Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow will be cut off; and he will speak peace to the nations: and his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I have set free your prisoners from the pit in which is no water.
Turn to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope! Even today I declare that I will restore double to you.
For indeed I bend Judah as a bow for me. I have filled the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and will make you like the sword of a mighty man.
Yahweh will be seen over them; and his arrow will go flash like lightning; and the Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds of the south.
Yahweh of Armies will defend them; and they will destroy and overcome with sling stones; and they will drink, and roar as through wine; and they will be filled like bowls, like the corners of the altar.
Yahweh their God will save them in that day as the flock of his people; for they are like the jewels of a crown, lifted on high over his land.
For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv9–17 The Prophet here briefly shows the manner in which…
The Prophet here briefly shows the manner in which the Church was to be restored; for a king from the tribe and family of David would again arise, to restore all things to their ancient state. And this is the view given everywhere by the Prophets; for the hope of the ancient people, as our hope, was founded on Christ. Inasmuch then as things were as yet in a decayed state among the Jews, Zechariah here testifies that God had not in vain formerly spoken so often by his servants concerning the advent of a Redeemer, but that a firm hope was to be entertained, until the prophecies were in due time fulfilled. As then Zechariah has been hitherto speaking of the prosperous and happy state of the Church, he now confirms what he had said; and this was especially necessary, for they could not, as I have already said, have raised up their minds so as to feel confidence as to their salvation, without having a Mediator set before them. But as the faithful were then in great grief and sorrow, Zechariah here exhorts them to perseverance: for by bidding them to rejoice greatly, and even to shout for joy, he no doubt intimates, that though grief and sorrow took fast hold on their hearts, they ought yet to strive manfully, so as to receive the favor of God; for they must have a hundred times succumbed under their evils, had they not Christ before their eyes; not indeed in a carnal manner, but in the mirror of the word; as the faithful see in that what is far distant and even hidden from them.
We now then understand, first, why the Prophet here makes such a sudden reference to Christ; and secondly, why he does not simply exhort the faithful to rejoice, but encourages them greatly to exult as though they were already in a safe and most happy condition.
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By the word king, the Prophet intimates, that except they thought God unfaithful in his promises, they were to entertain hope, until the kingdom of David, then apparently fallen, arose again. As God then would have himself acknowledged faithful, and his adoption counted fixed and ratified in the Messiah, it is no wonder that the Prophet now briefly refers to a king; for this mode of speaking was well known by the people. And we have also seen elsewhere, that when the Prophets speak of the safety of the Church, they mention a king, because the Lord designed to gather again the dispersed Church under one head, even Christ. And no doubt there would ever remain a dreadful dispersion, were not Christ the bond of union. He then says that a king would come. But he speaks not as of a king unknown; he only reminds them that God would be true and faithful to his promises. Now since the whole law, and adoption, must have vanished away, except Christ came, his coming ought to have been patiently waited for.
Further, that God’s children might be more confirmed, he says also that this king would come to the people, the daughter of Sion, as though he had said, that God, for the sake of the whole Church, had fixed the royal throne in the family of David: for if the king was to come, that he might indulge in his own triumphs, and be contented with pomps and pleasures, it would have been but a small and wholly barren consolation: but as God in determining to send the Messiah, provided for the safety of the whole Church, which he had promised to do, the people might here derive solid confidence. It is not then a matter of small moment, when the Prophet teaches us, that the king would come to Sion and to Jerusalem; as though he had said, “This king shall not come for his own sake like earthly kings, who rule according to their own caprice, or for their own advantage:” but he reminds us, that his kingdom would be for the common benefit of the whole people, for he would introduce a happy state.
He afterwards states what sort of king he was to be. He first names him just, and then preserved or saved. As to the word, just, it ought, I think, to be taken in an active sense, and so the word which follows: Just then and saved is called the king of the chosen people, for he would bring to them righteousness and salvation. Both words depend on this clause, — that there would come a king to Sion. If he came privately for himself, he might have been for himself just and saved, that is, his righteousness and salvation might have belonged to himself or to his own person: but as he came for the sake of others, and has been for them endued with righteousness and salvation; then the righteousness and salvation of which mention is made here, belong to the whole body of the Church, and ought not to be confined to the person of the king. Thus is removed every contention, with which many have foolishly, or at least, very inconsiderately, wearied themselves; for they have thought that the Jews cannot be otherwise overcome, and that their perverseness cannot be otherwise checked, than by maintaining, that נושע, nusho, must be taken actively; and they have quoted some passages of Scripture, in which a verb in Niphal is taken in an active sense. But what need there is of undertaking such disputes, when we may well agree on the subject? I then concede to the Jews, that Christ is saved or preserved, and that he is said to be so by Zechariah.
But we must see what this salvation is which belongs to Christ. This we may gather from what is said by the Prophet. We are not then to contend here about words, but to consider what the subject is, that is, that a just and saved king comes to his chosen: and we know that Christ had no need of salvation himself. As then he was sent by the Father to gather a chosen people, so he is said to be saved because he was endued with power to preserve or save them. We then see that all controversy is at an end, if we refer those two words to Christ’s kingdom, and it would be absurd to confine them to the person of one man, for the discourse is here concerning a royal person; yea, concerning the public condition of the Church, and the salvation of the whole body. And certainly when we speak of men, we say not that a king is safe and secure, when he is expelled from his kingdom, or when his subjects are disturbed by enemies, or when they are wholly destroyed. When therefore a king, deprived of all authority, sees his subjects miserably oppressed, he is not said to be saved or preserved. But the case of Christ, as I have said, is special; for he does not exercise dominion for his own sake, but for the preservation of his whole people. Hence with regard to grammar, I can easily allow that Christ is called just and saved, passively; but as to the matter itself, he is just with reference to his people, and also saved or preserved, for he brings with him salvation to the lost; for we know that the Jews were then almost in a hopeless state.
He however at the same time adds, that the king would be saved, not because he would be furnished with arms and forces, or that he would defend his people after the manner of men; for he says, that he would be poor He must then be otherwise preserved safe than earthly princes are wont to be, who fill their enemies with fear, who fortify their borders, prepare an army, and set up every defense to ward off assaults. Zechariah teaches us, that Christ would be otherwise preserved, as he would prove superior to his enemies through a divine power. As then he is poor, he must be exposed to all kinds of injuries; for we see, that when there is no earthly fortress, all the wicked immediately fly together as it were to the prey. If Christ then is poor, he cannot preserve his own people, nor can he prosper in his kingdom. It hence follows, that he must be furnished with celestial power, in order to continue himself safe, and in order to prevent harm to his Church; and this is what Zechariah will presently tell us, and more clearly express. It is now sufficient briefly to state his object.
He afterwards adds, Riding on an ass, the colt, the foal of an ass Some think that the ass is not mentioned here to denote poverty, for they who excelled in power among the people were then in the habit of riding on asses. But it seems to me certain, that the Prophet added this clause to explain the word עני, oni, poor; as though he had said, that the king of whom he spoke would not be distinguished by a magnificent and splendid appearance like earthly princes, but would appear in a sordid or at least in an ordinary condition, so as not to differ from the humblest and lowest of the people. He then bids the faithful to raise up their eyes to heaven, in order to come to the true knowledge of Christ’s kingdom, and to feel assured that righteousness and salvation are to be expected from him. How so? Because he will be accompanied with nothing that may strike men with fear, but will serve as an humble and obscure individual. We may also here add, that righteousness and salvation must be understood according to the character of Christ’s kingdom; for as the kingdom of Christ is not temporal or what passes away, we conclude that the righteousness he possesses is to be perpetual, together with the salvation which he brings. But I am not disposed ingeniously to speak here of the righteousness of faith; for I think, on the contrary, that by the word is meant here a right order of things, as all things were then among the people in a state of confusion; and this might be easily proved by many passages of Scripture.
The sum of the whole is, that the predictions by which God gave to his chosen people a hope of redemption were not vain or void; for at length in due time Christ, the son of David, would come forth, — secondly, that this king would be just, and saved or preserved; for he would restore things into order which were in a disgraceful state of confusion, — and thirdly, he adds, that this king would be poor; for he would ride on an ass, and would not appear in great eminence, nor be distinguished for arms, or for riches, or for splendor, or for number of soldiers, or even for royal trappings which dazzle the eyes of the vulgar: he shall ride on an ass
This prophecy we know was fulfilled in Christ; and even some of the Jews are constrained to confess that the Prophet’s words can be justly applied to none else. Yet they do not acknowledge as the Christ of God the Son of Mary; but they think that the Prophet speaks of their imaginary Messiah. Now we, who are fully persuaded and firmly maintain that the Christ promised has appeared and performed his work, do see that it has not been said without reason that he would come poor and riding on an ass. It was indeed designed that there should be a visible symbol of this very thing; for he mounted an ass while ascending into Jerusalem a short time before his death. It is indeed true, that the Prophet’s words are metaphorical: when he says, Come shall a king, riding on an ass, the words are figurative; for the Prophet means, that Christ would be as it were an obscure person, who would not make an appearance above that of the common people. That this is the real meaning is no doubt true. But yet there is no reason why Christ should not afford an example of this in mounting an ass.
I will adduce a similar instance: it is said in the twenty second Psalm, ‘They have cast lots on my garments.’ The metaphor there is no doubt apparent, which means that David’s enemies divided his spoils. He therefore complains that those robbers, by whom he had been unjustly treated, had deprived him of all that he had: and fulfilled has this been in a literal manner, so that the most ignorant must acknowledge that it has not in vain been foretold. We now then understand how well do these things agree — that the Prophet speaks metaphorically of the humble appearance of Christ; and yet that the visible symbol is so suitable, that the most ignorant must acknowledge that no other Christ but he who has already appeared is to be expected.
I omit many frivolous things, which in no degree tend to explain the Prophet’s meaning, but even pervert it, and destroy faith in prophecy: for some think that Christ rode on an ass, and also on a colt, because he was to govern the Jews, who had been previously accustomed to bear the yoke of the law, and that he was also to bring the Gentiles to obedience, who had been hitherto unnameable. But these things are very frivolous. It is enough for us to know what the Prophet means. It afterwards follows —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 Which declareth that they should not look for such…
Which declareth that they should not look for such a king as should be glorious in the eyes of man, but should be poor, and yet in himself have all power to deliver his: and this is meant of Christ, as Matt. 21:5.
That is, he hath righteousness and salvation in himself for the use and commodity of his Church.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9–17 Zec 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout,…
Zec 9:9 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.
Ver. 9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion] Draw all thy waters with joy out of this well spring of salvation. Lo, here is the sum of all the good news in the world; and that which should make the saints everlastingly merry, even to shouting and singing in the height of Zion, that their king cometh, Jer 31:12. This should swallow up all discontents, and make them sing, "Hosanna in the highest; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."
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Behold, thy King cometh] Not Zerubbabel, or Judas Maccabeus, as some Jews interpret it; nor yet Alexander the Great (as some others); but a greater than he, even Messiah the prince, as Christ is styled, Dan 9:25, who shall cut off the chariot, &c., as it followeth in the next verse, yea, all the four chariots or monarchies, as some expound Zec 6:1-15 : how much more Tyre, Gaza, Ekron, Damascus, &c., of which he spake before in this chapter.
Unto thee] i.e. Merely for thy behoof and benefit, and not for his own. Other kings are much for their own profit, pleasures, pomp, &c.; Christ emptied himself of all his excellencies that we might be filled with his fulness.
He is just and having salvation] That he may justify thee by his righteousness, and save thee by his merit and Spirit. The Vulgate rendereth it, Just and a Saviour; so doth the Chaldee. Salvation properly denotes the negative part of man’s happiness, freedom from all evils and enemies; but it is usually taken for the positive part also, viz. fruition of all good; because it is easier to tell from what than unto what we are saved by Jehovah our righteousness.
Lowly] Or poor, afflicted, abject. See them set together, Zep 3:12 Php 4:12. I have learned to want and to be abased. Poverty rendereth a man contemptible and ridiculous. Pauper ubique iacet, men go over the hedge where it is lowest; the poor are trampled upon, and despised, as Luk 16:30. This thy son, he scorned to call him brother, because he was poor. Now Christ became poor to make us rich, 2Co 8:9; a worm and no man ( nullificamen populi, as Tertullian phraseth it), that we might be advanced to glory and honour and immortality, Rom 2:7. Neither was he more low and mean in his estate than lowly and meek in mind; as far from pride and stateliness as his state was from pomp and magnificence.
Riding upon an ass] A poor silly beast, used by the meaner sort of people.
Yea, upon a colt the foal of an ass] Heb. Asses, because the colt whereon Christ rode ran after two asses coupled together in one yoke, whereof one was his dam, Mat 21:5. {See Trapp on "Mat 21:1-46; Mat 5:1-48"} These asses used to the yoke Hesiod calleth ταλαιπωρους, wretched, or enduring great toil and labour. That Christ should ride upon the foal of such a hard labouring ass, a young wild colt, not yet ready tamed and trained to the saddle, as it shows his humility, so also his power over the creature ( Clarescente gloria inter humilem simplicitatem), and his peaceableness too, as Kimchi thinks from that in the next verse, that the Israelites under Christ’s government should have no need of horses and chariots. All this description of Christ’s person and kingdom we know was punctually fulfilled in our Saviour, according to Mat 21:4-11 Mar 11:7-10 Luk 19:35-38 Joh 12:12-16, four sufficient witnesses. The old Rabbis, and with them R. Solomon (though a sworn enemy to Christians), take the text of the promised Messiah’s solemn entrance into Jerusalem: of Jesus, the crucified son of Mary, they will not yield, because they stumble at his poverty and expect pomp. But if they had consulted their own prophets, they would have found that Messiah was foretold as despicable, Isa 53:2; poor, as here; crucified, Dan 9:26 Num 22:9; among malefactors, Isa 53:9; nailed, Psa 22:16; pierced, Zec 12:10; mocked, Psa 69:7. And that their very rejection of him for his meanness and meekness proveth him to be Christ, Psa 118:22 Act 4:11. It is reported of Agesilaus, that, coming to help the King of Egypt in his distress, he was despised by the Egyptians because of the plainness of his person and the homeliness of his attire, for they thought that they should see the King of Sparta such a one as the King of Persia was bravely clothed and pompously attended. Likewise the Jews expect a Christ like to one of the mighty monarchs of the earth; and they are strongly possessed with the fond conceit of an earthly kingdom. Hence, when they saw Mahomet arising in such power, they were straight ready to cry him up for their Messiah. "The rich hath many friends," saith Solomon but "the poor is hated," or slighted, "even of his own neighbour," Pro 14:20. Christ came to his own; but his own received him not. When it was sometime disputed among the Romans in the council, using to deify great men, whether Christ, having done many wonderful works, should be received into the number of the gods? the historian saith, that they would not therefore receive him, because he preached poverty and made choice of poor men to follow him, whom the world careth not for.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv9–17 Rejoice greatly: the prophet calls for such a joy…
Rejoice greatly: the prophet calls for such a joy as expresseth itself in outward gesture, as indeed the daughters of Zion did in their hosannas, when this had its accomplishment.
Daughter of Zion; Jerusalem’s inhabitants, or the church.
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Shout; proclaim aloud your joy at the news I now tell you. Before it was
daughter of Zion, now it is daughter of Jerusalem, both the church and state among the Jews had great cause to triumph at this.
Thy King; the Redeemer, expected, promised Messiah, Son of David, the only restorer of your lapsed state.
Cometh unto thee; Christ cometh to thee, to redeem and save thee; he cometh for thee, as well as to time. He is just; the righteous One, who cometh to fulfil all righteousness, and to be our righteousness.
Having salvation; designs to save, and hath that in his eye, that he can save, it is in his power; he can save us as he did save himself, by raising himself from the dead.
Lowly; low and mean of state, and meek or lowly of mind.
Riding upon an ass; a beast of no state or price, an emblem of his outward state.
And upon a colt the foal of an ass: in this some footsteps of sovereignty appeared in the colt’s taking and bearing him quietly, Luk 19:35.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv9, 12 That here begins a prophecy of the Messiah and…
That here begins a prophecy of the Messiah and his kingdom is plain from the literal accomplishment of the ninth verse in, and its express application to, Christ's riding in triumph into Jerusalem, Mat 21:5; Joh 12:15.
I. Here is notice given of the approach of the Messiah promised, as matter of great joy to the Old Testament church: Behold, thy king cometh unto thee. Christ is a king, invested with regal powers and prerogatives, a sovereign prince, an absolute monarch, having all power both in heaven and on earth. He is Zion's king. God has set him upon his holy hill of Zion, Psa 2:6. In Zion his glory as a king shines; thence his law went forth, even the word of the Lord. In the gospel-church his spiritual kingdom is administered; it is by him that the ordinances of the church are instituted, and its officers commissioned; and it is taken under his protection; he fights the church's battles and secures its interests, as its king. "This King has been long in coming, but now, behold, he cometh; he is at the door. There are but a few ages more to run out, and he that shall come will come. He cometh unto thee; the Word will shortly be made flesh, and dwell within thy borders; he will come to his own. And therefore rejoice, rejoice greatly, and shout for joy; look upon it as good news, and be assured it is true; please thyself to think that he is coming, that he is on his way towards thee; and be ready to go forth to meet him with acclamations of joy, as one not able to conceal it, it is so great, nor ashamed to own it, it is so just; cry Hosanna to him." Christ's approaches ought to be the church's applauses.
