Zech 9:9   See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey,

   

What contrasting pictures! This is the Zechariah prophecy fulfilled when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday. This simple little prophetic word combined the two contrasting elements that had confused so many of the Jewish scholars down through the centuries before Christ actually came. On one hand there were the kingly prophecies that indicated that the one who was coming would be a conquering king. That bit the Jews of Jesus' day liked – as do many Christians today. We like the picture of the Lord coming in power to sort out the earth, and the picture near the end of Revelation does have Jesus coming as this mighty conquering king – but that's not how he came to the earth and to Jerusalem at the beginning of that last week.

Yes, he comes with righteousness, acting completely rightly as far as God's plan in concerned and, yes, he comes with salvation in his hand but it is not salvation as the Jews expected; he is not coming to conquer the Romans and set Israel free. No, there is a greater slavery, one that won't just last the duration of the Roman occupation; this one lasts throughout earth's history, and it is the slavery of sin. He comes gently and he comes riding on a beast that speaks of humility – this is no war charger! He comes in weakness to fulfil God's plan, for that so often is how he does it. Do you want to see the might of the world or the transforming power of the humility and weakness of the Son of God? The choice is yours!