“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.” (Zechariah 9:9 ESV)
Zechariah prophesied the coming of the Messiah as King. He would come riding on a donkey, a symbol of humility, peace and service. Humility is in short supply these days. It is a character trait that is considered neither desirable or pragmatic. Thus, perhaps to many people today a King riding a donkey would seem comical, something one would expect in a circus. Our cultural ideas of a King are based on the Hollywood version of history. Hence we would expect a King or ruler to be a powerful warrior riding a white horse, a drawn sword in his upraised right arm at the head of a mighty army, or perhaps driving a chariot drawn by powerful steeds.
But to the Jews there was nothing comical about a King riding a donkey. Nevertheless their concept of the Messiah was not a man of humility as the prophecy tells us, but a man who would deliver them through military conquest and throw off the yoke of oppression by slaughtering his enemies.
The prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem coming to be crucified. When Jesus entered in triumph on that Palm Sunday, he came as the King of Peace, to bring peace between God and man. He gives us this peace through his own self, through His sacrificial death on the cross. Through Jesus we who are of different nations and ethnic groups are united as one family. We are first and foremost citizens of the Kingdom of God, not of any earthly one. Our loyalty, our allegiance is to Jesus above all else.