Jesus Christ – The King of Kings! Zech 9

Jesus Christ – The King of Kings!

Text: Zechariah 9:9-17

A king is coming! Against the human horror of an anticipated invasion from Macedonia, Zechariah sets out a prophecy of the coming of another king.  One who will be the King over all Kings, the Lord over all Lords.  This king will reign over a peaceful kingdom.  His subjects will love him and praise him, he will rule over them with great mercy and justice.  This king is Jesus!  So, as KING:-

1. He is More Welcome than any earthly king!

 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee

The prophet urges the people, personified as the ‘daughters’ to welcome their king with singing and shouts of great happiness!  Thus the difference between Christ and any earthly king is demonstrated!  Earthly rulers impose heaviness upon the people, but Christ comes to set us free from our burdens!  Hearts rejoice at His coming! Zeph. 3:14-15  

Now be aware that Zechariah can be talking about two separate comings of the Lord, the Messiah:-

• He Came to this world at Bethlehem!  At Bethlehem the King came into this world as a baby, to a humble birth.  
• He is Coming again at the end of history!  A day will come when the Lord will come again, when He will come to judge the earth and to reign in righteousness.

Biblical prophecy provides some of the greatest encouragement and hope available to us today. Just as the Old Testament is saturated with prophecies concerning Christ’s first advent, so both testaments are filled with references to the second coming of Christ.    Matthew 21:4-5  

2. He has a Different Character than any earthly King! 

The earthly king is ruthless, but there is a great difference between this earthly king and the Heavenly king which Zechariah foresaw:-

• He is God’s standard of RIGHTEOUSNESS! he is just He is righteousness personified!  As King it is his role to be completely just.  He must see that good is rewarded and evil is punished.  His rule is just and he will fairly judge every man.  IN HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS HE IS UNBENDING! Isaiah 45:23   
• He is the SAVIOUR! and having salvation In fact he is ENDOWED WITH SALVATION.   The sense of the Hebrew here is passive.  He possesses salvation as a gift which he will pass on to others! So while his inflexible standard of justice would make us tremble in our sins, he comes to us as endowed with salvation, which he can bestow upon us as his kingly right!  
• He is HUMBLE! lowly He comes to us as the meek and lowly king!  Not just lowly in his circumstances, but lowly in his manner and his disposition.  He is so lowly that despite his kingly status, he can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities!
• He is KING OF CREATION! and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.   Kings don’t ride on donkeys, they ride on fine horses, on mighty chargers or in fine carriages.  They certainly don’t ride upon the unbroken untrained foal of a donkey, for that is what we are talking about here.  The young animal would revolt and would rear up and would throw the king and his dignity would be violated.  But when Christ sat upon an untrained animal there was no complaint from the animal!  After all, the One who sat upon his back was the Creator of the World! 

He comes to act JUSTLY, to offer SALVATION, to take the place of HUMBLEST OF HIS SERVANTS, to establish His Throne as the CREATOR of the World!

3. He Acts Differently than any earthly king!

1. He is coming to SUBDUE ALL WAR! And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off.  All of these are implements of war.  Notice the places from which these weapons will be removed:  Jerusalem and Ephraim.  Peace will start with GOD’S PEOPLE  Psalm 133:1-3   Ephes. 4:3  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 
2. He is coming to EXTEND PEACE! and he shall speak peace unto the heathen.  The wonderful good news is that the peace of God which passes all understanding is available to those who are outside the Kingdom!  Even the heathen may come to the King and enter into his peace.   
3. He is coming to RULE & REIGN! and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea  His kingdom is WITHOUT END, for it is not only unbounded historically but also geographically!! and from river even to the ends of the earth.

4. He is More Merciful in Victory than any earthly king!

As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;

Alexander and earthly kings come to take prisoners.  That is a natural result of war.  It happens even today.  We have seen the pictures of Iraqi prisoners in the hands of some American and Allied troops.  But Jesus comes to set the prisoners free!    How does he do that?  Through the blood of His Covenant!  Through the Cross.

The kingship of Christ gives us great hope and peace and certainty!   

HEIDELBERG CATECHISM:

31. Q.  Why is he called Christ, that is, Anointed?
A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Spirit, to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption; our only High Priest, who by the one sacrifice of his body has redeemed us, and who continually intercedes for us before the Father; and our eternal King, who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who defends and preserves us in the redemption obtained for us

© Bob McEvoy July 2019