“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.” – Zechariah 9:9

The Unexpected

After coming off of a 4-12 record the previous season expectations were rather low for the St. Louis Rams entering the 1999 season. The hope that was there prior to the season took a major hit when Trent Green the starting quarterback suffered a season-ending injury. The St. Louis Rams would need to rely on an unknown, untested, and some would have argued unqualified quarterback by the name of Kurt Warner. Warner would become the leader of “The Greatest Show on Turf,” and they would finish the season with a 13-3 record, and go on to beat the Tennessee Titans to win the Super Bowl. The results were unexpected.

When Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden, God’s plan of redemption was in place and moving forward. God began preparing his people for their Messiah. Zechariah prophesied about their king that would be coming bearing righteousness and salvation. The Old Testament then ends with the book of Malachi preparing God’s people for the coming Messiah. There would then be 400 years of silence from God before John the Baptist would come preparing the way for Jesus to be born. The time had come, salvation and righteousness were here.

Jesus was born in a manger, he was a carpenter by trade, and he performed many signs and miracles. However, the people were not prepared, they did not recognize him, and they did not believe him because Jesus was not who they expected their Messiah to be like. The Apostle John, quoting the prophet Isaiah, tells us that the reason that Jesus was not recognized was that their eyes were blinded and their hearts were hardened. This did not stop Jesus. He still carried out God’s plan of redemption for his people. He still took the sins of the world upon himself. He was humble, the light of the world, and our King. Today let us rejoice greatly, and shout aloud that our Messiah has come! His love, grace, and forgiveness far exceed our expectations. It is often unexpected.

– Shane Haffey

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