Undefeated because our king has come

Zechariah 9:9-11 Rejoice greatly, Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your King is coming to you. He is righteous and brings salvation. He is humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. ¹⁰I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The battle bow will be taken away, and he will proclaim peace to the nations. His kingdom will extend from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. ¹¹As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.

May the Lord answer you in the day of distress. May the name of the God of Jacob lift you up. (Psalm 20:1) Amen.

The Jewish remnant had returned to Jerusalem. It has been fourteen years since the people had been released from their Babylonian captivity. They were fourteen long, difficult and discouraging years.

The people are not able to attend worship services at the temple. The temple had been destroyed decades earlier. Their efforts to rebuild it have been at a standstill.

The people are apprehensive of unseen enemies. The Syrians, Phoenicians and the Philistines who all live around the Judean countryside can launch an unseen attack at any time.

They feel isolated. They should be out working – rebuilding the temple, the city and the city walls. But they have become lazy as they lock themselves in their homes. Their economy is in shambles. People are not able to work. Businesses from decades earlier never reopened.

After their return from exile, the Jews hoped for a quick restoration of life to what it had been previously like. They dreamed of a return to their former glory. They looked for the fulfillment of their messianic hopes.

Their economy is in shambles. Their non-essential businesses are shuttered. Their worship in the temple is shut down. Their fears of an unseen enemy are sharpened. Their hopes for the future seem shattered.

In these troubling times, God doesn’t promise a cure or a quick fix or a booming economy. He promises a King. God delivers this promise through the prophet Zechariah. “Rejoice greatly, Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your King is coming to you. He is righteous and brings salvation. He is humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).

God promises a King, but a King who will be very different from every other kind of earthly king.

The people will jump for joy, rejoice greatly and shout loudly for this King.

The King God promises will not come with military might or customary splendor. He will not enter Jerusalem riding a royal steed. He will come with gentleness and humility. He will enter David’s city riding on a lowly beast of burden – and a borrowed one at that.

God then speaks directly to the people. “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The battle bow will be taken away, and he will proclaim peace to the nations. His kingdom will extend from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth” (Zechariah 9:10).

The King God promises Israel will not need chariots or war horses or battle bows to conquer. Pruning shears and plowshares will take the place of swords and shields. This King will be a different kind of King. He will establish his kingdom with the words of peace. Real peace will reign as his enemies realize he has won, and they are incapable of fighting against him.

God gives a covenant promise to the remnant. “As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit” (Zechariah 9:11).

God had created a covenant with their Jewish forefathers centuries earlier at Mt. Sinai. Zion’s King will ratify that covenant centuries later with his blood on Mt. Calvary.

The Jewish remnant were feeling lazy, fearful, poor and discouraged – like they were imprisoned in a waterless pit. Zion’s King will restore hope to them as he places them in his own royal fortress. He will give them a double share of his promise because they are his covenant people. Under his watchful eye, Zion’s King will overthrow their enemies, rebuild their temple for worship and restore their nation in the Promised Land.

This will all happen because God promises their King is coming.

Do you notice the similarities between the remnant in Israel in 520 B.C. and we in America in 2020 A.D.? Our economy is in shambles. Non-essential businesses are shuttered. Worship inside church is shut down. Our fears of an unseen enemy in Covid-19 are sharpened. Our hope for the future seems shattered.

Yet God does not give us hope by promising a cure for this disease or a booming economy or that we can encounter people in close proximity again.

Instead of promising those earthly outcomes, God promises a heavenly King who walked on earthly soil. God promises a King – not to take away earthly troubles or fix physical problems or return material blessings. God promises a different kind of King – a King who takes away earthly sins and fixes spiritual problems and pours out blessings from his heavenly throne.

God promises a different kind of King. A King who becomes one of the dregs of humanity because we are the dregs of humanity. A King who gives up his innocent body to thorns, scourging and nails because our bodies are tainted with sin. A King who is a gracious, gentle and humble heart because our hearts are full of evil, lies and deceit.

He is the King who dies for his subjects.

The Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.

The Creator who allows his creatures to crucify him.

This King is Jesus. On Palm Sunday, Jesus fulfills Zechariah’s prophecy to the Jewish remnant. He rides on in majesty. He rides on to a criminal’s death. A death that makes centurions and governors shake. A death that takes a repentant criminal to paradise.

This is Israel’s King. This is our King. His victory is their victory. His victory is our victory.

We are undefeated because our King has come!

