A. Have you ever known anyone who told you that something was going to happen, and it did?
1. What if this morning while we were sitting around the table in the fellowship hall drinking coffee and eating donuts, Mark Thomas emphatically told us that the Indianapolis Colts is going to WIN the
Super Bowl this year. What would you think?
COMMENT:
You may first ask if he is on MEDICATION. And then you’d would probably remind him of
last season.
But what if the Colts play really well, and they get in the PLAYOFFS? And then they win the AFC championship? And on February 5, 2017 they face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in
Super Bowl 51 in Houston, Texas?
What would you think then? You’d probably call up Mark and ask what the SCORE will be.
2. As impressive as that would be for Mark to PICK the WINNER of the SUPER BOWL even before the season began, I’m pretty sure that it has happened before. We call it a “LUCKY GUESS.”
3. But what would you call it if someone was able to predict not 1 or 2 or 3 but 29 different events that came to pass some 500 years in the future? I call that “DIVINE PROPHECY.”
B. That is exactly what the Prophet Zechariah did.
1. Throughout these 14 chapters, Zechariah presents at least 29 Messianic Prophecies that found their
fulfilment in the person of Jesus Christ some 500 years in the future. We will look at several today.
2. Zechariah was written around 520-516 BC.
a. He was a contemporary with the prophet Haggai (that we studied last week).
COMMENT:
Zechariah’s prophecy began just two months after Haggai made his APPEAL to the people to
begin RECONSTRUCTION of the TEMPLE. He was sent by God to help Haggai to SPUR on the
people to ACTION.
b. Zechariah’s approach in presenting God’s message is different from the other prophets before him.
COMMENT:
With striking SYMBOLS and VISIONS, he REVEALS to the people the PRESENCE of God to STRENGTHEN their RESOLVE to stay on TASK in COMPLETING “God’s House.”
3. Zechariah’s name means: “WHOM THE LORD REMEMBERS.”
C. Zechariah is the most difficult to study and understand of all the MINOR PROPHETS.
1. It is heavily lined with APOCALYPTIC LANGUAGE (symbols, visions, revelations).
2. Zechariah paints vivid PICTURES of the coming Messiah (Jesus Christ) and the spiritual kingdom that
He will establish.
COMMENT:
Many believe that Zechariah’s prophecy foretells Christ’s rule of an EARTHLY kingdom that is yet to be ESTABLISHED, and will rule for a THOUSAND years. I believe that Zechariah is referring to Christ’s SPIRITUAL KINGDOM—the CHURCH—in which you and I are PART OF today.
MESSAGE:
I. THE CHOSEN PEOPLE AND THE TEMPLE- chapters 1-8
A. As with all the PROPHETS before Him, God wants Zechariah to remind the people of how He demands
REPENTANCE and OBEDIENCE- 1:1-6.
1. One month had PASSED since the people began RECONSTRUCTION of the TEMPLE.
a. As we noted last week in our study of Haggai, the WORK and ZEAL of the people began to
SLACK OFF.
b. Knowing that God COMMANDED the rebuilding of the TEMPLE, the prophet reminds the people of how “God was angry with their forefathers because they refused to OBEY Him. And He punished them for their DISOBEDIENCE and sent them off into CAPTIVITY”-
Zechariah 1:2-6.
2. What God wanted ACCOMPLISHED through the sending of Babylon to take the people CAPTIVE
was achieved- Zechariah 1:6b (READ)
COMMENT:
Finally, their FOREFATHERS looked deeply into their HEARTS and SOULS and realized how far they had FALLEN, and REPENTED of their WICKEDNESS and IDOLATRY, and even
said, “The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve…”
3. Zechariah is urging the people not to follow the same path their FOREFATHERS did, but to REPENT of their COMPLACENCY and RELIGIOUS INDIFFERENCE and zealously SERVE the Lord.
B. Exactly five months after the work on the “House of God” had begun and two months after Haggai’s last speech, Zechariah saw eight VISIONS in one night that foretells the RESTORATION of Jerusalem
and the establishment of Christ’s kingdom—the church- 1:7-6:8.
1. “THE FOUR HORSEMEN”- 1:7-17
a. Zechariah saw FOUR HOREMEN riding different colored horses: “red, brown, and white.”