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II. Here is such a description of him as renders him very amiable in the eyes of all his loving subjects, and his coming to them very acceptable. 1. He is a righteous ruler; all his acts of government will be exactly according to the rules of equity, for he is just. 2. He is a powerful protector to all those that bear faith and true allegiance to him, for he has salvation; he has it in his power; he has it to bestow upon all his subjects. He is the God of salvation; treasures of salvation are in him. He is servatus - saving himself (so some read it), rising out of the grave by his own power and so qualifying himself to be our Saviour. (3.) He is a meek, humble, tender Father to all his subjects as his children; he is lowly; he is poor and afflicted (so the word signifies), so it denotes the meanness of his condition; having emptied himself, he was despised and rejected of men. But the evangelist translates it so as to express the temper of his spirit: he is meek, not taking state upon him, nor resenting injuries, but humbling himself from first to last, condescending to the mean, compassionate to the miserable; this was a bright and excellent character of him as a prophet (Mat 11:29, Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart), and no less so as a king. It was a proof of this that, when he made his public entry into his own city (and it was the only passage of his life that had any thing in it magnificent in the eye of the world), he chose to ride, not upon a stately horse, or in a chariot, as great men used to ride, but upon an ass, a beast of service indeed, but a poor silly and contemptible one, low and slow, and in those days ridden only by the meaner sort of people; nor was it an ass fitted for use, but an ass's colt, a little foolish unmanageable thing, that would be more likely to disgrace his rider than be any credit to him; and that not his own neither, nor helped off, as sometimes a sorry horse is, by good furniture, for he had no saddle, no housings, no trappings, no equipage, but his disciples' clothes thrown upon the colt;' for he made himself of no reputation when he visited us in great humility.
III. His kingdom is here set forth in the glory of it. This king has, and will have, a kingdom, not of this world, but a spiritual kingdom, a kingdom of heaven. 1. It shall not be set up and advanced by external force, by an arm of flesh or carnal weapons of warfare. No; he will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horses from Jerusalem (Zac 9:10), for he shall have no occasion for them while he himself rides upon an ass. He will, in kindness to his people, cut off their horses and chariots, that they may not cut themselves off from God by putting that confidence in them which they should put in the power of God only. He will himself undertake their protection, will himself be a wall of fire about Jerusalem and give his angels charge concerning it (those chariots of fire and horses of fire), and then the chariots and horses they had in their service shall be discarded and cut off as altogether needless. 2. It shall be propagated and established by the preaching of the gospel, the speaking of peace to the heathen; for Christ came and preached peace to those that were afar off and to those that were nigh; and so established his kingdom by proclaiming on earth peace, and good-will towards men. 3. His kingdom, as far as it prevails in the minds of men and has the ascendant over them, will make them peaceable, and slay all enmities; it will cut off the battle-bow, and beat swords into plough-shares. It will not only command the peace, but will create the fruit of the lips, peace. 4. It shall extend itself to all parts of the world, in defiance of the opposition given to it. "The chariot and horse that come against Ephraim and Jerusalem, to oppose the progress of Zion's King, shall be cut off; his gospel shall be preached to the world, and be received among the heathen, so that his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth, as was foretold by David," Psa 72:8. The preachers of the gospel shall carry it from one country, one island, to another, till some of the remotest corners of the world are enlightened and reduced by it.
IV. Here is an account of the great benefit procured for mankind by the Messiah, which is redemption from extreme misery, typified by the deliverance of the Jews out of their captivity in Babylon (Zac 9:11): "As for thee also (thee, O daughter of Jerusalem! or thee, O Messiah the Prince!) by the blood of thy covenant, by force and virtue of the covenant made with Abraham, sealed with the blood of circumcision, and the covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai, sealed with the blood of sacrifices, in pursuance and performance of that covenant, I have now of late sent forth thy prisoners, thy captives out of Babylon, which was to them a most uncomfortable place, as a pit in which was no water." It was part of the covenant that, if in the land of their captivity, they sought the Lord, he would be found of them, Lev 26:42, Lev 26:44, Lev 26:45; Deu 30:4. It was by the blood of that covenant, typifying the blood of Christ, in whom all God's covenants with man are yea and amen, that they were released out of captivity; and this was but a shadow of the great salvation wrought out by thy King, O daughter of Zion! Note, A sinful state is a state of bondage; it is a spiritual prison; it is a pit, or a dungeon, in which there is no water, no comfort at all to be had. We are all by nature prisoners in this pit; the scripture has concluded us all under sin, and bound us over to the justice of God. God is pleased to deal upon new terms with these prisoners, to enter into another covenant with them; the blood of Christ is the blood of that covenant, purchased it for us and all the benefits of it; by that blood of the covenant effectual provision is made for the sending forth of these prisoners upon easy and honourable terms, and proclamation made of liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those that were bound, like Cyrus's proclamation to the Jews in Babylon, which all those whose spirits God stirs up will come and take the benefit of.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–17 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter…
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem,.... By whom are meant, not the inhabitants of Jerusalem in common; nor the children in it, that said Hosannas to the son of David; but the church of God, and true believers in Christ, who are called upon to "rejoice" and "shout": not merely in an external way, by showing marks of outward joy, but in a spiritual manner, for which there was good reason, as follows:
behold, thy King cometh unto thee; Aben Ezra says that interpreters are divided about the sense of this prophecy; some say it is Messiah the son of David; and others, Messiah the son of Joseph. R. Moses, the priest, he observes, thinks that Nehemiah the Tirshathite is meant; and he himself is of opinion that Judas Maccabeus is intended; but Jarchi affirms that it is impossible to interpret it of any other than the King Messiah; and this is the sense of many of their writers, both ancient and modern. It is applied to him in the Talmud; they say (r), he that sees an ass in his dream, let him look for salvation, as it is said, behold, thy king cometh unto thee, "riding on an ass". R. Alexander relates that R. Joshua ben Levi opposed these two phrases to each other, "in its time", and "I will hasten it", Isa 60:22 and gave this as the sense to reconcile them: if they (the Israelites) are worthy, i.e. of the coming of the Messiah, "I will hasten it"; if they are not worthy, it shall be "in its time"; and that he also put these Scriptures together, and compared them to that Scripture, "behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven", Dan 7:13 and also what is written, "poor, and riding on an ass"; if they are worthy, he will come with the clouds of heaven; if they are not worthy, he will come poor and riding on an ass (s). In an ancient book (t) of theirs, at least so reckoned, it is said the King Messiah shall prevail over them all (the nations of the world, and the Israelites); as it is said, "poor, and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass": and in several other places of that work, and other treatises in it (u), the text is applied to the Messiah; as it likewise is in their ancient Midrashes or expositions. In one (w) it is observed,
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"the Rabbins say an ox; this is the anointed for war, as it is said, "his glory is like the firstling of his bullock", Deu 33:17 an ass; this is the King Messiah, as it is said, "poor, and riding on an ass";''
and again (x), on these words, "binding his foal to the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine", Gen 49:11, this remark is made; this shall be when that shall come to pass which is written of him, "poor, and riding on an ass". And in another (y) of their expositions, the two Redeemers, Moses and the Messiah, are compared together; and, among the several things in which they agree, this is one; as it is said of the former redeemer, "and Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them on an ass", Exo 4:20 so it is said of the latter Redeemer (the Messiah), "poor, and riding on an ass". And thus it is interpreted by many of their more modern writers (z). This is to be understood of Christ's coming, not merely to Jerusalem, when he rode on an ass, after mentioned; but of his coming in the flesh, when he came to Zion, and for her good; and which was wonderful, and therefore a "behold" is prefixed to it; and is matter of great joy, which she is called to show, because of the birth of him who is her Saviour; and because of the good things that come by him; and because of his appearing as a King, and her King; for, as he was prophesied of as such, as such he came, though his kingdom was not of this world; and as Zion's King, being placed there by his Father, and to which he has a right by virtue of redemption, and is owned as such by his people in the effectual calling, and to whom all the following characters belong.
He is just: not only essentially righteous as God, but just and upright in the whole course of, his life as man; and faithful in the administration of his office as Mediator; and the author and bringer in of righteousness to his people:
and having salvation; the salvation of his church and people; which he not only had at heart, but had it to execute, being appointed to that service by his Father, and having agreed unto it as the surety of his people, and was the business he was coming into the world to do, here prophesied of; yea, he is called salvation itself, as in a parallel text, Isa 62:11 the purpose of it was purposed in him; God resolved to save his people by him, and by him only; he never intended to save any but in and through him; and the thing was not only consulted with him, but the scheme of it was drawn in him; God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. The covenant of grace, in which salvation is a principal article, was made with him; and he, as the surety of that covenant, undertook it; and in the fulness of time being sent, came to effect it; for which he was abundantly qualified, being God and man in one person, and so had something to offer as a sacrifice for satisfaction to law and justice, in order to obtain it; and could put a sufficient virtue therein to answer the end, being the mighty God; and having as Mediator a commission from his divine Father, he is become, by his obedience, sufferings, and death, the author of eternal salvation to his people; and in him salvation is, and in no other; and in vain it is to expect it from any other, or in any other way, than by him, Act 4:12. Some render the word "saved" (a); as he was by his divine Father, when he was raised from the dead, and not suffered to see corruption; see Heb 5:7 others, "saving himself" (b); when he raised himself from the dead, and thereby declared himself to be the Son of God; and when he brought salvation to his body, the church, which is himself, Isa 63:5
lowly; meek, and humble, as he appeared to be in the assumption of human nature; in his carriage to sinners, conversation with them, and reception of them; in his ministrations to his disciples; and in not seeking his own, but his Father's glory. Or "poor" (c); as Jesus the Messiah was; born of poor parents, had not where to lay his head, and was ministered unto by others; See Co2 8:9
and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass; which was fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, Mat 21:4 not that he rode upon them both, but on the foal only; for so it should be rendered, "upon an ass, that is, upon a colt, the foal of an ass" (d). The Jews have a fable, that the ass Abraham saddled, when he went to sacrifice his son Isaac, was the foal of the ass that was created on the evening of the sabbath, that is, at the creation; and that the same Moses set his wife and sons upon, when he came out of Midian; and the same ass, they say, Messiah the son of David was to ride upon at his coming (e); but one of such a prodigious age surely could not be called a colt, or a foal; however, this fable shows the conviction of their minds that this is a prophecy of the Messiah, and that they expected the Messiah to ride upon an ass, according to it, as our Messiah Jesus did. And the Greeks have another fable, which perhaps took its rise from this prophecy, that when Antiochus entered the temple at Jerusalem, he found in it an image of a man in wood, with a long beard, riding on an ass (f). And a like falsehood is told by Tacitus (g), that the Jews consecrated the effigies of an ass in the inmost part of the temple; because a flock of wild asses, as he pretends, directed them to fountains of water, when in the wilderness, and ready to die with thirst; and yet he himself afterwards says, the Jews have no images, neither in their cities, nor in their temple: and from hence it may be arose the calumny cast upon the primitive Christians, who were sometimes confounded with the Jews, that they worshipped an ass's head; and which is refuted by Tertullian (h).
(r) T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 56. 2. (s) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 98. 1. Vid. etiam ib. fol. 99. 10. (t) Zohar in Gen. fol. 127. 3. (u) Zohar in Numb. fol. 83. 4. & in Deut. fol. 117. 1. & 118. 3. Raya Mehimna apud ib. in Lev. fol. 38. 3. & in Numb. fol. 97. 2. (w) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 75. fol. 66. 2. (x) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 98. fol. 85. 3. (y) Midrash Kohelet, fol. 63. 2. (z) Jarchi in Isa. xxvi. 6. Baal hatturim on Exod. fol. 88. 2. Abarbinel, Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 15. 4. R. Abraham Seba, Tzeror Hammor, fol. 46. 2. Caphtor Uperah, fol. 81. 2. (a) "et salvatus ipse", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius; "servatus", Calvin, De Dieu. Schultens (i) observes, that in the Arabic language, signifies large, ample, spacious, and denotes amplitude of riches, power, knowledge, happiness, and glory; and in this place the word describes a king endued with most ample salvation, and brought into this amplitude out of poverty and straits, darkness and misery. (b) "Servabit seipsum", Vatablus. (c) pauper, V. L. Calvin, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "inops", Cocceius (d) "id est, super pullum", Noldius. (e) Pirke Eliezer, c. 31. fol. 32. 1. Caphtor Uperah, fol. 81. 2. (f) Diodor. Sicul. Excerpta, l. 34. p. 901, 902. (g) Hist. l. 5. c. 3, 4, 5. (h) Apologet. c. 16. ad nationes, l. 1. c. 11. (i) Origines Hebr. l. 1. p. 18, 19, 20. & indicul. voc. Hebr. in calce ejus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9–17 Thy king - The Messiah. He is just -…
Thy king - The Messiah. He is just - The righteous one, who cometh to fulfil all righteousness. Having salvation - To bestow on all that believe in him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9–17 Verse 9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion] See…
Verse 9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion] See this prophecy explained on Mt 21:5.
Behold, thy King cometh] Not Zerubbabel, for he was never king; nor have they had a king, except Jesus the Christ, from the days of Zedekiah to the present time.
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He is just] The righteous One, and the Fountain of righteousness.
Having salvation] He alone can save from sin, Satan, death, and hell.
Lowly] Without worldly pomp or splendour; for neither his kingdom, nor that of his followers, is of this world.
Riding upon an ass] God had commanded the kings of Israel not to multiply horses. The kings who broke this command were miserable themselves, and scourgers to their people. Jesus came to fulfil the law. Had he in his title of king rode upon a horse, it would have been a breach of a positive command of God; therefore, he rode upon an ass, and thus fulfilled the prophecy, and kept the precept unbroken. Hence it is immediately added-
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17 Zec 9:9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion —…
Zec 9:9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion — To give still greater encouragement to God’s people, the prophet, after uttering the foregoing promises, was carried on by the Divine Spirit, which influenced him, to announce a still more remarkable instance of God’s special kindness to them, namely, the coming of their Messiah, or king, with reference to which this passage is cited in two places of the New Testament, Mat 21:5; Joh 12:15; so that we can have no doubt of the application. But, from comparing these three texts, we may perceive that the evangelical writers were not over-scrupulous of adhering to the exact words of their original, whether they cited from the Hebrew or from the Greek; but were satisfied with giving the true sense of the passage, and taking more or less of it, as circumstances seemed to require. Behold, thy king cometh unto thee — He that is so often described in the prophets as the king of Israel; that was known by that name among the Jews in our Saviour’s time, and is repeatedly called by the name of David their king: see the margin. To him the kingdom did properly belong, and to him the gathering of the people was to be, Gen 49:10. He is just, and having salvation — Or, He is righteous, and the Saviour, as the ancient versions have it. He is that righteous branch, and the Lord our righteousness, as he is described by Jer 23:5; who was to execute justice and judgment in the earth; and the righteousness and salvation, that is, the Righteous One and Saviour, promised Isa 62:1. Unlike the proud and destructive conquerors of the earth, he shall not enter with a mighty cavalcade of horse, but shall come lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. Although it is certain that the ancient Jews understood this prophecy of the Messiah, yet that this divine person, this king of Israel, should come unto them riding upon an ass, which, notwithstanding that in former ages patriarchs and judges thought it no disgrace to ride upon them, yet was then looked upon as below the dignity of any person of eminence, must, at the uttering of this prophecy, have appeared a very mysterious and improbable circumstance. But we who know that the only time when the Lord Jesus entered publicly into Jerusalem, he thought proper, as an example of humility and meekness, and of indifference to worldly pomp, to ride upon a young ass, or colt; and that, at the same time, the whole multitude were seized with such a sudden and extraordinary impulse of joy, that they spread their garments in the way, and cut down branches of trees and strowed them in the way, shouting unanimously, HOSANNAH, BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMETH IN THE NAME OF THE LORD — we, that know this remarkable circumstance, cannot but be greatly struck with this prophecy, as an admirable instance of the divine prescience, and a strong proof of the truth of Christianity.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv9–17 From the protection, which God promised to His people…
From the protection, which God promised to His people and to His House, the prophet passes on to Him who was ever in his thoughts, and for whose sake that people and temple were preserved. He had described the great conqueror of this world, sweeping along in his course of victory. In contrast with such as he, he now exhibits to his people the character and procession of their king. “Rejoice greatly.” Not with this world’s joy. God never exhorts man to “rejoice greatly” in this world’s fleeting joys. He allows us to be glad, as children, before Him; He permits such buoyancy of heart, if innocent; but He does not command it. “Now” He commands His people to burst out into a jubilee of rejoicing: they were to dance and shout for gladness of spirit; “despising the poor exultation of this world and exulting with that exceeding” yet chaste joy, which befits the true bliss to be brought by their King and Saviour. Rup.: “This word, ‘greatly,’ means that there should be no measure whatever in their exultation; for the exultation of the children of the bridegroom is far unlike to the exultation of the children of this world.” Cyril: “He biddeth the spiritual Zion rejoice, inasmuch as dejection was removed. For what cause of sorrow is there, when sin has been removed, death trampled under foot, and human nature called to the dignity of freedom, and crowned with the grace of adoption and illumined with the heavenly gift?”
Behold, thy king cometh unto thee - He does not say “a king,” but “‘thy’ king;” thy king, thine own, the long-promised, the long-expected; He who, when they had kings of their own, given them by God, had been promised as “the” king ; “the righteous Ruler among men” 2Sa 23:3, of the seed of David; He who, above all other kings, was “their” King and Savior; whose kingdom was to absorb in itself all kingdoms of the earth; “the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” Her king was to come “to her.” He was in a manner then “of her,” and “not of her;” “of her,” since He was to be “her king,” “not of her,” since He was to “come to her.” As Man, He was born of her: as God, the Word made flesh, He “came to” her. “‘To thee,’ to be manifest unto thee; ‘to be thine by communion of nature’ 1Ti 3:16; ‘as He is thine, by the earnest of the Eternal Spirit and the gift of the Father, to procure thy good’ Heb 2:14. ‘Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given’ Isa 9:6.” Of this, His entry into Jerusalem was an image. But how should he come? “He shall come to thee,” says an old Jewish writing, , “to atone thee; He shall come to thee, to upraise thee; He shall come to thee, to raise thee up to His temple, and to espouse thee with an everlasting espousal.”
