Zechariah 9:9

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey ~ Zechariah 9:9

 

This prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 21:5, a day we will celebrate this coming Sunday, known to us as Palm Sunday. Israel had never had a truly righteous king. David, known as “a man after the Lord’s own heart” was not wholly righteous, nor was King Solomon. There were many good kings, but not one was Righteous! All had made mistakes, all had sinned in some way before the Lord. God had promised one would come, and He would be a great conqueror! How, we may wonder, did Israel become so confused as to think the Saviour would come to conquer the world with government power? Here it is plain that the Saviour would come in lowly fashion, not as triumphant kings of the land came. Kings of the earth ride in state, in pomp, on a mule, which was taller than a donkey. Usually white mules were the ones that were used by King David, as well as in the days of the Judges. King Absalom used chariots and horses, but in the Old Testament there is no story of a donkey being ridden by a king. This prophecy then was written for the Jews to expect a prophet-king, not a king of this world. This was the kind of animal the Messiah would ride upon. The Talmud said, “If a man in a dream sees a [donkey], he will see salvation.” Ironically, a false Messiah could have fulfilled this prophecy, but none would, for riding on a donkey had become a disgrace to their culture. Only a True Messiah would come riding on a donkey. He who was mocked, spit upon, crucified and died for us, to rise again, rode on into Jerusalem, in divine humiliation, to give His life for the human race because of Love. How great is our God!