God promised the returning remnant a different kind of King. Jesus is certainly that kind of King. Jesus doesn’t come to conquer like other kings. There is no brutality. There are no weapons or armor. There is no show of superior strength. Instead, as Zechariah prophesies, Jesus comes to show kindness. He’s come to forgive the unforgivable. He’s come to love the unlovable. He is the Savior for the forsaken. He is the Savior of the forgotten. He’s come to make peace with those who treat him as an enemy.

Jesus’ victory doesn’t look like other victories. He doesn’t defeat those who treat him as an enemy with a great show of power. There’s no war cry. No army follows him into battle. No shot is fired. Instead of a war horse, he rides a donkey. He doesn’t intimidate anyone. He is humble and ordinary.

If Jesus came in the fullness of his glory with his voice like thunder and his eyes like fire, we would surely run from him in fear. When Isaiah saw the Lord’s glory, he came undone (Isaiah 6). When Jesus stilled the stormy sea, the disciples were terrified (Matthew 8). When Jesus ordered the fish to jump into their nets, the disciples demanded that he depart from them (Luke 5). So, Jesus humbled himself and became a servant (Philippians 2:8).

Jesus humbled himself and came as a servant so we would not fear him, but trust in him. He did not enter Jerusalem on a gleaming white steed to rule over us. Rather, he came gentle and riding a donkey because he was being obedient to Another.

Jesus is our King. A King who rules without brutality, weapons or a show of strength. But blood is shed. This is a war, after all. Jesus shed his blood for us. His blood confirms God’s covenant to be kind to us, forgive us and rescue us from the waterless pit where we are prisoners. Jesus rescues us from sin’s guilt, death’s pain and hell’s tortures.

Normal kings don’t suffer. Ordinary kings don’t reign mostly naked on a cross. Average kings don’t die as the innocent for the guilty. Typical kings don’t plead for their killers. Traditional kings don’t bleed to cleanse their guilty subjects.

King Jesus isn’t a normal, ordinary, average, typical or traditional king.

Friends, what kind of king to you want? Do you want one who looks the part and carries out all the pomp and majesty? Or do you want a bloody King who suffers and dies in your place upon the cross in order to save you? You cannot have both.

Jesus is your King. Temptation and sin will torment you. King Jesus fights them back. The devil can taunt you and his demons can trick you. King Jesus battles them every moment of every day. Your godless enemies can charge, counter-attack and flank you. They can make life miserable for you. But they can never defeat you.

King Jesus has already won the battle. The war is over. In his death, the war is won. In his resurrection, the victory is handed over to you. In his ascension to the Father’s right hand, peace between you and God is assured.

Even with King Jesus, we are still sheltered in place. We aren’t able to gather together for Holy Week worship in our sanctuary. The economy may never recover.

Put all of that aside. We are forgiven! We have peace with God! Hell’s doors are slammed shut! Heaven’s gates are thrown wide open! Though this life may be in turmoil, the next life will be peaceful and tranquil!

So now what? Now, we hold the line against sin, death, and hell. They don't surrender, even in defeat. As the Apostle Paul writes, we fasten truth around our waist like a belt. We put on God’s forgiveness as a breastplate. We put on our shoes so we're ready to spread the Good News that gives peace. Pick up the shield of faith that can deflect all the arrows of sin, death, and hell. Put on the helmet of salvation. Grip tight the sword of the Spirit, which is God's Word. Pray in the Spirit in every situation. Be alert. And use every kind of prayer and request to help God's people (Ephesians 6:14-18).

King Jesus has won the war. Not so we can sit on our couches and binge-watch Netflix. But so we can share the saving gospel of Christ in new and exciting ways. Jesus has won the war. Not so we can skip worship and offerings for a few months. But so that we can gather our family around the family altar and demonstrate to our children how faithful Christians support Christ’s ministry. Jesus has won the war. Not so we can sit back in comfort and peace. But so we can share Christ’s comfort and peace with a world who are stressed and panicked.  

Hopefully you saw the meme I created and shared with you the other day. It is a picture of our empty sanctuary. The meme says, “The church is not empty. The church has been deployed!” Our King has won the victory. Now he is deploying you into the world to share that victory with Satan’s victims.

This is how Jesus will be King for us, and how we'll serve him. Not with brutality, weapons, and shows of strength but with the gospel, faith, God’s Word, and prayer. Humble and kind. Forgiving and living in peace with each other. Celebrating his defeat of sin, death, and hell by living our baptismal faith, coming to church for private communion, worshiping online for the time being, financially supporting Christ’s ministries, hearing his Word in our ears and sharing his Word out of our mouths.

We are undefeated for our King has come. Amen.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:57) Amen.