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He is just and having salvation - Just or righteous, and the Fountain of justice or righteousness. For what He is, “that” He diffuseth. Righteousness which God “Is,” and righteousness which God, made Man, imparts, are often blended in Holy Scripture. Isa 45:21; Isa 53:11; Jer 23:5-6; Jer 33:15-16; Mal 4:2. This is also the source of the exceeding joy. For the coming of their king in righteousness would be, to sinful man, a cause, not of joy but of fear. This was the source of the Angel’s message of joy; “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour” Luk 2:10-11.
He is just - Dionysius: “Because in the Divine Nature, He is the Fountain of all holiness and justice.” “As Thou art righteous Thyself, Thou orderest all things righteously. For Thy power is the beginning of righteousness” . According to the nature which He took, He was also most just; for He ever sought the glory of the Father, and “He did no sin, neither was guile found in His Mouth” 1Pe 2:22. In the way also of justice He satisfied for people, delivering Himself for their faults to the pain of the most bitter death, to satisfy the honor of the Divine Majesty, so that sin should not remain unpunished. Hence, He saith of Himself; “He that seeketh His glory that sent Him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him” Joh 7:18. Of whom also Stephen said to the Jews, “Your fathers slew them which showed before of the coming of the Just One, of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers” Act 7:52.
Righteousness is an awful attribute of God. It is a glory and perfection of His Being, for the perfect to gaze on and adore. Mercy, issuing in our salvation, is the attribute which draws us sinners. And this lies in the promise that He should “come to them,” however the one word נושׁע nôsha‛ be rendered . The meaning of such a prophecy as this is secure, independent of single words. The whole context implies, that He should come as a ruler and deliverer, whether the word נושׁע nôsha‛ signify “endued with salvation” (whereas the old versions rendered it, “Saviour”), or whether it be, “saved.” For as He came, not for Himself but for us, so, in as far as He could be said to be saved, He was “saved,” not for Himself but for us. Of our Lord, as Man, it is, in like way, said, “Thou shalt not leave His soul in Hell” Psa 16:10, or, “whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be holden of it” Act 2:24.
As Man, He was raised from the dead; as God, He raised Himself from the dead, for our sakes, for whom He died. For us, He was born a Saviour; for us, He was endued with salvation; for us, He was saved from being held of death; in like way as, of His Human Nature, the Apostle says, “He was heard, in that He feared” Heb 5:7. To us, as sinners, it is happiest to hear of the Saviour; but the most literal meaning “saved” has its own proper comfort: for it implies the Sufferings, by which that salvation was procured, and so it contains a hint of the teaching by Isaiah, “He was taken from oppression and from judgment;” upon which that same wide reign follows, of which David, in his picture of the Passion Psa 22:27-28, and Isaiah Isa 53:10-12 prophesy. Osorius: “This ‘saved’ does not imply, that He obtained salvation for His own otherwise than from Himself. “Mine own arm,” He saith in Isaiah, “brought salvation unto Me” Isa 63:5. But its Man, He obtained salvation from the indwelling Godhead. For when He destroyed the might of death, when, rising from the dead, He ascended into heaven, when He took on Him the everlasting kingdom of heaven and earth, He obtained salvation from the glory of the Father, that is, from His own Divinity, to impart it to all His. The Hebrew word then in no way diminishes the amplitude of His dignity. For we confess, that the Human Nature of Christ had that everlasting glory added to It from His Divine Nature, so that He should not only be Himself adorned with those everlasting gifts, but should became the cause of everlasting salvation to all who obey Him.”
Lowly - Outward lowliness of condition, is, through the grace of God, the best fosterer of the inward. The word “lowly” wonderfully expresses the union of both; lowness of outward state with lowliness of soul. The Hebrew word expresses the condition of one, who is bowed down, brought low through oppression, affliction, desolation, poverty, persecution, bereavement; but only if at the same time, he had in him the fruit of all these, in lowliness of mind, submission to God, piety. Thus, our Lord pronounces the blessedness of “the poor” and “the poor in spirit,” that is, poor in estate, who are poor in soul also. But in no case does it express lowliness of mind without lowness of condition. One lowly, who was not afflicted, would never be so called. The prophet then declares that their king should come to them in a poor condition, “stricken, smitten, and afflicted” Isa 53:4, and with the special grace of that condition, meekness, gentleness and lowliness of soul; and our Lord bids us, “Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly of heart” Mat 11:29. Dionysius: “He saith of Himself in the Gospel, ‘The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His Head’ Mat 8:20. ‘For though He was rich, He for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich’ 2Co 8:9.”
Lowly and riding upon an ass - Kings of the earth ride in state. The days were long since by, when the sons of the judges rode on asses Jdg 10:4; Jdg 12:14. Even then the more distinguished rode on “white” (that is, roan) Jdg 5:10 asses. The mule, as a taller animal, was used by David 1Ki 1:33, 1Ki 1:38, 1Ki 1:44 and his sons 2Sa 13:29; 2Sa 18:9, while asses were used for his household 2Sa 16:2, and by Ziba, Shimei, Mephibosheth, Ahitophel, 2Sa 16:1; 2Sa 17:23; 2Sa 19:26; 1Ki 2:40, and, later, by the old prophet of Bethel 1Ki 13:13, 1Ki 13:23, 1Ki 13:27. David had reserved horses for 100 chariots, 2Sa 8:4, after the defeat of the Syrians, but he himself did not use them. Absalom employed “chariots and horses” 2Sa 15:1 as part of his pomp, when preparing to displace his father; and Solomon multiplied them 1Ki 4:26; 1Ki 10:26; 2Ch 1:14; 2Ch 9:25. He speaks of it as an indignity or reverse; “I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking, as servants, upon the earth” Ecc 10:7.
The burial of an ass became a proverb for a disgraced end Jer 22:19. There is no instance in which a king rode on an ass, save He whose kingdom was not of this world. The prophecy, then, was framed to prepare the Jews to expect a prophet-king, not a king of this world. Their eyes were fixed on this passage. In the Talmud, in their traditional interpretations, and in their mystical books, they dwelt on these words. The mention of the ass, elsewhere, seemed to them typical of this ass, on which their Messiah should ride. “If a man in a dream seeth an ass,” says the Talmud, “he shall see salvation.” It is an instance of prophecy which, humanly speaking, a false Messiah could have fulfilled, but which, from its nature, none would fulfill, save the True. For “their” minds were set on earthly glory and worldly greatness: it would have been inconsistent with the claims of one, whose kingdom was of this world.
It belonged to the character of Him, who was buffeted, mocked, scourged, spit upon, crucified, died for us, and rose again. It was divine humiliation, which in the purpose of God, was to be compensated by divine power. In itself it would, if insulated, have been unmeaning. The Holy Spirit prophesied it, Jesus fulfilled it, to show the Jews, of what nature His kingdom was. Hence, the challenge; , “Let us look at the prophecy, that in words, and that in act. What is the prophecy? “Lo, thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and upon a colt;” not driving chariots as other kings, not in pomp nor attended by guards, but showing herein also all gentleness. Ask the Jew then, What king, riding on an ass, came to Jerusalem? He could name none, save this One alone.” An ancient writer says, , “The Greeks too” (not the Jews only) “will laugh at us, saying, that ‘The God of the Christians, who is called Christ, sat upon an ass.’” The same mockery was probably intended by Sapor king of Persia, which the Jews met with equal pride.
The taunt continues until now. : “It is not hid from you, O congregation of Christians, that ‘rider upon an ass’ indicates Christ.” The Mohammedans appropriate the title “rider upon a camel” to Mohammad, as the grander animal . The taunt of worshiping “Him who sat upon an ass” was of the same class as those of the worship of the Crucified; , “one dead and crucified, who could not save himself;” “a crucified Man,” “that great Man,” or (if it suited them so to speak) “that great sophist who was crucified,” but who now, for above 1800 years, reigns, “to all, the King; to all, the Judge; to all, Lord and God.” “Christ did not only fulfill prophecies or plant the doctrines of truth, but did thereby also order our life for us, everywhere laying down for us rules of necessary use and, by all, correcting our life.” Even Jews, having rejected our Lord, saw this. “Not from poverty,” says one, (Kimchi), “for behold the whole world shall be in his power - but from humility he will ride upon an ass; and further to show that Israel (namely, the establishment of His kingdom or Church) shall not lack horse nor chariot: therefore it is added, “And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem.” And another; , “He, that is, thy true king David, shall come to thee; and he mentions of his qualities that he shall be “righteous and נושׁע nôsha‛ , in his wars; but his salvation shall not be from strength of his wars, for he shall come “lowly” and “riding upon an ass.” “And riding on an ass,” this is not on account of his want, but to show that peace and truth shall be in his days; and therefore he says immediately, “And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem;” namely, that such shall be the peace and stillness in the world, that in Ephraim (that is, the tribes) and in Jerusalem (that is, the kingdom of Judah) they shall “trust” no more in horse and in rider, but “in the name of God.” And because it is the way of princes and chiefs to take example from the life of their kings, and to do as they, therefore he saith, that when the king Messiah rideth upon an ass, and “has no pleasure in the strength of a horse,” there will be no other in Jerusalem or the lands of the tribes, who will have pleasure in riding on a horse. And therefore he says, “And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem;” and he assigns the reason for this, when he says, “And the battlebow shall be cut off and he shall speak peace among the nations,” that is, there shall be no more war in the world, because he shall “speak peace unto the nations, and by the word of his lips he shall dispose peace unto them.” Isa 26:12.
And upon a colt, the foal of an ass - The word rendered “colt,” as with us, signifies the young, as yet unbroken animal. In the fulfillment, our Lord directed His disciples to find “an ass tied, and a colt with her, whereon never man sat” Mat 21:2; Mar 11:2; Luk 19:30. The prophet foretold that He would ride on both animals; our Lord, by commanding both to be brought, showed that the prophet had a special meaning in naming both. Matthew relates that both were employed. “They brought the ass and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set Him thereon.” The untrained colt, an appendage to its mother, was a yet humbler animal. But as the whole action was a picture of our Lord’s humility and of the unearthliness of His kingdom, so, doubtless, His riding upon the two animals was a part of that picture. There was no need of two animals to bear our Lord for that short distance. John notices especially, “These things understood not His disciples at the first” Joh 12:16. The ass, an unclean stupid debased ignoble drudge, was in itself a picture of unregenerate man, a slave to his passions and to devils, toiling under the load of ever-increasing sin. But, of man, the Jew had been under the yoke and was broken; the Gentiles were the wild unbroken colt. Both were to be brought under obedience to Christ.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9–17 King. Christ often came to Jerusalem; but his last…
King. Christ often came to Jerusalem; but his last entrance, to die for man’s redemption, was most excellent. (Worthington) --- If the Jews had not wilfully blinded themselves, they could not mistake Him, as he is here so minutely described, possessing the most humble and the noblest qualities. Not knowing how to reconcile them, they feign one Messias glorious and another poor and despised; while others admit only of one, and reject either the abject or the exalted things which the prophets have spoken of him. The Church alone can reconcile these apparent contradictions in our Saviour’s character. After predicting what would befall the Jews till about one hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet turns to Him who was the desire and comfort of the nation. (Calmet) --- Saviour. Hebrew Noshah, (Haydock) or Jesus. (St. Jerome) --- Poor; or meek, as St. Matthew quotes it, after the Septuagint and Chaldean. (Menochius) --- They have read v for i, as hani (Haydock) means poor. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "lowly," which may signify devoid of riches, or of pride. --- Ass. Septuagint, "yoked animal, and upon a young foal." (Haydock) --- The former denotes the Jews.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On vv9, 11 A. The Character of the King (Zec_9:9). B. The…
2. ZION’S KING OF PEACE.
Zec_9:9-10
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A. The Character of the King (Zec_9:9). B. The Nature and Extent of his Kingdom(Zec_9:10)
9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion,
Shout,16 daughter of Jerusalem,
Behold, thy king cometh to17 thee,
Just and saved is He,
Afflicted and riding upon an ass,
Even upon a colt, the she-asses’18 foal,
10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim,
And the horse from Jerusalem,
And the battle-bow shall be cut off;
And he shall speak peace to the nations,
And his dominion shall be from sea to sea,
And from the river to the ends of the earth.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
From the description of deliverance wrought and blessings conferred by means of destructive judgments upon the heathen, the Prophet turns abruptly to a royal personage who is to appear without armies or weapons, and yet will establish general peace and set up a kingdom of unlimited extent.
Zec_9:9. Rejoice. The value of this blessing is expressed by a summons to joy in view of it. Cocceius justly says, that the summons itself contains a prophecy. Daughter of Zion, see on Zec_2:7-10. The Prophet says, Behold! as if he saw the animating spectacle, thy king—not any ruler, but thine, i. e., the one long promised and expected (Psalms 45, 82.), he who alone is thy king, in the highest sense of the word.
This king is described by four features of character and condition: (1.) Just. The leading virtue in a king, and hence emphasized in the Messianic utterances (Isa_11:3-5; Jer_23:5; Psa_45:6-7). (2.) Saved. נוֹשָׁץ is rendered actively by all the ancient versions (Luther, Grotius, Marckius, Henderson); but the participle is Niphal which, although it may be reflexive, is never active save in verbs which have no Kal form. Calvin, Cocceius, and most of the moderns, give the passive rendering. A tertium quid has been sought by Hengstenberg, Keil, and others, in the sense endued with salvation, but for this I can see no authority in the passages quoted (Deu_33:29; Psa_33:16). Pressel follows Fürst in rendering victorious, which is arbitrary. Nor is there here an exigentia loci, as Henderson claims; for the king is saved not for his own sake only, but for his people’s, and the blessing, therefore, is not a personal one, but extends to all his subjects. Thus the passive suits the connection. (3.) Afflicted, עָנִי. The root עָנָה=to be bowed down, in its primary sense, of bowed by outward circumstances=afflicted, gives the adjective found here, but in the secondary sense of inwardly bowed, gives the adjective עָנָו=meek, patient, lowly. While there is a constant tendency of the two significations to pass into each other, yet the distinction is generally maintained, and עָנִי is found coupled with כאֹב ,דַל ,אֶביוֹן. The E. V. is sustained by the LXX. (πραύ̈ς), Targum, Kimchi, and most of the moderns, who cannot see the relevancy of this feature to the character of a triumphant king. But our king triumphs through suffering. His crown springs out of his cross. Hence we agree with the Vulgate (pauper), Aben Esra, Calvin, Cocceius, Hengstenberg, Tholuck, Keil, in considering this one word as summing up the elaborate picture of suffering contained in Isaiah 53. It is true, Matthew (Mat_21:5) apparently sustains the other view, but he merely quotes the LXX as he found it, without endorsing its absolute accuracy in all particulars. Besides, he omits two of the traits mentioned, and dwells only on the last one, for the sake of which his quotation was manifestly made. (4.) Biding upon an ass. Lit., “upon an ass, even upon a young ass, a foal of she-asses.” The וְ is epexegetical, just as it is in 1Sa_17:40, “in a shepherd’s bag, even in a scrip.” אֲתֹכוֹת is simply the plural of species. Gen_21:7 : “who would have said that Sarah should give children suck?” Yet Sarah had but one child. In this case the youthfulness of the animal is emphasized, since the expression implies that it was one not yet ridden, but still running behind the she-asses. But what does this trait mean? Many affirm that it points to the peaceful character of the king, as set forth in the next verse. But this does not account for the marked emphasis given to the youth of the animal. It is better therefore (Hengstenberg, Keil, etc.) to regard it as a token of poverty and meanness. The ass was indeed ridden by distinguished persons in the early days of Israel when horses were not used at all; but after the time of Solomon no instance occurs of its being employed on state occasions. That this king should ride not upon a horse but upon an ass, and that an untrained foal, indicated how far he should be from possessing any worldly splendor. The close correspondence between this account and our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem is well known; and Matthew (Mat_21:4) and John (Joh_12:15) speak of the latter as a fulfillment of the former. And while it is true, as Vitringa says, that the prophecy would have been fulfilled in Christ, even if He had not made his entry into Jerusalem in this manner; still it is apparent that our Lord designedly framed the correspondence which we observe, and that he intended thus to embody the thought which lies at the basis of the whole passage, namely, that the king Messiah would rise through lowliness and suffering, to might and glory, and would conquer the world not by arms but by suffering and dying.
Zec_9:10. This verse describes the character and extent of the Messiah’s kingdom. And I will cut off, etc. Not only will this king extend his reign by peaceful methods, but all the instruments of war will be effectually removed from his people. The chariot, the horse, and the battle-bow are merely specifications, standing for the whole class of offensive weapons, which are to be cut off. This last word is the one used above (Zec_9:6) in reference to the pride of the Philistines, and denotes extermination. Both passages rest upon Mic_5:10-11. The Lord will take away all the outward defenses upon which a carnal reliance is placed. The occurrence of the word Ephraim here does not prove that this prophecy was written before the exile, but only that Zechariah uses the familiar designation of the different parts, of the country which still survived after the separation of the two kingdoms had ceased. See mention of Israel in Zec_8:13. the post exilium origin of which is admitted by all. Speak peace, not that He will teach peace, nor command peace, nor speak peacefully, but that He will speak peace, and that effectually, accomplishing by a single word what worldly kings bring about only by force of arms (cf. Psa_72:6-7; Mic_5:5). He will do so not merely to the covenant people, but to the nations at large. This point is farther expanded in the boundaries assigned to his sway. From sea to sea, etc. The expressions are borrowed from the statement of Israel’s “bounds” in Exo_23:31, whence some (Eichhorn, Hitzig) have inferred that they mean simply the restoration of the earthly Israel to its widest geographical limits. But there are changes in the phraseology which compel a different view. Instead of saying, from one particular sea to another, Zechariah leaves out all qualifying epithets and even the articles, so that the first clause must mean, from any one sea to any other, even the most distant, or from any sea around to the same point again. The other clause will mean, from the Euphrates, or from any other river as a terminus a quo, to the ends of the earth. נָהָרֹ with the article always means the Euphrates, and probably does so here, but an equivalent sense may be gained by the alternative rendering given above. What is meant is that the kingdom should be strictly universal. Our passage is a reproduction of Psa_72:8.
