Today’s Old Testament selection from this week’s Sunday Lectionary is one most familiar and associated with Palm Sunday. It is the Prophet Zechariah’s prophecy of Israel’s king coming to them riding upon a donkey’s colt. Zechariah made this prophecy about 500 years before Jesus, and it was fulfilled when Jesus came into Jerusalem a week before His crucifixion, on what we today call Palm Sunday.
Why a donkey and not a horse we might ask? The Jewish people were looking for a conquering Messiah, one who would defeat all of their many oppressors. They had been overrun by the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, each in succession. They knew that God had promised them the Messiah, and they were looking for Him to run their oppressors off. Horses were signs of wealth, war, and military power, exactly what they would have wanted in a Messiah that would deliver them. Donkeys, instead, were signs in the Bible of peace and hard work. In Bible times, and also today, they are used as pack animals and sometimes to ride on. However, a donkey would not be ridden by a conquering king. A king coming in peace would ride a donkey.
Verse 9 was a prophecy of Jesus, the Messiah’s first coming. In His first coming, Jesus came in peace to bring the message of God’s love and salvation to us. He was not coming that time as a conquering Messiah. When He rode into Jerusalem that Palm Sunday, He chose the donkey to ride. He was lowly, humble, and peaceful. He wasn’t charging in like Alexander the Great on a mighty warhorse.
In Mark’s Gospel, we read that the young donkey colt that Jesus rode on was one that had not been ridden before (Mark 11:2). He was unbroken, untrained. Until a horse or donkey has been broken or trained, they are usually difficult to ride. This would especially have been the case when trying to ride the animal around a large, noisy, and boisterous crowd, like on Palm Sunday. This was not the case with Jesus that day. The animal did not bolt, nor was he spooked. He knew his Creator and Master, knew the honor that was bestowed on him, and gently carried Jesus into town.
In verse 10 the scene changes. Zechariah speaks of Israel’s king having dominion throughout the world, from sea to sea. In one verse He comes in humility on a donkey, and in the very next verse He cuts off the enemies of His people, and rules from sea to sea. That’s a big change. Reading prophecy is sometimes like looking at a mountain range from a distance. We can see two mountain peaks that look like they are right next to each other, that even look like they are touching each other. But as we get closer to the mountains, we find out that they are many miles apart, perhaps even with several valleys in between. So it is with prophecy sometimes. One verse, such as verse 9 here, speaks of Jesus when He came the first time. The other, verse 10, speaks of His Second Coming, which is still in the future.
At His Second Coming, Jesus will not be coming back riding a donkey. At that time He will be on a horse (Revelation 19:11, Revelation 19:19-21). He will be coming as the conquering King. He came in peace the first time, bringing salvation to mankind, seeking to draw all to Him in love. The second time is different. Mankind had its chance, and He is returning as the conquering King.
When a conquering king comes, it is always best to be on the good side of that king. The time of Jesus coming as the conquering king is still in the future. So far He has only come as the peaceful King, offering salvation to all. Verse 11 speaks of God making a covenant with blood, to bring the prisoners free from the pit. That covenant with blood was made at the cross of Calvary, with the Blood of Jesus, the king who came in peace, riding upon a donkey. A covenant is an official contract or agreement. God made that with us, signing or sealing it in the Blood of His Son. By accepting the Lord Jesus as our Savior, He brings us up out of the pit that Satan cast us into. He promises, also, to restore double to us what Satan stole (vs. 12). When He comes again to rule and reign from sea to sea we will be part of His kingdom, not one of the enemies who will be defeated. Are we prepared, ready and waiting?
May we all be prepared for the return of our Conquering King, Jesus Christ!
ReplyDeleteHosanna!
Yes, Sarah, I want to be ready when Jesus comes again! Love to you!
ReplyDeleteInteresting dichotomy: "Coming In Peace And Coming To Conquer."
ReplyDeleteThank you for putting so much time and thought into these mediations. Do you know, for all the years that I've heard about Jesus coming in an unbroken colt of a donkey, this is the first time that I realized how much more that implied. You're right - a first riding on a strange, unbroken animal would be awkward to say the least, if not downright dangerous. Yet, like the wind and the sea, the donkey obeys. Hmm. It makes one think!