or as it is sometimes called Holy Week or Passion Week, commemorating the final week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ that culminated in his crucifixion on this coming Friday and resurrection next Sunday.

Many significant events occurred in the days leading to his crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus made what is called the triumphal entry into Jerusalem this weekend on Sunday, also known as Palm Sunday, when he presented himself to Israel as their promised Messiah and king, his followers waving palm branches and laying their coats on the road as Jesus rode in on the colt of a donkey.

On Monday, Jesus came back into Jerusalem and cleansed the temple for the second time. On Tuesday and Wednesday, he taught in the temple and contended with unbelieving religious leaders of the Jews. He also instructed his own disciples about what was to come in the future. And then on Thursday began the more familiar events with his last supper with his disciples, his betrayal by Judas, his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, and his sham trials by the Jews and the Romans leading to his crucifixion on Friday.

And so next weekend we will air a special program focusing on the person and work of Christ. But this weekend, Pastor Travis Allen of Grace Church in Greeley, Colorado, a long-time favorite guest on this program, joins us to discuss the significance of the events that occurred during Passion Week leading up to Christ’s death and resurrection. Let’s get straight to the first segment of the interview with Pastor Travis Allen.

Travis, thank you for coming on The Christian Worldview radio program today. Before we get to discussing the events of Christ’s Passion Week leading to his crucifixion and resurrection, I just wanted to ask you about a topic we’ve been recently discussing on the program regarding the way that especially those on the political and even the theological right today, with this situation in Israel and how they were attacked on October 7th, 2023, and the ensuing wars with Hamas and Hezbollah, and now this raging joint war with the United States against the Iranian Islamic regime, it’s really created a division for some that are very prominent influencers on the right.

I'll mention the names again, like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Nick Fuentes, others that have become vociferously anti-Israel. I just wanted to see your thoughts on what you think is taking place right now, why this is taking place, and more importantly, how you think biblical, born-again Christians should not be influenced by worldly thinking on Israel. But how should we be viewing Israel and the Jews considering that their nation and their people are largely in rebellion against God?

Travis Allen: Great question, David. Let me just say before I start to meander into some kind of an answer, I just want to thank you again for having me on the program. It’s always a great conversation with you and I really appreciate what you and those of the folks at The Christian Worldview are doing. You guys are a very significant voice and you guys are a benefit and a blessing to me and my church as we listen to your show.

So, we should not be surprised at all this attention on the Middle East, on Israel in particular, the hand-wringing over what to do with the Middle East and the problems that are there. It says in Zechariah 12:2 and 3 that Jerusalem is going to be for the nations like a cup that causes staggering. It’s almost like everybody has to take a drink and that drink is going to cause us some kind of intoxication that it’s intoxicating to get involved, but it’s also going to cause an inability to bear up under it.

In fact, it goes on to say that Jerusalem is a heavy stone for all the peoples. It’s too heavy to lift and it can’t be lifted without some injury. And that explains the Middle East, that it’s a cup that causes staggering, it’s a heavy stone. Anybody who takes up the task of trying to lift it, they’re going to cause injury to themselves. And that has happened to every single nation, every empire, everybody that’s tried to deal with this Middle East problem.

The Jews themselves being back in the land, it’s hard not to, as a Christian, to think, "Well, this is significant. This is something that hasn’t happened before." The Jews were part of the diaspora ever since the New Testament times, as the Romans came in and destroyed the temple and the Jews scattered. They’ve been living in different parts of the world in different pockets, but they’ve never had a home.

They have one eye toward a restoration in the land and another eye of building a business or raising their families in somebody else’s country. And so they’re always strangers, they’re never welcome, they’re never at home, they’re always looking toward a home that they don’t have. Why don’t they have it? Because they’re in rebellion against God.

And so because of this horrible Nazi Holocaust, in the Western world with a Christian sense, a Judeo-Christian understanding, they wanted to do something to help put the Jews back in the land and give them back their homeland. And they had a biblical understanding and a biblical reason for doing that, but it’s not as if the Jews were repentant. They didn’t look to Christ and proclaim that he’s their Messiah and repent over crucifying him and put their faith in Christ. That’s not how they got back in the land. They got back in the land due to the goodwill of the victors in World War II.

