Thoughts for the Day

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the warhorse from Jerusalem;
and the battle-bow shall be cut off,
and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Christians take this prophecy by Zechariah to refer to the Messiah who was to come and bring peace to Jerusalem and to all nations, but in its first utterance it would have meant something different to those Hebrews who had been exiled in 586 BCE after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. He promised that the exiles would return to Jerusalem and the city would be rebuilt. However, by the time of Jesus the promise had not been redeemed, instead Persians, Greeks and Romans had ruled over them in succession for over 200 years.

So when Jesus entered Jerusalem from Bethany down the steep sides of the Mount of Olives riding on a donkey the people understood the symbolism and greeted him as a King. They had suffered for years under the oppressive rule of neighbouring despots, and were desperate for freedom from the tyranny. Jesus comes riding not on a warrior's steed as a conqueror, but on a donkey a humble beast of burden, as a King who would bring peace. Even the lowliest person could see the allusion to Zechariah's prophecy, and so they greeted him by spreading their cloaks and palm branches before him, with shouts of "Hosanna!" and "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!"

How bitter-sweet is this moment, when five days later the same people cry "Crucify him!" Where do we stand in this? Do we shout "Hosanna!" and "Welcome, Lord" when things are going well, but reject Him when life becomes hard?

Lord Jesus Christ,
King of all kings,
and Lord of all lords,
we welcome You this day into our life,
and praise Your Holy Name.
We thank you for rescuing us
from sin and eternal death,
and we ask Your forgiveness
when we turn our back on You.
Keep us ever strong in the faith,
looking for the fulfilment of
Your Kingdom of love and peace.
Amen.