HERE COMES THE KING

 

March 22, 2024

Zechariah 9:9-10



Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

HERE COMES THE KING

Historically, in the Ancient Near East, when a king entered cities riding a warhorse it was to convey his military power, predominantly when the king was entering into recently conquered cities where his rule may have been regarded as illegitimate, suspicious, or simply rejected by the residents. When a beloved king entered his own capital city, on the other hand, he would ride in on a donkey as the generous, compassionate, and caring king.

In today’s reading the prophet Zechariah speaks of a day when Jerusalem would see her king return. This King would conquer the enemy once and for all, obtain a lasting salvation and establish a new reign of peace for all. It is this hope of the true king, riding on a donkey, that led the crowd to shout: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” when they saw Jesus riding into Jerusalem, yes, on a donkey.

A crowd’s opinions can change rather quickly. As we know this crowd soon became the angry mob that cried “Crucify Him!” Jesus, who was once welcomed as the returning king, was now to be met with rejection and hostility. The picture we see is that here was the true king returning to his city to find that it had turned away from him. Matthew 26 records the words of Jesus, can you feel the emotion of the moment? “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, … how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”

Notice that even though rejected, Jesus mounted a donkey, not a warhorse, and entered in peace. Again, God’s amazing grace is demonstrated. The Gospel’s teach us that Jesus won the ultimate battle for his disloyal and treacherous people through submitting himself to their violence, indeed our violence too, and achieving forgiveness for all, in one crucial, final, decisive victory. So in the words of Zechariah, I say to you, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king!!

LET US PRAY

Lord, we rejoice and shout aloud in gratitude that you would give your life for us. We praise you as our beloved king that we have been waiting for. Come reign in our heart, our lives, our city. In Christ’s Name, Amen.