Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Zechariah 9:9-13
We will spend a few days in Zechariah 9 looking at this spectacular prophecy found in verse 9. There is a lot to unpack here and it’s worthy of our time. There are many aspects to this prophecy and we will look at each one. What does Zechariah tell us about the coming of Zion’s king?
- There will be rejoicing in Zion and shouting in Jerusalem
- He will be the king
- He will be just (righteous)
- He will bring salvation (victory)
- He will be humble (lowly)
- He will arrive riding on a donkey
Let’s begin with the obvious part of this prophecy in that the king would come to Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Jesus intentionally fulfilled this prophecy as he arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover festival. Jesus instructed his disciples to go and “borrow” these animals for him:
“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me’” (Matt 21:1-2).
All four gospels record this as being Jesus’s idea. He found the donkey and sent his disciples after it. This was not forced upon him. He was being deliberate about doing this a particular way. But why? Was Jesus just checking off all the prophecies in his head and making sure he fulfilled them all? This one seems pretty easy to accomplish if that’s what’s happening here. But that’s the wrong way to look at prophecy.
In order to more fully understand prophecy, we must begin with the premise that Jesus is God in the flesh. He was with God in the beginning and all things were made through him (John 1:1-3). If this is true, then Jesus is the focal point. Whatever Jesus does is the most important thing happening. That makes his coming to earth is the most important event ever to happen on earth thus far.
We also know that God is not bound by time (Ps 90:2-4). He sees the end of time just as clearly as he sees you and me living today. God can see all the events in time and the most important events are the ones that involve Jesus. Every breath Jesus takes is more important than any other event in history. So prophecy has to be seen from this perspective. Prophecy is God telling us what Jesus is going to do. It’s like God can’t contain His excitement and has to tell us what’s coming. Prophecy is like God saying, “Let me tell you what Jesus is going to do. I can’t wait for you to see this!”
So Jesus didn’t read this prophecy and decide to fulfill it by riding a donkey. The prophecy was given to Zechariah because Jesus had already done it from God’s perspective and God was telling us to watch for it. So why did Jesus do it? What does riding a donkey have to do with anything?
Let’s start in Genesis. As Jacob lies on his death-bed, he gives a blessing to each of his twelve sons. The Messiah would come from the line of Judah. Judah’s blessing in part was:
“The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
He will tether his donkey to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes” (Gen 49:10-11).
We see similar language that is found in Zechariah’s prophecy. The ruler that comes from the line of Judah will tether his donkey to a vine and more specifically his colt to the choicest branch. This prophecy tells us by inference that this ruler rides a donkey because when he’s not riding it he tethers it to the choicest branch of the vine. Why would he tie it to the choicest branch of the vine? These are the best vines that are needed in making the best wine. Why tie the donkey to the best branch of the best vine? The donkey is just going to eat all the good grapes.
That’s the point. There is so much abundance that the ruler doesn’t care if the donkey eats the best grapes. They are in excess. There is so much choice wine that this ruler washes his garments in it. He washes his robes in the juice of these grapes. Even the animals get to eat good. They are richer than rich.
So we have established a connection between this ruler’s donkey and the lavish blessings that come from his rule. Next we turn to the customs of this era in time. Donkey ownership and riding the donkey were a mark of privilege:
“You who ride on white donkeys,
sitting on your saddle blankets,
and you who walk along the road,
consider the voice of the singers at the watering places” (Judges 5:10-11).
“He was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years. He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys” (Judges 10:3-4).
“After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, led Israel. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys” (Judges 12:13-14).
“So Absalom’s men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king’s sons got up, mounted their mules and fled” (2 Sam 13:29).
“When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine. The king asked Ziba, ‘Why have you brought these?’ Ziba answered, ‘The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness’” (2 Sam 16:1-2).
“He [King David] said to them: ‘Take your lord’s servants with you and have Solomon my son mount my own mule and take him down to Gihon’” (1 Kings 1:33).
Lastly, royalty and the privileged rode donkeys but not always. Donkeys were ridden during times of peace. If the king rode a donkey, he was coming in peace. If the king rode a horse, he was going to war. Thus, Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem to show that he was the king coming in peace. And not just coming in peace, but coming to bring peace. Look at verse 10:
“I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations” (Zech 9:10).
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey because he was bringing peace to the nations. Not physical peace – yet – but spiritual peace:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (John 14:27).
Jesus came in peace the first time. However, the next time we see Jesus, he will not be riding a donkey. He will be riding a horse:
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev 19:11-16).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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