The Essential JesusSample

The Humble King

PRAY: Heavenly Father, here are all the things that worry me now... I need your help to quiet my mind and heart so I can hear what you want to say to me.

READ: Zechariah 9:9-17

REFLECT: Many Old Testament prophets warned of a coming day of judgment, which finally arrived with the fall of Jerusalem and Israel's exile into Babylon in 586 B.C. Zechariah lived after these terrible events at a time when the Israelites had been allowed to return to their land. In the first part of his prophecy, Zechariah encourages the people to continue rebuilding the temple and to avoid falling into the sin patterns of the past (Zechariah 1-8). In the second part, he looks forward to the coming of a very special king (Zechariah 9-14). The question is, what kind of king would he be?

After living in captivity for over seventy years, it would be natural for the Israelites to want a strong king, someone who would fight fire with fire, but revenge and violence only make things worse, as the history of the Middle East and our relationships prove. The king Zechariah described was far different than anything Israel had seen or experienced. First, he would be humble (Zechariah 9:9), not proud or arrogant. Second, he would establish genuine peace throughout the world (v.10), not just the protection of Israel. Finally, he would institute a new kind of freedom based on "the blood of my covenant with you" (V. 11).

It's not hard to see how these prophesies were fulfilled, starting about five centuries later. Jesus was humble--he entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Matthew 21:1-11): he was the epitome of a servant leader (John 13:1-17). Jesus brought freedom–by dying on the cross, he freed people from the prison of sin and enabled them to have a relationship with God once again (Ephesians 1:7). Jesus will bring peace–someday in the future, Jesus will come again to establish an everlasting peace for those who believe in him (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

When we put all these pieces together, the picture becomes clear: Jesus Christ was and is the Savior King God promised through Zechariah many years ago.

APPLY: Have you ever tried to get revenge on someone who wronged you? What did you learn? How could you demonstrate the kind of humility Jesus had?

PRAY: Spend time praying for the people who have most recently wronged you.