Sermon -- 6th Sunday in Lent / Palm Sunday (March 28, 2021)

ZECHARIAH 9:9-10

SEE HOW YOUR KING COMES!

In the name + of Jesus.

     When Zechariah preached, Israel had no king.  They had returned from exile in Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, but not to be a sovereign nation.  From their return to exile and into the future, Israel would always be subject to some ruling power.  First, under the Persians.  Then, under the Greeks.  Later, under the Romans.  Even though Herod the Great was granted the title king, he was no Israelite.  The throne of David was cut off, and there was no one who had come along to reestablish it.

     Zechariah’s prophecy was cause for rejoicing.  “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you…” (Zechariah 9:9).  Then again, was this good news?  Jerusalem had seen kings come to them before.  Israel had been under the dominion of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.  But eventually they grew tired of paying tribute to him, so they rebelled.  Nebuchadnezzar would not tolerate rebellion.  Previously, he had taken the royals and the rich into exile.  But this time, his anger would not be quenched.  The king came to Jerusalem, burned the temple on Mt. Zion to the ground, and left Jerusalem a pile of ruins.  To hear that a king is coming might not produce shouts of joy.  It might be screams of terror.  See how your king comes.  Would he be any better?

     I remember seeing a bumper sticker that said, “Jesus is coming, and is he ever ticked off.”  After a good chuckle, I thought about it a little more.  Is there any reason Jesus shouldn’t be angry about what he sees in this world?  Aren’t you?  The news daily reports violence, hostility, bitterness, slander, dissension, and outrage.  Courts deal with people who lie, cheat, steal, abuse, and kill.  Truth and morality are constantly reshaped.  It is not hard to understand why Jesus would be angry when he looks at the world.  We roll our eyes at people who have made a mess of their lives, but we have our own mess to contend with.  We hold grudges toward loved ones.  We harbor bitterness toward neighbors.  We reshape the truth to benefit our agendas.  We take up sides among the factions in our country and we embrace animosity toward the other side, as if rage were a virtue.  God commands much better of us—loving our neighbor without terms of conditions and loving God and his word even more than that.  God commands better, but he does not get it.  We, too, are rebels.  If Jesus is ticked off, we have given him reasons for it.  And kings don’t tolerate rebels.

     See how your king comes to you.  Zechariah declared, “Your king is coming to you” (Zechariah 9:9).  This king is one of us.  A foreign king would have no pity.  Nebuchadnezzar did not come to Jerusalem to win friends.  He destroyed Jerusalem, Mt. Zion, and the people there.  But your king gives you reason to rejoice and shout; for, he does not come to destroy.  See how your king comes: “having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).  When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he did not come to Mt. Zion trying to impress anybody.  If he had been trying to do that, he made some strange choices about how he entered—not on a war horse or in a chariot, but on the colt of a donkey.  Jesus has come meek and humble to rebels.

     Perhaps that is why those who think they can rebel against him do.  Sinners who delight in their sins still pursue their sins without shame or apology.  They challenge the authority of God’s king.  Since he comes in meekness, they think he is harmless.  Therefore, they boast about their rebellion.  They expect that you will support them in their rebellion.  Do not be deceived by this king’s humble appearance.  When your king comes again on the Last Day, his authority and power will be undeniable and inescapable.  He will be neither unwilling nor unable to crush those who persist in stubborn rebellion or unbelief.  When judgment comes against those who remain stubborn in their rebellion, it will be deserved.

     See how your king comes!  Although Jesus came meekly and humbly, Jesus could be harsh.  He was particularly harsh toward the religious leaders.  It was not because Jesus was about sticking it to authority.  He told his followers to honor them.  But those who held authority did not have mercy on others.  They continued to pound on their laws and traditions, chastising and condemning people because they were not doing better.  The priests and Pharisees did not rejoice that King-Messiah had come.  Rather, they mocked him, smeared him, and attacked him.  And they threatened to excommunicate any who would confess Jesus as the Christ.  They robbed people of salvation, mercy, and comfort.  To these, Jesus was harsh.  To the merciless, Jesus did not show mercy.

