Suffering Servant or Conquering King?
By Rob Berman, Branch Director South Africa
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)
On Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is celebrated. We know that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt, the foal of a donkey, in fulfilment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9. Jesus was not only given a king’s welcome; He was greeted with the waving of palm branches. These details are far from incidental. Together, they tell a profound story: The people of Israel recognised the signs of the coming Messianic King, the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of David.
In 2 Samuel 7, the Lord made a covenant with King David to establish a house and a dynasty for him and that one of his descendants would forever sit on his throne. Previously, Jacob had prophesied that a king and a ruler would come from Judah. And so, when Jesus, David’s descendant, performed signs and wonders in fulfilment of this prophesied Son of David, the people welcomed Him into Jerusalem as the Messianic King.
The intentional use of palm branches was a direct reference to the festival of Sukkot – the Feast of Tabernacles – which has at its heart a prophetic picture of the Messianic King who comes to defeat all of Israel’s enemies and establish the kingdom that the Lord promised to David. Jesus entered Jerusalem to cries of ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’ (Matthew 21:9).
The cries of ‘Hosanna’ were both a cry for salvation – the literal meaning is ‘save now’ – and a shout of praise, referencing the messianic hope from Psalm 118. The people longed for the conquering king, as God promised David, who would restore the kingdom and usher in peace. Even after Jesus’ death and resurrection, His disciples were expecting Him to do just that, but His reply to them was: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:7-8).
The crowds and even Jesus’ disciples were not wrong; the Lord had indeed promised a coming king – but they had all missed something critical. Before Messiah, the Son of David, could come and establish his kingdom, the problem of sin and iniquity (which leads to death) needed to be solved.
On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 25:7-8)
With this Scripture in mind, let’s look at another messianic figure hidden in the Hebrew Scriptures and Jewish tradition: a Messiah who suffers and is killed to atone for the iniquity and sins of the people. There is even a Rabbinic tradition stating that Messiah, the Son of Joseph, is raised from the dead. Just like Joseph, this Messiah is rejected by his brothers, suffers unjustly and is thrown into the pit – a type of grave – but ultimately is exalted and becomes the Saviour of the world.
Throughout the history of Israel, there has been an expectation and a longing for Messiah, the Son of David, to usher in his kingdom of peace and free Israel from her enemies. This is captured no better than in the line of the Hebrew hymn, ‘I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, I wait for his coming every day.’
However, before there can be peace among men, there must be peace between God and man. What is the use of earthly peace if there is still enmity between God and man? Without this, any peace would be finite, and before long, the hostilities would be in full swing once again. This reflects the genius of God’s plan: Through Jesus, the Messiah, Son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant, God reconciled man to Himself. And now, after having been reconciled to God, we can eagerly await the return of Jesus, the Messiah, Son of David, to establish His kingdom and bring eternal peace.
The longing for Messiah, the Son of David, is a good and just desire, but what so many have not yet realised is that he must be preceded by Messiah, the Son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant, who comes to redeem us from sin and death, the covering cast over all nations as Isaiah describes it. In this time of Passover, we remember that the Lord redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt. But we also remember that in fulfilment of the Feast, Jesus came as the Suffering Servant, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world and redeems us from death.
In Yeshua, our Suffering Servant and Conquering King,
Rob Berman