14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
12:14
Then Jesus,
Jesus now entered Jerusalem via the triumphal entry. He clearly fulfilled prophecy with this action. John quoted Scripture to substantiate this.
when He had found a young donkey, sat on it;
Riding on a donkey was a sign of peace. Jesus did not ride a horse of war or brandish a sword. Neither did He ride on a chariot or any wheeled vehicle, as many kings did in those days. This was a disappointing picture to the shouting crowds because they expected their savior to ride on a war-horse into Jerusalem. He was a King, but not the king they had in view.
as it is written:
John quoted Zechariah 9:9, which speaks of the Messiah bringing salvation of Israel to Jerusalem. He did not refer to the part of the verse that references national salvation because that was not the right timing; Israel had rejected Him as the Messiah. He will accomplish national salvation at His Second Coming (Re 19:11).
12:15
“Fear not,
The words “fear not” are not in the text of Zechariah 9:9. The crowd changed these words from “rejoice greatly” to “fear not.” The apostle John prefixed these words to the quotation because he knew that Jesus would go through traumatic events in just a few days but that these events would bring eternal salvation to any who would believe.
daughter of Zion;
The “daughter of Zion” is the population of Jerusalem. It is a reference to Isaiah 62:11. The city of Jerusalem was built on Mount Zion. God called upon Jerusalem/Zion in Zechariah to rejoice at the coming of their King.
Behold, your King is coming,
The crowd deemed Jesus’ coming to be as a political “King.” However, this “King” would die on a cross. He would not become a partisan leader for the masses. Later He will come to rule the world.
Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
Sitting on a donkey rather than a horse was a picture of humility, not the picture of a conquering hero by the crowd.
PRINCIPLE:
Finite political hope is vain.
APPLICATION:
The crowd in Jesus’ day had nationalistic expectations contrary to Scripture. Many evangelicals place their hope in political saviors today. It is an empty hope. No political leader can provide what Jesus can.
Jesus was about to purposefully lay down His life for the sins of the world. Before He did this, He publicly manifested Himself as the Messiah. He placed Himself publicly before the nation of Israel so that they clearly saw who He truly was. He was now telling the nation “plainly” (Jn 10:24). All rationalization was removed. Israel did not “rejoice” in her King but rejected Him.
