“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.” Zechariah 9:9
We normally call this prophecy to mind at Easter not during Epiphany. On Palm Sunday Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem and Matthew tells us that this was a fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. Often that’s as far as the teaching concerning this passage goes. Zechariah said the Messiah would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey and Jesus did just that…cool. But there is so much more going on than just donkey riding and it is absolutely a part of the message of Epiphany as well as Easter.
When King David was dying, his son, Adonijah, began to assert himself as the next king instead of Solomon. In order to end the confusion and authoritatively declare that Solomon was to be king, David had Solomon ride into Jerusalem on his own donkey with Nathan the prophet and Zadok the priest proclaiming, “Long live King Solomon!” This event foreshadowed Jesus’ Triumphant Entry as the greater Solomon with all the people and children proclaiming Jesus as the rightful King, something the Magi did at His birth.
The prophecy of Zechariah declares that Jesus/Messiah is indeed the rightful King, sitting on the throne of His father, David. But unlike Solomon, the prophecy of Zechariah describes the King as being rejected and crucified and also proclaims judgment on all nations including Jerusalem. What might seem a bit confusing at first in Zechariah, Jesus makes perfectly clear. When Jesus sees Jerusalem while riding the donkey, He weeps and pronounces its destruction at His arrival(Luke 19:41-44) The greater Solomon has come to destroy the old Jerusalem, the old temple, and the old priesthood all of whom have rejected their King. Jerusalem has become Babylon and will face destruction.(Revelation 17 & 18) But Jesus hasn’t just come to destroy. He has come to build.
Like Solomon did, the greater Solomon is going to build a temple a new temple, a glorious temple. He is building a new Jerusalem, and a new heavenly kingdom whose domain will be the entire earth. As Zechariah declares at the end of his prophecy, Jesus arriving on the donkey announces the coming of the great Day of the Lord where He will destroy His enemies and establish His eternal rule as King over all the earth and heaven. His New Jerusalem is the church, a temple city made of living stones, the Israel of God indwelt by the Holy Spirit who flows like a river of living waters over all the earth. All nations will bring their sacrifices to Him celebrating the new Feast of Tabernacles with the King of heaven and earth whose tabernacle is now with the nations who worship Him, as it says in Revelation 21:3.
All of this from just riding a donkey!
His mercy endures forever!
Pastor Flynn