What kind of King rides a donkey?

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation,

Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah 9:9

When God spoke to the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the days of the prophet Zechariah, He told them, “Return to Me and I will return to You”. I doubt they could have imagined the details of the literal fulfillment. Not only did God return to Jerusalem, in person, He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey in the midst of celebratory shouts from a frenzied crowd. Jesus rode into Jerusalem in order to deliver salvation and reframe justice for eternity. The King came to us. But, the King came to Jerusalem to die.

Zechariah is a unique canvas. Several visions paint a portrait of a Deliverer and He is a Deliverer like no other. How often is a King described as “lowly”? Like the stroke of a master artist, Zechariah reveals the stark reality of Salvation. It is astonishing that this King will bring grace and supplication to His people. It is even more remarkable that He will endure shame and suffering as He does.  Zechariah delivers picture with a somber tone, ”then they will look on Me whom they pierced.” (Zechariah 12:10).

Why is Zechariah important for us? Why should we gaze at this prophetic portrait of our Savior? Because, in the words of Brennan Manning, “to be a Christian is to be like Christ. Somehow we must lose our life in order to find it. Christianity preaches not only a crucified God, but also crucified men and women. There is no discipleship without the Cross.” We will always want choose to ride in a limo rather than the humility associated with the foal of a donkey. We will always find it easier to boast in ourselves rather than the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:14). We prefer to turn our heads and close our eyes rather than see Him receive the shame we deserve. But, we can choose to read the prophet, marvel at the testimony of His great love in advance of His coming and renew our commitment to follow the King.