The History of the Interpretation. The early Jewish authorities held that the Messiah is the subject. Thus the Book of Zohar, “On this account it is said of Messiah, Lowly and riding upon an ass.” The same view is given by Joshua ben Levi, Saadias-Gaon, and others. The testimonies may be found in Wetstein on Mat_21:4. Jarchi, known among the Jews as the prince of Commentators, declares that “it is impossible to interpret it of any other than the Messiah.” In the twelfth century other opinions prevailed. One found in the Bab. Talmud evaded the difficulty by saying, “If the Israelites are worthy, the Messiah will come with the clouds of heaven (Dan_7:13); if they are unworthy, he will come poor and riding upon an ass (Zec_9:9).” Another resorted to the device of two Messiahs, one of whom should be suffering, and the other, triumphant. Yet manifestly it is one and the same person who is described by the Prophet as uniting in himself the extremes of majesty and humiliation,—a combination which on the New Testament view of the case is intelligible and self-consistent, but on any other quite impossible. Alien-Ezra refuted the opinion of Rabbi Moses, the priest who referred the prophecy to Nehemiah, but himself went as far astray by interpreting it of Judas Maccabæus. There were those, however, who adhered to the Messianic interpretation, and resorted to strange expedients to get rid of the implication of weakness and lowliness. One of these was the fable that the ass created at the end of the six days of creation was the same which Abraham saddled when he went to offer Isaac, and which Moses set his wife and sons upon when he came out of Egypt; and that this distinguished animal was to bear the Messiah. Another was that the ass of King Messiah should be of an hundred colors. The more intelligent expositors (Kimchi, Abarbanel, et al.) explained the reference to the ass as a sign of humility. It is supposed that this prophecy in some way gave rise to the foolish statement of Tacitus, that the Jews consecrated the image of an ass in the inmost shrine of their temple, and hence probably arose the calumny upon the early Christians, who were often confounded with the Jews, that they worshipped an ass’s head,—a fable which Tertullian takes the trouble to confute (Ad Nationes, i. 11).
Among Christians the reference to Christ was uniform until the time of Grotius, who asserted that its first and literal application was to Zerubbabel, but that in a higher sense it referred to our Saviour. This view “excited universal displeasure, and called forth a host of replies, the first of which was written by Bochart.” Such a view refutes itself. Later, the rationalists felt themselves pressed by the same difficulty as the Jews. They could easily account on natural principles for the anticipation of a Messiah in glory, but were quite unable in this way to explain the prophecy of a suffering Messiah. They therefore resorted to the Jewish evasions, and sought for somebody else than Christ as the subject. Bauer chose Simon Maccabæus; Paulus, John Hyrcanus; Forberg, King Uzziah. But the most (Eichhorn, Gesenius, Ewald, etc.) devised the theory of an ideal Messiah, maintaining that this and all other similar prophecies arose simply from the vague expectation that there would appear in the future some great deliverer springing from the Davidic line, who after enduring great personal trials would institute a righteous government, restore the nation to its old prosperity, and overcome its unjust oppressors. So that what the New Testament considers a distinct prediction of the Messiah is merely a patriotic dream. For a thorough refutation of this preposterous theory, see Hengstenberg’s Christology, Appendix Zechariah 5 : For a brief outline, see Theological and Moral, 3.
DOCTRINAL AND MORAL
1. Here is an unequivocal prediction of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is so declared, as we have seen, by the New Testament. It is confirmed by a very peculiar proceeding on the part of our Lord,—his triumphal entry into Jerusalem,—which was simply exhibiting in symbol what is here expressed in words. It contains striking parallels with other passages unquestionably Messianic; such as the boundaries of the kingdom compared with Psa_72:8, and the destruction of foes compared with Mic_5:9. But the strongest evidence is found in the contents of the prophecy itself. It presents a person in whom the greatest grandeur, magnificence, power, and influence are associated, without confusion or contradiction, with the greatest humility, gentleness, poverty, suffering, and weakness. No judge, king, or ruler of any sort in all Jewish history ever united in his character or experience these two extremes. None was so lowly, none so exalted. None without arms spoke peace even to his own people, much less to the heathen, and least of all to the entire known world. It is true of only one being in all human history that he had not where to lay his head and rode upon an ass, and yet acquired a limitless dominion over land and sea.
2. What other kings accomplish by force, Zion’s king effects without weapons or armies. Our Lord told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Pilate in surprise said to Him, “Thou art a king then?” Jesus answered, “Thou sayest [the truth], for I am a king. To this end was I born and for this cause came I into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth; every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” (Joh_18:37). Truth, the revealed truth of God, is the only weapon this great conqueror employs, and yet with it He has built up the mightiest kingdom the earth has ever seen. It was an unconscious prophecy when the inscription over his cross, This is the King of the Jews, was recorded in three languages, indicating the comprehensive and far-reaching extent of the spiritual monarchy thus founded. Christ’s followers in different ages have been slow to learn the lesson, and have often invoked the secular arm, but always to their own damage. They that take the sword shall perish by the sword. But the weapons which are not carnal are mighty through God. They have pulled down many a stronghold, have dismantled many an intellectual fortress, and time and again have brought the world’s best thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
3. The “later criticism” altogether denies the existence of Messianic prophecies in the sense in which the historical Church has from the beginning held that they were contained in the Scriptures. This school maintains that what is called the Messianic idea arises out of the dissatisfaction which men in every age have had with the existing condition of things. Deeming the continuance of this inconsistent with the benevolence of God, they instinctively longed and looked for a regeneration of humanity, when all things would be restored to the state originally designed by the Creator. Hence the classic expectation of a golden age. Moreover, every man is dissatisfied with his own moral condition as well as with that of the race. He is weak and imperfect. He does not live in harmony with what he knows to be true and right. Thence arises the ideal of a perfect man, of one whose whole mode of thought, feeling, and action is in accordance with the highest and purest truth. This is the idea of the Messiah of God. But as no such Messiah is to be found within or around us, it is natural to look for Him in the same future in which we expect the regeneration of society. And the more so as we know by observation how much the advancement of the race has depended upon the appearance from time to time of single persons distinguished by lofty endowments. Now this Messianic idea was developed in a very high degree among the Jews, because they had more of the general spirit of prophecy than other nations. The Hebrew Prophet was a man of genius, enthusiasm, and intense moral energy. His pure reason, illumined of God, enabled him to understand the character of the divine government and foresee events hidden from common eyes. His exalted imagination and sensitive conscience presented to him the visions of God. Thus he foresaw not only the general triumph of truth and the exaltation of Israel, but also the means by which these were to be obtained, namely, the Messiah, which term sometimes means a Jewish King, at others the Jewish people, and in a third class of instances, the better portion of that people. But these predictions were always in their nature subjective; their authors neither had nor thought they had any objective revelation made to them of actions or events in the life of any future historical person. They were great and excellent men, but not directly inspired nor infallible. And all their sayings can be easily explained by the actings of their own minds according to the time and the circumstances in which they were placed.
A detailed refutation of this ingenious argument would be beyond the limits of a Commentary. It is enough to say that the parallel instituted between Ethnic and Hebrew views on the subject does not hold. The former were mere scattered, vague, and individual suggestions respecting the future, and even these, there is good reason for supposing, were mere echoes of the voice of the Old Testament or traditions from the primeval revelation which filtered down through the ages. Among the Hebrews, on the contrary, the idea of the Messiah was the central thought of their Scriptures and the organizing basis of their national existence. The statement of it begins with the protevangelium in Genesis, and passes with a closer definition and a greater development through Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Ezekial, Daniel, Haggai, and Zechariah, and at last terminates with Malachi, who closed the Hebrew Canon. What was at first a promise to the race, limits itself in succession to a nation, to a tribe, to a family. The person set forth is described in turn as a prophet, as a priest, as a king, or as a combination of any two, or of all three, of these characters; and sometimes as in a state of great humiliation and suffering, and again, as in a position of the greatest power and glory. And the writers all with one consent speak of the conception not as a suggestion of their own minds, but as a disclosure from without or rather from above. Their common formula is, Thus saith the Lord. And it is not possible to reconcile their honesty with the view that they were uttering merely subjective notions. Moreover, the origin and continuance of the nation are traced to the divine purpose of sending a Messiah. For this Abraham was called from Ur of the Chaldees, the line of his posterity carefully preserved, Israel kept in Egypt, afterwards put in possession of the promised land, the Mosaic economy instituted, priests and kings and prophets raised up, the nation long maintained, then exiled, and then restored. Their theocratic constitution was not owing to a blind and odious particularism, but was the result of God’s wisdom in choosing one race to be the depository of the truth and blessing destined one day to be coextensive with the race. The Jews were trustees for the whole human family. It pleased God to make a gradual and thorough preparation through a long tract of ages for the full and final revelation of his grace. The seed of Abraham was simply the means by which this preparation was accomplished. On this view of their history, all its parts and features are easily understood, and are seen to constitute merely successive stages in the development of God’s purpose to bring many sons unto glory through a captain of salvation. On any other view it is a mystery which baffles all thought and comprehension. But what was a mystery before the coming of Christ is an “open secret” under the Gospel, and the key which fits all the wards of the lock must be the right one. “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The remarkable correspondence between his life, words, and works, and the hints and promises and types and predictions of the Old Testament, indicate beyond question to any unprejudiced person, a presiding mind which coördinated the two Testaments, and brought about that wondrous harmony of theme and tone which is wholly unexampled in all human literature. And this Messiah objectively revealed is not only the link between the Hebrew Scriptures and the Greek, but the one great thought which gives purpose, symmetry, and consistency to the entire scheme of the Old Testament.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Moore: Zec_9:9. Christians should be happy. No people have a better right or a better reason to rejoice. A suffering people can find great comfort in the fact that they have a suffering Saviour (Heb_4:15).
Zec_9:10. War will cease on the earth only when wickedness ceases, and wickedness will cease only when Christ’s universal empire begins.
Wordsworth: It is remarkable that St. John’s narrative of the triumphal entry of Christ, riding into Jerusalem on the foal of an ass, is immediately followed by the mention of an incident in the history: “Certain Greeks wished to see Jesus.” The entry itself was like a vision of the coming of the Gentile world to Jesus; these Greeks were its first fruits.
Jno. Newton: Messiah is king of Zion. Happy the subjects who dwell under his shadow. He rules them not with the rod of iron by which He bruises and breaks the power of his enemies, but with his golden sceptre of love. He reigns by his own right, and by their full and free consent, in their hearts. He reigns upon a throne of grace to which they at all times have access, and from whence they receive the pardon of all their sins, grace to help in time of need, and a renewed supply answerable to all their wants, cares, services, and conflicts.
Footnotes:
[16]Zec_9:9.—“Shout,” E. V., is the exact rendering of הָרִיעִי, which means, to make a load noise; whether of joy or sorrow depends upon the context.
[17]Zec_9:9.—לָךְ. Not only to thee, but for thee, for thy good. Cf. Isa_9:5.
[18]Zec_9:9.—The E. V., foal of an ass, by making the last noun a singular instead of a plural, misses the emphasis laid upon the youth of the animal as one not yet old enough to go by itself.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv9–17 From the coming of the Grecian conqueror, Zechariah makes…
From the coming of the Grecian conqueror, Zechariah makes a sudden transition, by the prophetical law of suggestion, to the coming of King Messiah, a very different character.
daughter of Zion--The theocratic people is called to "rejoice" at the coming of her King (Psa 2:11).
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unto thee--He comes not for His own gain or pleasure, as earthly kings come, but for the sake of His Church: especially for the Jews' sake, at His second coming (Rom 11:26).
he is just--righteous: an attribute constantly given to Messiah (Isa 45:21; Isa 53:11; Jer 23:5-6) in connection with salvation. He does not merely pardon by conniving at sin, but He justifies by becoming the Lord our righteousness fulfiller, so that not merely mercy, but justice, requires the justification of the sinner who by faith becomes one with Christ. God's justice is not set aside by the sinner's salvation, but is magnified and made honorable by it (Isa 42:1, Isa 42:21). His future reign "in righteousness," also, is especially referred to (Isa 32:1).
having salvation--not passively, as some interpret it, "saved," which the context, referring to a "king" coming to reign, forbids; also the old versions, the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, give Saviour. The Hebrew is reflexive in sense, "showing Himself a Saviour; . . . having salvation in Himself" for us. Endowed with a salvation which He bestows as a king. Compare Margin, "saving Himself." Compare Mat 1:21, in the Greek, "Himself shall save His people"; that is, not by any other, but by Himself shall He save [PEARSON On the Creed]. His "having salvation" for others manifested that He had in Himself that righteousness which was indispensable for the justification of the unrighteous (Co1 1:30; Co2 5:21; Jo1 2:1). This contrasts beautifully with the haughty Grecian conqueror who came to destroy, whereas Messiah came to save. Still, Messiah shall come to take "just" vengeance on His foes, previous to His reign of peace (Mat 4:1-2).
lowly--mild, gentle: corresponding to His "riding on an ass" (not a despised animal, as with us; nor a badge of humiliation, for princes in the East rode on asses, as well as low persons, Jdg 5:10), that is, coming as "Prince of peace" (Zac 9:10; Isa 9:6); the "horse," on the contrary is the emblem of war, and shall therefore be "cut off." Perhaps the Hebrew includes both the "lowliness" of His outward state (which applies to His first coming) and His "meekness of disposition," as Mat 21:5 quotes it (compare Mat 11:29), which applies to both His comings. Both adapt Him for loving sympathy with us men; and at the same time are the ground of His coming manifested exaltation (Joh 5:27; Phi 2:7-9).
colt--untamed, "whereon yet never man sat" (Luk 19:30). The symbol of a triumphant conqueror and judge (Jdg 5:10; Jdg 10:4; Jdg 12:14).
foal of an ass--literally, "asses": in Hebrew idiom, the indefinite plural for singular (so Gen 8:4, "mountains of Ararat," for one of the mountains). The dam accompanied the colt (Mat 21:2). The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem at His first coming is a pledge of the full accomplishment of this prophecy at His second coming. It shall be "the day of the Lord" (Psa 118:24), as that first Palm Sunday was. The Jews shall then universally (Psa 118:26) say, what some of them said then, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord" (compare Mat 21:9, with Mat 23:39); also "Hosanna," or "Save now, I beseech thee." "Palms," the emblem of triumph, shall then also be in the hands of His people (compare Joh 12:13, with Rev 7:9-10). Then also, as on His former entry, shall be the feast of tabernacles (at which they used to draw water from Siloam, quoting Isa 12:3). Compare Psa 118:15, with Zac 14:16.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 13, 14, 16 The appearance of the Messianic king, 9, 10.
The appearance of the Messianic king, 9, 10.
The overthrow of the nations (Zec_9:1-7) will prepare the way for the coming of the Messianic king, who will establish his throne in Zion and rule in righteousness and peace over the redeemed remnant. The king has no part in the overthrow of the hostile powers (Isa_9:1-7); this Jehovah himself will accomplish; only after the nations are overthrown will the king make his appearance.
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In Zec_9:9 Zion is called upon to welcome the king.
Rejoice greatly… shout — The repetition is for the sake of emphasis; there is every reason for the greatest enthusiasm.
Daughter of Zion… Jerusalem — The expressions are synonymous, and refer to the inhabitants of Jerusalem (see on Zec_2:7).
Thy King — The Messianic king mentioned so frequently in the prophetic writings (compare Isa_9:1-7; Mic_5:1 ff., etc.; see at the close of the comments on Mic_5:15).
Unto thee — To set upon his throne there. 9b describes the king’s character and coming.
Just — Or, righteous; both in his own personal life and in his administration (compare Isa_9:7; Isa_11:3-4).
Having salvation — Margin R.V., “saved.” It is difficult to reproduce the exact sense of the Hebrew by one single word. The thought is that the king will enjoy at all times the divine help and favor, so that all he undertakes will prosper.
Lowly — Literally, oppressed, or, afflicted. Because he himself will be of lowly estate he will be able to sympathize fully with those in similar condition. His interest will not be confined to the noble and wealthy.
Riding upon an ass — The animal of peace; not upon a horse, which is the animal of war and royalty. The use of the ass is an indication of the peaceful character of the Messianic rule, and of the unpretentious character of the rider. The rest of the verse describes the ass more definitely as a young animal, but there is no special significance in the addition (Mat_21:2). It is interesting to compare with this passage Jer_17:25; Jer_22:4).
10. During the era of peace there will be no use for war implements, hence Jehovah — not the Messianic king — will destroy them (Isa_2:4; Isa_9:5; Mic_5:10-11).
Chariot… horse… battle bow — These represent all implements of warfare.
Ephraim,… Jerusalem — The new nation will be composed of elements representing both kingdoms. Ephraim=Israel; Jerusalem=Judah. That Jehovah himself will do these things is in perfect accord with other Messianic utterances (Isa_9:5; Mic_5:10); hence there is no good reason for altering the text so as to read, “and he will cut off.”
