Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. . . .1
During the time of Jesus, this prophecy was fulfilled. As he drew near to Jerusalem, to the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave detailed instructions to two of his disciples, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”2 The full account of this story is recalled in all four Gospels—Matthew,3 Mark,4 Luke,5 and John.6 The repetition conveys the weight or importance of the story.
Interestingly, as Jesus arrived mounted on a donkey, it is cited that only ‘most’ of the crowd acknowledged and celebrated him, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”7 When he entered Jerusalem the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”8
Not surprisingly, the crowd wondered. Note, the Jews expected a political and military Messiah—a new king David who would overthrow the oppressive Roman empire. Based on their misinterpretations of the prophecies, they developed wrong expectations of a triumphal king—“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. . .9 Isaiah gave a similar prophecy.10 The Jews expected a conquering ruler—Solomon’s Psalm11 specifically details a just and powerful king. May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River (the Euphrates) to the ends of the earth.12 Isaiah prophesied, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.13
Unfortunately, their situation was a far cry from their expectation. There was a declaration of a destination, free from their captives; their reality didn’t measure up to their envisioned aspiration. They didn’t seem to like what they saw: an alleged king riding a donkey, whom they knew was the son of Joseph and Mary, born in a manger, a carpenter boy. How could this man be their powerful king? Doubts were sipping in.
Have you ever been in a similar situation? Perhaps you are clutching tightly to a promise, driven, by the hope of prosperity, comfort, freedom. Only your situation is diabolically opposite of your expectations. The dream is so elusive. Or perhaps you have achieved the pinnacle of worldly success. Yet, there creeps inside of you an emptiness.
Is it possible that you are being prompted to do a ‘flight-correct’? Perhaps God is calling you to change your priorities? Jesus exhorts, But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.14
Notes:
1. Zechariah 9:9-12
2. Matthew 21:1-3
3. Matthew 21:1-11
4. Mark 11:1-10
5. Luke 19:28-40
6. John 12:12-19
7. Matthew 21:6-9
8. Matthew 21:9-10
9. Jeremiah 23:5-6
10. Isaiah 11:1-16
11. Psalm 72:1-20
12. Psalm 72:8
13. Isaiah 9:6-7
14. Matthew 6:33
