PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 21:1-11
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey” (Matthew 21:5)
Matthew says that Jesus’s arrival on a donkey fulfills what Zechariah said.
In Zechariah 9, he promises that the Lord will come to save the people.
He will come in a lowly, gentle way, to proclaim peace (Zechariah 9:9-10).
But the Lord will also make Israel like a warrior’s sword (Zechariah 9:13).
This is what the people were shouting about, and eager for.
He would drive away the Roman chariots, warhorses and battle bows.
They did not understand HOW God’s peace would come (Luke 19:42).
They thought Jesus would bring peace like the world (John 14:27).
Jesus’s peace does not come by sword, but by humble, gracious love.
God’s gracious love IS Jesus’s sword, how God overcomes evil in the world.
Jesus on the donkey is not the prelude, it is the main point, the gospel!
Jesus is still king in a humble, gracious way – not a forceful way.
Despite how some Christians view Jesus, He remains gentle.
Jesus does not rule by force but by grace… and we should too!
Lord Jesus, You are not a MMA warrior, but a servant king. It seems that many Christians still do not understand Your way of peace. Make us channels of Your peace, not Roman peace!