Zechariah 9:9 – 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.
Zechariah ministered in the post-exilic period, alongside Haggai, to a people rebuilding Jerusalem and awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promises. Chapter 9 opens with a declaration of God’s judgment on surrounding nations and then turns to the arrival of the long-awaited King.
The command to rejoice is imperative and urgent: Rejoice greatly! … Shout! The language of overwhelming, jubilant welcome. This king’s arrival is the moment history has been awaiting.
On the first day of the Passover week that would culminate in His death and resurrection, Jesus sent two disciples ahead with specific instructions to find a donkey and its colt (Matthew 21:1-3). Matthew notes that all this was done to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, the foal of a donkey (Matthew 21:4-5). Jesus was intentionally enacting the script of Zechariah 9:9.
The crowds responded with spontaneous, joyful celebration, spreading their garments and palm branches on the road, crying Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! (Matthew 21:9). The word Hosanna means Save now! The people were crying out the promise embedded in the prophecy: the King who comes having salvation.
The coming King is characterized by righteousness and justice. This is the biblical concept of tsaddiq; comprehensive rightness, covenantal faithfulness, moral integrity. Jesus was the only human being who ever fully kept the Torah, who in every thought, word, and deed perfectly expressed the justice of God. On the cross, He satisfied divine justice, bearing our sin so that we might receive His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). He is the just One who justifies the unjust through faith (Romans 3:26).
Conquering kings rode warhorses. Victorious generals entered cities in chariots. The donkey was the mount of peace, the animal of humility, the beast of the servant and the farmer. By choosing a donkey, Jesus was making a statement that the kingdom He brings is established by sacrificial love. My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight (John 18:36).
This humble kingship runs counter to every human instinct about power. The disciples struggled to grasp it; they wanted to call fire down from heaven (Luke 9:54), debated who would be greatest (Luke 22:24), and expected Jesus to overthrow Rome. But the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).
Jesus Christ, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth (Philippians 2:6-10). The humility of the donkey leads to the exaltation of the throne. The way down is the way up in God’s kingdom.
His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him (John 12:16). Understanding comes after resurrection. The puzzle pieces of prophecy and event fit together in the light of Easter morning.
The King is coming again, not on a donkey, but on a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war (Revelation 19:11). The first coming offered salvation; the second will consummate the kingdom. We live between the two advents, proclaiming the humble King who is also the coming King.
Ask God to:
- Forgive us when we seek power through the world’s methods rather than through the humble, servant way of Jesus Christ.
- Help us to understand the ways of God’s kingdom: that strength is perfected in weakness, greatness is found in service, and glory comes through the cross.
- Make us faithful ambassadors of His humble, saving, just kingdom.
