Peace to All Nations
Zechariah 9:9-12
Whether you are a
big soccer fan or just one of those people who have jumped on the bandwagon
during the World Cup matches, one thing that seems to stand out is that we live
in a world that is made up of many people from many different countries with
many different languages and cultures.
We in the United
States , considered by many to be the most
powerful country in world, are just one of the many and as a nation, we don’t
really care that much about the most popular sport in the world. It has been interesting to see how nations
that have harbored hatred for one another for centuries all come together to
compete. It is almost like the World Cup
brings about a special kind of peace among nations for at least a few
weeks. When it is over though, everyone
will go home to the same old hostilities and hatreds as before.
Our Old Testament
lesson for today presents us with a prophecy that promises peace to all nations
but it is not based on the opportunity to participate in the World Cup or the
Olympics or some other world-wide sporting event. Instead, as our reading begins, “Behold, your
king comes to you, righteous and having salvation is he.” The prophet Zechariah is proclaiming the
coming of a king who will bring peace.
This is the kind of prophecy that God directed His prophets to proclaim
to the people when they had been oppressed by foreign powers. The people of Israel
had been in captivity in Babylon
for forty years and when the Babylonians were defeated by the Persians, under
Cyrus, the Israelites were allowed to leave and go back to their homeland. The problem was that after forty years, many
of the Israelites weren’t sure that they wanted to go back. Everything had been destroyed, including the
temple. Forty years is enough time for whole generations to turn over and the
younger people did not know what the homeland was even like in the good
times. It would be hard work to rebuild
and establish their culture once again.
They needed encouragement.
They were still
God’s chosen people even though they had to spend time in captivity. God was going to keep His promise to them
about the land He had given them. The
covenant was still in effect. There were
going to be better days ahead for them, especially when the Messiah would
come. At this point in Zechariah’s
prophecy, the coming of the Messiah was going to be the subject of his words of
encouragement. In a way it would be just
like a sports team that needed a stirring speech from their coach just before
the big game. Those words would help
them to focus on what is really important and help them to lose their fear. It’s all positive reinforcement for the work
that would be ahead. The same thing
would be done by military leaders who were about to lead the troops into
battle. As we think about the struggles
of the Patriots who fought in the War of Independence that we celebrated this
long weekend, the motivating messages of the leaders helped the people to
overcome their fear of a well organized military. The patriots were fighting for liberty and
freedom from tyranny. When they were
reminded of that they kept going even when the odds seemed to be against
them.
The people of God
also needed encouragement and the hope of a better time under the king who
would come to save them and give them the courage to rebuild the temple and
rebuild their way of life under God. The
people also knew that when the prophet spoke, it was not his own words but
rather the words of God. They lost all
they had because they did not remain faithful to Lord. Now in their repentance, the Lord would
restore them. The chariot and the war
horse would be removed from Israel . Instead they would be ruled by one who would
come in humility, riding on a donkey.
Does that sound familiar? This
would happen when Jesus would enter Jerusalem
on Palm Sunday. He would speak peace to
the nations and His rule would be to the ends of the earth.
The promises
continued as the prophet spoke of the blood of the covenant. This brought them back to their history when
the blood of the lamb would protect them from the angel of death. It also would be fulfilled when John the
Baptist declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world. The result is that the prisoners
would be set free, the people would be restored to their stronghold and given
victory over their enemies.
While this
prophecy was intended to bring encouragement to the exiles, it also has a
broader meaning for all people of God of all time. The reason that the Israelites were conquered
and taken into captivity was their unfaithfulness to God. They worshiped idols. They adopted the
religious practices of their pagan neighbors and broke the very first
commandment that God had given to His people at Mt. Sinai . “You shall have no other gods.” When we think of the world we live in today,
there are many times when we are tempted and we fall into the trap of
worshiping other gods. They may not be
idols of wood or stone. They may not
demand sacrifices in return for favorable weather and good crops but we have
found other gods. Whenever other
influences in the world pull you away from God’s command to love the Lord with
all your heart and soul and mind and your neighbor as yourself, you have turned
away from the true God to follow other gods.
When you give in to the urge to skip regular worship in favor other activities,
you have ignored God’s command to worship.
When you have allowed your language to match the indecent language of
your friends and coworkers, you have ignored God’s command to keep His name
holy. When you have willfully disobeyed
parents and other authorities, you have ignored the Lord’s command to obey
those who have been placed over you. I
don’t think I need to go further. You
have disobeyed God time and time again. You
have been oppressed by the forces of the devil, the world and your sinful
nature. You have become a prisoner who deserves nothing but the waterless pit.
You need to hear
the words of the prophet. “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.” That prophecy was fulfilled when
Jesus came into the world. He is our
righteous King who brings salvation for the oppressed, those who are prisoners
of sin. By the blood of Jesus, a new covenant
was established between the Creator and His special creatures. That new covenant is a covenant based on
God’s grace and faith which is worked in you by God’s grace through the power
of the Holy Spirit. By faith you can
look to Jesus, whose blood sealed the new covenant. By His suffering and death on the cross, your
debt of sin was paid and you have been set free. You have been given that
double blessing of being able to return to your stronghold, the loving arms of
your Savior and you have been given the victory over your enemies, the devil,
the world and your sinful nature. You
have also been given the promise of peace among nations which will happen when
Jesus comes again. In the new heaven and
the new earth that will be established when the old has passed away, there will
be peace because of the victory over the enemies of God and the reconciliation
that has been made between God and His people.
Until that time
comes you can live with the hope of that eternal kingdom in your heart. The message of the prophet and the knowledge
of the fulfillment of all the prophets’ messages in Christ Jesus will give you
the encouragement that you need when things seem to be going against you. When the world seems to be winning the
battles, you can be assured that our King has won the final battle and the
eternal victory belongs to the people of God.
“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. He shall
speak peace to the nations and his rule shall be from sea to sea.”
Strengthened by that encouragement, you can live confidently
and joyfully serve your Lord all your days in the face of any opposition. Nothing can separate you from God’s love in
Christ Jesus. As Paul said in our Epistle lesson from Romans 7, “Thanks be to
God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen
Rev. Gerald Matzke
Zion Lutheran Church
Painesville, Ohio
The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
No comments:
Post a Comment