Dance or cringe?
I don’t dance by any stretch, but the words the Apostle John uses to tell about Jesus entering Jerusalem set my heart to leaping.
Like the other three gospel writers, John cites Zechariah, who saw the king approaching, “having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). But John changes the opening. Zechariah began, saying, “Rejoice greatly!” John says, “Fear not” (John 12:15).
By changing the words, John reveals the reason for our joy in Jesus. We are told the day of the Lord is dreadful, yet John sees Him approaching and says, “Fear not.” This puts the focus on what accompanies the king: Salvation.
Salvation takes the dread from the dreadful day of the Lord.
This is the insight that swept me as I read again John 12:12-19.
Follow with me how John’s rewording of Zechariah brings this message.
When he urged the people, “Rejoice greatly!” Zechariah used a Hebrew word for action stirred by strong emotion. It primarily means to spin (think of dancing) and English translations invariably render it in some form of joy, delight, gladness or rejoicing.
But the word has a second meaning: Fear. In this case, the emotion manifests in cringing and trembling. Whether you dance or cringe depends on how what’s happening strikes you.
Zechariah could have said, “Be afraid!”
Zechariah would have been justified to use this second meaning to warn, “Be afraid! Your king is coming!” because this news didn’t excite everyone.
The prophet’s message begins as the Word of the Lord against Israel’s enemies. They are many—Syrians to the north, Phoenicians to the northwest, Philistines to the southwest—and they are strong. He describes them as wise, rich, fortified, powerful and proud (9:2-8). They oppress the weak, like Israel.
The likes of these troubled the Psalmist, who said he “almost stumbled” because of the prosperity of the wicked. Their strength and pride and violence seem to have no repercussions (Psalm 73:2-6).
For good reason, then, Zechariah could have focused on the need to be afraid. The king will take away all that they had contrived to accumulate—their possessions, their place, their power and their pride (9:4-7).
For such as these, the king is a threat, not a savior.
But Zechariah cries instead, “Rejoice greatly!” Their adversaries have reason to fear, but God’s people greet him with joy. He looks anything but a king—humble and riding a donkey—but he bears great gifts: justice and salvation. He will free their prisoners, restore, protect and save (9:11-12, 15-16). Relief for the oppressed has come.
This brings us back to John’s gospel. What Zechariah foresaw, John is watching in the outskirts of Jerusalem: Jesus astride a donkey, a crowd exulting in his presence, borrowing the words of a Psalm to express their praise. “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
The scene reminds John of Zechariah, but he does not retain the words, “Rejoice greatly!” Nor does he use the second meaning of the Hebrew, “Be afraid!” Rather, John writes, “Fear not! Your king is coming!”
The word recognizes there is something to fear—the day of the Lord is dreadful. And fear has been afoot from the first news of the birth of Jesus.
Herod and all of Jerusalem had been troubled by the question of the Magi, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” Herod was so agitated that he ordered the massacre of children born around the time of Jesus.
By the week of The Crucifixion, the religious leaders perceived the threat of Jesus: Everything they had strived for would be taken away. “This is getting us nowhere,” the Pharisees murmured. “If we let him go on like this, the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” (John 11:48, 12:19).
In the face of fear, John says, “Fear not!”
“Take away our place.” Zechariah had said this is what the king would to his adversaries. This is the fear hanging over Jerusalem on this fifth day before Passover. And it is into this apprehension that John turns Zechariah’s “Rejoice!” into “Fear not.” Do not dread the day of the Lord, because the king brings salvation.
Salvation is not about taking what we have, but about taking away what separates us from God. This king of Palm Sunday is the Lamb of God John the Baptist had said would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). This king—meek and lowly, riding a donkey—takes away the dread of His appearing.
Salvation is the king coming, not so much to take, but
- to give His life
- to give us life
- to give us peace
- to give us a place in His Father’s home (John 14:1-2)
By saying “Fear not!” John leads us by a different path to rejoice. Changing up the words of Zechariah, he shows us why to rejoice. Salvation is God taking away our reasons to be afraid of His coming.
Jesus told His disciples the night before His crucifixion, “If I go, I will come again.” And we are reminded, “He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him” (Hebrews 9:28).
The king is coming! How does this news strike you? Are you waiting with hope, or fear?
Will you dance, or cringe?