Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
And the bow of war will be cut off.
And He will speak peace to the nations;
And His dominion will be from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
— Zechariah 9:9-10
In the Christian tradition, this Sunday is the first day of what we call, “Holy Week.” It is an important part of the Christian story because we are following the week’s journey that leads to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
The first words of Holy Week are seen in Matthew 21:1-10, Mark 11:1-11, and John 12:12-16. “The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David;
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest!”
For the first time in His years of ministry, Jesus is outrightly testifying of His Kingship. All of the miracles and wonders seen up to this point were veiled disclosures of Jesus’ identity, but now He is entering Jerusalem in a way that nearly everyone would have recognized to be His proclamation that “I am the Messiah.” It’s not that Jesus wanted to veil himself from humanity before, but He also knew that this statement was exactly what would lead to His crucifixion. And it did.
To those reading the Scriptures in 2024, a donkey does not seem very… authoritative. Indeed, it is not. Kings would ride their warhorses back into the city after conquering the enemy, and people would lay coverings, such as palm branches, on the streets as they rode. However, Jesus’ fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy was an inauguration of a different kind of king. Many men attempted to take rule and reign for themselves, bringing war and destruction in order to lord over every man and woman as a crown of their own glory. Jesus, however, comes as a king riding a donkey who vanquishes the warhorses and warriors, setting free the captives and the oppressed. His triumphal entry signifies peace, redemption, and restoration.
He is not there to capture prisoners of war but to turn prisoners of sin, fear, shame, and hopelessness into prisoners of hope. Those in bondage to darkness are taken captive by the glorious promise only found in King Jesus. There is no other who is like Him. Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
There are many resources should you want to follow the timeline of Holy Week in Scripture. A few suggestions are Lectio 365, The Bible App, The Gospel Coalition, and Bible Gateway.