Speak peace — His word will be of sufficient weight to maintain peace among the nations. This implies that his authority will be acknowledged not only by the Jews, but by other nations as well (Isa_2:4), a thought emphasized in the next clause (compare Psa_72:8; Mic_7:12).
From sea… to sea — Not as in Amo_8:12, where the author is thinking only of Palestine. The territory over which the Messianic king will rule is more extensive. One sea is probably the Mediterranean; the other, the ocean thought to mark the end of the earth in the opposite direction.
The river — As often, the Euphrates.
The ends of the earth — The vaguely defined regions in the extreme west. These expressions are not to be interpreted in a strictly literal sense; they are used simply to indicate the unlimited extent of the Messianic kingdom.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–17 9. thy King cometh] The reference to Christ, the…
9. thy King cometh] The reference to Christ, the true King of Israel, is direct and immediate. Even if the prophecy be placed before the exile, no event in Jewish history answers, even typically, to this prediction. After the exile no Jewish ruler bore the title of King. “The prophet here briefly shews the manner in which the church is to be restored, namely, because a King will come forth of the tribe and family of David, to bring all things to their pristine order. And this line of argument constantly occurs in the Prophets, since the hope of the ancient people rested, as ours does, on Christ.” Calvin.
unto thee] not only to thee locally, but for thy benefit. “He teaches us that this King will not come for His own sake, as earthly princes rule after their own lust, or for their own advantage: but that this kingdom will be shared by the whole people, because, that is, of the prosperous condition which it will introduce.” Calvin.
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having salvation] Rather, saved. The Jewish and Christian (LXX. σώζων; Vulg. salvator) versions render actively, “Saviour.” But there is no need to depart from the grammatical and usual (Deu_33:29; Psa_33:16; Isa_45:17) meaning of the word. “He trusted in Jehovah that He would deliver Him,” was not only a prediction of the taunt of His enemies (Mat_27:43), but an exposition of the ruling principle of the mediatorial work of the man Christ Jesus. And as the reward of that trust He was “saved.” Heb_5:7. At the same time, as Calvin (whose whole note on this verse is worth consulting) points out, the active signification of saving others is really included in the passive of being saved Himself. For inasmuch as the King comes not for Himself but “for” Sion (see last note), He is “just and saved” not for Himself but for her. “Si veniret sibi privatim, esset etiam sibi justus et servatus, hoc est, utilitas justitiæ et salutis resideret penes ipsum solum, vel in ejus persona. Sed quum aliorum respectu venerit, etiam in eorum gratiam et justitia et salute præditus est. Ergo justitia et salus quarum hic fit mentio pertinent ad totum corpus Ecclesiæ, neque restringi debent ad personam Regis … Neque certe humanitus loquendo dicemus Regem esse salvum et integrum, si expulsus sit a suo imperio; si deinde ab hostibus vexentur subditi, vel pereant in totum.”
lowly] or meek. πραῦς. LXX. and Mat_21:5. The sense, “afflicted,” which the Heb. word will bear, and which Pusey says is necessarily contained in it, does not seem to be the prominent one here; but rather the meekness and lowliness (Mat_11:29) of His character and coming.
upon an ass] In keeping with and as an illustration of His “lowliness.” “In itself it would, if insulated, have been unmeaning. The Holy Ghost prophesied it, Jesus fulfilled it, to shew the Jews of what nature His kingdom was.” Pusey. So Calvin observes that the prophecy was at once metaphorical and literal. “Nam propheta intelligit Christum fore quasi obscurum hominem, qui sese non extollet supra communem vulgi modum. Hic est genuinus sensus. Verum est: sed tamen hoc non obstat, quominus Christus etiam ediderit hujus rei specimen, ubi asinum illum conscendit.”
the foal of an ass] Lit. of she-asses; i.e. such as those animals bear. So Jephthah is said (Jdg_12:7) to have been buried “in the cities of Gilead;” i.e. (as the A. V. and R. V. supply) in “one of” them. Comp. Gen_19:29; Gen_37:31. The clause is added to define more exactly the words, “upon an ass:” even upon a colt, R. V. It was upon the colt that our Lord actually rode. The Evangelist’s addition, “whereon never man sat” (Mar_11:2), would seem to indicate that it was chosen, rather than the mother, on account of the sacred use to which it was to be put. Comp. Num_19:2; 1Sa_6:7; Luk_23:53.
9–17. The Coming of the King
The great event for which all that had been foretold in the preceding verses of the chapter, and indeed all the preceding history of Israel and of the world, had been a preparation, and in which as purposed and promised by God was the pledge of Israel’s preservation for its accomplishment, is now announced and its consequences are unfolded. Sion is called upon to welcome with exultation her just and lowly King, who comes to her in humble state (Zec_9:9), whose kingdom of peace shall cover all the land and embrace all nations (Zec_9:10), and who, mindful of His covenant with her, shall give deliverance to the captives of Israel (Zec_9:11-12). Using them, now once more an united nation, as the instruments of His warfare (Zec_9:13), Himself fighting for them and manifesting Himself as their Protector (Zec_9:14), He will make them victorious over all their enemies (Zec_9:15), and will promote them to safety and honour (Zec_9:16), magnifying His “goodness” and His “beauty” in the prosperity with which He crowns them (Zec_9:17).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–17 (9) Having salvation.—Better, saved. (Comp. the whole tenor of…
(9) Having salvation.—Better, saved. (Comp. the whole tenor of Psalms 2 and Eph_1:19-23; also Act_2:23-24; Php_2:8; Heb_5:9.)
Lowly.—Better, afflicted. (Comp. Isa_53:4.)
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Of an ass.—Literally, of she asses. (For this use of plural comp. Gen_37:31; Jdg_14:5.) Riding on an ass did not in later, as in earlier times (Jdg_5:9, &c.), denote high rank, neither can it be proved that it is here intended to symbolise either peace or humility. But it does indicate an absence of pomp and worldly display. This prophecy was literally fulfilled by our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Mat_12:15-20). We have no hesitation in saying that He deliberately, in view of this prophecy, performed that act, not merely in order to fulfil the prophecy, but rather as a symbolical act, by which He intended to correct the false notions concerning the mission of the Messiah entertained by His friends, as well as by His enemies. But our Lord’s consciousness that He was fulfilling prophecy, or even His deliberate intention of doing so, does not detract from the value of the act as a fulfilment of the prophecy. For, though it is true that any Jew might have fulfilled that part of the prophecy which consists in riding into the city on an ass, who would have done so amid the acclamations of the multitude, and so have been acknowledged as the expected king, except One, who, by the whole of His previous life, had already won the hearts of the multitude—though that “many-headed monster thing” did change its cry on the following Friday? Any one could have ridden in on an ass, but could any one have founded an almost universal religion?
The wording of this verse is borrowed from Mic_5:9-13 rather than from Mic_4:3; Isa_2:4, and seems to indicate that when their King should come, the nation would be enjoying a certain political independence, but that their military power would have come to an end.
(9-17) The advent of the king. It has been urged as an objection against the post-exilic authorship of this passage that “Ephraim” and “Jerusalem” are mentioned, as though Israel were still separated from Judah. But, on the contrary, Ephraim and Jerusalem are here strictly parallel terms, as are also “Judah” and “Ephraim” (Zec_9:13), where both are represented as equally opposed to the sons of Javan. The nation was now one (Eze_37:22) and known by the names of “Israel” (Zec_12:1; Mal_1:1; Mal_1:5), “all the tribes of Israel” (Zec_9:1), also the “house of Judah” (Zec_10:3; Zec_10:6), “house of Joseph” and “Ephraim” (Zec_10:6-7). For now that the “dead bones of the whole house of Israel” were revived (Eze_37:11), and “my servant David” was about to be “King over them” (Eze_37:24), the prophecy of Ezekiel (Eze_37:16-17) was fulfilled, and the staves (tribes, shibhete) of Joseph and of Judah had become one in God’s hand. Hence the interchangeable terms. This passage is now generally admitted to be Messianic. But the prophecy was not to be immediately fulfilled. The nation had yet severe sufferings to endure and triumphs to achieve, viz. in those struggles with the “sons of Greece” which render the Maccabean period (B.C. 167-130) one of the most noble pages in Jewish history. Those who still remained in the land of their exile are exhorted to come forth (comp. Zec_2:7-13), confident in the help of the Lord of Hosts, who would wield the reunited Judah and Ephraim (comp. Isa_11:13) as His weapons of war (comp. Jer_51:20); He Himself will appear as their champion, with the rolling of the thunder as His war-trumpet, the forked lightning as His arrows, “the wild storm blowing from the southern desert, the resistless fury of His might.” And then, when they had fought the good fight, and not before, God promises “the flock His people” the blessings of peace (Zec_9:16-17).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv9–17 Vers. 9, 10. Then shall the righteous King come…
Vers. 9, 10. Then shall the righteous King come to Zion in lowly fashion, and inaugurate a kingdom of peace.
The prophet invites Jerusalem to rejoice at the coming of the promised salvation in the Person of her King; no mighty earthly potentate and conqueror, like Alexander the Great, but one of different fashion. (Zep_3:14) Thy King cometh unto thee. St. Matthew (comp. Mat_21:5) and St. John (Joh_12:15) see a fulfilment of this prophecy in Christ"s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the first day of the week in which he was crucified. All attempts to disprove the Messianic import of this passage have been unavailing. Even critics who refer this part of Zechariah (ch. 9-11) to an unknown author writing in the time of Hezekiah, allow that it is replete with Messianic ideas, and can be applied to no hero of Jewish story or event of Jewish history. There is no other "King" of Israel to whom it can refer. Our blessed Lord himself, by his abnormal actions on Palm Sunday, plainly assumed the part of the predicted King, and meant the people to recognize in him the promised Messiah (see the full discussion of the subject in Dr. Pusey"s notes, pp. 556, etc.). Thy King. A king of thine own race, no stranger, but one predestined for thee. He who was foretold by all the prophets, who was to occupy the throne of David, and reign forever. (Psa_2:6 Psa_45:1, Psa_45:6, 7 Isa_32:1) Unto thee. For thy good, to bless thee. (Isa_9:6) Just. Righteous in character and in practice, ruling in equity. (Psa_72:1-4, 7 Isa_11:2-4) Having salvation; Septuagint, swzwn , "saving." Vulgate, salvator; so the Syriac and Chaldee. The genius of the language requires the participle to be taken passively, as it is in two other passages where it occurs. (Deu_33:29 Psa_33:16) The context has seemed to some to demand that it be understood in an active sense, thus contrasting him who came to save with the haughty Grecian conqueror, whose progress was marked by bloodshed. But the usual meaning of the word affords a satisfactory sense. The King who comes is "saved," endowed with salvation, either as being protected and upheld by God, (Psa_18:50 Psa_110:1, Psa_110:2, 5 Isa_42:1 Isa_49:8) or as being victorious and so able to aid his people. In this latter view, the active sense is included in the passive. His own deliverance is a sure sign of the deliverance of his people. Lowly; Septuagint, prauv , "meek;" Vulgate, pauper meek and lowly, as Christ himself says, (Mat_11:29) far removed from warlike pomp and worldly greatness. The word is also rendered "afflicted," and would then be in accordance with the description Isa_52:13-15; Isa_53:1-5 Psa_22:6. Riding upon an ass. In illustration of his poor or afflicted estate; it is this, and not merely the peace. fulness of his reign, that is meant by this symbolical action, as we see by the following clause, where the youthfulness of the animal is the point enforced. And (even, and that) upon a colt the foal of an ass; such as she asses bear, and one not trained; as the evangelist says, "whereon never man sat." Christ sat upon the foal. In old times judges and men of distinction rode upon asses; (Gen_22:3 Jud_1:5:10 10:4) but from Solomon"s days the horse had been used, not only in war, but on all state occasions; (Jer_17:25) and the number of horses brought back on the return from Babylon is specially mentioned. (Ezr_2:66) So to predicate of a King that he would come to his capital riding, not on a war horse, but on a young, unbroken ass, showed at once that he himself was not to be considered a victorious general or a worldly potentate, and that his kingdom was not to be won or maintained by carnal arms. This is signified more fully in the following verse, which describes the character and extent of Messiah"s kingdom.
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Vers. 9-12. A joyful kingdom.
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem," etc. How sudden, how loud, how urgent, is this call to rejoice! No wonder; for in the bare fact announced here there is ample cause to rejoice. "Thy King cometh a King of thine own, not an alien king like him just spoken of. This possibly the connection of thought. Still greater the cause for rejoicing in what is said of this King; whether
(1) to Zion herself; or
(2) to her Gentile neighbours; or
(3) to mankind at large.
I TO ZION HERSELF. Consider:
1. The purpose of his coming, viz.:
(1) To save his people, not to condemn them. (Luk_9:56 Joh_3:17, etc.) This the more necessary to specify, because of the righteousness or justice so specially attributed to him in this place. Although "just," he is coming to pardon.
(2) To save his people indeed. To save them not only from the guilt, but also from the practice and power of their sins; calling "sinners," but calling them to "repentance." Although coming to pardon, he is just. (Rom_3:26)
2. The manner of his coming. How admirably this corresponds to his purpose! Being a King, he appears (for once at least) in befitting state, riding on an animal never employed before. Being also a Saviour, he comes in mercy and meekness, in the lowliest way a king could.
II TO THE HEATHEN NEIGHBOURS OF ZION. As shown by the description given here:
1. Of the aspect of his kingdom towards them. "He shall Speak peace to the heathen" (ver. 10). The Jews themselves seem to have expected otherwise; as shown to some extent by such passages as Act_1:6 Mar_10:37; and specially by the extreme unwillingness of the Apostle Peter to treat any Gentile whatever (Act_10:4) as otherwise than common or unclean. This "enmity" (Eph_2:16) was to be so completely "taken away" that the very weapons of warfare were to be "cut off" and perish. A cause for rejoicing, indeed, when accomplished, both to believing Jews (Act_11:18) and to Gentiles. (Act_13:48)
2. Of the extent of his kingdom among them. "From sea to sea," etc. (ver. 10). The reference, apparently, is to Psa_72:8; also to the promise to Abraham in Gen_15:18; and ultimately to Psa_2:8. How this was fulfilled in gospel times we learn from such passages as Act_11:26 and Act_17:6 Rom_15:19 Col_1:6.
III TO MANKIND AT LARGE. Whether we consider:
1. The kind of persons saved. These would appear (from ver. 11) to be the worst cases of all persons needing salvation the most. They are described as being persons in prison; as being in its lowest part, perhaps in its "pit;" as being there without means of subsistence; as having their life, in fact, like Joseph in Gen_37:24, Gen_37:27, only not gone.
2. The kind of salvation vouchsafed.
(1) Its certainty. A matter of "covenant" (ver. 12) of a covenant still binding, renewed "today;" a covenant made by the greatest of all beings ("do I declare"), and in the most solemn of all methods, viz. by shedding of "blood". (see 1Pe_1:19, etc.)
(2) Its fulness. "I will render double unto thee." Not merely as the offence" is this "free gift", (Rom_5:15) though that would be surprising enough. It is very "much more," even "double". (comp. Isa_40:2 Isa_61:7)
CONCLUSION. How great cause, in all this, for us, too, to rejoice! If the prospect was good, the fulfilment is better. (Mat_13:16, 17 Heb_11:13, Heb_11:39, 40 1Pe_1:10-12) If the mere hope was so bright, how much better the harvest! How great cause, also, for taking warning! The fuller the salvation, the greater the peril of rejecting it. (Heb_2:1-3 Heb_10:28, Heb_10:29) The more complete, also, its provisions, the more final. "There remaineth no more sacrifice for sin;" Last of all he sent unto them his Son
The ideal King.
I BEAUTIFUL VISION. Poets in rapt moments have had glimpses of the highest. (Ps 45 Ps 72) The character, the life and work of a true King, have passed before them as things fair to see. But where is the reality? "Find me the true king or able man, and he has a Divine right over me" (Carlyle).
II PASSIONATE LONGING. The heart yearns for what is best. The need presses. Circumstances now and again arise that intensify the feeling and the cry. There is so much to be done evils to remove, wrongs to be redressed, rights and liberties to be secured. Oh for the coming of the true King! "What he tells us to do must be precisely wisest, fittest, that we can anywhere or anyhow learn, the thing which it will in all ways behove us, with right loyal thankfulness and nothing doubting, to do. Our doing and life were then, so far as government would regulate them, well regulated" (Carlyle).
III IMMORTAL HOPE. There have been kings, good, bad, and indifferent. Some began well, but did little. The best have come far short of the highest standard. The true King "not yet." Still hope. Faith in the possibilities of human nature; above all, faith in the promise of God. "Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good.... Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand; Ring out the darkness of the land. Ring in the Christ that is to be. F.
Vers. 9, 10. The advent of the King.
The accession of a sovereign is a time of rejoicing. (cf. Solomon, 1Ki_1:40) But there may be disappointment. The early promise may fail, and the first joys end in bitterness. Not so with Messiah. The better he is known, the more he is loved. The longer experience of his reign, the greater the satisfaction.
I THE GREATNESS OF HIS NATURE. Son of man. Son of God. Dignity commanding the highest homage.
II THE BEAUTY OF HIS CHARACTER. Everything in him that is true and fair and good. He is altogether lovely.
1. Just. Fulfils all righteousness.
2. Merciful. Stoops to the lowest. Kind to the poorest. Equitable to all.
3. Humble. Meek and lowly.
III THE GLORY OF HIS REIGN.
1. Empire spiritual. His kingdom is "within." He writes his Jaws upon the heart.
2. Based on the free convictions and love of the people. His subjects do not bow the knee in form, but in truth. They honour him not with mere lip service or state ceremonials, but with the homage of the heart.
