Christ the King Will Establish Peace

In the second week of our series, “The Prophets Foretold,” we learned how Christ is a new kind of king establishing a new kind of kingdom. In particular, we learned that God’s kingdom is restorative. The prophet Zechariah also brings a word about this new king and his kingdom.

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
-Zechariah 9:9-10 (NIV)

The prophet speaks of a king who will ride into Jerusalem on a donkey and establish a kingdom of peace.

When we read about Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem in Mark 11 we assume that riding on a donkey is a meaningful picture of Jesus as a humble servant leader. Zechariah gives us the whole picture! Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey because as king he will get rid of the usual transportation for a king: the war horse. Since He will be a different kind of king the message is clear: The Lord’s True King has no use for a war horse because he will come to establish peace.

Notice, he does not establish peace with greater violence. Nor does he establish peace by giving weapons to the “good people” instead of the “bad people.” This king knows that true and lasting peace cannot come by the sword!

This king knows that if peace is won through violent force it is not peace at all, it is only the absence of conflict for a time. This king knows that is peace is won through violent force it is establishing a kingdom on the same foundation and nothing has changed.

His peace will come by his people letting go of hate and fear and taking hold of the fact that all the hate, violence, and vengeance we are tempted to bring against one another has already been brought upon him. The prophet Isaiah says it this way in Isaiah 53, “He was beaten that we may have peace.” This king’s death has opened up a new way of life for anyone that claim’s his name.

The prophet also points out that this king’s kingdom will have no geographic limitation for he is fit to rule all the nations. He will bring peace to the nations, which means that all nations will benefit from this king’s rule. As his people, need to realize that his rule, called the kingdom of God, is here right now and if we are to truly follow Him, we are to live under his rule, and not the rule of fear, hate, or violence. It is all too easy to be ruled by hate, fear, and violence. But our King and Lord calls us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We are, as followers of the Prince of Peace, to be peace-makers!

I love the following quote from Pamela Hawkins. It reminds us that the truth of Advent comes with a mission to apply God’s truth in the world.

Advent is a season of good news. In this season we prepare, by faith, to celebrate the birth of God-With-Us, Immanuel. According to the prophet Isaiah, this good news comes not just for us whose lives have been attuned to listen for, celebrate, and receive it; it comes also for the many others who wait day and night for us to act upon it—the oppressed; the brokenhearted; the captives and prisoners; the mourning, ruined, and devastated. —Pamela C. Hawkins, Behold!

 

For more information about our call to be peace-makers, click on the resources below from Emmaus Road Church, a church in Fort Collins.

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