The restoration of Jerusalem is promised. There will be peace in the kingdom, she will
be secure from her enemies, chariots and war horses will be unnecessary. The king is coming to take the throne. Zechariah was written during the time of the
reconstruction of the city after the Babylonian exile. The temple was being rebuilt and the city was
becoming again the city of God. People were
moving back, business was returning to the city, but truly the most important
thing was the rebuilding of the temple. Now,
all that was needed was the Davidic king to come and rule over the nation. The promise is that the restoration for the
prisoners of hope, those who had only hope but their hope was in the Lord, will
be double. We celebrate in our liturgy
today the coming of Jesus to the city, in fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy,
four hundred years later, and the people acclaim Him and hail Him as king,
shouting Hosanna, which means Lord save us.
The coronation will, however, look a bit unusual.
His first act on entering the city this day was to go to the
temple in order to drive out the moneychangers and sellers of sacrificial
animals, particularly, we are told, sellers of pigeons, which were the
sacrifices of the poor. Apparently the
prices and exchange rates were extortionate, requiring the poor to pay a price
more dear than the rich, and the purpose of the temple was to be a house of
prayer. Those who needed healing
streamed to him and the children cried out "Lord save us." The leaders, however, were indignant with him
and this rabble. Are our churches open
to anyone who comes or are we intolerant of those who don't look like us, act
like us and dress like us? I don't think
Jesus had a special affinity for the poor and the unhealthy, it is the other
way round, they were prisoners of hope and they saw in Him the fulfillment of
the hope. Where are our hopes or are we
satisfied?
Our hope is in Jesus, "who is the blessed and only
Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone
has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen
or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion." Paul says we are to fight the good fight of
the faith and take hold of the eternal life to which we are called and keep the
commandment free from reproach. We are
to live in such a way as to not bring dishonor on the Name of Jesus. Our desire should be to glorify Him in all we
do before men that nothing should bring reproach on Him or His bride, the
church. Our hope is secure in the
resurrection, now we have a job to do.
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