Do you need to know the Prince of Hope?
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I will restore to you double. Zechariah 9:12
Holy Lord,
Zephaniah and Zechariah have fierce warnings for your people
about what will happen if they don’t repent of their rebellion
and turn back to you.
But these prophets also overflow with messages of your mercy
that leave us shaking our heads in wonder
at your gracious forgiveness.
This passage begins with the familiar promise
we hear at Easter:
“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” (Zechariah 9:9).
We recognize this king as Jesus,
our great Prince of Peace.
As one pastor preached,
Jesus is the “Prince of Hope”
who brings the “Promise of Hope”
who paid the “Price of Hope”
that we might become “Prisoners of Hope.”
For all who find themselves in waterless pits
of worry, fear, or hopelessness today—
worried about children,
fearful about finances,
desperate for a cure,
hopeless about enslaving sin,
may this profoundly good news remind us
that in your mercy,
we can never escape hope.
You have redeemed us,
and you will continue to heal and help us
until the day of final restoration.
In Jesus’ Princely name. Amen.
Read Zechariah 9:1-17.
You can listen to the sermon by Pastor Scotty Smith here .
