The Coming King

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 9:9

Unlike Alexander the Great, this King comes riding on a donkey, and was fulfilled at Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The Jews should have been looking for someone from the line of David, but missed it due to their hardness of their hearts. Notice there are four elements in this verse that describe the Messiah’s character: 1st) He is King; 2nd) He is just; 3rd) He brings salvation; 4th) He is humble. Let us take a closer look.

The Triumphal entry—Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘ The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” (Matthew 21:1-3) Having just arrived in Bethphage, Jesus would have had no time or opportunity to make arrangements for the use of these animals. Yet He knew exactly, precisely their location and even the dispostion of its owners. Such detailed foreknowledge reveals His divine omniscience.

All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”  So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitude went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘ Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest! “ And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”  (Matthew 21:4-11)

The exact quotation from Zechariah 9:9, indicates the exact time of the fulfillment of this Messianic prophecy and would not have escaped the Jewish multitudes, who responded with titles and accolades reserved for only the Messiah. Matthew is the only gospel writer who mentions the mare donkey. But all four gospels mention the young age of the donkey, or state that no man ever sat on this animal. Spread their clothes on the road—Spreading one’s garments on the street was an ancient act of homage reserved for high royalty. Which in this case, suggested that they recognized His claim to be King of the Jews. Hosanna—This transliterates the Hebrew expession which is translated “Save now.”

The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. (Psalm 118:22-26)  Peter identified the chief cornerstone in the New testament as Christ (Acts 4:11; 1Peter 2:7). The day of deliverance and/ the day the stone was made the chief cornerstone, which they now celebrate—This is the Lord’s doing.  Save now I pray—This becomes “Hosanna” These were the words shouted by the crowd to Christ at His triumphal entry to Jerusalem. Then just days latter, they rejected Him because He did not provide what they thought should be militarily or politically deliverance from Roman government.

Beloved friend, the date of Jesus triumphal entry in Jerusalem was Monday, 10 Nisan, A.D. 30, exactly 483 years after the decree of Artaxerxes mentioned in Daniel 9:24-26. The Jewish calendar days began at 6pm in the evenings till 6pm the next day. So this explains the Palm Sunday events today. Be blessed in your reading and understanding of the Scriptures. God is not hiding anything from us about learning the events of the Lord’s passion week. They are there for our learning so we can have the confidence in our salvation delivered to us by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. Though He chose the humble entry, He will come again, this time as our conquering King!

May the Lord bless your Palm Sunday!

Author: rontrujillo

Married 37 years We have six children. All of whom are adult. Three are married one of them blessed us with three beautiful grandchildren. Retired Firefighter @ Boeing Aircraft 37 years (Formally McDonnell Douglas) Born Again Summer of 1981 View all posts by rontrujillo