In a letter from John Calvin to five young Frenchmen about to be martyred in 1553 for carrying the gospel to France, Calvin wrote: Since it pleases Him to employ you to the death in maintaining His quarrel. He will strengthen your hands in the fight and will not suffer a single drop of your blood to be shed in vain (Piper, Afflictions of Christ, 8).
In the NT, Zechariah is quoted 11 times and alluded to 64 times with most references in the Gospels or Revelation (Webb, 48). The passion narratives of the Gospels quote from Zachariah 9-14 more than any other portion of the OT. Especially important to the proclamation of the early church are 9:9-10 (Mt. 21:4-5; Jn 12:14-15); 11:12-13 (Mt. 27:9-10); 12:10 (Rev. 1:7), and 13:7-9 (Mt 26:31; Mk 14:37). (McComiskey, 1003-4)
These references reveal the heart of Zechariah’s prophecy, and how Jesus and NT writers understood it. They understood that the KOG would come only through the atoning death of Messiah. Only in this way could people be cleansed from their sins and enter the KOG. The gospel of restoration was to extend to all the nations who would, ultimately, come and worship Jesus as King in the New Jerusalem. (Webb, 49)
Chapters 9-14 are divided into 2 sections by the word “oracle” in 9:1 and 12:1. “Oracle” is sometime translated “burden.” Zechariah has two weighty messages to deliver to the people. Presumably, the temple is complete. Again the people’s attention must be directed to the KOG to which the temple points.
As we saw last week, the building of the temple raised questions. In chapters 7-8 a question emerged: What changes could be expected? Or we could ask the question like this: How are we to live in the restoration? In chapters 9-14 the question could be: What will happen after the temple is complete? What shape will the future take? Will the Kingdom fully come with the completion of the temple?
Zechariah’s answer is that the KOG will come. God will manifest His rule over the whole world, but the Kingdom will not come without suffering and conflict. As Calvin said to those young Frenchmen who were about experience martyrdom, God calls us to take up His quarrel with the nations in the present age. At the end of the first missionary journey, Paul and company returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:21-22 ESV)
At this point in Zechariah the question is begged: If restoration is going to come, what is the basis of it? What about sin? How is God going to deal with Sin? If the sacrificial system would have taken away sin, exile would never have come about. We have a high priest who was cleansed without a sacrifice (3:4). How could God do that? What is the basis of it?
Also, we have the question of a Davidic King. We have a Levitical priest in Joshua, but we don’t have a king? Zerubbabel, the governor, was in the Davidic line, but he was not a king. He did oversee rebuilding the temple, but his line of leadership soon ended. Zechariah seemed to bypass Zerubbabel for a character called the Branch, who would be the Lord’s servant (3:8), build His temple, and rule from the throne (6:12-13). Jeremiah spoke of this character: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. (Jeremiah 23:5 ESV)
You can’t have a kingdom without a king. In Zechariah, there is no king. One is anticipated. He is described as God, and He is described as a man. The OT as well as the NT recognized that a temple could not contain God, yet the Kingdom of God will be established on the earth. God can’t be seen, yet He will sit on the throne of the world. God can’t die, yet he will die for the sins of His people. After His death, He will reign. How can these difficulties be settled? Only One man in history resolves all of these issues. He is the LJC of the NT, and He is who I want to preach to you today. In Christ, all the OT promises of God are fulfilled.
Zechariah presents us with the restoration of the KOG through suffering. The basic movement of chapters 9-14 is from war to worship. How will God establish His Kingdom?
The one piece missing in Zechariah is a king. We have a city, a temple, and a priest but no king. How can restoration move forward? Restoration will come through the coming of a Divine Shepherd-King. Chapter 9 focuses on the coming king, and what that means for Jerusalem.
Verses 8-10 contain one of the best known passages of the Bible. In this text, God comes to temple (8). He comes in humility bringing righteousness and salvation and riding on a donkey (9). The King comes to Zion (the KOG on earth) in peace. He speaks peace to the nations (10).
