Zechariah 7-14

1. The Messiah would come, only to be rejected (chs 9-11). After announcing the destruction of nations and preservation of Israel (9.1-8), the prophet said: “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” (9.9; cf. Mt 21.5; Jn 12.15). His coming would bring deliverance, peace, and blessing (9.11-10.1). The LORD would exalt Israel over her enemies to the degree that He could say: “they will be as though I had never rejected them” (10.6). Though Zechariah announced Israel’s complete restoration to the land (10.8-12), He also foretold of the day when the appointed shepherd/king would be rejected (11.1-17). The LORD’s appointed shepherd cared for the flock with the staffs of Union and Favor, but the people rejected his rule—as evidenced by the fact that they rendered only 30 pieces of silver for his work (11.12-13; cf. Mt 26.14-15; 27.3-10)
2. The Messiah would come—and be accepted (chs 12-14)! Zechariah saw a day of great struggle—and deliverance (12.1-9). Though Jerusalem and Judah would be threatened, the LORD would protect His people and His land—not only from nations that would come on the offensive, but also from sin (12.10-13.9). The prophet spoke the word of the LORD: “On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem to wash away sin and impurity…I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land” (13.1-2). When the people were refined by their LORD, then they would be called His people, and He their God (13.7-9). Though the final battle against Jerusalem would be devastating, it would culminate with the revelation of a new kind of light, living water, the reign of Yahweh alone, destruction of those who oppose the LORD and His people, and a multi-national people celebrating Israel’s exodus from Egypt (ch 14)

1. The hardness of the people would lead to the abolition of the covenant God had made with them. In Zech 11.4-17 the prophet described himself as a shepherd of Israel, serving as a foil for the ungodly and wicked shepherds of the people. The wickedness of the people caused the prophet to recognize the abolition of the covenant, and the possibility of reunion between Israel and Judah; their wickedness was also evidenced when they gave Zechariah only 30 pieces of silver for his work. Their evil was manifest in the Jewish leadership of Jesus’ day, those who measured out 30 pieces of silver for Judas to betray Jesus (Mt 26.15)
2. Messiah would suffer at the hands of Israel, but the remnant would be restored upon their repentance. 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.” The apostle 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’” (Jn 19.37). John repeated this theme in the 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” (1.7).  Zechariah’s prophecy makes it clear that while Israel was culpable for the crucifixion of Jesus, God planned His death; the prophet declared the word of the LORD, “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” (13.7). Jesus took up Zechariah’s prophecy and applied it to the situation of He and the disciples on the eve of His crucifixion; after eating the Passover meal with them Jesus said, “Tonight all of you will run away because of Me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been resurrected, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” (Mt 26.31-32; cf Mk 14.27-28)
3. The blood of the covenant would be the means of redemption. In Zech 9.9-17 the prophet foretold of the coming of the king of Jerusalem. The release of Jerusalem’s prisoners was not just due to the arrival of their king, but also because the city enjoyed a covenant of blood with the LORD (v. 11). The themes of Jerusalem’s king and a covenant of blood come together in the person of Jesus Christ, who told His disciples on the night of His final Passover celebration, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood; it is shed for you” (Lk 22.20). Likewise, the author to the Hebrews wrote, “he entered the holy of holies once for all, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption” (Heb 9.12)
4. Zion’s king would come in victory. Some of the more famous lines of Zechariah are found in 9.9, where the prophet exhorted his listeners: “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.” In 14.4 Zechariah prophesied, “On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east.” The Gospel writers saw in these lines witnesses to the situation of Jesus Christ; Matthew noted that when Jesus approached Jerusalem for the final time, from the Mount of Olives He sent two disciples ahead to secure a donkey for His arrival into the city, saying, “This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: ‘Tell Daughter Zion, ‘See, your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden’” (21.5; cf. Jn 12.15). Jesus’ first coming inaugurated His Kingdom and began the Lord’s battle against the nations—which Zechariah prophesied, saying: “Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations as He fights on a day of battle” (14.3), a battle that will be completed at His second coming (cf. Rev 19.11-21)
5. In Messiah’s day a remnant of Israel and the nations would return to Jerusalem. Zechariah prophesied concerning the exiles in the day of Messiah’s victory and reign, “I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem. They will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God” (8.8). In 14.16-17 he prophesied concerning the nations: “Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths. 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.” He said of Jerusalem, “On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea, in summer and winter alike” (14.8). The Apostle John recorded a vision of the same in Rev 21.2-3a: “I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: ‘Look! God’s dwelling is with men, and He will live with them,” and in Rev 22.1-2a: “Then he showed me the river of living water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the broad street of the city”

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