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At this morning’s Advent service, the pastor preached about
Zechariah 9. Zechariah 9 predicts a battle and that the king will enter
into Jerusalem riding on a donkey.
The promise of a king resonated with Zechariah’s audience, for that was a time when Judah lacked a Davidic king. Instead, she lacked political autonomy and was ruled by Persia, and the closest she had to a Davidic king was her governor, Zerubabbel, who was a descendant of King David. The pastor, like many Christians, interpreted the king of Zechariah 9:9 as the Messiah, Jesus. The pastor applied Zechariah 9’s reference to battle to Jesus’s triumph over sin, death, and the devil at his crucifixion and resurrection.
But Zechariah 9 also talks about light. God’s arrow shall go forth like lightning (v. 14), and the Israelites shall shine like jewels of a crown on God’s land. The pastor said that the light that Christians shine is not their own but the light of Christ. They shine forth love and forgiveness towards others, but, in a sense, God is forgiving those people through the Christians. The Christians also testify that Christ has defeated sin, death, and the devil, when the world believes those are all there is.
The promise of a king resonated with Zechariah’s audience, for that was a time when Judah lacked a Davidic king. Instead, she lacked political autonomy and was ruled by Persia, and the closest she had to a Davidic king was her governor, Zerubabbel, who was a descendant of King David. The pastor, like many Christians, interpreted the king of Zechariah 9:9 as the Messiah, Jesus. The pastor applied Zechariah 9’s reference to battle to Jesus’s triumph over sin, death, and the devil at his crucifixion and resurrection.
But Zechariah 9 also talks about light. God’s arrow shall go forth like lightning (v. 14), and the Israelites shall shine like jewels of a crown on God’s land. The pastor said that the light that Christians shine is not their own but the light of Christ. They shine forth love and forgiveness towards others, but, in a sense, God is forgiving those people through the Christians. The Christians also testify that Christ has defeated sin, death, and the devil, when the world believes those are all there is.
