Donkeys & Horses
Notes
Transcript
Prayer
Merry Christmas, Gateway Chapel!
If we haven’t met, my name is Chris, I’m the pastor of this lovely church family that gathers in this building.
Whether you are a part of this church family or visiting this Christmas Eve, whether you are joyful this morning and full of energy, or whether you are dragging and you’ve baked so many cookies and been around family for so long you feel like a melting snowman…it’s so good to be together to worship Jesus, our king, the Son of God, the God-man who came to save us.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
That’s the good news of Christmas for each one of us: Jesus - the second person of the trinity - God himself - came as a man to die to forgive us our sins and give us freedom and new life. It’s great to celebrate that together this morning.
Parents, as you may know by now we do not have our normal kid’s service this morning as we are giving our volunteers a breather and celebrating Christmas Eve as a full family - young and old. If you need to step out at any point and use the kids room, we ask that you walk into the kids area and hang a right into the baby room and use that space. Please make sure you accompany your child if you go in there. And if your kiddo makes noise this morning - that’s really okay I promise my kids can be even louder, we are expecting a mix of love and chaos this morning.
If you’re new and want to learn more about being a part of our church family, there are little slips of paper in the seat backs. If you put your camera over that QR code it will take you to a contact page on our website, the submissions are sent to the elder team and you can let us know if you’d like more information on community groups, serving, becoming a member, or even how we can pray for you.
This is a time of year where we’re considering how to be generous with the money God has given us, and we’ve talked about a few different avenues to do that which are impactful specifically for our church…
Internal - so the band can lead with clarity and confidence
Local - so the food bank can support families in need
Global - so our missionaries can spread the gospel without the stress of fundraising
As of last Sunday we were within $100 on both the internal and local - thank you! Let’s keep it going.
With that, I believe the kids are going to come and lead us in a song.
Scripture
One of my favorite things about Christmas is driving around looking at Christmas decorations.
Sky Island, Fantasy Lights, Zoo Lights, or that house over there by Sumner Tapps HWY with the crazy lights…I love it!…
Kids what jolly character wears a big red suit has a beard and is on so many Christmas decorations?
Santa!
Santa is coming to town, and according to Christmas decorations, he ain’t just riding a sleigh.
Funny Pictures
The good news of Christmas in America is that Santa Claus is coming to town.
He sees you when you’re sleeping he knows when you’re awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good so be good because he’s coming by plane, train, and or dinosaur to give you toys.
But the true news of Christmas for the world and for the people of God is that Jesus came.
He has come and will come again.
Why is that better news than Santa Claus?
How is it good news for those right now affected by war and bombings and don’t have money to put prime rib on the table? If we think Christianity is essentially pray a prayer so that some day when you die you can go to heaven and wear a robe and sing slow songs with Jesus…then it’s not really good news for today.
Jesus came and is coming again. It’s the best news.
And, how he came and how he’s coming again makes all the difference.
In biblical times, they didn’t have helicopters, airplanes, sleighs or even dinosaurs, but the way you traveled said something about who you were, especially for people in power.
And in our passage this morning, Zechariah says that the hope of Israel and the hope of the world is in a king who is coming to town!
And that king…PAUSE… is coming on a donkey and he’s going to get rid of horses.
And that for us is the good news of Christmas: Jesus has come riding on a donkey and he will come again to get rid of horses.
For those of us in the room who are in need - PAUSE
Emotional, physical, financial, spiritual need
Or for those of us who are in a low place PAUSE
Depressed, anxious, despairing
Or for those of us who are in such a low place you hit rock bottom a while ago and then kept digging.
For a world that is hungry, thirsty, desperately in need of justice, for a cease fire that will last longer than a few hours, for the right thing to be done…there is no better news this Christmas than Jesus came riding on a donkey and to get rid of horses…
Now, I’m teasing you a little bit. Chris what in the world are you talking about? I never knew you were so anti-equestrian. I’m not, but let’s read together.
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah wants us to know that the king is coming and he will ride on a donkey.
What in the world does that mean?
Well, let’s first get some context.
