April 7, 2017
Zechariah 9:9, 10
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
We saw in the last blog that Why All The Shouting on the first Palm Sunday was because of Zechariah 9:9 and 10:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation,
lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off
the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow
shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall
be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
The Jews had long waited for a Deliverer to defeat their Gentile overlords, and to restore the kingdom dominance they one had a thousand years before under the reigns of David and Solomon! In many prophecies, the Scriptures promised such a Deliverer, the Messiah (see, for example, Psalm 2:1-12; Isaiah 9:6, 7; Daniel 2:44; 7:13, 14). And since even the common Jew was quite familiar with these promises, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, the people were excitedly expecting verse 10 to immediately come to pass also! (Read the last blog that explains the three major promises of Zechariah 9:10).
The problem was that they did not understand the meaning of the three major parts of Zechariah 9:9:
• “Behold, your King is coming to you….” Yes, Jesus was offering Himself to the Jewish nation as King! In Daniel 9:25 He is called, “…Messiah the Prince…” because Jesus was not yet coronated as their King. Actually, He was rejected (see Luke 23:18; John 18:40; 19:15) because He was not their conception of what the coming King would be!
✡ They wanted a successful military leader, but Jesus desires to rule the heart! Once a human being is ruled from within, then peace will be manifested without (see Proverbs 16:7; Isaiah 11:9; Ezekiel 36:26; James 4:1, 2).
✡ Sin is the problem! (See Isaiah 59:2; Galatians 5:15, 19-21; Ephesians 2;12-17). It was sin that ruined the kingdom of the Israelites! (See II Kings 17:7-20). And, according to the prophesy of the suffering Messiah in Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12, Jesus…
…was wounded for our transgressions…bruised for our iniquities;
the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes
we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned,
every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the in-
iquity of us all….He bore the sins of many, and made intercession
for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:5, 6, 12).
The Messiah had to prepare subjects for the kingdom – from the inside out – before He would establish the kingdom! Otherwise, the subjects of the kingdom would just ruin it again.
✡ The people’s concept of a king was someone who would freely give them the physical necessities of life (see John 6:15, 26, 27). They were not concerned with the spirituality of the kingdom!
• “He is just and having salvation….”
✡ The Jews concept of justice was not God’s – nor was God’s view of justice theirs! (See Isaiah 1:11-18; Jeremiah 9:23, 24; Amos 5:21-24)
✡ As mentioned above, God’s salvation was not a military defeat of the oppressors, and a restoration of Jewish sovereignty! Salvation constituted forgiveness of sin and reconciliation back to God.
• “He is…lowly….”
✡ The Jews wanted a bold and decisive leader! At His first appearing, Jesus was “…gentle and lowly in heart…” (Matthew 11:29).
✡ They desired to crush the Roman oppressors! But Jesus taught, “I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you…” (Matthew 5:44).
When Jesus did not live up to their Messianic expectations, five days after the crowd hailed Him with palm branches, cloaks, and praises, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!” – they were screaming, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” (John 19:6).
So, let us learn this lesson: Do not receive Jesus Christ on your terms! Come humbly to receive Him on God’s terms! Then, Why All The Shouting will be praises to Him because He is your Savior, and your Lord!