"Don't judge a book by its cover"
Rejoice, O people of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey's colt. (Zechariah 9:9 NLT)
This verse seems paradoxical. It proclaims the coming of a king, "Righteous & victorious", but also describes him as "Humble, riding on a donkey" in the next phrase. Which is he, victorious or humble?
If you study the history of any people with kings & kingdoms you will find that kings have many attributes. They are powerful, strong, authoritative, militarily wise, wealthy, & can do just about whatever they want, when they want, with whomever they want.
One attribute among kings that is rarely found is humility. How can a king be both victorious & humble at the same time? It takes a different kind of king.
Jesus is the prophesied coming king in this passage. We know this because the gospel writers refer to this passage in his celebrated entry into Jerusalem before he goes to the cross.
He is the king we need.
A new brand of king.
A king that doesn't just live for himself but seeks the welfare of others.
A king that is victorious over his enemies & righteous but also humble.
We need a king who is not a military victor. We need a king who is not riding on a white horse coming to defeat his enemies. Why? Because we are his enemies. If Jesus came this way, we would have been crushed. But he came on a donkey, humble, coming to serve & not to conquer.
He is the king we need.
But he is coming on a horse. He is coming to trample his enemies. He is coming with the wrath of God to pour out on his enemies. Revelation promises this to us. But that day is not today. Today we still see our king riding on a donkey, going to a cross, taking our place so we can live.
He is the king we need.
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