Prisoners of Hope Zechariah 9:9-12
Grace, mercy, peace, to you from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gives us hope to live by.
Our message today is Prisoners of Hope. Itâs taken from our Old Testament, Zechariah 9, especially verse 12: Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.
Prisons have been around nearly as long as people have been around. Some of the more famous prisons in the world are The Chateau DâIf, on an island off the coast of France. It was made famous by the book, The Count of Monte Cristo.
Itâs about a man whoâs falsely imprisoned, escapes, finds an enormous treasure, and uses it to enact revenge on those who betrayed him. But in the end he finds that revenge isnât nearly so sweet as is love, when heâs reunited with his former fiancĂ©.
Another famous prison is Alcatraz, now a National Park off the shore of California, it securely imprisoned such famous criminals as Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, Whitey Bulgar, and Robert Stroud, also known as the Birdman of Alcatraz. I believe there was a movie about him, too.
Another famous, or infamous prison, was the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz, where many Jewish people were so horribly killed. KatherineâŠ
Another infamous prison was Hoa Lo Prison in Vietnam, or the Hanoi Hilton, as it was sarcastically called. Thousands of POWs were imprisoned and tortured there.
Maybe the most famous prison of all was the Tower of London. William Wallace, made famous by the movie Braveheart; Anne Boleyn, one of the wives of Henry the VIII; and Mary, Queen of Scots, were all prisoners there, and were executed.
Anne Boleynâs daughter, was released from the Tower, and became the great Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth.
All these infamous, terrible prisons that people often didnât make it out of alive.
Jesus came to us so that we would make it out alive from the worst of prisons, the prisons of sin, death, and Hell.
Today, we begin our yearly journey through Passion Week. Once again we see how our Savior suffered for us, so that we might be set free from these prisons of our own making.
Ironically, Passion Week began with sounds of joy, people praising and shouting, âLord, save us!â. Or in Aramaic, âHosanna. Hosanna in the Highest.â Highest One, Messiah, save us.
Riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, thatâs exactly what Jesus intended to do there.
 Scripture tells us that it was a young, unbroken donkey, as we talked about in our childrenâs message.
Jesus told His disciples: "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.â
As we said, that was likely a pretty rough and bucky ride, not the smooth ride often portrayed in movies about Jesus.
Why an unbroken young donkey? Â For one thing a young donkey was prophesied in our Old Testament: 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 colt, the foal of a donkey.
Knowing this prophecy, when the people saw Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a young donkey, they greeted him as their Messiah King who would save them from Roman rule. They threw down their cloaks and palm branches as a sort of royal carpet for him to ride over. Soon, though, He would walk the road to Calvary, carrying his heavy cross.
Little did the people know that Jesus intended to save them from a tyranny far worse than Roman rule and taxation; He would save them, and us, from the cruel, tyrannical prison of eternal death.Â
Secondly, Jesus rode a donkey rather than a war horse as a sign of humility; that he would suffer and die for the people who were praising Him, and for all who praise him today, and for all people everywhere; that people everywhere might believe and be saved from the prison of their sins.
Thirdly, an unused animal was considered as symbolically pure for religious rituals, but as we said, probably wasnât easy to ride.
As Jesus rode an unbroken donkey, so he would âtameâ, if you will, mankindâs greatest enemies: sin, death and the devil; he would break their ability to ruin us permanently, as the devil always wants to do to us. Â
Because of Jesusâ suffering and dying in our place, the devilâs harm toward us is only temporary; his evil impact on us is limited, when Christ is our refuge.
While our sin and the devilâs evil power can make this world like a prison in many ways, Jesus came to set us free from even the worst of these.
There are all kinds of prisons in this fallen world: there are prisons of grief, prisons of guilt, prisons of addiction, prisons of depression, prisons of anxiety, prisons of illness, prisons of suffering, prisons of loneliness, prisons of regret, prisons of worry, prisons of revenge, prisons of hate, prisons of sin, and prisons of unbelief.  Â
Jesus would help us out of all these prisons; he would set us free by His complete forgiveness won on the cross, by His unconditional love for His dear children, and with a sure and certain hope for us to live by.
And that takes us back to our sermon title, Prisoners of Hope. And to that we might add, Prisoners of Joy. Ultimately Christ will set us free by raising us in glory for eternal joy.
For now we have hope to live by as we face all these troubles. We have hope because we know Jesus has already overcome them by His courageous death, and glorious resurrection. Â
We even dare to rejoice in the face of trouble, because we know earthly trouble is not our final destiny; peace and joy are what weâre eternally destined for.
Even when things seem to be at their worst, we still have hope, because we know we have a God who is always at his best.
Jesus didnât look very impressive riding into Jerusalem on that unbroken donkey. Later that week He looked at his worst, as He was being flogged, and then crucified.
Although Jesus looked entirely broken and defeated, he was, in fact, winning the victory for us; winning freedom from the prison of sin and death, and all the prisons we struggle with in this world.
Although He looked at His worst, from another perspective, Jesus was at His best on the cross, because thatâs when he showed  the full extent of His love for the world; love at itsâ best, and courage at itsâ best; the very Son of God, God Himself submitting and suffering for us. Or as our Epistles says, taking on the form of a servant, and lowering himself to death, even death on a cross.
On the cross Jesus endured the greatest prison of all; the complete punishment for sin, and the full torment of Hell. Then He was buried in the prison of the tomb. But no prison could contain Him; He broke free from death, and rose to glorious life. Now He lives to set us free from the sin and trouble that would imprison us.
So on this Palm and Passion Sunday, and throughout this Passion Week, and throughout life, remember that no matter what prison it might feel like youâre in, Jesus can set your spirit free. That means you can face your troubles with hope, and even with joy.
No matter how great your troubles may seem, never despair. Always have hope. Your troubles wonât last forever, but your life with Christ will. There will come a day for Godâs children when all suffering ends, and joy reigns forever.
Until then live by hope with joy, and the peace of God, which passes understanding, will guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus, our crucified and risen Lord. Amen.