Rejoice — Lent Day 40

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

“Do you see Him? Where is He? I can’t see! Oh! There He is!”

“Jesus! We’ve waited so long! The prophets have been saying for centuries that He was coming.” We’ve had so many kings and conquerors, rulers and evil leaders. We’re ready for our king to come and make everything right!”

Jesus finally came as the conquering….

Wait! Jesus finally came as a…servant? On a donkey? No, it was a donkey foal, a young and very short donkey. Jesus entered the Holy City, Jerusalem, not on an Arabian war horse, but on a donkey, and a youngster donkey at that.

While donkey foals are cute, loveable, and baby-like, they are not meant to carry a king to his coronation. A king should ride a tall, strong stallion. A white stallion would be appropriate to carry a king.

Palm Sunday was the beginning of the end of Jesus’ life on earth. While most of the onlookers and rejoicers were ready to crown Jesus as their earthly king, Jesus was preparing to fulfill His pre-planned destiny…death on a cross then resurrection to a life fit for a king, a Heavenly king.

We rejoice for our king even as we realize that He will not accept an earthly crown. Our celebration is well meant but we misunderstand Jesus’ purpose. He is not riding to a coronation, but rather to a cross.

Jesus…riding a donkey foal…

Rejoice!

Ken Colson

walkingwithken.blogspot.com