Matthew takes up this text in relating the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (Mt. 21:5). When the gospel writers take up an OT text like this, they are signaling us to look to the entire passage for instruction. The coming of Jesus was the coming of God to fulfill Israel and proclaim peace through establishing a new covenant in His blood. Everybody knew what His riding into town on a donkey meant (Mt. 21:10). He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and went straight to the temple and treated it like He owned it. The temple was His throne (Mt 21:12 ff. cf. Ze 9:8-9). The fulfillment of Israel was standing there in the temple!
Jesus came riding into town in a manner which claimed to be the fulfillment of Zechariah 9-14, and they killed Him for it. He lived out this text. Jesus brought the ends of the ages into the world. The Kingdom of God was standing in the temple, and He came to preach peace.
Verse 11 is a most interesting text. Based on the “blood of His covenant,” He calls the exiles into restoration. His gospel of peace in verses 10 and 13 not only unites the divided kingdom but also extends to the nations creating one new people of God. Verses 1-8 speak of Israel’s traditional enemies. Yet, out of those, God calls a remnant into the restoration to be His people (7). The Jebusites were the original occupiers of Jerusalem whom David defeated and then incorporated into the people of God (2 Sam 24:18; 1Kg 9:20-21). The Lord will reign over and care for His restored community (14-17).
The church is the restored community called out of exile. It was established from the remnant of Israel represented first in Christ, then the 12 Apostles, then the exiles at the Feast of Pentecost in Acts 2, and now extended throughout the nations. The history of the church is the extension of the rule of God to the ends of the earth, reaching its fulfillment in the return of Christ.
In this text, the Shepherd-king humbled Himself for the suffering that would secure our redemption—suffering necessary for the restoration of sinners. He has called the church to walk the Calvary road in the world. If He suffered to secure restoration, we will suffer in the ministry of restoration. God calls you to suffering in the advance of His Kingdom. Suffering is part of kingdom experience in this present age. To be sure, some advance the gospel through martyrdom. God, also, advances His Kingdom in us through the ebb and flow of life—vitality, health, sickness, grief, despair, and hope. All of these impact faith and witness.
Be careful how you judge people in crisis (or any other time). You don’t know if you haven’t been there. God is working in them. Don’t judge His work. Don’t worry, you will get there soon enough. I promise you, God will judge every proud thought.
The Divine King, who came preaching peace in chapter 10 and calling His people out of exile, is the Divine Shepherd-king of chapters 10-11 who is rejected by the flock. Zechariah is addressing leadership issues that were already present in his own day and impact every age. This text is shockingly strange. On the one hand, we have sheep who reject the shepherd. On the other hand, we have shepherds who destroy the sheep.
The Shepherd imagery of Zechariah was picked up by John in His gospel.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. (John 10:11-16 ESV)
Do these chapters in Zechariah portend the rejection of Christ by Israel? Yes. The rejection of Christ is much broader than Israel, however. The early church, threatened with persecution, prayed Psalm 2 and applied it like this: For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place (Acts 4:27-28 ESV). The nations gathered against Christ for battle.
You can see His compassion for His wandering, afflicted sheep (2b, 3b). This is echoed in Jesus’s words in Matthew 9. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36 ESV)
Because the Lord cared for His flock, He would raise up a leader (cornerstone, tent peg, battle bow v4) from the house of Judah (10:3-4) who would call His people out of exile (6-12). Beginning in verse 6, the text is in first person. The Divine Shepherd will call has people out of exile. He was angry with the false shepherds who scattered the flock (10:3a) and would judge them (10:3a; 11:3, 17).
In 11:4-14 Zechariah is told to play the part of a good shepherd of a flock that is “doomed to destruction” (4, 7). The shepherd had 2 staffs. One named Favor and the other Union. The flock detested the shepherd (8). The shepherd became impatient and quit. He broke his staff Favor symbolizing the annulling of the covenant. The shepherd said they could pay him or not. They paid him 30 pieces of silver, which he was instructed to take to the temple and throw to the potter. He broke his staff Union symbolizing the end of any hopes for a united kingdom under the Old Covenant. The KOG would not fully come under the Old Covenant. When Jesus claimed to be the Good Shepherd calling His sheep from exile, John said, There was again division among the Jews because of these words (Jn 10:19).
