Worship

Palm Sunday              March 29, 2026

Zechariah 9:9-10        Pastor Ryan Wolfe

Look Up to See Your King!

For the past few weeks we’ve been reading through the prophecies of Zechariah in our midweek services. Zechariah’s ministry came in the years after Israel had returned from 70 years in exile in Babylon. I wonder though, if their heads hung low much of the time though. Sure, they had returned from exile, but the temple was still in ruins. They had no strong cities and enemies were all around. Israel was a shadow of what they were, just a small remnant. But in his most famous prophecy, Zechariah tells them in chapter nine here, “Look up! Here comes your King!”

Fast-forward five centuries to the time of Jesus. The Jews’ heads must have hung low much of the time. Sure, the temple was rebuilt, and Herod had even done some impressive renovations, but they still didn’t have real freedom. The Romans told them what to do and how to do it. That generation too longed for glory that was once Israel’s. But again, voices called out, “Look up! Here comes your King!”

And just once more, fast-forward two millennia…Don’t our heads hang low much of the time? Sure, we have earthly freedom. We have worldly luxuries those other generations couldn’t dream of. But our sins and their effects pile up in our lives. We are not what we want to be, and our lives are not what we want them to be. We long for future days of glory. Today we hear too, “Look up! Here comes your King!”

We look up to see Jesus on the back of a donkey. We look up to see him on a cross. We look up to see him coming on the clouds. On this Palm Sunday, we look up to another prophecy from the Holy Week Prophet. Hear again from Zechariah 9:9-10. “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. 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.”

Look Up to See Him on a Donkey
You know the old Superman line, “Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No . . . it’s Superman!” What would everyone naturally do when they heard the question? They looked up of course, and they saw their hero flying in to the rescue.

On Palm Sunday, the Jews of Jerusalem were excited that Jesus had come to their city. Here he was, their long-promised Messiah, their conquering hero! Here he was, their salvation from the Romans, from poverty, from sickness, from suffering. This was Jesus! The prophet who healed the sick and fed thousands. They didn’t need to hang their heads in defeat anymore. They only needed to look up as far as the back of a donkey to see the conquering king. And the crowds responded, spreading cloaks and palms. Shouting loud hosannas.

In Zechariah’s prophecy, he told the people to shout out a word that was used as a battle cry. How hopeful the Jews must have been that day: their king had finally arrived to wage war on Rome! Their super king would conquer the world. After all, Zechariah had promised, “His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

The crowds called out, “Hosanna,” which means “Save now!” And many perhaps thought he would do it by conquering the enemy. By conquering the world. That’s how they wanted to be saved.

But look how he arrives: on a donkey – even a foal, a young donkey. Can you picture Superman rattling to the rescue behind the wheel of a rusting bucket of bolts? There was no display of superhuman strength, no lasers shooting from his eyes. He didn’t drive a golden chariot pulled by a team of white stallions. He was coming gently, peacefully, humbly. “See, your king comes to you, . . . lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

There is appeal to a hero who comes with a display of power. There is also appeal to a hero who comes humbly, a hero we can relate to, a hero who is not seeking glory but seeking to deliver the oppressed. But no matter what kind of hero people were looking for, the situation five days later was shocking. Their hero wasn’t riding on anything. Instead, they looked up to find their king on a cross.

Look Up to See Him on a Cross
How truly awful. The people were expecting a different kind of king—a monarch who would put Israel’s enemies under their feet, a Messiah who would wage a war to end all wars. They were looking for their Superman who would destroy Rome and bring them national peace. Or at the very least a humble leader of the people bringing comfort and better times.

But now they look up and see him on a cross. And it doesn’t hit us like it would’ve hit them. We see a cross and we think of Jesus, but the cross was a method of execution. They saw a cross and they thought of the worst of the worst. The Dahmers, the Epsteins, the Mansons. Why was Jesus there? Jesus had walked through angry crowds before and raised the dead. Why allow this? The people must have wanted to hang their heads again.

We sometimes look up to Jesus and wonder ourselves: Why does the omnipotent God allow my body to break down? Why does he allow my relationships to fall apart? Why does he let me struggle with my finances and worry? Why doesn’t he save me from suffering and pain? Why doesn’t he save all of us from our troubles?

Because he’s not that kind of king. He didn’t come to wage war on poverty or disease or unhappiness. He didn’t come to take away problems or pain to make this life easy. Brothers and sisters, when you get disappointed in what Jesus doesn’t do for you, are you tempted to reject him the way the crowds in Holy Week did? Sure, we cry out in praise when it’s easy but turn silent when life gets hard.

Our sinful natures want to tell Jesus the kind of king we think he should be and abandon him until he gives us what we want. We want the superman who takes the troubles away. The gentle and humble soul who provides all we could ever want or desire. But hear again from Zechariah the better kind of king Jesus is. “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious.”

Did you hear the two characteristics of Jesus our king? Look up to see your Hero, who is righteous, who never sinned, who always does what is right. Look up to see your King, who is victorious, who brings you salvation from your soul’s enemies. Look up to see your King, not just in the victory parade of Palm Sunday parade but on the cross too. Look up to see him at his lowest, AND his best. Look up to see him waging war against Satan, against death, against hell. Look up to see him winning the ultimate battle for your freedom!

Don’t hang your head in shame. His righteous record is now credited to you, making you perfect in God’s sight. His victory over sin and death is now yours. Kept secured in heaven waiting. This is the hope and peace we have in Jesus – a better, greater king.

Look Up to See Him on the Clouds
God prophesied of this king though Zechariah, “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.” But if Jesus is supposed to proclaim peace to the nations, why is the world so decidedly not at peace? Nationally, personally, relationally? Because he’s still not that kind of king.

You see, Jesus is the real peacemaker. Peace among nations and peace on earth is a blessing, of course, but those are blessings that only last for a moment on the scale of eternal time. No, Jesus’ death established peace for us with God. Deliverance from guilt and shame, from fear of death and hell. And not just for a span of 70 or 80 years, but for all eternity. And one day, we will have peace from all our problems, from wars and conflicts, from suffering and pain, from frustration and heartache. Just not yet.

So we look up to the skies and eagerly await the day when our King will return, not in humility or gentleness but in power, no longer riding a donkey but riding on the clouds. We look up with confident expectation that he is coming to bring us perfect, permanent peace.

Dear friends, in this Holy Week, look up to see your King. See him on a donkey, riding into Jerusalem to be our conquering hero. See him on a cross, paying with his blood for our peace with God. And one day we will see him coming on the clouds to bring us home to glory. For now, we join the crowds in praise, “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you”!

In the name of Jesus our King. Amen.