Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
St. Andrews MTC, NY
Rejoice
greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes
to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a
colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)
The ninth chapter of Zechariah begins
with an oracle, or a message, from God. After the temple was completed,
Zechariah gave several prophecies about Israel’s future, which describe the
eventual first and second comings of Jesus Christ.
Many of us are
unable to find the things we are looking for because we have a wrong
image of that thing in our minds. We may look for something blue when in
fact it is red. The mental picture we had conjured up in our minds closed it to
the actual thing we were looking for. This is what happened to the Jews.
In Jesus’ day,
most Jews missed Him as their coming King because they had a different picture
of their Savior. The Jews thought they would be receiving a mighty political
individual, not someone who would be “gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt,
the foal of a donkey” (verse 9).
Even today, many
people still miss Jesus because of wild expectations. They’re looking for
someone who can solve their deepest issues, someone who can instantly erase a
debt. These people end up disappointed because of these expectations. From
verses 9-12, we see that, in order to welcome Jesus as our King, we need to
understand just who He is.
Jesus Christ is
coming to reign (verses 9-10). These verses point out Jesus’ first coming in
humility as a substitute for sin. They also point out Jesus’ second coming
in boldness, power, to reign over the earth.
PRAYER
Father,
we pray that we may be found faithful and pure in Your sight when we meet You
face to face. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
“I
wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope.” -
Psalm 130:5