And so they went back into the land. Their nation had a start in 1948 and they’ve been living as a nation ever since. So, we rejoice in that as Christians. We can’t really help but think, "Well, this is significant and it could portend what’s coming in the end and what the Bible predicts and prophesies." That they’ll be in the land and they’ll be the targets of international persecution and wars, and all that will be going on in and around Israel. And that’s certainly what we’ve seen.

I think it’s important for Christians to make a distinction, though, between Israel’s right to exist as a nation like any other nation and just their national sovereignty. Any nation has that right to exist. And Israel’s theological right to exist as a nation, as a people in the promised land. And I think it’s very important as Christians to make that distinction. And you mentioned some of the people in the public square, pundits and commentators who are speaking, trying to get their arms around this and trying to understand this, and some of them taking a very anti-Israel, anti-Jew posture.

Some of it sounds anti-Semitic. I mean, some of it’s harkening back to even trying to rehabilitate the reputation of Adolf Hitler, which is shocking. But you hear people still trying to wrestle with what right does Israel have to exist. And if you start to ask about the right of any nation to exist, you go back to the founding of, say, this country, America. And we’ve lived through all this woke time and we see a lot of people questioning the right of America to exist.

Did America set up its constitution by oppressing other peoples and casting the Indians aside and doing wrong to people? Look, every nation has good and bad in its founding, and I think there’s a lot of good in America’s founding. But if you want to play the game of "does our nation" or "does Israel as a nation" have a right to exist, you’re going to play that game with every nation in the world.

Any nation that exists right now has a right to its national sovereignty, to act in its own national interests, to protect its borders, to fight its enemies. And I think that Israel has as much right as any nation to do that very thing. But that’s a different thing than talking about their theological right to be back in the land. But we know that theologically they do not have a right to be back in the land until they repent and put their faith in Christ.

I do think that their national existence, being back in the land as a state, as a nation-state, Israel, that’s the favor of God. That’s the kindness of God. And I do think it is setting up the times of the end here that we see predicted in scripture. But that still, Christians need to call balls and strikes according to righteousness. And we know that they’re under the judgment of God as a people, and they will be, and they’ll be harried and persecuted and troubled until they repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ, as it says in Zechariah 12:10, as they look upon him whom they pierced and they mourn and there’s individual repentance, family repentance, and national repentance in putting their faith in Christ.

It’s not until that nation is a regenerate nation that God favors it and gives it the full reception of the land promises, promises to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Which you look at the boundaries of that nation, it’s all the way from the Euphrates all the way over to the Mediterranean and the Nile. It’s from top to bottom. It’s basically all the Middle East. That’s what Christ is going to rule over in the millennial kingdom.

David Wheaton: Well, that’s a very interesting distinction you’re making in the theological right to exist. I would associate that with the blessing of God on that nation with even larger borders as God originally intended. And that will come in the future when they recognize that their Messiah is, in fact, Jesus Christ and he has returned to save the nation.

So, thank you for giving us some specificity on that. Travis Allen is our guest today. He’s the pastor of Grace Church in Greeley, Colorado. Let’s transition from the current state of Israel to harken back millennia ago when God ordered or commanded the Jews and in Israel to celebrate... there were seven feasts that he commanded the Jews to commemorate throughout the year.

Three of those feasts, Travis, were actually to take pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is the Passover Feast in the spring, and then the Feast of Weeks, Pentecost, that was 50 days after Passover, and then the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. This was more in the fall. The Jews would make pilgrimages to Jerusalem for these feasts. God set aside these times of year where they were to gather to think about, to worship, and glorify God.

And I just wonder about, as we head into Easter week or Christ’s Passion Week, is there some relevance for us as Christians who aren’t in a feast mentality or feast rhythm in our lives? We tend to just celebrate Christmas on maybe Christmas Eve and Christmas, his birth, and then Easter is celebrated on maybe Easter Sunday, come celebrate with us at church, Christ rose from the dead. And I think we lose a lot by not having our minds focused on the various lead-up, as God wanted the Jews to be spending time.

And these feasts are often a week long. So, as we head into this Passion Week, perhaps you could share with us what kind of mindset you have as you personally go into this week of Easter and also how you lead your church in that way as well.

Travis Allen: Personally, I like to go back to the passion narratives, which are pretty prominent in the synoptic gospels. In fact, you look at the Gospel of John and you see from chapter 13 to 17 is all in the night that Jesus was betrayed. And then you have the arrest, the trial, the crucifixion of Christ, and then the resurrection after that. More than half the book of John is focused on this time and there’s a significant portion of the synoptic gospel narratives that are focused on the Passion Week.

