Verse of the Week: Zechariah 9:9
(The majority of the footnotes are taken from the Ryrie
Study Bible, to clarify additional verses quoted in this writing.)
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to
you:
He is just and endowed with
salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a
donkey. Zechariah 9:9
Today we observe what is known as Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday
is the Sunday before Easter, the day we observe for the resurrection of our
Lord Jesus Christ. (I prefer Resurrection Day or First fruits but for sake of what
many are familiar with we will call it Easter.) Palm Sunday is a remembrance of
when our Lord entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. It is the first day of Passion Week or Holy
Week. It is the last week of our Lord’s life before His crucifixion and resurrection
from the dead.
This day is important for Christians. This is one of the few
events recorded in the Gospels that is written in all four Gospels. Events
which are recorded in all four Gospels deserve special attention for the
lessons they contain for the believer. However, we are not going in this
direction. Instead we are going back in time, about 500 years before Christ,
and examine the prophecy concerning His triumphal entry.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion!
Shout
in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold,
your king is coming to you:
He is
just and endowed with salvation,
Humble,
and mounted on a donkey,
Even on
a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice…Shout-
The first two lines are written utilizing a literary device used in poetry called
synonymous parallelism. This involves the repeating of the same idea in
successive lines. The first half of a verse will make a statement, and the
second half will essentially say the same thing in different words. The
statements are “parallel” in that they are juxtaposed, or side by side, and
they often share similar syntax. You are reading the same thought but with
slight changes in the wording. But by repeating what you have said you have
reinforced the thought and should be given the thought more attention.
He…Humble…Even-
The last three lines are written utilizing a literary device used in poetry
called synthetic parallelism. In synthetic parallelism, which is not really
parallelism at all, related thoughts are brought together to emphasize
similarities, contrasts, or other correlations.[1]
We see a progressive flow of thought that builds as each line is added.
Rejoice
greatly- Literally, “dance with force,” “go around and around.” This is a
celebration. Something wonderous has happened that has caused the people to
break out in dance. Think of David when the Ark of the Covenant was being
brought home:
14 And David was dancing before the LORD
with all his might, and David was wearing linen ephod.
15 So David and all the house of
Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.
16 Then it happened as the ark of the
LORD came into the city of David that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out
the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she
despised him (compare Michal’s reaction with the reaction of the Jewish elders
when Jesus entered in the city) in her heart. 2 Samuel 6:14-16
Greatly
carries the idea of exceedingly. Look at how David carried himself before
the ark. Now the people have Someone greater than the ark to dance about.
Why were they rejoicing? We will
soon find out.
Shout- “Raising a shout,”
“give a blast” like on a trumpet. Make some noise people, the king has come.
Daughter of Zion…Jerusalem- This
the same people that inhabit the same location: Jerusalem. This is not an
occasion for the Gentiles. This is for the Jewish people and their long-awaited
Messiah. This would be one of the clues
as to the fulfillment of this prophecy where it was to occur, Jerusalem.
Behold- Pay attention. Pay
attention to the words that Zechariah is writing. This is a future event and
you need to know what to look for. Pay attention because this is big. When we
see the word Behold we are being prepared for something so very
important that we must not overlook it.
It is impossible to capture from just
reading the passage, but the style that Zechariah is writing this is as if he
was there witnessing the event.
Your king- This is why the
women are to rejoice. This is why the woman are to shout. Their King has come.
Here we find an agreement between
Orthodox Judaism and Orthodox Christianity. Judaism understood this to mean
what it says, a king is coming for them to rule over them. This king will be
identified by the method that he enters the city and the response of the
people. Christianity maintains the same interpretation but believes that Jesus has
fulfilled this verse. He is the One who rode into Jerusalem before His death on
a donkey. He is the One who rode into Jerusalem to the acclaim of the people. Is
there anywhere we see this as occurring anywhere in history apart from Christ?
