Category: <span>Zechariah</span>

Zechariah preached to a discouraged audience. The returned exiles had traveled a great distance, labored in reconstructing the temple—done what they thought to be God’s will—only to experience opposition from those who had taken their place in Canaan (Ezra 4:1-5). Zechariah’s prophecies addressed the present situation of the remnant and established expectations of how God would deal with His people and the nations in the days to come. Jesus and the authors of the New Testament viewed Zechariah 7-14 within Scripture’s developing storyline, establishing precedents for God’s redemptive work in their day.

(1) In Zech 9:9, the prophet exhorted his listeners, saying, “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Matthew and John cited Zech 9:9 in reference to Jesus as He triumphantly approached Jerusalem on His way to the cross (Matt 21:5//John 12:15).

(2) In Zech 9:11, the prophet noted that the Lord would release Israel’s captives in accord with the blood of her covenant. The themes of Jerusalem’s king and a covenant of blood in Zech 9:9-11 come together in the person of Jesus Christ. On the night of His final Passover celebration, Jesus told His disciples that the cup He was sharing with them was the cup of the new covenant established in His blood (Matt 26:28//Mark 14:24//Luke 22:20). The author of Hebrews repeatedly noted that Jesus’ blood instituted the new, everlasting covenant and forgiveness of sins (Heb 1:3; 7:26-28; 8:10-12; 9:12-14, 23-28; 10:10-18; 13:20-21).

(3) In Zech 11:4-17, the prophet described himself as a shepherd of Israel. As a faithful shepherd, Zechariah served as a foil for the ungodly and wicked shepherds of Israel. Because of the wickedness of the people, Zechariah abolished his covenant with them. Israel demonstrated her wickedness when she gave Zechariah only 30 pieces of silver for his service as a spiritual shepherd. The same greed was manifested in the Jewish leadership of Jesus’ day, those who measured out 30 pieces of silver for Judas to betray Jesus (Matt 26:14-16//Mark 14:10-11//Luke 22:3-6).

(4) In Zech 12:10, the prophet said, “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at Me whom they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for Him as one weeps for a firstborn.” John noted Zechariah’s prophecy in describing the death of Christ, saying, “These things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled… ‘They will look at the One they Pierced’” (John 19:37). John repeated this theme in Revelation, saying, “Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him. And all the families of the earth will mourn over Him” (Rev 1:7).

(5) In Zech 13:7, Zechariah declared the word of the Lord, saying, “Sword, awake against My shepherd, against the man who is My associate…Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will also turn My hand against the little ones.” Jesus applied Zechariah’s prophecy to the situation of His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion. After eating the Passover meal with His disciples, Jesus told them that they would all scatter that very night when He, their shepherd, was struck (Matt 26:31//Mark 14:27).

(6) In Zech 14:3, the prophet foretold of a day when “the LORD will go out to fight against those nations as He fights on a day of battle.” Zechariah’s prophecy reinforced Israel’s expectation of a warrior-Messiah. Jesus fought against Satan in the wilderness (Matt 4:1-11//Mark 1:12-13//Luke 4:1-13), during His ministry (Matt 12:22-30//Mark 3:22-27//Luke 11:14-23), and finally defeated the Devil at the cross (Col 2:15; Heb 2:10-14; 1 John 3:8). After the Lord returns on a white horse with the armies of heaven in tow (Rev 19:11-21), Satan will be condemned to the lake of fire forever (Rev 20:10).

(7) In Zech 14:8, Zechariah declared that living water would flow from Jerusalem year-round. In Zech 14:16-17, he prophesied that the survivors from the peoples that had opposed Israel would come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, and “should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, rain will not fall on them.” In Rev 21:2-3, John saw the New Jerusalem descending from heaven and noted that God would dwell with His people there forever. In his vision of the New Jerusalem, John also saw the throne of God and of the Lamb. From the divine throne, a river of water flowed constantly, nursing the trees along its banks so that those trees would bear fruit, and their leaves would be for the healing of the nations (Rev 22:1-3).