     You, however, know your guilt, and you are grieved over it.  You have wanted to be better than you are, and you are disappointed in yourself that you have fallen so easily and so often.  It has even become predictable.  What sins ensnare you?  The same ones that always have.  Since you and I are repeat offenders, we might wonder if we are truly repentant.  And if you are wondering if we are truly repentant, you may even wonder if you are truly a Christian.  When you feel your guilt, you know Jesus has good reason to be ticked off, and you wonder how harsh his judgment will be.

     But see how your King comes to broken sinners.  To Zacchaeus the tax collector, to Mary Magdalene the demon possessed, to the woman caught in the act of adultery—to these, Jesus was meek full of mercy.  He did not dismiss their sins, but neither did he rub their sins in their face.  They were already miserable and guilt-ridden.  They knew they had failed.  So, instead of highlighting their guilt, Jesus showed them that he came to take guilt away.  And rather than letting you wonder if you have been good enough to truly be called a Christian, Jesus treats you with meekness.  He is not angry, but merciful. 

     See how your king comes to you!  Zechariah prophesied the king’s decree, “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations” (Zechariah 9:10).  He declares that the hostilities are over.  God is not a vengeful tyrant; he is a loving Father.  Jesus was not sent to wage war, so the horses, chariots, bows, and arrows are cut off, cut apart, and cut loose.  Instead of telling you over and over again how you have failed to live up to his word, he delivers this word: Peace to his people and to all the nations.

     See how your king comes!  Jesus came into Jerusalem not against the rebels, but for the rebels—having salvation, and prepared to secure peace.  So, Jesus came to establish terms of peace from the Father in heaven.  But since rebellions must be crushed, Jesus was crushed for you.  Jesus entered Jerusalem to present himself as the sacrifice willing to be slain in order to set the rebels free.  Whereas Nebuchadnezzar shed the blood of others and obliterated the temple on Mt. Zion, Jesus shed his own blood and obliterated the need for any more sacrifices on Mt. Zion or anywhere else. 

     On the day Zechariah’s King entered Jerusalem, the people were designating their Passover lambs.  Each family set apart a lamb for slaughter and marked it for the feast at which they celebrated God’s great deliverance.  As Jesus entered Jerusalem, he was designating himself as the true Passover Lamb.  Jesus was set apart for slaughter so that by his blood, all people would be delivered from death.  His holy, precious blood is the payment for your sins.  His innocent sufferings and death atone for all of your guilt.  Jesus knew what he was doing when he entered Jerusalem.  See how your king comes—not as a hostage being dragged into Jerusalem, kicking and screaming, but righteous and having salvation, willingly going forth to be slain.  This King suffered for the rebels.  This King laid down his life so that the rebels can go free.

     See how your king comes to you.  He is righteous, doing all the Father has given him to do to forgive sinners.  He is having salvation, for he saves you from the wrath of God, from the curse of hell, and from bitter judgment.  He does not judge you based on how good of a Christian you have been.  “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,  O Lord, who could stand?  But with you there is forgiveness,  that you may be feared” (Psalm 130:3-4).  Our fear is not terror, but awe.  We stand in awe that this King would endure all torment and death for us.  We marvel that God’s love would drive him to save rebels.  And we are amazed that he does not judge us by how well we respond to his goodness, but that he judges us according to his own goodness which covers us and declares us righteous.  He is not ticked off that you sin or bear a grudge over your weaknesses.  This King remains merciful, is ever-compassionate, and grants clemency.  For he is righteous and having salvation, and he bestows these gifts upon you.

     See how your king comes to you!  His kingdom is ruled by grace and mercy.  He continues to proclaim royal pardon for you.  Your king still comes to you, and he still comes in meekness and humility.  “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you” (Zechariah 9:9).  “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest,” God’s people sing as he comes in the flesh—under the bread—and with his holy, precious blood—under the wine.  Behold, the Lamb of God which has been marked for you to feast upon.  We don’t merely remember his deliverance, by we partake of it and receive its benefits.  Here, Jesus delivers his righteousness and salvation to you.  Here the forgiveness he won for you is given to you personally. 

     Even if you are disappointed in yourself as a Christian because you have not lived up to what you know you should be—and who of us could claim otherwise?—your King is not ticked off at you.  He bears no grudge.  His message is not that you should have done better; his message is that he has done all things to save you.  God’s wrath has been appeased.  The weapons of war have been destroyed.  He assures you of peace with God.  The King’s word is firm.

     “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you” (Zechariah 9:9).  And he comes for your good.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.