#DailyDevotion The Messiah Who Has Come & Is Coming Again In Glory
Zech. 9:9-12 9Be very happy, people of Zion! Shout aloud, people of Jerusalem. You see, your King will come to you, He is righteous and victorious, poor, and riding on a donkey, on a young burro, the colt of a donkey. 10 He will get rid of the chariots in Ephraimand the war horses in Jerusalem; He will also get rid of the bow used in battle. He will talk peace to the nations, and He will rule from sea to sea and from the Euphrates river to the end of the world. 11 As for you also, because you have a covenant made with blood, I’ll send your captives out of the waterless pit. 12They will return to the fortified city as captives who have hope. Even now I’m telling you I’ll restore to you twice as much for all you’ve gone through.
The prophet Zechariah lived during the return from exile in Babylon. The Jews were rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple. They were still under Persian rule at the time. They only had a governor who answered to Persia. Things were better but not much better. It is in this setting Zechariah makes this prophecy.
We should be very familiar with it as the first couple of verses describe our LORD Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem before his crucifixion. Here we see Jesus entering Jerusalem and the people shouting for joy “Hosanna!” Zechariah did call for them to be happy and to shout aloud. The Messiah is righteous, victorious, poor and riding on a donkey. Indeed Jesus was and is all those things. We could see Jesus’ righteousness. He was certainly poor as he had no place to lie his head. On that day, he was beginning his victory over death and the grave.
But then there is the rest of the prophecy Jesus has yet to fulfill but will fulfill when he returns again in glory. When Christ returns with all his heavenly angels, makes a final overthrow of the devil, his antichrists, and all those who follow the devil’s way He will bring peace to the earth. On that day there will no longer be any need for weapons of war, bows, chariots, rifles, tanks, fighting ships, bombs, and aircraft to deliver them. Jesus will rule the world and have peace from sea to sea to the end of the world. There will be no more threats of war or rumors of war because the peace of Christ will rule all men’s hearts.
Then, there is that curious verse eleven. What does it mean they have made a covenant with blood? What else can that mean in this context than the one they hailed as their king and rejoiced in that Palm Sunday they will offer up to God as a sacrifice on Good Friday. They sacrifice Jesus as the Passover Lamb. Even as with the first Passover lamb was sacrificed and death passed over the people before they were led out of captivity, so too the Lamb of God, Jesus of Nazareth, was sacrificed. Because of this sacrifice which shed His blood, God takes us out of the waterless pit of the grave. He will resurrect us to eternal life, all who put their faith in Jesus. He brings us to the heavenly Jerusalem as those who have hope for the future. On top of the promise of the resurrection from the grave and living in peace in the New Jerusalem, we have the promise of a double restoration for everything that was lost in following Jesus. It is worth it to follow Jesus even if we suffer loss because what is lost in this world is restored even greater in the next.
Heavenly Father, strengthen us in our faith in Jesus so we may be among those led out of the waterless pit of the grave when Christ returns to live under him in his kingdom. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.