God called Zechariah to preach to the exiles that had returned from captivity to build the temple in Jerusalem, according to the decree of Cyrus king of Persia (Ezra 1:1-5; 6:14-15). The nations that occupied Canaan in the absence of God’s people were not excited to see the Israelites return; they bullied the returned exiles and schemed against them (Ezra 4:1-5). Yet, through the ministry of the prophets, the Lord motivated His people to get to work. Zechariah’s first sermon was a call for the returned exiles to remember why they and their ancestors were overtaken by Nebuchadnezzar in the first place. It was because they would not return to the Lord of Hosts when He sent prophets to speak His word (Zech 1:1-6; 2 Kings 24-25). Zechariah’s message was that the returned should heed God’s word through the prophets if they wished to survive in the land.

The night visions recorded in Zechariah 1-6 portray elements of salvation that contribute to the storyline of Scripture.

(1) In Zech 2:6-7, the prophet foretold the gathering of the exiled people of God. Zechariah said, “‘Get up! Leave the land of the north’—the LORD’s declaration—‘for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven’—the LORD’s declaration. ‘Go, Zion! Escape, you who are living with Daughter Babylon.’” Jesus applied Zechariah’s prophecy to the return of the Son of Man in power and glory. Jesus said that when the Son of Man returns, He will gather His elect from the four winds, from the farthest distances of the earth (Matt 24:31//Mark 13:27). The prophet was concerned for the gathering of Israel from exile in Babylon and their return to the land of promise and the second temple; Jesus was concerned for the gathering of the faithful of all nations to celebrate His rule. Zechariah prophesied that many nations that would join themselves to the Lord’s people (Zech 2:10-13). James had this concept in mind at the Jerusalem council when he said that the Gentiles would see the Lord through a rebuilt Israel (Acts 15:16-18).

(2) In Zech 3:8, the prophet spoke to Joshua the high priest concerning the Lord’s servant, His Branch. The prophet took up the same theme in Zech 6:12-13, where the Lord commanded Zechariah to coronate Joshua the high priest with a golden crown. Joshua’s golden crown memorialized the temple and pointed forward to the day of the Branch, the One who would “branch out from His place and build the LORD’s temple” (Zech 6:12). Zechariah said that the Branch of the Lord would be clothed in royal splendor and rule on a throne (Zech 6:13). The prophet’s metaphor pointed forward to Jesus Christ, who would fulfill Zechariah’s promise of a king for Israel. The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that Jesus would sit on the throne of David and rule the house of Jacob forever (Luke 1:31-33). Jesus confessed to Pilate that He was a king, but not a king of this world (John 18:33-37). Jesus demonstrated His royal status by rising from the dead (Acts 2:32; 1 Cor 15:20-28; Eph 1:20-23; etc.). The author of Hebrews described Jesus’ royal status at the right hand of God (Heb 1:3; 13; 10:13) and in Revelation, John reported that he saw heavenly beings praising Jesus as king (Rev 5:9-10; 7:17; 11:15; 12:10-12, etc.).

(3) In Zech 3:1-5, the prophet described his vision of Satan’s attempt to accuse Joshua the high priest. The Angel of the Lord intervened though, telling those before Him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” (Zech 3:4a). The Angel then said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your guilt from you, and I will clothe you with splendid robes” (Zech 3:4b). The author of Hebrews notes that Jesus was a unique high priest in that Jesus defeated the Devil by offering His own blood for the forgiveness of sins once and for all (Heb 1:3; 2:10-18; 7:26-28; 9:13-14, 23-28; 10:10-12; etc.). In Revelation, John saw Satan thrown from heaven, removed from the position he used to accuse God’s people (Rev 12:10). To the Romans, Paul wrote, “Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us” (Rom 8:33-34).

(4) In Zech 5:7, the prophet recorded his vision of a measuring basket that contained the iniquity of the land. Inside the basket was a woman called “Wickedness.” In Rev 17:1, John described Babylon as a wicked harlot who deceived the nations. In Zech 6:1-8, the prophet saw sets of horses pulling four chariots sent out to patrol the earth, administering the Lord’s vengeance upon Israel’s enemies. John wrote in Rev 6:1-8 that when the first four seals were broken, horses carried the one enacting God’s judgement upon the earth.