The Jewish writer and commentator Rashi wrote:
Behold! Your king shall come to
you. It is impossible to interpret this except as referring to the King
Messiah, as it is stated: “and his rule shall be from sea to sea. We do not
find that Israel had such a ruler during the days of the Second Temple.[2]
Is coming- Future. This is a
prophecy for something that will occur after this writing. They were given the
signs to look for to be able to identify who this king would be. This prophecy
would not be fulfilled until God was ready in time for it to be fulfilled. We
cannot force it to happen as some tried to do during the time of Christ:
Jesus therefore perceiving that
they were intending (about) to come and taken Him by force, to make Him king,[3]
withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone. John 6:15
The
King will come to them one day, but it will be God’s timing and in the
fulfillment of His perfect will.
To you- To the Jewish people,
in particular Jerusalem’s inhabitants were this prophecy would occur. This
prophecy was not given to the Gentiles.
He is not coming for His own
pleasure or benefit. He is coming for the sake of His brethren.
He- Though calling Him a
king earlier should have been the only identifier needed for His gender, the
Holy Spirit added that the King will be a “He.” Maybe the Holy Spirit
looked down the road 2,000 years after Christ and knew this needed to be put in
because we have about 57 genders in our vocabulary (sarcasm, though maybe with
a grain of truth).
Just- He is righteous. He is
in right standing with God, in fact in perfect standing with God. Jesus is
right in conduct. Jesus is right in character. Jesus is right in His deeds. By
being a King that is righteous, His kingdom will also be characterized by
righteousness:
5 “Behold, the days
are coming,” declares the LORD,
And He will reign as
king and act wisely
6 “In His days Judah
will be saved,
And Israel will
dwell securely;
And this is His name
by which He will be called,
The LORD our
righteousness.’ Jeremiah 23:5, 6
Endowed- Having the ability
to offer Himself up to suffering and death at the hands of His enemies in order
to deliver or save others. The only way this could happen is by His perfect
righteousness. This is a unique proof that He was in possession of that indispensable
prerequisite for the justification of guilty sinners.
With salvation- Were the
crowds thinking of Isaiah:
As a result of the
anguish of His soul,[6]
He will see it and be
satisfied;
By His knowledge[7]
the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities. Isaiah
53:11
Probably
not, they were more in tune with thinking of the hated Romans and the desire to
be saved from them. The crowds did not understand the need for spiritual
salvation before the physical salvation could occur. Jesus had offered them
physical salvation when His ministry began but it was contingent upon one word,
“REPENT”.
From that time Jesus began to
preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven (millennial
kingdom) is at hand.” Matthew 4:17
However,
repentance was the last thing on their minds. Instead of trusting in Jesus, they
trusted in their ancestry from Abraham:
And do not suppose that you can to
yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our Father’; for I say to you, that God is
able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Matthew 3:9
“The common teaching of that day said
that the Jews participated in the merits of Abraham, which made their prayers
acceptable, helped in war, expiated sins, appeased the wrath of God, and
assured a share in God’s eternal kingdom. Consequently the people were started when
John and Jesus preached the necessity of personal repentance.”[8]
What
they did not understand is that by the death of Jesus salvation did come to the
people. Not just to the Jews but to the entire world. When Jesus returns in His
Second Advent[9] He
will give the Jewish people the physical deliverance they have been longing for.
Humble- Poor, afflicted,
wretched? How can our Messiah be described by these words? At His first coming
Jesus reflects the dual nature of the Messiah in the aspect of the Suffering
Servant (Isaiah 53 gives this graphic description of Him). He was poor during
this life. His parents sacrificed two doves in the temple for His redemption
price which only the poor offered. He was raised in the carpentry profession.
Unlike today this was not a hugely profitable business to work in. (On top of
that Joseph had to support himself, Mary, Jesus, 4 other sons, and probably 3
or more daughters). At one point he didn’t have somewhere to sleep. At His
crucifixion the only thing of value was his garment. Even in death Jesus was
buried in a borrowed tomb.
Mounted on a donkey- Most
likely there were Roman guards somewhere along the path. When word got out
about the gathering of people and the excitement of what was happening Rome
would have been there to investigate and make sure there was not threat to Rome
or to peace in the city. What a strange sight for them to behold. What would
motivate them to proclaim someone riding on a donkey as king? When a victorious
general would return, he would carry booty, he had prisoners to show off, he
had slaves that would be ready for the slave market. Some of the victory
parades would last up to three days. Not so with Jesus. No prisoners, no
slaves, no captured loot from an opponent. Just a humble man demonstrating that
He would be a different kind of King.