And so, it’s very, very important for our own understanding as we come into this time of the year to give our attention to those passion narratives. And I think every Christian should go back personally into the scripture and just read through them. Our church does this too, but we observe Good Friday just recognizing the crucifixion of Christ. And it’s not a time of let’s party and have a big celebration, it’s kind of a mournful or a reflective time.

We usually have a message that focuses on the death of Christ and the reason for the death of Christ, which is to act as a substitutionary atonement for the sins of his people. He’s that perfect lamb that was offered up by God, and he as the Lamb of God willingly went to the cross to take on the sins of his people. The Father then poured out his just wrath on his own Son so that his people would be saved.

Jesus died on that cross and that death in his body for sins is what paid the penalty for the sins of all who will ever believe. If they put their faith in Christ, their sins are paid for because of his death on the cross. He was taken off that cross, buried in a tomb physically, so his body was actually there as a verifiable thing by his people, by all the centurion, the soldiers that were there. Even the Pharisees and the Sadducees who scoffed, the crowd that was around, they all saw him die.

And then he was buried by his followers, by Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, their servants. They buried him in Joseph’s tomb. And then on the third day, he rose from the dead. The angel rolled away the stone to allow his people to see that the tomb was empty. Jesus didn’t need the stone rolled away. He was in a resurrected body, a glorified body that could pass through walls, pass through stone.

He could appear in one place, disappear, and show up in another place as he did on the road to Emmaus and then showed up later in the upper room. So, the angels rolled away the stone, allowed his followers to see, and that resurrection of Jesus Christ is what showed God’s approval of that sacrifice. And that everything that Jesus taught, said, did, it’s all true. His fulfillment of every prophecy in the Old Testament is true.

His fulfillment of the feasts, his fulfillment of the law, the prophets, all of it is true. And because of his resurrection from the dead, we can be justified by God by putting our faith in Christ. So, he’s raised for our justification. So that because of his perfect righteous life, not only are our sins paid for by his death, but we are covered in his righteousness and we are then justified by God, declared to be righteous.

So, I think it’s really important that we personally look through those passion narratives as we come into this week. As we think about Good Friday, I think it’s a very important time to come together as churches and observe that crucifixion of Christ and what that death means for salvation. There is no salvation without his crucifixion, without his death for sins. Our church, we like to observe communion on that night and it’s kind of a sober night of reflection about our own sinfulness.

Our church is actually this year going to do a Passover Seder. So, it’s a seder to show the elements that point to Christ within the Passover meal, that was basically the tutelage of the Jews by God’s design to give them elements throughout the Passover that all point to Christ. And we’re going to observe that together as a church and enjoy that. And then we’re going to celebrate the communion. So, we’ll do that and then on Easter Sunday, that’s when we really celebrate and rejoice in his resurrected life.

And going back to your first opening question with regard to what’s going on in Israel and how all eyes of every country is looking toward the Middle East and toward Jerusalem, this is what it’s all about. That we as Gentiles, many of us around the world, we are worshiping Israel’s God. We’re worshiping Yahweh. And we’re worshiping Yahweh in the name of the Messiah, the anointed one of God, who has come and he’s proclaimed salvation to his people.

And though the Jews crucified him, if they’ll turn to him in faith and repentance, God will restore them. He’ll regenerate their hearts, forgive their sins, cover them with his righteousness, bring them underneath his sovereign protection, his omnipotent power will protect them from the hostility of the nations, if they’ll look upon him whom they’ve pierced and repent and put their faith in him because he is risen from the dead.

David Wheaton: Wow, what a powerful and beautiful way to describe this coming Easter week, Travis. Thank you for doing that and walking us through especially that most important, the centerpiece of this Passion Week: Christ’s death for sinners, repentant sinners, and his burial and resurrection, proving that God was satisfied with his offering for sin. It is finished, paid in full, and that’s what he did on the cross for believers.

Travis Allen with us today, pastor of Grace Church in Greeley, Colorado. We’ll take a short break to tell you about some ministry resources. Coming up next, Travis will explain the significance of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem along with other events early in Passion Week. I’m David Wheaton, and you are listening to The Christian Worldview radio program.

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Joe Rigney: This is where the left has really discovered the one-two punch. If they can define empathy and compassion according to their definitions, and then this next step is they can accuse you of not having it unless you go along, then they’ve got you. You don’t want to be called a hater, you don’t want to be called callous and heartless because you think, "I want to be known as a compassionate person," but you’re not using the Bible’s definition of compassion, you’ve now adopted this progressive leftist worldly definition and you’re being steered by it.

