Unbelief is a Thief that Robs Sinners of Love, Joy, and Peace
12/22 Reading Portions: 2 Chronicles 26; Revelation 13; Zechariah 9; John 12
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12/22 Reading Portions: 2 Chronicles 26; Revelation 13; Zechariah 9; John 12
John 12:15
“Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
ENTRY
When Jesus makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the end of His earthly ministry, He rides on a donkey that had never been sat upon, fulfilling the Old Testament Scripture, as John quotes it here:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9
Now, having read all four portions today, and Zechariah 9 being one of those portions, the first things we probably noticed is that John does not accurately quote the verse. What is going on here? Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John uses the words “Fear not” rather than the words, “Rejoice greatly…” The Jewish people were rejoicing, shouting aloud,
“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” John 12:13
These, however, were only partially fulfilling the Scripture of Zechariah 9 by their shouts, for the same crowd would be shouting four days later,
“Crucify Him, crucify Him!” John 19:6
The Holy Spirit, through John, presents a warning to us, a call to action concerning our Messiah: Fear not. He does this so that rejoicing may take place in our lives. Fear of man, fear of ridicule from men, etc., will cause unbelieving men to continue to flee from faith in Christ. It will cause believers like you and me to falter in faith, robbing us of the Spirit’s fruit in our lives, love, joy, peace, and so forth (Gal 5:22-23). “Perfect love,” we’re told by John, “casts out fear” (1 Jn 4:18). When we respond to the love of Christ for saving us by His grace (John 3:16; 1 Jn 4:10), our first response to Christ is love (1 Jn 4:19). Fear having been cast out by the perfect love of Christ having its way in our souls, we will rejoice greatly. And because the truth of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem is a prophetic foreshadow of the Prince of Peace’s spiritual entry into every soul saved by God’s grace through faith, His peace, which surpasses understanding (Phil 4:7), settles richly upon our lives. Hallelujah! What a Savior!