Stay-at-Home Scripture Study 38: Zechariah

Zechariah 9:9–12

The Book of Zechariah begins with a call for Israel to return to God, and contains visions ranging from “a man riding on a red horse” (Zech 1:8) to “four chariots coming out from between two mountains” (Zech 6:1). The prophet then proclaims judgment on Israel’s enemies and predicts the coming ruler of God’s people, one who will arrive in Jerusalem on a donkey. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!” says Zechariah. “Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech 9:9). In ancient times, leaders would ride donkeys in civil processions and horses in military ones, so a king arriving on a donkey would indicate that the person was arriving in peace. The book of 1 Kings speaks of Solomon riding a donkey when he was recognized as the new king of Israel (1 Kgs 1:33).

Zechariah proclaims the coming of a triumphant king, much as Matthew does when he describes the entry of the “Son of David” into Jerusalem (Matt 21:9). According to Zechariah, God’s ruler will be a person of peace: “He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations” (Zech 9:10). God’s messiah will be the Lord of all: “his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth” (Zech 9:10). This king will also remind people of God’s eternal covenant with them, and be an agent of God’s restoration: “As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double” (Zech 9:11-12). Because this particular ruler is the Lord of all, a sign of God’s covenant, and an agent of peace and restoration, most Christians associate him with Jesus. He is an apocalyptic king, one who is part of God’s revelation to the world, ushering in the kingdom of God. But what about the donkey that this king rides into Jerusalem? Is there significance to this particular animal: A donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zech 9:9)?

For many years, animals were thought of as cheap and disposable props on the movie sets of Hollywood. As films were being made, horses were shocked, tripped, and forced to run into trenches. Wires were strung around their ankles and then yanked by the rider to make the horse fall on cue. Six horses were killed during the filming of Ben-Hur in 1924, and 25 were killed or euthanized during The Charge of the Light Brigade in 1935. Then an organization called “American Humane” got into the act and opened a Hollywood office to enforce standards for the protection of animals. In the ’50s, they sponsored the first of an annual PATSY award ceremony. The “Performing Animal Top Star of the Year” is the Academy Award for animal actors. Francis the Mule was the first PATSY winner in 1951, and later winners included Roy Rogers’ horse Trigger and Arnold the Pig from Green Acres. If the PATSY award had been around in biblical times, the animal who carried Jesus certainly would have been the winner.

Matthew tells us that Jesus sends two of his disciples into the village of Bethphage to fetch a donkey and a colt. This is to fulfill what had been spoken by Zechariah, “Look, your king is coming to you,” said the prophet, “humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Matt 21:5, based on Zech 9:9). Jesus enters Jerusalem as Zechariah had predicted, and a large crowd spreads cloaks and branches on the road in front of him. They greet him as their king, shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matt 21:8-9).

Aside from Jesus the messianic king, the donkey is the hero of this story. This PATSY-winning animal carries Christ forward in ministry and mission, and that is what Christians are challenged to do as well. The donkey was a Christ-bearer, or a Christopher (derived from the Greek Christos combined with pherein “to bear, to carry”). Being a Christopher means letting love be genuine, hating what is evil, holding fast to what is good. It involves rejoicing in hope, being patient in suffering, and persevering in prayer. To be a Christ-bearer means that we contribute to the needs of the saints, extend hospitality to strangers, and even go so far as to bless those who persecute us (Rom 12:9-14). It means that when our whole city is “in turmoil,” as Jerusalem was on Palm Sunday, and the people around us ask “Who is this?” (Matt 21:10), we’ll be able to give them an answer that shows them the way to everlasting peace and salvation.

If we can pull this off, and model our lives on being a Christopher, we will discover the joy that comes from carrying Christ. We’ll know the glory of hearing hosannas, the thrill of close contact with Jesus, the excitement of accepting a challenge and the deep satisfaction of knowing that we are walking in the way of God. This passage from Zechariah is one of the Bible’s greatest hits because it tells us about the animal who carried God’s king into Jerusalem, and teaches us what it means to be a bearer of Jesus Christ in the world today.

Questions:

1. What is the significance of a king riding on a donkey?

2. Where do you see the hope of Zechariah fulfilled in Jesus?

3. How can you be a Christopher, a Christ-bearer, in your daily life?

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