David Wheaton: That was Pastor Joe Rigney explaining how the left manipulates Christians through twisting empathy. For a limited time, you can order his book, *Leadership and the Sin of Empathy*, for a donation of any amount to The Christian Worldview. The book is hardcover, 164 pages, and retails for $22. To order, go to thechristianworldview.org, or call 1-888-646-2233, or write to Box 401, Excelsior, Minnesota 55331.

Welcome back to The Christian Worldview. I’m David Wheaton. Be sure to visit thechristianworldview.org, where you can sign up for our weekly email and The Christian Worldview journal print publication, order resources for adults and children, and support the ministry. Our topic today is "Approaching Christ’s Passion Week with Purpose," and our guest is Travis Allen, pastor of Grace Church in Greeley, Colorado.

Travis, in the opening segment, you got to the heart of what the Easter week is about with regard to Christ’s death and his resurrection. But one thing I wanted to focus on, because this program is airing at the beginning of this Easter week, and I wanted to ask you about what happened on Palm Sunday, what happened on Monday when Jesus cleansed the temple, and then what occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday in the lead-up to these times.

And I think that would be helpful because those parts of the week don’t get as much emphasis, but there are significant things that happened in this week leading up. And I’ll just quote from the Old Testament again, a prophecy in Zechariah chapter 9, verse 9, where the prophet says, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you." This is a messianic prophecy here.

"He is just and endowed with salvation," that’s what Christ is bringing, he brings and offers salvation. "He is humble and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey." So, that was written back in the Old Testament. I wouldn’t know how many years that was written before it actually occurred. And I’ll just read one of the parallel passages, the fulfillment of that is in Luke chapter 19, which says, "When he approached Bethphage and Bethany near the mount that is called Olivet, or the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples saying, 'Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt,' just as referred in Zechariah chapter 9, 'on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, why are you untying it? You shall say, the Lord has need of it.'"

"So those who were sent away went away and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, 'Why are you untying the colt?' They said, 'The Lord has need of it.' And so they brought it to Jesus and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it. And as he was going, they were spreading their coats on the road. As soon as he was approaching near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting, 'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'"

Basically an exact fulfillment of what the prophet Zechariah said hundreds of years earlier. Travis, all four of the gospel writers give account of what this is called, Palm Sunday, where waving palm branches at their king, Jesus the King, or it’s called the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem at the beginning of the Passion Week. Tell us about the significance of what was taking place here, even beyond just the prophetic fulfillment of it.

Travis Allen: Well, it’s interesting that he doesn’t come in on a stallion. A lot of the emperors or the kings used to enter into the city where they were going to take their place on a throne at their coronation and they came in on powerful war horses, signaling their strength, their victory, triumphant. Jesus comes in a very opposite way. He comes on the foal of a donkey. He comes humble.

And he comes really in the spirit of Solomon, who came into Jerusalem in the same way, actually followed the same route down into Jerusalem. And he comes Solomon’s name meaning peace with the shalom in his name. Jesus comes in the same spirit of Solomon to bring this era... he is the one greater than Solomon who comes. He’s the one ushering in the wisdom of God and the salvation of God and the peace of God. This is what he comes to offer to his people.

And so, that’s why they can cry, "Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" because his coming and his coronation as king signals the blessing and the favor and the prosperity coming out of that, a new golden age that comes to Israel through his reign, through his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. What’s interesting is where you stopped reading. If you keep on reading, there’s a hint of what’s coming.

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." They’re not big fans of Jesus. They’re not receptive of this king. And because the Pharisees, representing a very powerful, influential religious sect of Judaism, their counterparts who are theological liberals, the Sadducees, they have all the power in the temple over the high priest, working hand-in-hand with the high priest, and they’re all kind of in bed with Herod and in bed with Rome.

They hold the reins of power. So they see this triumphal entry and him coming in this mode of King Solomon. They don’t see him as a welcome king. They see him as a threat. The people, they’re rejoicing. They’re seeing this all as maybe the fulfillment of prophecy, maybe he’s the Messiah, maybe he’s the one coming in the name of the Lord, and they’re all excited. They’ve got maybe some wrong views of eschatology and what this means.

