03/29/2026
The Humble King by Rev. Jordan McFall, Conference Superintendent, Heartland Conference
“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 c**t, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9
On this Palm Sunday, we turn to the prophet Zechariah, who appears on the scene with a bold proclamation:
“Return to me,” declares the Lord Almighty, “and I will return to you” (Zechariah 1:3).
The prophet is speaking to a people who have returned from exile but are weary. They are exhausted, struggling to find hope and struggling to trust in and be faithful to God.
Early in the book of Zechariah, there are images of horsemen sent across the earth showing signs of strength and power. But Zechariah later offers a radically different image: a coming King not on a war horse or with visible force, but “righteous and having salvation… humble and riding on a donkey.”
By the time of Jesus, the expectation had grown: A conquering king, a warrior on a war horse. Instead, when Jesus enters Jerusalem, He comes fulfilling this prophecy, riding on a donkey. Though the text in some translations says He comes “victorious,” others say “having salvation,” showing as Jesus rode into Jerusalem, He was not coming to claim victory by force, but to bring salvation through the cross.
This is the upside-down nature of the Kingdom of God.
It is a Kingdom that comes not by human force, but by surrender;
Not by power, but by peace.
We see this tension clearly in the Gospel of Luke. The people are proclaiming, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” In the other three gospels they are laying down palm branches, crying out, “Hosanna!”
Luke 19:41 tells us, however, “As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it.”
While the crowds are celebrating, Jesus weeps.
He sees what they cannot: He sees their unfaithfulness, their rejection, and the cost that is coming.
Despite this, Jesus, the humble King, does not turn back.
He rides forward.
He chooses the cross.
He chooses you and me.
This is the heart of Palm Sunday.
God has always been faithful to His covenant. The question has never been about His faithfulness, but about ours.
So today, the question is not whether we celebrate Him as King.
The question is: Will we be faithful to Him?
Maybe today, like the people in Zechariah’s day, you are weary, struggling to find hope, or struggling to trust in and be faithful to God. You are not alone. But this is the good news: The humble King Jesus comes to bring salvation, healing, and to restore hope.
Will we choose to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness?
Will we humble ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him with quiet, humble faithfulness?
This Palm Sunday, may we be a people who not only proclaim “Hosanna!” with our mouths, but surrender continuously to the humble King Jesus with our lives.
