Prophecies of the King
Zech 9v9-10 - the King on a donkey
Theme: Rejoice, the gentle king comes to bring peace
Aim: To share with one another causes for rejoicing in Jesus
Sometimes it is easy to jump to conclusions… we hear something and make assumptions that might not be quite right! To illustrate this, perhaps you would like to have a look at a quick quiz?
It is Palm Sunday, the Sunday before the Passover. The people of Jerusalem may have been falling into the same kind of trap, making assumptions about what they thought they knew about the coming Messiah…
That is why Palm Sunday was so important. That is why there was all that fuss being made of Jesus coming into the city (on a donkey of all things)
We must remember that Israel was an oppressed nation under a foreign ruler, the Roman empire. The whole nation was waiting expectantly for the coming Messiah, the wonderful king who would save them from their rulers and give them dominion over all the rest of the nations.
Last week we saw one of the prophecies in the book of Daniel which was referring to this coming king,. The Son of Man, described in awesome terms – standing before almighty God and being given all dominion.
The people of Israel were aware that their holy book contained many promises about the coming Messiah – although they didn’t necessarily all recognise the different timing of the fulfilment of these prophecies.
When they saw Jesus, the one that everyone was talking about after his three years of dramatic ministry, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey their minds naturally went towards the writing of the prophet Zechariah – and to understand their reaction that day we have to look at the words that Zech wrote.
Now, Zech was one of the most popular and widely-quoted prophets if the NT is anything to go by. He is quoted or referred to 71 times, 1/3 of that in the gospels (and 31 times in the Revelation)
The single sentence which we have referred to in Matthews gospel is part of two verses which come in the second half of the book of Zechariah They come in the midst of a set of prophecies which were looking forward to the gentile powers being thrown out of Israel, the releasing of captives and the regathering of Gods people to the land he had given them. The two verses in the middle speak of the king that will come to exercise Gods protection, Gods rulership amongst them.
Lets look at Zech 9v9-10
Descriptions of the coming king
The arrival of our king v9a
The prophet is expecting and encouraging great rejoicing, shouting and welcoming the king who has come to liberate them.
We’ve all probably seen the scenes on TV and in the papers this week of residents in Baghdad welcoming the marines – shouting, laughing, presenting them with flowers. Even if this isn’t universally true of the Iraqi people, and the picture is marred by continued fighting and looting, it gives us a glimpse of the kind of thing Israel was longing for – a king who would liberate them from their oppressors! That’s something worth shouting about!
The character of our king v9b
He is righteous, he has salvation and he is gentle.
In other words he is thoroughly just, and he will uphold what is right in his exercise as ruler.
He brings salvation with him, he is the instrument of salvation for the people he is coming to.
He is gentle, and this could be translated lowly or humble. Look at his choice of mount too – not the warhorse or chariot of a victorious king riding in triumph, but a donkey, the foal of a donkey even. Prophets way back in the early days of Israel would ride upon donkeys
The disarmament of our world v10a
It is now clear to us that these verses apply to the second coming of the Messiah – the time when he will cause all war to cease, and the main weapons of war of that day – the horse, the chariot and the bow – will be taken away. The fact that he mentions both Ephraim (representing the northern kingdom) and Jerusalem (representing the southern kingdom) highlights the unification and peace which the Messiah will bring. – not that it stops there, of course. His peace will be proclaimed to the ends of the earth.
The kingdom of our Lord v10b
The kingdom of the Messiah will encompass the whole earth – his rule will extend from sea to sea and from the river (probably the Euphrates) to the ends of the earth. This is not literal language specifying the precise boundaries of the kings domain – it is figurative language, like saying “the length and breadth of the land” or “the four corners of the earth”.
Fulfilled in Jesus
The first part of this prophecy found its fulfilment in Jesus on that Palm Sunday all those years ago. The things which we have seen in v9 are so clearly modelled by the life and works of Jesus as we read them in the gospels. His character, his gentleness to the poor, the downtrodden, the broken hearted and the outcasts. Although righteous, he was never self-righteous.