They don’t recognize that they need to repent of their sin and put their faith in him. They’re kind of seeing a health, wealth, and prosperity gospel as kind of how they would think about it. But these religious leaders, as indicated by the Pharisees there, they’re there to criticize. They’re there to reject. They’re there to rebuke. Teacher, rebuke your disciples. Jesus answered and said, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones will cry out."

So, there’s him offering himself to his people as king. They’re all rejoicing and you see the opposition of the leadership of Israel. Even right after he answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones will cry out," the very next thing he does, in this chorus of rejoicing and hosannas and palm branches and people cheering, there’s this element of the Pharisees that are there criticizing, they’re there to reject, they’re there to find fault.

And so as Jesus approaches, he’s not caught up in the fervor of the crowds. He’s actually seeing more significant is the opposition of the leaders. And so it says in Luke 19:41, as he approached Jerusalem, saw the city, he cried over it. Everybody’s rejoicing and having a great party, and he’s crying. He says, "If you knew this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they’ve been hidden from your eyes."

And then he predicts the destruction of Jerusalem. And then right after that, he goes into the temple. But it’s just, for Jesus, he sees what’s really going on. He sees the true spiritual condition of the people. He knows that whatever they appear to be rejoicing in on the outside, there’s something else going on in their hearts that has yet to be dealt with, and it’s their sin. It’s their repentance. It hasn’t happened.

David Wheaton: And 2,000 years later, the state of Israel and most of the Jews are in that same state of hardness and rebellion against their Messiah. So it’s really incredibly relevant for even what’s taking place today. Again, Travis Allen with us, the pastor of Grace Church in Greeley, Colorado. Now, that was Sunday, Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry of Christ. Thank you for explaining that. Let’s go to the next day on Monday.

And I’ll just read from Mark chapter 11 about what took place on this Monday of Passion Week. Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple. And after looking around at everything... actually, this was the end of the day on Sunday, he left for Bethany with the 12 since it was already late. Okay, here’s Monday. On the next day, when they had left Bethany, Christ became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if perhaps he would find anything on it.

And when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" And his disciples were listening. Verse 15 of Mark 11: "Then they came to Jerusalem, and he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And he would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple.

And he began to teach and say to them, 'Is it not written, my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? But you have made it a robbers' den.'" The chief priests and the scribes heard this and began seeking how to destroy him. Very angry at this. For they were afraid of him, for the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came, it says in verse 19, they would go out of the city.

So, this is very interesting as well. So at the end of that Sunday, Travis, Christ entered the temple. It says he looks around at everything. Then he leaves. And then the next day, on Monday, he leaves where he’s staying in Bethany, a town just close to Jerusalem, and he comes in and he sees this fig tree with no figs on it and he curses this tree. And then he enters the temple that he had just looked around the night before. But this time he comes in and now he’s overturning tables and he’s driving people out. So, what should we make of what took place on this Monday in Passion Week?

Travis Allen: You mentioned the fig tree. He goes into the temple, he drives all the money changers and the buyers and the sellers out. And then it says in Mark 11:19, when evening came, they were going out of the city. Next verse, verse 20 says, "And they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots." So, that fig tree is a picture of Israel and it’s a picture of their spiritual condition. He looks for fruit, no fruit.

And that’s what he sees in the temple. When he goes into the temple, he looks for fruit. What is the fruit? The fruit of worship, a place for all the nations to come and pray and worship, and for the Jews to come and sacrifice and offer sacrifice to God, for them to get their hearts right, to be praying not like the Pharisee in the temple, but like the tax collector, "God be merciful to me a sinner," and for their hearts to be right.

And what he comes in when he looks around and then he comes back the next day to cleanse it... he’s coming into his own place. He’s coming into his Father’s house, his temple. Three years before that, John chapter 2, the end of John chapter 2, he had cleansed it already. He already made that point. He already drove out the buyers, the sellers, the money changers, and said, "Quit making my Father’s house a house of merchandise."

And so he comes three years later and it’s right back to business as usual, right back to profiting off of people’s spiritual need. And we see so much of that going on today, don’t we? But Jesus comes in and drives out everybody to cleanse and purify the temple. And then he sets up his preaching ministry right there in the temple. Interesting that the King, as he comes in on his coronation, he doesn’t go directly to the throne and kick the reigning Herod off the throne and take his place there.