Matthew quotes this text, along with Jeremiah 19, in reference to the betrayal of Jesus (Mt 27:3-10). Matthew’s quoting of this text calls on us to consider the scope of Zechariah 10-11. There is no comparison to Judas and the good shepherd of Zechariah 11. Like Zechariah, Matthew is showing that Israel’s rejection of the Good Shepherd is the annulling of the covenant and the sure judgment of God. Because the Old Covenant was fulfilled in Christ, their rejection of Christ took them outside of any covenant relationship to God. To be in covenant with God requires embracing Christ through faith.
In a second sign-act, the prophet plays the role of a “foolish shepherd” (15-17). History is clear on the result of Israel’s rejection of Jesus. God gave them over to “worthless shepherds” (17). They followed bad shepherds who led them to their destruction by the Romans (68-70 AD).
This text tells us something about being shepherds and sheep. The idea of a shepherd has been domesticated to fit within our own construct of leadership. Shepherds are gentle and caring, but at the same time, they are rugged and ready at any moment to defend the sheep at their own harm. How is it that leadership becomes corrupt? When the aim becomes power, influence, prestige, and advancement, leadership becomes corrupt. This is true of leadership in every sphere—church, home, business, and government. As leaders go, so go those led.
What of the sheep? In this text, the sheep had such poor leadership that they couldn’t recognize good leadership when it looked them in the face. They lost any objective standard by which to measure good leadership. Good leadership becomes leadership that I like. They judged all leadership based on the model they had. At one level the sheep are victims, but at another level they had become impossible to lead.
If you want to find a statesman, where do you look? If you want to find a man who leads his home and a wife who submits, where do you look? The reason that people have such a hard time understanding the headship of the husband and the submission of the wife is for lack of models. If you want to find a pastor, where do you look? Pastors are not executives. They are preachers of the Word of God calling sinners out of exile.
Pastors are not entertainers and fashion models. No one wants to be boring, but pastors are called to preach the Bible, even parts of it that are difficult. Sheep like it. It shapes a church. Many churches don’t know that they are not hearing Word, and many pastors don’t know that they are not preaching the Word. The danger of poor leadership is that we soon forget what good leadership is.
If in chapter 11 we saw the Old Covenant annulled, in chapter 12-14, we see the New Covenant established. The New Covenant is all about restoration of the KOG. Chapters 12-14 make up the second “oracle” of the final section of Zechariah. The phrase “on that day” is repeated 16 times and sets the tone of this section. On view are the events that will usher in the end of history and establish the KOG. “On that day” is a process that Jesus ushered in.
Chapter 12 begins with “all nations” (12:3) gathered for war, and chapter 14 ends with “all nations” (14:16) gathered for worship. This section shows the ultimate triumph of the Gospel in calling the nations to faith. The KOG comprehends the whole world.
Chapter 12 opens with a battle scene (12:1-9). In the Persian period, the nation of Israel was reduced to a small province with Jerusalem at its center. It was surrounded by a hostile world. Zechariah uses apocalyptic language to assure his readers of the ultimate triumph of the KOG. God would battle the hostile nations, fight for His people, and manifest Himself as King of the world. Though the nations gather to overwhelm God and His people, the KOG will prevail.
Zechariah 12:10-14 shows us the necessary place of suffering in establishing the KOG. The pouring out of the “Spirit of grace and pleas for mercy” is related to one who is pierced. The picture is one of a victorious army that is brought to grief by the realization that their supreme commander has been killed in battle, and they are the ones who killed him.
The one who is pierced is God Himself. How could God be pierced? The piercing is a mystery, and so is God’s grace to those who did it. The “Spirit of grace and mercy” enable them to see how sorely they have sinned against Him. The Spirit of grace falls on the whole community (11-14)—the land, the royals, and the priests. Each owns the sin as his own. In the last days when the Spirit is poured out, this is what He produces—deep conviction of sin because of Jesus’s death for our sins.
