This upcoming Sunday, some of us may be waving palms, heralding the entry of our King.

Yet we read prophesy very different from an “entry of a King” from Roman times:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

~ Zechariah 9:9-10

In The Rising: Living the Mysteries of Lent, Easter, and Pentecost, Wendy M. Wright writes:

“But we do not get the leader we have anticipated. For instead of entering the holy city on a warhorse, this Jesus comes deliberately on an ass’s colt, thereby calling up our collective memory of the prophesy in Zechariah which paints for us a picture of a monarch who bans implements of war, whose rule is gentle and whose reign is peace.” p. 77

Imagine the shock and surprise. Maybe some embarrassment too?

Even in today’s age, as we share our king Jesus with others, may it be with a powerful stance of gentleness and peace!