He goes into the temple because this King is concerned to rule a people whose hearts are right with God. And so that’s where he’s got to go. That’s what he’s got to retake, recapture, and repurpose, get it back on track to be worshiping God the Father and to make this temple cleansed and purified again, to do the work that God intended for the temple to do, to bring people near to God so that God can be their God and they can be his people. So he comes in, cleanses the temple, and that creates all kinds of problems with the religious leaders who find his cleansing of the temple just gone too far and he needs to be challenged.

David Wheaton: And he did that at the beginning of his ministry and then again here at the end. Such a good point how they just reverted right back to their works-based empty religion of externalism. Travis Allen with us today talking about approaching Christ’s Passion Week with purpose. And so we go from Sunday, Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry coming into Jerusalem, to Monday where Jesus comes in the next day and curses the fig tree and it is cursed, it withers, cleanses the temple, clears it out.

And then the next day, on Tuesday, actually the next two days on Tuesday and Wednesday, actually quite a few chapters of scripture depending on which gospel you’re reading, give an account of what took place on these two days that Jesus was teaching. He was... a lot of contention with those religious leaders, as you said, they were very upset. They did not like him. They wanted him dead. Woe to the Pharisees, woe to you Sadducees, there’s chapters in scripture in the gospels on that.

And then he also spends some alone time on the Mount of Olives with his own disciples. And it’s called the Olivet Discourse where he talks about... they ask him what’s coming. I’ll read from Matthew chapter 24. "Jesus came out from the temple again, this is on Tuesday or Wednesday, you can clarify that, and was going away when his disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to him. And he said to them, 'Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here,' and he’s referring to the temple, these huge temples and these gigantic stones that just took years and years and years to build, 'not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.'"

"And as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, 'Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?'" Christ was referring that these things will be torn down AD 70 when Jerusalem was sacked and destroyed, the temple was destroyed. But they were also asking, "What happens beyond that in the future? What should we expect?"

And Travis, this is something we’ve been discussing on the radio program with all the events going on in the Middle East and the world and the different interpretations Christians come up with over eschatology, the study of the end times. Christ spent a lot of time on what happens in the future, but somehow it seems that there’s a lot of different versions of what’s going to happen in the future. Did God purposely leave quite a bit of mystery to the future so we need to be in a state of preparedness, or is it possible to have greater clarity about the end times and what the disciples were asking him to give them?

Travis Allen: Well, God doesn’t reveal things in scripture so that we can be confused and in the dark. What he reveals, he’s trying to illuminate for us and trying to show. And so we’re obviously with anything in the future, as Deuteronomy 29:29 says, the secret things belong to God, but the things revealed are for us and our children so that we may do them, so we may walk in them. And so I do think there’s enough revealed here in Matthew 24 and 25, you compare it to Luke chapter 21 and you see enough in the Olivet Discourse to sketch out a pretty good outline of what’s coming in the future.

Does that mean we know how everything’s going to happen and how it’s all going to take shape and unfold? No, I think there’s a lot of details for whatever generation is there to watch things take place. They’re going to look at scripture and say, "Oh, that’s what it was saying." It’s all going to make sense as things fall into place, as is typical of prophecy being fulfilled. It’s that backward look to compare prophecy with historical event to say, "Wow, it couldn’t have been more precise. We just didn’t see it."

But I do think there’s enough there to sketch the outline of what’s coming. In fact, when Jesus was teaching his disciples, he often pointed back to the clarity of the Old Testament and what was revealed about his coming that they neglected to see and neglected to see clearly. So, there’s going to be the limitations of our finitude and our perspective that is going to require the actual fulfillment in time and space of God’s words and we’ll look back and say, "Oh, that’s how that lines up. That’s how that happened."

But I do think that there’s enough here to create a sketch. I think Luke 21 helps with that because it not only points to the very end, to the signs preceding Christ’s second coming, but it also points to... which the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 and 25 does not point to, but Luke 21:20-24 does outline the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. That’s an important little parentheses there for the people of his time. They’re looking forward to that AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem. But then there’s a broader perspective that Christ brings when he talks about the signs just preceding the second coming, which we’re still waiting to see. Magnificent things coming on the earth at that time.

David Wheaton: Could you kind of sketch that out, what we should be looking forward to of the major events in the future? Now I don’t mean to leave you hanging, but we need to take a short break. When we return, Pastor Travis Allen of Grace Church in Greeley, Colorado, will give an overview of what Christ told his disciples about what they should be looking for in the lead-up to his return. So stay tuned for our final segment coming up. I’m David Wheaton, and you are listening to The Christian Worldview radio program.

