Rejoice, O people of Zion!When Jesus came, he came as a little baby, helpless and human. What people wanted was for him to come as a powerful person raised in royalty and splendor. And they still want it.
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt. (Zechariah 9:9)
Try to tell some people that the baby Jesus was not aware as an adult is and they get almost angry. In their minds, they can see the little baby counting down the years until he is killed in all the legends, he blesses the shepherds and the wise men, he blesses other people doing things for him and his family at various times. Some of the apocryphal writing even has him doing miracles as a child.
But the thing is, if Jesus came as a super-aware baby, he was not a real baby. And if he was not a real baby, the whole divine project was a sham. If Jesus didn’t live as we did, and die as we did, it was all worthless.
On the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, Jesus rode a young donkey into Jerusalem. What they wanted was a big white horse. He wore ordinary clothing. What they wanted was for him to wear fancy, kingly robes.
The problem was, God never did things the way people wanted it.
When Jesus came, he came to an ordinary young couple, in fact conceived out of wedlock. The young couple were transients, traveling to register in the census. He was born in a stable and laid in a manger. God announced his birth, not to wise men, but to shepherds. When wisemen came, they had to hunt for him.
He grew up in an ordinary, nondescript household. He ate regular food and wore regular clothes. He worked a regular job. He never married but that was about the only thing out of the ordinary for him.
And he only preached for three years, after which he was killed. His Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem as a king was on a young donkey with twelve ordinary guys with him.
But even that couldn’t hide his kingship. Even that couldn’t hide the fact that here was the King of King, Lord of Lords.
Thank you, Lord, for sending Jesus to us. Make us worthy.
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