Zechariah’s Remarkable Prophecy

Today it’s Palm Sunday. We remember the occasion when, just a week before he was crucified, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

In a sense, nothing very remarkable happened. 2,000 years ago – as we all know – there were no cars or buses or lorries. If people were going somewhere they would walk or ride a donkey. Farmers would load their produce on a cart or on a donkey. So it wouldn’t have been at all unusual to see someone coming into Jerusalem by donkey.

But this was different. Jesus had become famous. Lots of people had heard of him. When Jesus got on the donkey to ride into Jerusalem, his followers figured out that this was important. They started shouting out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’ [John 12:13]. Others didn’t know who Jesus was. Those who knew told them: ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.’ Hmm. Is that what Jesus was?

Jesus’ riding into Jerusalem on a donkey is recorded in all four gospels. And two gospels, Matthew and John, point out that by riding a donkey into Jerusalem, Jesus fulfilled a prophecy. The prophecy which Jesus fulfilled comes in a book in the Old Testament called Zechariah. Scholars don’t think that Zechariah wrote the whole book that we call Zechariah. As we continue, I’m going to say, for example, ‘Zechariah wrote this.’ But please take that to mean that such-and-such is written in the book of Zechariah. Perhaps it was Zechariah who wrote it and perhaps it wasn’t. Here is Zechariah’s prophecy that Jesus fulfilled:

"Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,

righteous and victorious,

lowly and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey" [Zechariah 9:9].

What I thought we would do today is take a look at why it was so significant that Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey – and also why it was so important that Jesus fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy.

WHY WAS IT SIGNIFICANT THAT JESUS ENTERED JERUSALEM ON A DONKEY?

A donkey is without doubt a symbol of peace. That was clearly Zechariah’s idea too. He wrote that this king was LOWLY and riding on a donkey. Lowly means, not pushing your weight around. The donkey goes with that. Jesus was not entering Jerusalem on a stallion like a conqueror.

The next verse in Zechariah confirms that idea. Zechariah wrote:

"I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

and the war horse from Jerusalem;

and the battle bow shall be cut off,

AND HE SHALL SPEAK PEACE TO THE NATIONS" [Zechariah 9:10].

It’s absolutely clear that this king riding on a donkey wants to establish peace. I don’t think I need to say more about it. Let’s turn to the second question.

WHY WAS IT SO IMPORTANT THAT JESUS FULFILLED ZECHARIAH’S PROPHECY?

Zechariah’s prophecy takes this tiny event – Jesus’ riding into Jerusalem on a donkey – and shows that it’s part of a great plan that stretches almost from the beginning of world history to the end of world history. The great purpose of this plan is for Jesus to take his rightful place as king over all creation.

I’m going to do two things. I’m going to try to show how it’s part of a path that stretches back in time. Then I’m going to try to show how it’s part of a path that stretches forward in time. All along the way we’ll see the theme of Jesus as king.

BACK IN TIME

The connection between God’s anointed and a donkey goes back long before Zechariah made his prophecy.

We need to start in Genesis 22. God tests Abraham. He tells Abraham to take his son, his only son, whom he loved—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. When Abraham gets there, he is to sacrifice Isaac as an offering. Isaac’s being sacrificed by his father is a picture of Jesus being given to the world by God, his father. To make the journey to the region of Moriah, Abraham took a donkey. It’s a part of Abraham and Isaac’s story which comes again in Jesus’ story.

But there’s a much clearer connection a little further on in Genesis. Jacob had 12 sons. Before he died, he told each of them something about their futures. He told Reuben that he would no longer excel. He told Simeon and Levi that he would scatter them. Those were not very positive messages. Then he comes to Judah. He tells him, ‘The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.’

It's a remarkable prophecy that someone would come to whom the nations would give their obedience and this person would be from the tribe of Judah. Of course, that was true of Jesus. Then Jacob continues: ‘He’ – that is, this ruler – ‘will tether his DONKEY to a vine, his COLT to the choicest branch’ [Genesis 49:3-11].