A word of hope from the prophet Zechariah.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. (Zech. 9:9,10)
The crowds pressed in upon Him. Hosanna, they cried. Save us now. A cry for deliverance from the Roman oppressors. So just as Zechariah’s prophecy foretold, our Lord rode into Death that day, knowing the horrors to come. The little donkey, never before ridden, plodded obediently along in submission to the King of Kings. Our Lord’s heart swelled with grief as every “Hosanna” brought Him one step nearer to the Cross. In days, he knew, the crowds would betray Him to the Evil One. The full wrath of His Father would come sweeping down upon Him, for you and for me, for our sin. Yet He set His face toward Jerusalem.
Why? Because He saw beyond the Cross, the spittle, the nails, the agony, the tomb, to me and you, His beautiful Bride. He would give it all, even His life’s blood, to redeem us unto Himself, to make us forever His.
Someday, His work of redemption completed, He will ride into Jerusalem on a horse, to destroy every enemy of His Father. That day is coming! But we who have fallen in love with our Messiah can say today that He is indeed our Deliverer, our Salvation, our Reigning King. And together, on this Palm Sunday, we lift our voices in highest praise to the One who has brought us from Death into Eternal Life.