John quotes this text in Rev 1:7, expanding it to include the nations who wail because of the sight of Him whom they have pierced. In every age, the nations have been hostile to the KOG. The first attack was that slimy serpent in Eden. This cosmic battle, energized by serpent and supervised by God, continued until the Jews, Herod, Pilate, and the gentile nations gathered to fight the battle of the ages. They crucified the Son of God. In His death, He crushed the serpent’s head. In His resurrection, He is exalted to the highest place, and He will establish His Kingdom.
The disciples asked the resurrected Christ if He was going to the restore the Kingdom to Israel? Jesus’s answer is that the Spirit will be given to the Church for the global advance of the KOG. The nations will be brought to the obedience of faith as the church, the new Israel, preaches repentance and the forgiveness of sin in the Name of the Son of God empowered by the Holy Spirit.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood in the power of the Holy Spirit and confronted the gathered nations with their sin of crucifying the Son of God. At the hearing of the piercing of the Son, the cried out, “What shall the do?” The “Spirit of grace and pleas for mercy” was poured on them giving them repentance.
13:1-6 shows us that on the day of the piercing, a fountain was opened to cleanse us of sin. No sin is too heinous, no stain too deep for this fountain to cleanse. The only requirement is that God Himself pours out the Spirit of grace and pleas for mercy bringing repentance. Repentance is of no value unless there is a fountain to take away sin.
The fountain that cleanses the people in verse 1, cleanses the land in verses 2-6. The Spirit of grace works repentance. The spirit of uncleanness works idolatry through the preaching of false prophets. Parents are commanded to stab (a play of piercing) their sons who are false prophets. This shocking command for the law (Deut 13:6-11) is a reminder of the extreme evil of false prophecy. There are no OT examples of this command being carried out.
13:7-9. If a parent stabbing his own child is shocking, God himself decrees the smiting the Good-Shepherd. God fully implemented Deut 13 in His Son. The Good Shepherd died as the most heinous offender of God’s law, and God Himself was the executioner.
Almost as shocking is God turning His hand against His sheep. Two-thirds perish. The final third is purified. The battle is not won without great cost. A New Covenant is established and propagated in blood. (9)
Jesus’s coming brought the covenant relationship between God and Israel to a crisis point. Jesus inaugurated a new Israel in a New Covenant in His blood in which participation calls for repentance and faith in Him. Did the disciples understand this? Yes, it’s the message of the NT
In chapters 12-13, the Divine Shepherd-king comes to atone for sin. In chapter 14, He comes to judge the world and reign in glory. In both texts, the nations are gathered against Jerusalem because God gathers them there (14:2). The Lord goes out to fight for His people. His standing on the Mount of Olives splits the mountain (3-4). His people escape to return with Him (5b).
The old creation gives way to the new (6-7). The gospel has triumphed. All things belong to His people and the nations who survive gather to worship (16). Any nation that does not go to worship will be punished. We could say that like this—Any nation that does not bow to the Son in the affection of faith and the grief of repentance will not enter His Kingdom.
How does the great harvest of all the nations come about? What do we make of these texts? We have to be careful about interpreting apocalyptic literature as if it is simple prophetic prose without symbolism. It is difficult to conceive of the KOG coming in its fullness with nations forcibly subjugated to conduct pilgrimages or be judged. Only one plan of salvation has ever been or will ever be, and that is the gospel of Son of God who loved the Church and gave Himself for it.
The nations are as hostile today as they have ever been. This battle will continue until Christ returns in great power and glory to establish His eternal Kingdom by His Word.
This is a battle that requires suffering. They persecuted the early church, and they continue today. They attack at every level. They will even write New New Testaments. They will devote their lives to discredit the one we have. The devise philosophies and make high sounding arguments as they bow to the idol of reason.
Our task as a church is not to be intimidated, but merely to preach the gospel. We are to preach it to the Jew, Greek, slave, free, Kings and rulers of this world, poor, people of every nation, wise, fools, and anybody else we can find. From among them, God will gather a harvest.
As we come to the Lord’s Table, we are of that good harvest.