Kids if you’re ever reading your Bible and you feel lost, it’s like if you’re lost on the road…you take a step back and ask where am I? Where am I in the story?…
The Bible is the Big story of God and his love for the world. And how the world looked at the God who made them and loved them and rejected him. And that rejection we call sin and that sin lead to everything bad in the world - disease, war, hatred, anxiety, depression, poverty, you name it.
But God said - I’m going to do something, I’m coming for you. And so he promised that through the nation of Israel he would send a Savior. And that Savior would defeat sin and death and bring the world back into life as it was meant to be.
And so this morning we’re in Zechariah who is a prophet to the nation of Israel.
And the prophets were men sent by God to bring a message to his people to say - Don’t forget! I know things look terrible, but I haven’t forgotten you. In fact, Zechariah’s name means “God remembers.”
And so anytime we think God has given up on us, circumstances seem too bad, we can have faith that God remembers his people.
Zechariah is in the part of the Bible called the Minor Prophets
They’re not minor because they have less value, they just have less words.
And this Advent season we’re taking time to let these often forgotten men - these minor prophets - point us to hope in Jesus.
I don’t know if you’ve heard a sermon - let alone a Christmas message from Zechariah - but I’m here to tell you that a king coming on a donkey getting rid of horses is the best news we could hear today.
If you’ve read Zechariah before, you know it’s odd.
Half of it is images of Zechariah’s dreams and the other are predictions or oracles from God to Zechariah.
And I don’t know about you, I don’t want my dreams in a book. That’s not good for anyone.
But Zechariah’s dreams - while still odd - are awesome and powerful and filled with hope.
Why would God want us to hear from him in such interesting ways?
Have you ever put on VR glasses? Maybe some of you kids are hoping you get some for Christmas.
God is letting us put on Virtual Reality glasses to see into a layer of reality that we don’t often get to see.
God is saying - I’m doing something - I’m going to do something, that you can’t see right now. And you don’t even have words for it or a category for it because it’s so amazing.
Zechariah is writing to the people of God after they have returned from exile to Babylon in 520 BC.
The southern tribes of Judah were in exile for 50 years. Maybe you’ve guessed it already, but I haven’t been alive 50 years.
For 50 years.
And the formerly strong people of Israel are now weak and ashamed. They wonder if God has given up on them.
And like Zechariah’s name - God says to his people - I have remembered.
And maybe that’s what you need to hear this morning…God remembers you…
PAUSE
Zechariah 9 begins with God promising to get rid of Israel’s powerful neighbors who have afflicted them for so long.
God knows they’re afraid and in danger but he says I am coming.
And in light of that, and more, we read in verse 9 of our passage…rejoice!…
Shout in triumph. One commentary I read said it’s almost like saying “spin around in excitement!” Like a kid in the snow.
Why?
Your king is coming to you.
But that word ‘to’ could also be read ‘for’ as in your king is coming FOR you.
He’s coming for your benefit he’s coming looking for you. He’s in hot pursuit of you.
This is often how I get faith backwards when I think it’s about me going to look for God when it always begins with God coming to look for me, and for you.
This is great news. A king is coming! How will we know it’s him? What will he be like?
He will be just and endowed with salvation.
The message translation says he’s a good king who makes all things right.
He’s coming - he’s good - he’s going to make all things right - and he’s coming to win.
Wow, amazing! So if we were to picture a king in the ancient world before cars, trains, and planes, how might we picture him coming to town? Maybe on a chariot, or on a elephant like Aladdin…what does it say he’s going to be like?
What does it say?
He will be humble and mounted on a donkey.
A donkey…huh. A king who will make all things right and vanquish evil…is going to come on a donkey…
When we think of donkeys today, here’s what we might think of…
Wonky Donkey for those who aren’t familiar.
It’s not a very impressive animal for us.
They make the weirdest sound. Kids give me a donkey sound.
If today someone called you a …donkey…you wouldn’t take that as a compliment…
Many of you are very proud of the fact that you’ve never voted for a donkey. Right? What’s the deal with donkeys?
But in the biblical world, donkeys are viewed very positively.
They’re an every-man animal. Used by rich and poor alike. Moses rode a donkey and he was a picture of someone who was humble and meek.