Even on a colt- This may be
a Hebrew expression of speech that would denote and emphasize that the animal
is a purebred. The foal has never been ridden. The Messiah is not riding a magnificent
stallion that had been bred since birth for warfare. Far from the fact. The
donkey was an animal of peacetime as they carried much when people were
traveling or merchants who used them to carry their inventory.
The foal of a donkey- Jesus
was on a lowly animal that was only ridden by someone who had no rank or
worldly position. As mentioned above, this would be the animal of a poor
person. If one of Israel’s kings had ridden on a donkey it would have indicated
he had lost his crown any authority he had once possessed. The donkey was
considered a best of burden, a burden-bearer:
29 “Take My
yoke[11] upon you, and learn from
Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR
SOULS.
30 “For my yoke is easy, and My load (burden) is light.” Matthew
11:28-30
This has also been a problem for
many Jewish thinkers. The idea of a king entering Jerusalem, ready to get rid
of the Roman conquerors, and he is riding a donkey. Part of the difficulty for
the Jewish people comes from the teaching of the Babylonian Talmud:
“If they (Israel) will be
righteous (the Messiah will come) on the clouds of heaven (Daniel 7:13); if
they will not be righteous (he will come) as a poor man riding upon an ass
(Zechariah 9:9)… King Shabur (Sapur) said to Sh’muel: “You say that the Messiah
will come upon an ass; I shall send him a well-groomed horse.” He answered, “do
you, perchance, have a horse of a hundred colors?”[12]
As
mentioned above, Matthew 3:9 demonstrates that the people thought they were
righteous by being the offspring of Abraham. Since at His first coming Jesus
did not ride in on a horse, but on a donkey, obviously He could not be the
Messiah.
The
answer to the question is not either/or. It is both. The Messiah has fulfilled
the first half when He came to the earth as a humble, lowly man. He paid the
price for sin and enabled each of us who believe and trust in Him to be a
citizen of the kingdom that He offered the Jewish nation. At His Second Coming
He will come in power, majesty, and glory. He will come on the clouds and every
eye will see Him. Messiah will rule the nations as presented by Zechariah 9:10:
And I will cut
off the chariot from Ephraim,
And the horse
from Jerusalem;
And the bow of
war will be cut off.
And He (Jesus) will
speak peace to the nations;
And from the
River to the ends of the earth. Zechariah 9:10
I hope
you have enjoyed this look at Zechariah 9:9. Please be sure to share it with
anyone you believe would benefit from it. I would encourage you to spend some
time today and look at the four Gospels and read their accounts of the
Triumphal Entry of Christ.
[2] The
Judaica Press Complete Tanach, Rashi Commentary, online version
http://www.chabad.org/library/
[3]
Jesus had to escape from the enthusiasm of the crowd, which would have forced
Him to lead them in revolt against the Roman government. Jesus refused to
become a political revolutionary.
[4] Literally,
a shoot, a Messianic title signifying the new life that Messiah will bring. “In
that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit
of the earth will be the pride and adornment of the survivors of Israel.”
Isaiah 4:2
[5] He
will secure righteousness for His people.
[6] His
whole being, including His soul was involved in the offering.
[7] By
knowledge of Him. See Romans 3:26.
[8] The
Ryrie Study Bible, Matthew 3:9 note.
[9] This
is not the Rapture of the Church. The Rapture will occur first, then a brief
period of confusion, followed by a covenant between Israel and her enemies
facilitated by the Antichrist which inaugurates the seven-year tribulation. At
the end of the seven years Christ will return in power and glory delivering
Israel from annihilation. This return is typically known as the Second Advent
or Second Coming.
[10] This
great invitation; extended to all is threefold: (1) to come and receive
salvation; (2) to learn in discipleship; and (3) to serve in yoke with the
Lord.
[11]
The yoke involves instruction under discipline. Yet, in contrast to the
teaching of the scribes, Jesus’ yoke is easy. Through the ages these verses
have been among the most beloved in the New Testament.
[12]
Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 98a
[13]
The fulfillment of this prophecy of universal peace awaits the second advent of
Christ.
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