Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

— Zechariah 9:9

She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

— Matthew 1:21

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

— 1 John 4:9

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.

— 2 Corinthians 8:9

7 but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

— Philippians 2:7-8

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and salvation from Christ to you.

Concerning Messiah’s first coming, Zechariah 9:9 offers a vivid and encouraging prophecy. In it God, fulfilling His glorious promise, called the people of Zion and Jerusalem to rejoice and prepare for happy news. Zechariah told Israel, “Your king comes to you.” Humanity’s King left heaven’s throne to bring salvation and victory to His people on earth. Jesus, the promised Messiah and King, rightly reigns and rules over everything. He is just and righteous, unlike any earthly king the world has ever known.

In His first coming, Jesus did not arrive on a white stallion like a conqueror, flaunting the world’s riches or leveraging worldly power, but humbly entered Jerusalem riding a donkey. Fully God and yet human, Jesus Christ came to Zion/Jerusalem in lowliness and submission to His Father. Endowed with salvation, He came ready and able to bring salvation to people enslaved by sin. Gentle Jesus came to die in the place of sinners, condemned by the world but highly exalted by God.