3. Characterized by righteousness and peace. "Salvation" is brought by him to all. He not only pardons the rebel, but converts him into a loyal subject. He not only emancipates the slave, but binds him forever to himself in grateful devotion. He not only rescues the lost, but unites them with all the redeemed in one holy and loving brotherhood.
4. Destined to universality and immortality. Of his kingdom there shall be no end. F.
Vers. 9, 10. The ideal Monarch of the world.
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion," etc. "In the former part of this chapter," says Dr. Wardlaw, "we found in the progressive conquests of Alexander the Great and the favour which, in the midst of them, he showed to Jerusalem, the execution of God"s vengeance, as here threatened, against the enemies and oppressors of his people, along with his protecting care over his people themselves. By the reference to these speedily coming events, and in them to the career of that mighty prince and warrior of whom it has been strongly said that, having conquered one world, he sat down and wept that he had not another to conquer the prophet, under the impulse of inspiration, is rapt into times more distant; and fixing his eye on a King and a Conqueror of a very different description, invites his people, in terms of exulting transport, to hail his coming." That these verses point to the advent of Christ is an opinion entertained both by Jewish and Christian expositors. The references in Mat_21:1-5 and Joh_12:12-16 contribute not a little to the confirmation of this opinion.
Anyhow, the words depict a Monarch the like of whom has never appeared amongst all the monarchs of the earth, and the like of whom is not to be found on any throne in the world today a Monarch, the ideal of whom is realized in him whom we call with emphasis the Son of man and the Son of God. There are five things here suggested concerning this Monarch.
I HERE IS A MONARCH THE ADVENT OF WHOM IS A MATTER FOR RAPTUROUS JOY. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem." What sincere, thoughtful man, in any kingdom on the face of the earth, has any reason to look forward today with rapture to the successors of any of the monarchs of the earth? In most cases there are sad forebodings. Christ"s advent to the world was announced by the gladsome music of angelic choirs. "Glory to God in the highest," etc. Why rejoice at his advent? Because he will
(1) promote all the rights of mankind;
(2) remove all the calamities of mankind.
II HERE IS A MONARCH THE DIGNITY OF WHOM IS UNAPPROACHED. "Thy King cometh unto thee." Thy King." Thou hast never yet had a true king, and there is no other true king for thee: this is thy King.
1. The King who alone has the absolute right to rule thee. Thou art his his property. All thy force, vitality, faculty, belong to him.
2. The King who alone can remove thy evils and promote thy rights.
III HERE IS A MONARCH THE CHARACTER OF WHOM IS EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD,
1. He is righteous. "He is just." The little word "just" comprehends all virtues. He who is just to himself, just to his Maker, just to man, is the perfection of excellence, is all that Heaven requires.
2. He is humble. "Lowly, and riding upon an ass." Where there is not genuine humility there is no true greatness; it is essential to true majesty. Pride is the offspring of littleness; it is the contemptible production of a contemptible mind. No man ever appeared in history whose humility approached the humility of Christ. "He was meek and lowly in heart;" he "made himself of no reputation." How different is this righteous, humble character from that of human monarchs! How often have their moral characters been amongst the foulest abominations in the foulest chapter of human history!
IV HERE IS A MONARCH WHOSE MISSION IS TRANSCENDENTLY BENEFICENT.
1. It is remedial. "Having salvation." Salvation! What a comprehensive word! Deliverance from all evil, restoration to all good. Worldly monarchs often bring destruction. They have never the power, and seldom the will, to bring salvation to a people. Any one can destroy; God alone can restore.
2. It is specific. "And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall he cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen." He will put an end to the "chariot," the "horse," the "battle bow," of war, and "speak peace" to the nations. Peace! This is what the nations have always wanted. War has been and still is the great curse of the nations. Here is a King who speaks peace to the nations. His words one day shall be universally obeyed. "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid," etc. (Isa_11:6-9)
V HERE IS A MONARCH THE REIGN OF WHOM IS TO BE UNIVERSAL. "And his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth." The language here employed was universally understood by the Jews as embracing the whole world. He claims universal dominion; he deserves it, and will one day have it. "The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ," etc.
CONCLUSION. Learn:
1. The infinite goodness of God in offering to the world such a King. It is the world"s great warn.
2. The amazing folly and wickedness of mad in not accepting this Divine offer. Not one tenth of the human population have accepted him. What ingratitude is here! and what rebellion! Yes, and folly too. It is his characteristic and his glory as a King that he does not force his way to dominion. He submits himself to the choice of mankind. This monarchy is a moral monarchy, a monarchy over thought, feeling, volitions, purpose, mind. D.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17 Thy King cometh unto thee; He is just and…
Zec_9:9-10
Thy King cometh unto thee; He is just and having salvation
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Palm Sunday
This prophecy was generally recognised by the Jews as referring to the Messiah.
First of all, prophecy spoke only of Messiahs glory. It was not until the era of the Captivity that we find Christ spoken of as the Man afflicted and stricken, the Hind pursued by the buffaloes and dogs, the King lowly, and riding upon an ass. When the prophet declared that Messiah should come riding upon an ass, it was taken as an indication that He should be a prophet-King. In the Talmud it is said for this reason that to dream of an ass is to dream of the coming of salvation. To the Gentiles this, like other features of our Lords work, was a constant subject of mockery. The Persian King, Sapor, promised the rabbis that when their Messiah came who should ride upon an ass, he would send Him a horse. It was a common scoff among the Mohammedans that whereas Mohammed was the rider upon a camel, Christ was that rider upon an ass. Christ only entered Jerusalem riding on an ass, to bring before us a necessary illustration of His character and office.
1. Though He was King of kings, yet He is the Lowly One. The Hebrew word expresses the condition of a man who has been brought low by affliction and sorrow, possessing in himself the fruit of this sorrow in lowliness and submission of mind. In this sense the word is used of Moses, the meekest of men. Messiah is stricken and afflicted. Our Lord applies this character to Himself, I am meek and lowly in heart. And this trait must especially distinguish all who follow Him into His kingdom.
2. Lowliness not only expressed the character of the King, but the character also of the kingship. The victory of Messiah is to be over the very things which are esteemed mighty in the world. As in nature, the brute force of the beast is conquered by the skill of man, and the forces of matter overcome by the power of mind, so in the kingdom of Christ all powers of body and mind are subdued to the power of the Spirit which is made perfect in human weakness. All through the history of Israel, Gods hand had thus been made manifest in the casting down of strongholds. When, therefore, Jerusalem rejected the Messiah, she became like the fallen powers which were before her, a power of this world, aiming at success by the worlds methods, looking forward to the worlds splendour, and receiving the worlds downfall for her reward. She knew not the day of her visitation. Let us not indulge only in pity for the fallen city which opposed itself so madly to the kingdom of Christ. The world--even the Christian world--is very far from this subjection to the kingdom of Christ. When we see how faintly Christian principles as yet influence the policies of nations, our impatient spirit is filled with dismay. We are ready to believe that Christianity has gained extension at the cost of intension, that men have been made Christians at the cost of Christianity, and that it had been better if the conversion of Europe had been slower rather than speedier. If it be so, what remedy is there so effective and so apposite as the intension of Christian claims upon ourselves, individually and now, the realisation now of the severe claim which Christianity makes upon the will and the life of each of us? A country is conquered by the capitulation of one castle after another; even so Christs kingdom comes by the yielding up of individual hearts. What a glorious triumph we can make for Christ in our hearts today! With hearts bowed down in lowliest sense of sin, emptied of all self-trust, filled with the sense of Gods love and pass on for the world, we shall be ready then to receive the lowly King, and to be made partakers of the kingly spirit. (H. H. Gower.)
The ideal monarch of the world
I. Here is a monarch, the advent of whom is a matter for rapturous joy. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Christs advent to the world was announced by the gladsome music of angelic choirs. Glory to God in the highest, etc. Why rejoice at His advent? Because He will--
1. Promote all the rights of mankind.
2. Remove all the calamities of mankind.
II. Here is a monarch the dignity of whom is unapproached. Thy King cometh unto thee. Thy King. Thou hast never yet had a true king, and there is no other true king for thee: this is thy King.
1. The King who alone has the absolute right to rule thee. Thou art His, His property. All thy force, vitality, faculty, belong to Him.
2. The King who alone can remove thy evils and promote thy rights.
III. Here is a monarch the character of whom is unexceptionably good.
1. He is righteous. He is just. The little word just comprehends all virtues. He who is just to himself, just to his Maker, just to the universe, is the perfection of excellence, is all that Heaven requires.
2. He is humble. Lowly, and riding upon an ass. Where there is not genuine humility there is no true greatness; it is essential to true majesty. Pride is the offspring of littleness, it is the contemptible production of a contemptible mind.
IV. Here is a monarch the mission of whom is transcendently beneficent.
1. It is remedial. Having salvation. Salvation! What a comprehensive word, deliverance from all evil, restoration to all good. Any one can destroy; God alone can restore.
2. It is specific. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, etc. He will put an end to the chariot, the horse, the battle bow, of war, and speak peace to the nations. Peace! This is what the nations have always wanted. War has been and still is the great curse of the nations.
V. Here is a monarch the reign of whom is to be universal. The language here employed was universally understood by the Jews as embracing the whole world. He claims universal dominion, He deserves it, and will one day have it. Learn--
1. The infinite goodness of God in offering the world such a King.
2. The amazing folly and wickedness of man in not accepting this Divine offer. (Homilist.)
The personal and official character of Messiah
I. Royal dignity. Thy king cometh unto thee. The designation is emphatic. Thy king, as if they had never had another. That royalty was to pertain to the coming Messiah might be shown from many predictions. He was to sit on the throne of David forever. His being a king was anything but an objection to the Jews. But the kind of royalty was not at all to their minds. His kingdom was not to be of this world. Its throne was not to be in this world. He was born of royal lineage--born a King; though, strictly speaking, His mediatorial reign did not commence till, having finished His work on earth, the Father said to Him, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thy foes Thy footstool.
II. The righteousness of his character and administration. He is just. The designation is to be understood as at once personal and official: for, indeed, were there not the former, there could be little reason to count upon the latter. This attribute is frequently ascribed to Him, as characterising Himself and His government. Jehovah calls Him My righteous servant. His throne is founded in the very charter of righteous ness. And His whole administration is conducted on the principles of the purest and most unbending righteousness.
III. His saving grace and power. Having salvation. Salvation was the very object of His coming. The Son of Man is come to save that which was lost. The very design of His atonement was to render salvation consistent with the claims of righteousness: so that Jehovah might be a just God and a Saviour. When He had completed His work, He was to have salvation, not only as being Himself delivered from death, but as possessing for bestowal on mankind all the blessings of salvation--beginning in pardon and ending in life eternal.
IV. The humility and meekness of His character. Lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. This attribute of character distinguished His entire course; all His intercourse with men--with His friends, and with His enemies. Even His triumphs were lowly--riding upon an ass; and not one that had been trained for the use of royalty, but, as would appear, a rough unbroken colt. Although the ass was not the very mean and despised animal there that it is with us, yet comparatively it was so. The horse was the animal used in war; and consequently, in the triumphal processions of kings and conquerors; and on such occasions, arrayed in costly and elegant caparisons.
V. The mode and means of the extension of the kingdom correspond with its spiritual nature. I will cut off, etc. This, at the coming of the Messiah, was literally true respecting the civil and military power of the Jewish people. At the very time when they were looking for a Messiah who was to break the yoke from off their neck, establish their temporal freedom and power, and lead them on to universal conquest, their power was finally overthrown and destroyed, their temple and city laid in ashes, and them selves scattered abroad among all nations. Yet the kingdom of the Messiah grew and prospered. This itself showed its true nature. It was not, as the Jews anticipated, to be a Jewish kingdom. It was to have subjects among all peoples. And these subjects were not to be gained for Him with the sword of steel, but by the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. His kingdom consisted of all, wherever His truth spread, whom that truth made free--spiritually free. All thus made free come under willing and happy subjection to His gracious sceptre. Force never made one subject of the King of Zion.
VI. Another characteristic of His reign--peace. And He shall speak peace to the heathen. This is a feature of His reign frequently celebrated. By His gospel He speaks peace to sinners of mankind. There is no exception.
VII. The extent of His reign. The language employed here was universally understood by the Jews as embracing the whole world. In due time, the kingdom, of this world shall become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ. (Ralph Wardlaw, D. D.)
The Saviour King
To us who read this prophecy in the light of its fulfilment in the advent and work and glory of Christ, all is plain and clear. Not so much by our Lords particular act in riding into Jerusalem on the occasion, and in the manner described by the evangelists, as by that which, by this act, was symbolised and indicated, namely, His advent to empire, His coming to get for Himself a kingdom, His appearing as the Saviour and King of His Church, and His gathering to Himself a people from among the nations, has this prediction been fulfilled. He came in poverty and humiliation to lay the foundation of His kingdom in obedience and sacrifice. It was from the field of sorrow and of suffering that He ascended to the throne. The crown came after the Cross; the humiliation preceded the glory. All things have been put under His feet, all power and authority have been given Him in heaven and on earth, in the universe He reigns supreme: But it is because He was obedient unto death that He has been thus highly exalted. His kingdom rests on His propitiatory work; and it is in view of this, though then perhaps but dimly seen, that the prophet here calls upon Zion to behold and hail her King. And now that He hath ascended to the throne of His glory, the glad tidings of the kingdom are to be proclaimed to all nations and men of every tongue and clime are to be invited to behold their King, and submit to His righteous and benignant sway. (W. L. Alexander, D. D.)
The lowly King Messiah
The theocracy, or Church, is called to rejoice because of the coming of her King. The kingly office of the Messiah, which was conferred upon Him for the accomplishment of the work of redemption, is often alluded to as ground for rejoicing. Here is given the character of the King, and the extent of His kingdom.
1. He is just. The righteousness referred to is not His priestly, but His kingly righteousness, that rigorous justice of His reign in virtue of which no good should be unrewarded, and no evil unpunished. In the unequal allotments of the present, when the good so often suffer, and the bad so often escape, it is surely ground for rejoicing that the King, under whose rule this dispensation is placed, is just, and will render to every man according to his work.
2. He is endowed with salvation. The word employed is a difficult one. It is usually taken in a secondary sense, as expressing not simply the reception of a salvation, but its possession as a gift that was capable of being bestowed upon others. The meaning then would be, that God was with Him, in spite of all His lowliness, sustaining Him in the mighty work Be had undertaken, and that this protection was bestowed upon Him not as an individual, but as a King, a representative of His people, so that He would not only enjoy it Himself, but possess the power of bestowing it upon others. Hence, while His inflexible justice might make us tremble in our sin, the fact that He was also endowed with a free salvation, and a salvation which He could bestow as a kingly right, would remove these fears, and enable us to rejoice in this coming King.
3. He was to be lowly. If the usual sense of the Word be given, the Church would be summoned to rejoice because of the humiliation of her King. And, however incongruous such a ground of rejoicing may seem to be to men generally, the heart that is crushed with penitence or grief will comprehend the reason of this summons. Had this august King been as sorrowless as He was sinless, had He been a robed seraph, or a crowned monarch, the poor and suffering could never have approached Him with confidence, for He could not have sympathised with them in their sorrows. But when He comes to us as One who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, we welcome Him with joy, and understand why we are called to rejoice, because He comes to us as the lowly King. Surely a suffering child of God can understand how blessed a thing it is to have a Saviour King who has known Himself what it is to suffer.
4. He was to be externally in poverty, riding upon an ass, and upon a foal, the son of the asses. This is a prediction of poverty, for although in earlier times kings rode on asses, after the time of Solomon they were never so used, horses having taken their place. The employment of the horse in war also made the use of the ass an indication of peace as well as of poverty. The exact fulfilment of this prophecy in the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem, was merely a specific illustration of the general prediction, not the entire object of the prediction itself. Its range was much broader than this single event, and, indeed, would have been substantially fulfilled had this event never occurred. The specific fulfilment, however, rivets the prophecy more absolutely to Christ. (T. V. Moore, D. D.)
How comes the King
The Caesars of the world have come upon strong palfreys, prancing, snorting; from their nostrils there has come fire, and their bits have been wet with foam; how comes the King?--lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. The more King for that! Some men need their own furniture to set them off; some persons would be nothing but for their entourage: the things that are round about them seem to be so admirable that surely they must be admirable them selves:--such the loose but most generous reasoning of some men in some cases. Lowly--I am meek and lowly in heart. Why this colt, the foal of an ass? To rebuke the horses of heathenism:--The Lord will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem: they are signs of pomp, self-sufficiency, conscious dignity, as who should say, we made ourselves, and we are the builders of the great Babylons of the earth. The Lord will not have it so with His Son, with His Church, with His kingdom. Only meekness has an eternal province. It is so always and everywhere, if you would but learn it. It is so at school. The boy who is going to do everything with a wave of his hand will do nothing; the boy who does not care anything about the examination until the night before it comes off and then gathers himself together in tremendous impotence, comes back the next night a sadder but a wiser boy. It is so in business, it is so in the pulpit, it is so along the whole line of human action: pretence means failure. But there must not be mere meekness of manner; the tiger is sometimes asleep. There is a spurious meekness; there are persons that have no voices at all, and when they speak they are supposed to be so gentle and so modest and so unassuming. Not they! It is for want of hoof, not want of will; they would crush you if they could. This meekness is a quality of the soul, this is the very bloom of greatness, this is the finest expression of power. Meekness is not littleness, insignificance, incompetency; meekness is the rest that expresses the highest degree of velocity. Riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. All the rabbis have allegorised this ass with painful tediousness. They in very deed have tried to read meanings into the words, but they were so obviously incongruous that they never got into the words. Take it as a type of your Kings meekness, take it as an assurance that His kingdom is not of this world. This world hates all meekness. Mammon never listened to a prayer; Mammon hates even read prayers; Mammon has a distaste for theological conception; Mammon never sung a hymn or a psalm; Mammon never bowed his knees in tender, holy adoration. The eyes of Mammon are greed, the hands of Mammon are felons, the desire of Mammon is possession, though it may be purchased with blood. This world, therefore, will not have true meekness, gentleness, pitifulness; the world will have pomp and show and magnificence and royalty,--one day its heart will sicken at the sight of its own idols. These are the lines that have sudden endings. Truth encircles the universe: all lies, however glibly told, suddenly disappear in the pit. Jesus Christ then comes to set up a kingdom that is moral, subjective, spiritual; a kingdom that is clement, redeeming, sympathetic; a kingdom that rests upon unseen but immovable bases. Whatever He touches He elevates. Take the principle, and do not vex the mind or distract the piety with worthless detail: the principle is this, that when Jesus Christ comes into the world He comes as no other king ever came, that He may do a work which no other king ever dreamed. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
The coming of the King of Zion
I. Contemplate Messiah in His title, as a King. There are many senses in which we may contemplate Christ as a King.
1. He has all the ancestral honours, titles, and high-born qualifications of a king. He was descended of a stock of heavenly royalty; He was the first-born of every creature.