Seeing the response of the people to Jesus that day, I find that I’m driven to compare it with the response which I often make. I don’t compare all that well…
Sometimes I try to hide behind a façade – “well, I’m British, don’t you know, and we’re not used to showing our emotions all that much”. Still, if you watch the football crowds after any victory you can see some pretty exuberant Britons rejoicing!
Sometimes we can forget just what a great liberation we have been given in Christ… and instead of “rejoicing greatly” our songs and our attitude might be mistaken for “mumbling sullenly”! Do you know what I mean? Perhaps we come to church because we feel that we ought to, rather than because we want to. Perhaps the words of hymns become second nature, and we are able to sing them on autopilot, we lose track of their real meaning through familiarity.
I find it really helpful to learn new hymns, read poems and stories which tell about Jesus – even seeing some of these events depicted in films – all help to re-stir my heart and to remind me of what is important, to remind me of how worthy of praise this Jesus, this king that we worship is!
Jesus is wonderful, truly lovely. He was the man that *anyone* could come to and find genuine love and affection. Jesus wants to pour out his love over you all today. I know that it is true, because the proof is seen in that first Easter week. “no man can show any greater love than to give his life for his friends. But while we were still Gods enemies, Christ died for us!”
All these characteristics are truly fulfilled in Jesus. He was fair, just and righteous in all that he did. He was gentle and humble, ministering to the sick and the broken hearted. And he came to bring a deeper salvation than could have been imagined. Not just salvation from an occupying force, not merely salvation from this worlds problems… but salvation from sin, salvation from the eternal death penalty which hangs over the whole human race.
What about part 2?
We can perhaps understand why the crowds around Jerusalem made the mistake of thinking that v10 was going to be fulfilled at the same time. The gentle and just king was arriving at Jerusalem on a baby donkey. Surely the second part of the prophecy was just about to happen? Freedom from their oppressors, universal domination, all the nations of the earth coming to bow down before Jesus…
But it didn’t happen like that.
One of the things that I find most striking about Palm Sunday… Some of the people who raised their hands to honour the king that Sunday – were raising those same fists against him and shouting “crucify” by Friday.
How could people change their minds so quickly, so thoroughly? These were probably the same kind of people who followed Jesus because he fed them bread, who followed him because he did miracles and healed people – in short, people who follow Jesus because of what they gain from it. A few years ago I heard a challenging poem which warns of this very thing:
Jesus now has many who love his heavenly kingdom, but few who carry his cross. He has many who desire blessing, but few who desire tribulation. He finds more to share his table, few his fasting. All wish to rejoice with him, few want to bear anything for him… many revere his miracles, few follow the shame of his cross. Many love Jesus so long as adversity doesn’t befall them. Many praise and bless him so long as they receive some blessing from him.
Nonetheless, the words in v10 will still come to pass. We are waiting now in expectancy for the second coming of the Lord Jesus – when he comes to fulfil the remaining prophecies of the Messiah who will conquer and rule the whole earth. One day every knee will bow to Jesus!
Conclusion
To those who feel in desperate need of peace, I want you to know that the prince of peace has arrived, it is a fact which we celebrate each Easter. While we won’t see global peace under his command until his second coming… it is possible to know peace through him now, today. If you want to experience that peace, you can pray and ask Jesus to help you – he loves to answer our prayers.
We really need to be looking further than what we can get from him though – and consider what we can offer to him.
So Secondly, lets heed the warning we see from those who celebrated Jesus now… but rejected him later. Those who followed him only for what they expected to get out of the relationship. My hope and prayer is that eventually nobody will look at Jesus and think “what do I get out of it” but think instead “what can I give to him”. And that brings me to my final point.
Lastly, I also think this brings a challenge to all of us who are Christians, and who want to follow Jesus. It challenges the response that we are making to him. Are we rejoicing greatly? And if not, why not? Are we perhaps losing sight of the heavenly reality of what Jesus has done for us? How wonderful he is? Perhaps we can make a point of sharing with one another at coffee time the names of books that we have found helpful, hymns and songs which have stirred our hearts? We need to encourage one another more and more with reminders of how wonderful Jesus is!
Alex White
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