Guest (Female): The March-April issue of The Christian Worldview journal features a special section on Easter and the resurrection of Christ. An article by Pastor Joe Rigney on how untethered empathy is used to manipulate and advance leftist power. Journalist Alex Newman writes about the godless globalist tentacles of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

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Jared Moore: Knowing all that we know about God, his beauty, his value... we’re headed to eternity. Our sins have been taken care of. My greatest problem in life is my sin and it’s been taken care of forever. I’m no longer a child of the devil. God has given me so much and blessed me so much. How could I possibly return to what the devil likes, what the devil loves? How could I give my life to that which reflects the evil one rather than God?

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Welcome back to The Christian Worldview. I’m David Wheaton. Be sure to visit thechristianworldview.org, where you can sign up for our weekly email and The Christian Worldview journal print publication, order resources, and support the ministry. Our topic today is "Approaching Christ’s Passion Week with Purpose," and our guest is Travis Allen, pastor of Grace Church in Greeley, Colorado. Travis, could you give us an overview of what Christ was teaching his disciples there in the Olivet Discourse about what we should be looking forward to with regard to the end times?

Travis Allen: Well, sure. I think there’s going to be a ramping up of wars and rumors of wars, as the Bible puts it. But as we look back through history in the past, there’s always been wars and rumors of wars. And so what will stand out to us, it’s coming fast and furious and thick and just continuous. I think that’s what’s going to really upset the world. And he says when you hear of wars and disturbances, Luke 21:9, don’t be terrified. These things must take place first.

And then this: great earthquakes in various places, famines and plagues, and terrors and great signs from heaven. So, are there earthquakes every year? There are destructive earthquakes. But are they like what Jesus is pointing to here that are of such a significance that people are going to be absolutely terrified? Then he goes on to, there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on earth anguish among the nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, and men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world.

So, currently you don’t see people fainting in fear over cosmic signs, over terrifying things happening on land and sea. Nobody’s fainting in fear over those things. There are the climate change people who are wringing their hands over false alarms and the sky’s falling and that kind of thing and all the Greta Thunbergs of the world. But that’s not what this is talking about. This is talking about something that everybody sees under heaven of all creation, all of us fainting from fear of the expectations of the things that are coming on the world.

The powers of the heavens will be shaken. That is a prelude and an immediate prelude to verse 27, Luke 21: "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." When these things begin to take place, straighten up, lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near. That’s the second coming. So when the second coming happens, that’s when Christ is going to rescue his people.

He’s going to destroy the unbelievers of the world, all the armies arrayed against Israel and surrounding Israel. He’s going to destroy the antichrist, his people. He’s going to set up his earthly kingdom, a millennial kingdom. He’s going to cast Satan into the abyss and chaining him, as a metaphor figure of speech that just shows he’s not going to be roaming freely on the earth. He’s not going to be deceiving the nations. And then we’ll enter into that unprecedented period of peace and prosperity under the rule of the Messiah for a thousand years.

So, that second coming happens at the end of a period of great tribulation, a seven-year period. And all of that is prophesied in Daniel, in Zechariah, of the antichrist’s peace deal with Israel. We talk about presidents and kings and people, rulers, trying to set up peace in the Middle East. Nobody’s going to succeed at that. The only one who’s going to show some signs of success is going to be the antichrist.

So, if you see peace in the Middle East prior to the return of Christ, the second coming, it’s because that’s the antichrist who’s made a peace deal with Israel that he breaks midway through, and then God brings his protection over Israel. Israel repents and turns to Christ, and God judges the antichrist and all the armies. And that second coming event is Christ coming to destroy, slaughter the armies of the nations that are arrayed against Israel and to cast the antichrist and the false prophet into the lake of fire and cast Satan into the abyss during that thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth where there will be unprecedented peace and prosperity.

David Wheaton: Travis, final question for you on this pre-Passion Week program. If you could just speak to people individually and say, "Here’s what I would really encourage you to focus on right now."

Travis Allen: We’re inundated with the news, we’re inundated with different distractions, and our minds are carried away so often. I just want to do what Christ calls us all to do, which is to put our attention on what God is doing, on what God has revealed. We talked a little bit about Passion Week. He entered into Jerusalem on his coronation, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He went directly into the temple.