2. Christ gave out laws and principles of government as a King. His sermon on the Mount is a beautiful unfolding of the principles of spiritual rule, the righteous awards which would characterise His future administration. Christ then is a King. He defines the terms of our obedience; He lays down the maxims of the spiritual realm; He declares what worship He will accept, and in what way alone His presence can be approached.
3. Christ protects, defends, and counsels His subjects as a King. In the primitive condition of society monarchs were for the most part chosen on account of their possessing, in the estimation of their subjects, some special kingly qualities. He who was the first to go forth with their armies, He who would redeem them from the power of the oppressor, He who was valiant in fight, prompt in action, prudent in counsel, apt to rule, He by one consent would be allowed to be advanced to the throne; and in this sense, Christ ever vindicated His claim to be the King, and Head over all things to His Church. And He is King over all His spiritual subjects today. For all the purposes of guidance, help, comfort, and protection, He still reigns.
4. And Christ bestows honours, and gifts, and recompenses, as a King. Christ gives as a King--pardons full and free, grace rich and abounding, crowns bright and glorious.
II. Contemplate Messiah in His character--He is just. The word is to be taken in its largest and highest sense, as comprehensive both of the unblemished sanctity of His personal character, and the perfect righteousness which would distinguish His spiritual government. In all His dispensations of grace and goodness, Christ is ever just.
III. Contemplate Messiah in His power--having salvation. He has that which is to procure salvation. His salvation saves from a great danger, it frees from a great condemnation; it was bought at: a great price; it admits to great and glorious prerogatives. Note also the mild and gentle manner of Christs spiritual administration. He is lowly. (Daniel Moore, M. A.)
The lowly King
I do not intend to expound the whole text at any length, but simply to dwell upon the lowliness of Jesus. Yet this much I may say: Whenever God would have His people especially glad it is always in Himself. If it be written: Rejoice greatly, then the reason is, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee! Our chief source of rejoicing is the presence of King Jesus in the midst of us. Whether it be His first or His second advent, His very shadow is delight. His footfall is music to our car. That delight springs much from the fact that He is ours. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion . . . Behold, thy King cometh unto thee. Whatever He may be to others, He is thy King, and to whomsoever He may or may not come, He cometh unto thee. He comes for thy deliverance, thine honour, thy consummated bliss. He keeps thy company; He makes thy house His palace, thy love His solace, thy nature His home. He who is thy King by hereditary right, by His choice of thee, by His redemption of thee, and by thy willing choice of Him, is coming to thee; therefore do thou shout for joy. The verse goes on to show why the Lord our King is such a source of gladness: He is just, and having salvation. He blends righteousness and mercy; justice to the ungodly, and favour to His saints. He has worked out the stern problem--how can God be just, and yet save the sinful? He is just in His own personal character, just as having borne the penalty of sin, and just as cleared from the sin which He voluntarily took upon Him. Having endured the terrible ordeal, He is saved, and His people are saved in Him. He is to be saluted with hosannas, which signify, Save, Lord; for where He comes He brings victory and consequent salvation with Him. He routs the enemies of His people, breaks for them the serpents head, and leads their captivity captive. We admire the justice which marks His reign, and the salvation which attends His sway; and in both respects we cry: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Moreover, it is written of Him that He is lowly, which cannot be said of many kings and princes of the earth; nor would they care to have it said of them. Thy King, O daughter of Jerusalem, loves to have His lowliness published by thee with exceeding joy. His outward state betokens the humility and gentleness of His character. He appears to be what He really is: He conceals nothing from His chosen. In the height of His grandeur He is not like the proud monarchs of earth. The patient ass He prefers to the noble charger; and He is more at home with the common people than with the great. In His grandest pageant, in His capital city, He was still consistent with His meek and lowly character, for He came riding upon an ass. He rode through Jerusalem in state; but what lowliness marked the spectacle! It was an extemporised procession, which owed nothing to Garner-king-at-arms, but everything to the spontaneous love of friends. An ass was brought, and its foal, and His disciples sat Him thereon. Instead of courtiers in their robes, He was surrounded by common peasants and fishermen, and children of the streets of Jerusalem: the humblest of men and the youngest of the race shouted His praises. Boughs of trees and garments of friends strewed the road, instead of choice flowers and costly tapestries; it was the pomp of spontaneous love, not the stereotyped pageantry which power exacts of fear. With half an eye everyone can see that this King is of another sort from common princes, and His dignity of another kind from that which tramples on the poor. According to the narrative, as well as the prophecy, there would seem to have been two beasts in the procession. I conceive that our Lord rode on the foal, for it was essential that He should mount a beast which had never been used before. God is not a sharer with men; that which is consecrated to His peculiar service must not have been aforetime devoted to lower uses, Jesus rides a colt whereon never man sat. But why was the mother there? Did not Jesus say of both ass and foal, Loose them and bring them unto Me? This appears to me to be a token of His tenderness; He would not needlessly sever the mother from her foal. I like to see a farmers kindness when he allows the foal to follow when the mare is ploughing or labouring; and I admire the same thoughtfulness in our Lord. He careth for cattle, yea, even for an ass and her foal. He would not even cause a poor beast a needless pang by taking away its young; and so in that procession the beast of the field took its part joyfully, in token of a better age in which all creatures shall be delivered from bondage, and shall share the blessings of His unsuffering reign. Our Lord herein taught His disciples to cultivate delicacy, not only towards each other, but towards the whole creation. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Palm Sunday lessons
Today is this prophecy fulfilled in your ears. For once the Man of Sorrows was honoured on the earth, for once the despised and rejected of men was welcomed as a King, a Deliverer, a Prophet. But what did that procession on the Mount of Olives really mean? It was a procession of sacrifice. As the Paschal Lamb was brought out solemnly on the first day of the week, so now the true Paschal Lamb was brought out to die. He was welcomed by the Jews as the conqueror of the Romans; they did not understand that He was the conqueror of sin and death. They greeted Him as King of Jerusalem, they did not know that He was King of heaven and earth. How soon the feelings of the people changed, how short-lived were their praises. Let us learn our lesson from the palms. Many people are willing to receive Jesus as a King and a Deliverer, who reject Him as the Man of Sorrows. If He were to tell you to sit down on His right hand, to be proud of your religion, to condemn others, to believe yourselves righteous, then you would cry, Hosannah. But if He tells you to learn of Him for He is meek, to judge not, to take the lowest seat, that the servant of the Lord must not strive, that you must forgive your enemies, that blessed are they that mourn,--then you cry, Away with Him, crucify Him. Learn from this to avoid a form of religion which is only lip service; it is very easy to talk about sacred things, but pious talk, remember, is not religion. We must show forth our faith not only with our lips but in our lives. Jesus is leading us, as He led the people on Palm Sunday, towards Jerusalem, the vision of peace, and none shall enter there but those who follow Him. (H. J. Wilmot Buxton.)
The coming of the King of Zion
The prophet speaks not of one event merely, but of the whole of our Lords gracious conduct to His people. The children of Zion are called to be joyful in their King; for He is ever coming to them just and having salvation, and by virtue of the blood of the ever-lasting covenant bringing the prisoners out of the pit, and leading them all to a city of rest.
I. The character under which our King is presented to us.
1. He is just. It is not punitive justice that is here intended, but righteousness.
(1) This character is illustrated by His Divinity. He is just, perfectly and unchangeably--perfectly because He is God; unchangeably, because essentially. It is His nature to be just, and therefore He cannot be otherwise. There is a holiness in the creature; but there is a peculiar holiness in God.
(2) This character is illustrated by His incarnation. All that moral perfection which is in God shone forth from Him. His nature was spotless; and even His enemies gave witness to the immaculate purity of His life on which keen-eyed envy itself could fix no charge. The human nature of Christ was spotless, because the Divine nature into which it was impersonated was perfectly holy. No heresy can be more pestilent than the assertion that the holiness of Christ consists in acts and habits, and not in nature. That only which was perfectly uncontaminated could be united in one person with that which is ineffably holy.
(3) By His death. As a sacrifice for sin. In this we see the most illustrious proof of His essential holiness, and His love of justice.
(4) By His work in the heart of men. His kingdom is in the heart. Whatever rule He has over the outward conduct originates there. His work is to restore man, and exhibit him again as created anew in Christ Jesus.
(5) By His conduct towards His Church. A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. By this sceptre He tries and governs His visible Church. He is Judge in His Church even now, though the judgment which He administers is not without mercy.
2. He has salvation.
(1) He has it meritoriously. To save is an act to which the benevolence of His Godhead disposes Him; and judgment is His strange work. But guilty man is not merely an object of benevolence. He is a subject of moral government. What reason of joy there is in this consideration! The salvation which we need, and which all need, is in His hands. He has purchased the right to bestow it. The work is virtually accomplished, and nothing remains for us but to apply to Him, and avail ourselves of that which He has done on our behalf.
(2) Salvation is the subject, of His official administration. Does He give the Word? It is the promise and the rule of salvation. Does He collect a Church, and denominate it His body? His Spirit fills it, to discover the want of salvation, and reveal the means of obtaining it: to inspire desire, to assist our efforts, to realise within us all that the external Word exhibits to faith and hope. Does He perpetuate the ministry of the Gospel? He is with His servants unto the end of the world, to make them the means of conveying this salvation. Does He appoint His Sabbaths for ordinances? In these the Church is made the deposit and source of salvation to the world. The very sacraments are signs and seals of salvation.
II. The spiritual nature of His kingdom. This is strongly indicated by the circumstances connected with His public and royal entry into Jerusalem. This event was intended to call off His disciples and us from the vain notion of a civil monarchy. They thought He was then assuming it; but even then we see Him rejecting it. There is a tendency in man to look even now, as formerly, for something more than a spiritual kingdom; a kingdom of visible power, and glory, and splendour. He entered this to show that He was a King; but He disappointed their expectation in the very circumstances of this event, in order to show that His kingdom was not of this world. He rode upon an ass, to denote that He was a peaceful sovereign. He returned by night to the Mount of Olives, which He certainly would not have done, had He been about to establish a civil reign. Children celebrated His praises, not the men. The true glory of Christs kingdom is, that it erects its dominion in the human mind and heart; spreads its light and power over all the faculties, and principles of our nature; ordaining the praise of God out of the mouth; so that everyone who is brought under its influence becomes the instrument of instructing others, and subduing them to the service of the same Saviour.
III. The extent of this spiritual dominion of Christ.
1. His dominion is to extend from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.
2. The state of mankind, it is true, is deeply affecting. It is a state of wretchedness and danger. They are prisoners, east into a pit wherein is no water. Allusion is to the ancient punishment of criminals, who were sometimes thrown into a pit, and left to die of thirst; and sometimes, after enduring the torments of thirst, were brought forth to execution.
3. Then there follows an address to the prisoners. Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope. Only a few had returned from Babylon. Zechariah addresses those who were left behind. In how much higher sense than the Jews are we prisoners of hope. Let such prisoners think of the blood of the covenant of deliverance which has been shed. (R. Watson.)
The coming King
Rejoice, then, O Zion, city of God, built not of stones, but of souls of men. Shout, ye daughters of Jerusalem, once as the stones of the desert, but now a spiritual seed of Abraham. From yon sepulchre thy King cometh, triumphant over death, and sending forth over all the world the message of reconciliation! Redeemed from bondage, we stand within the city of God, the visible Church. But how much has still to be done ere the temple of God be fully built--ere Christ be reflected in His members on earth! How many things have we each to deplore! The distracting effect of worldly business, want of energy, of love, of prayer. Hence little work for Him, and little fruit from that work, and little comfort. Let us dwell on the truth, Thy King cometh.
1. In view of the fact commemorated today. His work of redemption was complete and effectual (2Co_5:14). He took life unto the dominion of death. Even while the disciples mourned, He was carrying on a work of grace (1Pe_3:19). He died that He might rise again for our justification.
2. He cometh to each soul, bringing help. In times of darkness or depression, when trials seem heavy, or our work arduous, He reminds us that though we see Him not, we are not beyond His care.
3. He cometh to establish His kingdom, to bring perfected salvation to those who wait for Him. (James F. Montgomery, D. D.)
Joy in the King unrealised
I have read in one of George MacDonalds novels of a born-blind lamplighter. He illuminated the city at night; but had no sense of what he was doing. So has it been with the land of Israel. She has presented the portrait to the gallery; she has heard the plaudits of the spectators; and she has refused to join in them. In all history there is nothing so unique. It is the enemies of this land that have crowned her world-king; it is the Gentiles that have come to His light. The lamplighter has been blind to the beauty of the throne she has illumined. Palestine has lit up the scene; she has listened to the crowd shouting their applause; and she has wondered why. She has been like a deaf mute in a concert room. She has struck by accident the notes of a harp, and by accident they have burst into music. The audience has cheered the performance to the echo; but the performer knows not her triumph (G. Matheson.)
The Prince of peace
This prediction is of the literal kind, and it was literally and most exactly fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. The prophet doth not coldly inform Jerusalem that her King should come to her, and that when He did come she ought to rejoice. Wrapped into future times, he seems to have been present at the glorious scene. Standing upon Mount Olivet, he hears the hosannahs of the disciples, and beholds the procession approach towards the gates of Jerusalem. Religion, then, hath its joys; a prophet calleth us to exult and shout. The reason assigned why Jerusalem was called upon to rejoice, was the approach of her King. The prophets had promised her a king who should overcome her enemies, and triumph gloriously. When the King came, Jerusalem despised His appearance, and soon nailed a spiritual monarch to a cross. Righteousness, salvation, and humility distinguish the person and reign of Messiah. Righteousness leads the way. This is the name whereby He shall be called--The Lord our righteousness. Salvation is the next sign and token whereby to know the King of Zion. He was to execute that part of the regal office which consisteth in rescuing a people from their oppressors. And if tidings of salvation are not tidings of joy, what tidings can be such? What is deliverance from a temporal adversary compared with the salvation of the whole world from the oppression of the spiritual enemy, from sin, and sickness, and sorrow, and pain, and death, and hell? This was the salvation which Jesus undertook to effect; and His miracles declared Him equal to the mighty task. Different to other kings the King Messiah was to be in His appearance and demeanour. He is lowly. He appeared, in His first advent, in a state of humiliation. The nature of His undertaking required it, and their own law and prophets are clear upon the subject. The types and prophecies are as positive for His humiliation, as they are for His exaltation: nor could any one person accomplish them all, without being equally remarkable for lowliness and meekness, glory and honour. (Bishop Home.)
His dominion shall be from sea even to sea--
The final triumph of Christianity
I. This triumph is assured by the promises of the Bible. They leave no room for doubt.
II. The divine origin and character of Christianity render it certain. Christianity itself is on trial. If it fails to subjugate the world; if it encounters systems of error, false philosophies, hostile forces, effete civilisations, which it is inadequate to transform and vitalise with its Divine life--then it will be demonstrated that it is not of God, and its high claims are false. A partial and temporary success will not suffice. Is must conquer every race and clime and generation and form of evil and opposition in all the world, or be itself defeated and driven from the field.
III. The measure of success which it has already achieved is a guarantee of its complete ultimate triumph. Christianity is not without its witnesses and signal triumphs in human history. There is nothing comparable with it. It has shown itself, on actual trial of 1800 years, to be the wisdom of God and the power of God unto salvation. It has subdued kingdoms and changed the face of the world. Idolatry, superstition, false philosophy, cannot stand before it. It saves the chief of sinners. It elevates the most degraded people. Nothing in the heart of man, or in society, can withstand its power. It is moving steadily and rapidly on to final conquests. Christianity thus stands committed to the achievement of universal dominion. Its Founder puts it forth into history as the universal religion, foreordained to universal prevalence. (J. M. Sherwood, D. D.)
Universal bloom
As it has been positively demonstrated that the Arctic region was once a blooming garden and a fruitful field, those regions may change climate and again be a blooming garden and a fruitful field. Professor Heer, of Zurich, says the remains of flowers have been found in the Arctic, showing it was like Mexico for climate; and it is found that the Arctic was the mother region from which all the flowers descended. Professor Wallace says the remains of all styles of animal life are found in the Arctic, including those animals that can live only in warm climates. Now, that Arctic region which has been demonstrated by flora, and fauna, and geological argument to have been as full of vegetation and life as our Florida, may be turned back to its original bloom and glory, or it will be shut up as a museum of crystals for curiosity seekers to visit. But Arctic and Antarctic in some shape will belong to the Redeemers realm.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On vv9, 13 This beautiful picture, applied by the Evangelist with such…
2. THE PRINCE OF PEACE
Zec_9:9-12
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This beautiful picture, applied by the Evangelist with such fitness to our Lord upon His entry to Jerusalem, must also be of post-exilic date. It contrasts with the warlike portraits of the Messiah drawn in pre-exilic times, for it clothes Him with humility and with peace. The coming King of Israel has the attributes already imputed to the Servant of Jehovah by the prophet of the Babylonian captivity. The next verses also imply the Exile as already a fact. On the whole, too, the language is of a late rather than of an early date. Nothing in the passage betrays the exact point of its origin after the Exile.
