Zechariah 9:9 “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.”

Everyone who is familiar with the four gospels’ account of the life of Jesus instantly recognizes this prophecy of the triumphant entry of Jerusalem. What is so useful in this record is the information we are given about the one who is riding on the young male donkey. This information is the cause of the prophet’s call for rejoicing and shouting. There were many in Jerusalem who did so on that blessed day. What if you had received word of this event? How would you have responded? Would the words of the prophet have affected your responses at all?

The one riding the donkey is first of all a king. He is in fact, THE king. He is the expected king and the awaited king. People lined the road with palms to welcome this king. The one riding the donkey is a righteous king. To a people who had lived with generations of unrighteous kings and leaders, this would have been a cause to rejoice greatly. The one riding the donkey was bringing salvation into His kingdom. Would that cause you to pick up a palm branch and wave it? Does the idea of salvation appeal to you. It did this people who had so lost their way. The one riding the donkey was humble. An unusual attribute for a king. A humble leader is so rare that with the exception of Jesus they are close to extinct.

In a later verse, we are told that the one riding the donkey will bring peace to the world. Seldom has such a decree from kings been made. World peace has often been sought but not found. There is always strife and struggle somewhere on the planet, between nations, and between people. Even families fall prey to division and strife. The one on the donkey will be king over all the world. Every nation is under the rule of Jesus.

Task for Today: Read this wonderful passage of scripture that predicts the formal arrival of Jesus as king of the world. He came with power in a form the world did not expect. Have you accepted His offer of salvation and peace? Do you trust in horses and chariots or are you trusting in a humble king on a donkey?