He had to clear the temple and get everything out of the way, just all the distraction, all the noise. He had to bring an end to it so that he could set up his preaching ministry, his healing ministry, his care for people, being the true Shepherd of Israel. And why did he clear all that stuff out? Because he will not compete with all these other voices. All these other rivals are rivals for our attention. And we have to give our attention to God and his Christ.

They didn’t like him coming into the temple and destroying all their business prospects and the lucrative industry of capitalizing on people’s spiritual needs. They didn’t like that at all. And so they came, people after people, Pharisees, Sadducees, all coming to challenge him and discredit him. And after answering all of their challenges, it says in Luke 21:40, they didn’t dare to question him any longer about anything. And then he turns the guns on them.

And he says to them, "How is it that they say the Christ is David’s son? For David himself says in the book of Psalms, 'The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies as a footstool for your feet.' Therefore, David calls him Lord, so how is he his son?" He’s asking for them to think about scripture. He’s quoting from Psalm 110 there that talks about the elevation of God’s anointed, with Yahweh, David saying, "Yahweh says to my Adonai."

So how is David calling him his Adonai when it’s his son? It’s because he’s recognizing in this Psalm 110 prophecy that this is God’s Messiah. And this Messiah in Psalm 110 is also the one who’s called Melchizedek. He’s a priest after the order of Melchizedek, having no beginning and no end of days, but made this eternal high priest for us. He’s there at the temple, he’s preaching. Questions like he’s asking there for us to contemplate, think about the meaning of Psalm 110 in light of who he is... it requires quiet.

It requires reflection. It requires us turning off all the noise. Turning off the computer, putting the cell phone... throw it into your neighbor’s yard so you can sit down with your Bible and really thoughtfully, meditatively, reflectively, prayerfully think through the scripture. And I just encourage Christians to turn off the noise as much as possible and devote yourselves to scripture. ve got to get back to the Bible. We’ve got to get back to the meaning of scripture because that’s where our life is.

That’s where the food is. That’s where the spiritual nourishment comes from. When we gather together as a corporate body in the church every single Sunday, God’s gift of pastors and elders teach us the word. They teach us to be more thoughtful students of scripture. We need to listen to the preaching of the word. And if we’re not in good churches where the word is not honored and exalted and pastors aren’t preaching the meaning of scripture and exhorting from scripture and calling people to repent and believe and teaching them how to live godly lives, got to get out of those churches and get into churches that do that.

But those pastors are there to help us learn to read our Bibles better so that we’ll feed on the word and we’ll be nourished by Jesus Christ and his life by the Spirit. So I just say, this is a season for us to do that. As we come into the Passion Week and come into Good Friday and Easter celebrations, this is a great reminder for us to come back to scripture and do what Christ is calling us to do. Clear out all that junk and give our attention to the meaning of the scripture and meditate on it, reflect on it, and be not just hearers of the word, but doers of the word.

David Wheaton: What a wonderful and appropriate exhortation for all of us to hear, Travis. So thank you for pointing us to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, at this time of year should be all the time of year, of course, but also to the word of God as well, to go back to that and to block out the distractions that are constantly pulling us away from focusing on the right thing. Travis, we appreciate so much who you are, what God has done in your life, what he’s doing in your ministry as pastor of Grace Church in Greeley, Colorado.

We consider it a privilege for you when you are able to come on The Christian Worldview radio program. So we just want to wish you a really meaningful Passion Week with your church family in Colorado and just thank you again for coming on the program and all of God’s best and grace to you and your family.

Travis Allen: Thanks, my friend. Really good to spend the time with you and God bless you and your celebrations this time of year too.

David Wheaton: We hope you were edified by today’s program and that it helped prepare your mind and heart for this coming Easter week. Thank you for joining us on The Christian Worldview and for sustaining this listener-supported radio ministry. As we focus this week on the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, let’s magnify him and make him known.

The mission of The Christian Worldview is to sharpen the biblical worldview of Christians and to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. We hope today’s broadcast encouraged you toward that end. To hear a replay of today’s program, order a transcript, or find out, what must I do to be saved, go to thechristianworldview.org or call toll-free 1-888-646-2233.

The Christian Worldview is a listener-supported non-profit radio ministry furnished by the Overcomer Foundation. To make a donation, order resources, become a Christian Worldview partner, sign up for our weekly email or The Christian Worldview journal print publication, or to contact us, go to thechristianworldview.org, call 1-888-646-2233, or write to Box 401, Excelsior, Minnesota 55331. Thanks for listening to The Christian Worldview.