The epithets applied to the Messiah are of very great interest. He does not bring victory or salvation, but is the passive recipient of it. This determines the meaning of the preceding adjective, "righteous," which has not the moral sense of "justice," but rather that of "vindication," in which "righteousness" and "righteous" are so frequently used in Isaiah 40-55. He is "lowly," like the Servant of Jehovah; and comes riding not the horse, an animal for war, because the next verse says that horses and chariots are to be removed from Israel, but the ass, the animal not of lowliness, as some have interpreted, but of peace. To this day in the East asses are used, as they are represented in the Song of Deborah, by great officials, but only when these are upon civil, and not upon military, duty.
It is possible that this oracles closes with Zec_9:10, and that we should take Zec_9:11-12, on the deliverance from exile, with the next.
"Rejoice mightily, daughter of Zion! shout aloud, daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, thy King cometh to thee, vindicated and victorious, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt the she-ass foal. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the war-bow shall be cut off, and He shall speak peace to the nations, and His rule shall be from sea to sea and from the river even to the ends of the earth. Thou, too, - by thy covenant-blood, I have set free thy prisoners from the Return to the fortress, ye prisoners of hope; even today do I proclaim: Double will I return to thee." {Isa_61:7}
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv9, 11 Zec_9:10.] The nature and extent of Messiah’s reign. Cut…
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Zec_9:10.] The nature and extent of Messiah’s reign. Cut off] Remove instruments of war, and reign by peaceful means. Ends of the earth] Not a mere Jewish, but a universal, kingdom.
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Zec_9:11. Blood] The covenant scaled with sprinkled blood, the pledge. Prisoners] Jewish exiles in Egypt and Greece. Pit] An allusion to Gen_37:24. Their distress great, like dungeons without water (Jer_38:6).
HOMILETICS
THE PEACEFUL KING AND HIS GLORIOUS REIGN.—Zec_9:9-10
From the Grecian conqueror, and the temporal protection which Jehovah would accord to his people, the prophet abruptly (by the prophetic law of suggestion, Fausset), and in the most sublime and animated strain, calls the attention of the Jews to a Royal Personage of a very different character, the Messiah, meek and righteous, the Prince and pattern of peace, and the author of spiritual salvation to all his subjects. His advent was to be accompanied by such glorious results that it was to be hailed with the most joyful anticipation [Hend.].
I. The character of the King. The features refer to his personal and official character.
1. He is a righteous ruler. “He is just.” Just himself, and the means of justifying others before God. In character, principle, and practice, he is a righteous King, His administrations in providence and grace are conducted by laws of pure and unbending righteousness. Truth and uprightness are fixed on his throne. “Just and true are thy ways, thou King of Saints.”
2. He is a benevolent ruler. “Having salvation.” Take these words actively or passively, he had power over death and the grave. He finished his work, rose to the right hand of God, and bestows gifts upon men. The design of his death was to honour God, and render salvation consistent with the claims of righteousness, that he might be “a just God and a Saviour” (cf. Rom_3:26). He bestows salvation in its beginning here, and in its results hereafter. “The Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”
3. He is a lowly ruler. “Lowly, and riding upon an ass.” He had no war-horse richly caparisoned, and tossing his arched neck—no imperial chariot, like Alexander. He was not cruel like Nero, nor proud like Herod, in disposition. He was lowly in his intercourse and triumphs. He linked greatness with humility, performed menial service to his disciples, and set himself as an example to all men. “Learn of me; for I am meek, and lowly in heart.”
“Gentleness! more powerful than Hercules” [Catherine II.].
II. The nature of his kingdom. It is not that of a worldly conqueror, nor is it confined to Jewish lands. It is peaceful, universal, and perpetual.
1. It is a peaceful kingdom. The symbol would remind the Jews of the prediction concerning “The Prince of Peace” (Isa_9:6). No wars nor bloodshed were to disturb his reign. “Peace hath its victories no less renowned than war.” Notice—That he was not to teach peace, nor command it; but to accomplish by a word, what earthly kings cannot do by force. “He shall speak peace.” He announces reconciliation to Jew and Gentile, and in his Word proclaims, “Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near.”
2. It is a universal kingdom. It is more extensive than the kingdom of Macedon, greater than that of “the Emperor of All the Russias.” As Solomon ruled the land of promise, and left no unconquered spot; so shall the Son of David reign “from sea to sea—from the Atlantic to the Pacific”—from the river “unto the ends of the earth.” His subjects gathered from “all nations, and kindreds, and people,” no man can number. “Yea, all kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall serve him.”
3. It is a perpetual kingdom. Solomon’s reign came to an end, and Alexander’s empire was divided by his successors; but the throne of Christ shall endure for ever. “Son culte se rajeunira sans cesse,” wrote Renan. Suns may set, and moons may fade, but “His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.”
III. The blessings of his reign. “Rejoice greatly.”
1. Great joy. The prophet, under the impulse of inspiration, invites the people to hail the coming of Messiah, in terms of exulting joy. “Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!” It is not “a reign of terror,” but of happiness and joy. “I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.”
2. Perfect security. Freedom from the power and corruption of sin to the believer, protection and prosperity to all nations, are offered by his Word. He is King both of righteousness and peace. Many usurp the throne, league with craft, and rule in tyranny and oppression. Hence kings are dethroned, kingdoms short-lived, and subjects insecure. Happy and safe are his people. “He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.”
DELIVERANCE FROM THE PIT.—Zec_9:11
These words may be an invitation to Jewish exiles to return from the bondage of Egypt and Greece. But they relate to the spiritual conquests of the Messiah, and are the pledge of Jehovah to him, that his people (thy prisoners) shall be delivered from distress, exult in freedom, and through the blood of the covenant anticipate the blessings of the future.
I. The moral condition. Prisoners were confined in dungeons or pits dug for the purpose. Jeremiah was left to sink in the mire, and perish from thirst in the pit (Jer_38:6). The pit indicates—
1. Deep distress. “Wherein is no water.” Men are restless and dissatisfied—distressed by sin and the world, a broken law, and an accusing conscience. Estrangement from God brings anguish of soul. “What exile from himself can flee?” asks Byron. “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?”
2. Great darkness. Prisoners sit in darkness as well as in distress. The spiritual light of this world is darkness. The wisest only grope in uncertainty. Sinners walk in darkness, and live under the powers of darkness. Heaven above is shrouded in gloom, round about and within them dwells no light, and before them hangs the shadow of death (cf. Psa_107:10). The Sun of Righteousness never penetrates their hearts. Their condition is like an Eastern sepulchre—“a land of darkness, as darkness itself, without any order” (Job_10:22).
3. Utter helplessness. Neither Joseph nor Jeremiah could get out of the pit. Captives in a dungeon cannot escape. Cursed by the law, and condemned before God, immured in darkness and degradation, men are ready to perish. “God hath concluded (shut up as in a prison) them all (all mankind) in unbelief, the consequence of disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all” (Rom_11:32).
II. The price of deliverance from the pit. “By the blood of the covenant.”
1. A covenant of blood. The Jews were delivered through the covenant made at Sinai, and sealed with blood. In redemption there is no remission of sins without shedding of blood. But “the blood of bulls and of goats” could not take away sin. Ancient sacrifices were mere shadows, had to be repeated, and were inefficient. The blood of man is not required, and will not avail. “None of them by any means can redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.” Christ alone can deliver us. “In whom we have redemption through his blood.”
2. A covenant without change. The price paid will not be required again. It avails for this and every age. Father and Son have taken solemn oaths, and sealed it by sacrifice. Nature’s covenant abides firm as heaven and earth. The Jewish covenant was not disannulled by the sins of the people. God’s purpose in Christ shall be realized. “For thee also” thy prisoners shall be delivered. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance. They are incapable of being regretted, revoked, or changed (cf. Vaughan, Act_11:29). “Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you, concerning all these words.”
III. The method of deliverance from the pit. “I have sent forth.” A beautiful expression, indicating—
1. Mighty power. Nothing but God’s power can lift us up out of the horrible pit and miry clay, set our feet upon a rock, and establish our goings.
2. Wonderful grace. “I have sent forth.” God might have left us in the pit; but he is gracious, and “saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom.”
3. Perfect liberty. Not only lifted out, but “sent forth” without fear or foe, like Peter from prison. “That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Zec_9:9. Here we have—
1. The Divine in the form of the human.
2. The majestic in the form of the mean. The dignity is royal. “Thy king cometh.” Royalty surpassing all others.
3. The victorious by means of the moral. A king, but not the kind the Jews expected. His sceptre from heaven, and his glory gained through suffering. He had to borrow the colt, and who were his guards and attendants in his entrance in Jerusalem? (cf. Mat_21:5; Joh_12:15). In the whole history of Jesus we have a wonderful combination of humiliation and grandeur.
Zec_9:9-10. Messiah is King of Zion. Happy the subjects who dwell under his shadow. He rules them, not with a rod of iron by which he bruises and breaks the power of his enemies, but with his golden sceptre of love. He reigns by his own right, and by their full and free consent in their hearts. He reigns upon a throne of grace, to which they at all times have access, and from whence they receive the pardon of all their sins, grace to help in time of need, and a renewed supply answerable to all their wants, cares, services, and conflicts [John Newton].
Notice—
1. The Great King.
2. The wonderful kingdom.
3. The strange way in which he comes to possess it. “Riding upon an ass,” &c. Majesty veiled in meekness, justice blended with mercy, drawing the attention, and receiving the homage, of multitudes.
4. The method by which he spreads it. “I will cut off the chariot,” &c.
Zec_9:11. The sinner’s condition by nature, and his rescue by grace. The pit dark, dismal, and deep. “The pit of corruption,” or putrefaction and filth (Isa_38:17). The release, condescending, reaching to the depth; and free, “sent forth.” “They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me. I called upon thy name, O Lord; out of the low dungeon thou hast heard my voice.” Covenant. The covenant love of God, and his faithful promise, sealed with blood, are the hope of the Church in time of trouble [Lange]. The word suggests thoughts of grace, privilege, and security, not attained in any other way. Our trust for this world and the next, not upon the voices of nature or conclusions of reason, but upon the promise of God—a promise which he hath chosen to present in the form of a compact, with stipulations (and sometimes when the stipulations were all on one side, Gen_9:9), and not only so, but to confirm it by sacrifice [Lange].
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 9
Zec_9:9-10. Thy king. Christ as a mere man was great—great in intellect, heart, purpose, action; as a Mediator, supremely great. But how does this great Being, Prince of the powers of the earth, enter Jerusalem? In a triumphal chariot?—on a stately, prancing steed, accompanied by a magnificent cavalcade? No! On an ass. The more truly kingly a man is, the less he cares for conventional pageantry. Your great men have never cared for jewellery. The more ornaments are coveted, and dress is studied, the more mean and impoverished the soul. Heart of oak requires neither veneer nor varnish. A great age has never been an age of millinery and gold rings. The kingly soul does not care for the rose or the crown [Dr. Thomas].
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv9–12 behold, thy King
behold, thy King
The events following this manifestation of Christ as King are recorded in the Gospels. The real faith of the multitude who cried, "Hosanna" is given in Mat 21:11 and so little was Jesus deceived by His apparent reception as King, that He wept over Jerusalem and announced its impending destruction (fulfilled A.D. 70; Luk 19:38-44. The same multitude soon cried, "Crucify Him."
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v9 Zion’s King of Peace and his Salvation
Zion’s King of Peace and his Salvation
v. 9. Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zion! the members of the Lord’s people; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! with a shout of gladness. Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, the Messiah Himself appearing in her midst; He is just, possessing righteousness as the first requisite of a true ruler, and having salvation, bearing the salvation which the Lord had planned, lowly, and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. This passage is rightly quoted by Mat 21:4, and Joh 12:15, as having been fulfilled when the Lord entered Jerusalem on the Sunday before His death. The King Messiah was to rise through lowliness and suffering to the might and glory which was hidden in Him even in the state of His humiliation, but which He is now using to full extent in His state of exaltation.
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v. 10. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephralm and the horse from Jerusalem, as the means by which the kingdoms of this world establish and extend their power; and the battle-bow shall be cut off, for the Lord does not build His kingdom with might of arms, since His kingdom is not of this world; and He shall speak peace unto the heathen, this being the gist of His Gospel-message; and His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river, the Euphrates, as the extreme eastern boundary of the then known world, even to the ends of the earth, that is, Messiah’s kingdom would be established throughout the earth, it would be a universal kingdom.
v. 11. As for thee also, so the Lord addresses the entire nation of His people, which afterward, in the ideal sense, merged into His Church, by the blood of thy covenant, on account of the blood of the covenant, Exo 24:8, by which Israel was separated from the rest of the nations and accepted into the most intimate fellowship with the Lord, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water, delivering them from the oppression of the world-power, from all the hostile forces of the earth.
v. 12. Turn you, or, "return,". to the stronghold, the fortified city, in opposition to the pit which had just been mentioned, ye prisoners of hope, who in spite of the present afflictions maintained their hope in the covenant-keeping God. Even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee, namely, a double measure of glory instead of the tribulations endured,
v. 13. when I have bent Judah for Me, as a bow in the hand of Jehovah, filled the bow with Ephraim, as the arrows in His hand, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, stirring them up for war, against thy sons, O Greece, for here was another world-power with its hostility against the people of the Lord, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man, so that the Lord’s people are able to wage the Lord’s wars.
v. 14. And the Lord shall be seen over them, appearing above them or at their head, as He who fights from heaven in their behalf, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning, bringing instantaneous destruction to His foes; and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, summoning His people to the attack, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south, which were always the most violent of all.
v. 15. The Lord of hosts shall defend them, acting as their Shield against the weapons of the enemy; and they shall devour and subdue with sling-stones, treading down the enemy like pebbles of the brook, Cf Num 23:24; and they shall drink, consuming the blood of the enemies, and make a noise as through wine, noisy as though under the influence of wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, the vessels in which the priests caught the blood of the sacrifices, and as the corners of the altar. The entire passage speaks of a holy war and victory, although in pictures taken from a battle of warriors on earth.
v. 16. And the Lord, their God, shall save them In that day as the flock of His people, with the deliverance of the Messiah’s redemption; for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon His land, Zion’s sons and daughters being like jewels of a crown which sparkles over Jehovah’s land as He proudly marches through the territory belonging to Him.
v. 17. For how great is His goodness, so the prophet exultantly exclaims, and how great is His beauty! Cf Psa 45:3. Corn shall make the young men cheerful and new wine the maids, the reference being to the blessings of the grace of God as bestowed upon His people through the Word of His mercy. We have here another summary concerning the gifts of God given to His people in the Messianic era.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 11, 14, 16 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh appears to be the speaker in verses 9-13.
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Shout with great joy, daughter of Zion! Shout with happiness, daughter of Jerusalem!
These two sentences mean the same thing and intensify the command to rejoice. Yahweh is speaking to the people of Jerusalem as if they were present, but they were not there. (See: Parallelism and Apostrophe)
daughter of Zion ... daughter of Jerusalem
"Zion" is the same as "Jerusalem." The prophet speaks of the city as if it is a daughter. See how you translated "daughter of Zion" in Zechariah 2:10.
Behold!
This alerts the reader to pay special attention to the surprising statement that follows. AT: "Pay attention!" or "Here is a surprising fact!"
Your king is coming to you with righteousness and is rescuing you
"Your king is righteous and is coming to rescue you"
on a donkey, on the colt of a donkey
These two phrases mean basically the same thing and refer to one animal. The second phrase clarifies that this is a young donkey. AT: "on a young donkey" (See: Doublet)
cut off the chariot from Ephraim
Here "cut off" is an idiom that means to destroy. AT: "destroy the chariots in Israel that are used for battle"
the horse from Jerusalem
The references to "chariot" and "bow" means that this refers to horses used in battle. This can be made explicit. AT: "the warhorses in Jerusalem" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
the bow will be cut off from battle
Here the bow represents all weapons used in warfare. AT: "all weapons of war will be destroyed" (See: Synecdoche)
for he will speak peace to the nations
Here the action of announcing peace represents the action of making peace. AT: "for your king will bring peace to the nations" (See: Metonymy)
his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!
The phrases "sea to sea" and "from the River to the ends of the earth" mean the same thing and can be combined. AT: "his kingdom will be over all the earth!" (See: Doublet)
the River
This probably refers to the Euphrates River.
translationWords
Zion
Jerusalem
righteous
humble
donkey
chariot
Ephraim
horse
bow and arrow
cut off
peace
nation
dominion
earth
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9–17 9:9-17 The second message of Zechariah’s first oracle (chs…
9:9-17 The second message of Zechariah’s first oracle (chs 9–11) presents the juxtaposition of warfare and peace that has defined human history. Judah’s coming deliverer-king will be victorious in battle, yet righteous and humble (9:9), and he will bring peace to the nations in his universal reign (9:10).
9:9 Your king refers to a future king from David’s line, described earlier as the Branch (3:8; 6:12-13). • The donkey was a humble animal, and riding on a donkey signaled that its rider came in peace (see Matt 21:5; John 12:15).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.