Chapter 39—A Kingly Procession
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:
behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation
lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Zechariah 9:9
.
Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Zechariah thus
foretold the coming of the King to Israel.... Christ was following the Jewish
custom for a royal entry.... No sooner was He seated upon the colt than a loud
shout of triumph rent the air. The multitude hailed Him as Messiah, their
King....They could lead the triumphal procession with no royal standards,
but they cut down the spreading palm boughs, Nature’s emblem of victory,
and waved them aloft with loud acclamations and hosannas....
Never before in His earthly life had Christ permitted such a demonstration.
He clearly foresaw the result. It would bring Him to the cross. But it was
His purpose thus publicly to present Himself as the Redeemer. He desired to
call attention to the sacrifice that was to crown His mission....
Never before had the world seen such a triumphal procession. It was not
like that of the earth’s famous conquerors. No train of mourning captives, as
trophies of kingly valor, made a feature of that scene. But about the Saviour
were the glorious trophies of His labors of love for sinful man. There were
the captives whom He had rescued from Satan’s power, praising God for
their deliverance. The blind whom He had restored to sight were leading the
way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed shouted the loudest hosannas.
The cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy.... Lazarus, whose body
had seen corruption in the grave, but who now rejoiced in the strength of
glorious manhood, led the beast on which the Saviour rode....
That scene of triumph was of God’s own appointing. It had been foretold
by the prophet, and man was powerless to turn aside God’s purpose.
As well might the priests and rulers attempt to deprive the earth of the
shining face of the sun, as to shut from the world the beams of glory from
the Sun of Righteousness. In spite of all opposition, the kingdom of Christ
was confessed by the people.
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