A beast of burden. Used for working and plowing fields.
They are a symbol of royalty. A victorious king who ride into town and greet people with peace.
We see this prophecy of Zechariah fulfilled in Jesus…
Both Matthew and John retell Jesus riding into Jerusalem the week before his crucifixion, riding into town on a donkey.
Not because he was goofy or poor or didn’t have the power to ride a horse - but because a donkey was a symbol of both royalty and humility.
Here is a picture from the Eastern orthodox tradition which shows Jesus riding the donkey not straddling it like a warrior, but riding side saddle as a woman would. The king is coming on a donkey.
And this fits perfectly for the God-man who is the Lord of the Universe and yet also came as a baby. Who is the Alpha and the Omega, and yet knows what it is to be hungry. Who is the Prince of Peace, and who also sweat blood in a panic attack in the Garden of Gethsemane.
This is the king, riding on a donkey.
This king who knows what it is to be
Are you needy? Jesus can relate. Are you weak? Jesus understands. Are you in a low place? Jesus is capable of greater empathy than any person alive. He knows and he cares.
Good news of Christmas is if you are in need God knows what it’s like and he came to save the needy by being needy himself.
Okay, sure, but how does Jesus’ arrival 2 thousand years ago have anything to do with our world today?
What power does Jesus on a donkey have over the war in Israel or Ukraine or homelessness or food shortage?
Jesus came riding on a donkey and he will come again to get rid of horses
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
And the bow of war will be cut off.
And He will speak peace to the nations;
And His dominion will be from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
When you read certain verses in the Bible, it can give the impression that God doesn’t like horses.
It says here a king will come to get rid of all horses in Jerusalem.
Elsewhere, God says don’t trust horses!
He also tells Israel to not buy too many of them.
I’ll get rid of them, don’t trust them, don’t’ buy them…about half of you in the room wanted a pony for Christmas at some point in your life so what’s going on…
When we think of horses today we think of them as the ultimate pet.
The greatest and fastest friend. I’ve never ridden a horse but if my dog Norman could run 30 mph and I could ride him that would be pretty cool. That’s what you get with a horse.
Seabiscuit, Secretariat my little pony, horses are beautiful, powerful, and we love them.
And yet in the Bible,
Image of warfare, battle, and power
A charging horse carrying a chariot was the most terrifying image in the ANE.
Alexander the Great
Who he was
What he did
His horse
When did this happen?
It has, and it hasn’t.
Kingdom has come, Jesus is risen, Jesus reigns over all…and yet there is still warfare and violence ESPECIALLY in Jerusalem…
It’s interesting that the NT writers don’t quote verse 10…
This has yet to come.
Advent is about when Christ came, and it reminds us that he will come again.
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.
Merry Christmas…
Most of the world is affected by war. Endless cycles stemming back thousands of years. Will it ever stop?
How many kids around the world are not hoping for a new toy but they want their dad back?
pause
How many kids could care less what’s in their stocking but they want their mom to stop crying because they’re brother or sister is gone?
Santa coming to town doesn’t cut it for those kids.
Jesus coming on a horse, does.
He’s a just, wise, righteous king who is giving the world time to respond to his offering of healing, peace, and salvation but there is a coming day when he will say enough is enough - no more car theft, no more violence by police or against police, no more division and hatred, no more AK47’s, no more nukes, it’s done. And he will come on a horse like one that Alexander the Great could never stand against and get rid of war.
Jesus riding on a donkey gives us hope.
Jesus riding on a donkey gives us hope.
Jesus get rid of horses gives us hope.
Jesus get rid of horses gives us hope.
We can get off our high horses.
We can get off our high horses.
Tonight, we wait.
We are nothing as Christians if not people who wait. We wait for our king to come. We wait for the morning, we when we remember that Jesus came - not like Santa on a helicopter, dinosaur or a tank, but humbly as a poor and needy child, humbly as a peaceful king who was afflicted for our sins to bring us life.
And we wait for him to come again. And on that day he will get rid of warfare, as he rides this time not on a donkey but on a white horse - to deal with evil, end the cycles of warfare, and bring peace forever.
So tonight we wait for our king who comes.