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Yeshua in Context >> Aims of Yeshua , Enactments and Symbolic Actions , Identity of Yeshua , Kingdom Future , Kingdom Present >> The Misunderstood Kingship of Yeshua

The Misunderstood Kingship of Yeshua

The following commentary is on Matthew 21:1-11. I consider the larger context of Zechariah 9 and how it affects our reading of the Triumphal Entry. I'd say that even modern commentators have not given this sufficient attention in many cases.

Zechariah's prophecy of the king coming on a donkey is a critical view of kingship looking ahead to the messianic age when the ideas of dominion change into peace. In the early part of Zechariah 9, the warring peoples of the Mediterranean coast will become peaceful and submit to God's authority in the messianic era. Then, in 9:9, Daughter Zion's king (Jerusalem in the age when promises are fulfilled) comes not as a war-maker, but bringing peace, not on a warhorse, but a donkey like the Davidic kings of old.

Yeshua deliberately evokes this scene, so those who say this is about a prophecy fulfilled miss the point. Yeshua acts out the scene, proclaiming by his action that he is this different kind of king.

The scene creates excitement and tension in Jerusalem. Yeshua is not a Judean, so the people in Jerusalem thinking about the triumphal entry limit their understanding to the idea of a prophet from Galilee. They do not entertain the idea of a messiah from Galilee. But the crowds who are in the know, those who have followed Yeshua around, they proclaim him in clear messianic terms as Son of David. Yet the fact remains that not one in the crowd truly understood. Yeshua is not to be the vanquisher of Rome, but Rome's redeemer. The theme of Zechariah 9 stands as a witness against revolutionary notions. Yeshua is the one who makes Philistines as if they are part of the people of Israel (Zech 9:7). Yeshua declares here exactly the sort of kingship he is bringing and until the resurrection, none comprehend it.

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Filed under: Aims of Yeshua , Enactments and Symbolic Actions , Identity of Yeshua , Kingdom Future , Kingdom Present

One Response to "The Misunderstood Kingship of Yeshua"

  1. Kim Gray says:

    I have listened to Chuck Missler for many years and this particular prophecy was one of the most amazing to me. Chuck can explain it better than I:

    During the ministry of Jesus Christ there were several occasions in which the people attempted to promote Him as king, but He carefully avoided it: "Mine hour is not yet come".6
    The Triumphal Entry
    Then, one day, He meticulously arranges it.7 On this particular day he rode into the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey, deliberately fulfilling a prophecy by Zechariah that the Messiah would present Himself as king in just that way:
    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
    Whenever we might easily miss the significance of what was going on, the Pharisees come to our rescue. They felt that the overzealous crowd was blaspheming, proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah the King.8 However, Jesus endorsed it!
    I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
    Luke 19:40
    This is the only occasion that Jesus presented Himself as King. It occurred on April 6, 32 A.D.9
    The Precision of Prophecy
    When we examine the period between March 14, 445 B.C. and April 6, 32 A.D., and correct for leap years, we discover that it is 173,880 days exactly, to the very day!

    "This is the day the Lord has made, rejoice in be glad in it."

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