Your Incomparable King

Your Incomparable King                                                                     

“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!See, your king comes to you,righteous and victorious,lowly and riding on a donkey,on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9). 

In 1957 King Farouk of Egypt, on the verge of losing his crown, made a gloomy prediction. “There will soon be only five kings left,” he said, “The King of England, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, and Clubs.” Turns out King Farouk was much too pessimistic. Monarchies still hold sway in 43 sovereign states. About 430 million people still bend their knees or doff their caps to kings, queens, sultans, or sheiks. None - not even one is worthy of adoration like your incomparable King the Christ. Jesus is sui generis! This, my friend, matters immensely to your daily life. Here’s how your incomparable King reigns each day on your behalf: 

Jesus Comes As A Promise Keeping King. When Jesus entered Jerusalem publicly for the last time, he did it in a way that very intentionally fulfilled the prophesy of Zechariah 9:9. He sent two of his disciples to get a young never ridden before donkey to ride on, and Matthew tells us very plainly in Matthew 21:4 -5, “This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet.” Then he quotes part of Zechariah 9:9, “Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt the foal of a donkey.”  

Pause and think. Over seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, Israel having been sent home by King Cyrus to rebuild the temple but still under his supremacy, God gives hope to his people. A King will come to deliver causing his people great joy. Then on Palm Sunday a colt strains to crest the Olivet hill. To people on the downslope side, Jesus seems to rise out of the summit. “There he is!” someone yells, and the crowd showers Jesus with praise. Promise kept.  

A Milwaukee policeman once asked me to quickly fix a busted window at Salem Lutheran School. “Why?” “They see one broken window; they’ll think they can break all the other ones.” So, it is with promises. Not with your King. Jesus never made a promise too good to be true. What is your favorite promise Jesus keeps to you? All your sin is forgiven in me. I am with you always. Heaven is your home. All the details in the end are for your good. My friend, no one has, and no one will ever break any of those promises by leaning too hard on them.  

A wise preacher who mentored me for a time made this observation about Easter: “The world offers promises full of emptiness. But Easter offers emptiness full of promise.” Empty cross, empty tomb, empty graveclothes … all full of promise. Go to church this Sunday. Raise a palm and shout praise to your King. After all, he is unlike any other in always keeping his Word.