”As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double.” (Zechariah 9:11-12)
Our lectionary readings this week encourage us with words that speak of the hope for peace, justice, mercy and righteousness that all humanity longs for. This prophetic oracle from the prophet Zechariah is one such wonderful promise, usually read on Palm Sunday. Zechariah prophesied the coming of the Messiah as King, a prophecy that, as we are aware, was fulfilled by Jesus. He did not come as a warrior King riding in a chariot or on a fine horse like some victorious general, to lord it over everyone and demand that they obey Him. He came on a donkey, a symbol of humility, peace, and service. He came as a servant to die a humble and horrific death by crucifixion, deeply burdened by the hideous weight of the sins of all mankind. It is only by His sacrifice unto death that we are truly set free from sin and suffering.
Yet the context of the passage tells us that this prophecy is not just about Palm Sunday or even Good Friday but about the event which Good Friday has made possible: the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth, the end of the world. Zechariah speaks of the absolute peace and freedom that Jesus will bring to all mankind, a peace and freedom which even now we have a foretaste of and a deep yearning for. Down through the ages and even now human beings have sought this peace and freedom through the use of force, law, shame, and violence. These human methods have always failed. How can anyone achieve lasting peace if humans reject the means by which God has promised it? Christ will bring universal peace by service and love. He will keep that peace by enabling His followers to do the same. Those who reject the means Christ has established by His crucified body and His shed blood will get what they want: eternal agony separated from the one they hate and reject. For the believer the coming King, however, is a cause for rejoicing. Though we glimpse it dimly by faith, we can rest easy knowing that it is an accomplished fact. We know that one day it will happen because the Lord has declared it and He never lies.