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.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Zechariah prophesies that the Messiah-King will come to His people, humble and riding on a donkey, and we take this to refer to Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem when he is acclaimed by the crowds as the "Son of David", a traditional name for the Messiah. Warrior kings came riding a triumphant stallion when they entered a conquered city, however, the reference to a donkey isn't just applicable to Jesus, for the kings of Israel were forbidden to breed horses for such use. The Methodist theologian, Adam Clarke said, "Had Jesus in his title of king rode upon a horse, it would have been a breach of a positive command of God; therefore he rode upon an ass.”

A word that stands out in Zechariah's prophecy about the coming Messiah, is "humbly". It is the opposite of "pride". He says this King will come "humbly". When Julius Caesar entered Rome after returning victorious from Gaul it took three days for the procession of captives and booty to enter the city, but when the Son of God entered Jerusalem in Passover week, we see real humility - a humility from which we can learn.

We talk about and we condemn 'pride' as a major sin, yet cannot resist it. Ultimately only God can free us from pride - from being flattered by the words of others, or from being self-satisfied with who and what we are! Ultimately only God can make us humble.

Heavenly Father,
help us to look at the life of Your Son,
and to see true humility;
to remember that He was born into poverty;
lived as a man;
and suffered death on a cross.
May we begin to understand
the meaning of humility -
that as Your servants
we are called to serve others
as Your Son came to serve us.
Amen.