COMMENT:
Some suggest that these signify WAR, FAMINE, and VICTORY, but the Scripture doesn’t say. Nor are they the same FOUR HORSEMEN revealed in Revelation 6. Those horsemen were
sent by Satan, these horsemen report to the Angel of the Lord.
b. The horsemen say to the Angel of the Lord, “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace”- v. 11b.
c. This report concerned the Angel of the Lord who speaks on behalf of God’s people when he
asked, “Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem...?- v. 12
COMMENT:
God’s people didn’t want to hear that all the NATIONS were at PEACE and everything was “HUNKY-DORY” (Is that a word? In Oklahoma that means “everything is perfect.”) God promised Haggai that “He would shake up the nations,” but the Jews weren’t seeing it. They are
wondering “why the whole world is at PEACE while they are DISTRESSED.”
d. The Lord assured them that He was for His people: “I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion,
but I am very angry with the nations…”- 1:15
COMMENT:
The FOUR HORSEMEN signified that God’s eyes were on the WICKED in every direction throughout the WORLD, and He will REVENGE His CHOSEN.
2. “THE FOUR HORNS AND FOUR CRAFTSMEN”- 1:18-21
a. The first part of this VISION Zechariah saw “FOUR HORNS.”
COMMENT:
“HORNS” symbolize POWER and STRENGTH. Daniel used this imagery to represent
“fullness of power” in Daniel 7:7-8 and “kings exerting power” in Daniel 7:24.
The Angel of the Lord tells Zechariah that these “HORNS have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem”- v. 19. (The HORNS represent the combined FORCES of all the NATIONS
ATTACKED God’s people.)
Regardless of how POWERFUL these nations are, God is about to “DE-HORN” these
nations.
b. In the second part of the VISION, God will send “FOUR CRAFTMEN” to throw down the
HORNS of the NATIONS- v. 21.
COMMENT:
These are the AGENTS of DESTRUCTION sent against the ENEMIES of God’s people. History reveals that God completely destroyed ASSYRIA and BABYLON and their ALLIES for the excessive CRUELTY shown against Israel and Judah.
3. “THE MEASURING LINE”- 2:1-5
a. Zechariah saw a man with a MEASURING LINE marking off the BOUNDARKY of the city of
Jerusalem.
b. But then an angel interpreting the vision said, “Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls.”
Then God affirms, “I will be the wall of fire around it, and be its glory within.”
COMMENT:
This was God’s way of saying that Jerusalem did not need a PHYSICAL WALL of
PROTECTION, for He will be their PROTECTOR.
Now keep in mind that Jerusalem did have a WALL—a MASSIVE WALL to PROTECT the
city. The book of Nehemiah is all about re-building the WALL around Jerusalem after the EXILE.
This is not a vision about the PHYSICAL city of Jerusalem, but about the SPIRITUAL Jerusalem—the church of Jesus Christ. The Hebrew writer refers to the church as “Mount Zion,
the Heavenly Jerusalem, and the city of the LIVING God”- Hebrews 12:22-23.
c. God is the WALL of PROTECTION around the CHURCH, and no one will be able to
DESTROY it.
-Matthew 16:18- “Jesus told Peter that… upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades (Hell) will not overcome it.” (No GOVERNMENT can stop the church!)
4. “THE CLEANSING OF JOSHUA, THE HIGH PRIEST”- chapter 3
a. Joshua is seen standing before the Angel of the Lord along with Satan ACCUSING him of
SIN- 3:1-7
COMMENT:
In Satan’s ACCUSATION of Joshua, he is accusing the entire NATION of SIN. Undoubtedly, Satan’s ACCUSATIONS were JUSTIFIED. The entire PRIESTHOOD and
NATION were guilty of SIN.
However, Satan underestimated the GRACE and MERCY of God, and God REBUKES Satan. Joshua is asked to remove his FILTHY GARMENTS and is given FESTAL GARMENTS to wear. This is symbolic of the CLEANSING of SIN.
b. Joshua the High Priest is represents God’s servant “the Branch” that is to come- 3:6-10
COMMENT:
This, of course, is referring to “Jesus Christ who is the Great High Priest”- Hebrews 4:14ff. It is through Jesus that we have READY ACCESS to God, and through whom we find FOGIVENESS of our SINS.
5. “THE LAMP AND THE OLIVE TREES”- chapter 4
a. Zechariah saw a “GOLDEN LAMPSTAND with seven lamps between two OLIVE TREES.”
COMMENT:
The prophet is told by an ANGEL that these represent “the Word of God to Zerubbabel the
governor saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.”- v. 6.
Although Zerubbabel was in charge of the REBUILDING of the TEMPLE, it was not going to be completed by human STRENGTH and FORCE, but the POWER of God.
b. The LAMPSTAND represents the inexhaustible source of God supplying strength to the OLIVE
TREES that represents Joshua the High Priest and Zerubbabel the Governor.
COMMENT:
These two offices that encompass RELIGIOUS and CIVIL POWERS would be combined in God’s ANOINTED Jesus Christ—the PRIESTLY KING.
6. “THE FLYING SCROLL”- 5:1-4
COMMENT:
Zechariah saw a SCROLL flying that is 30 feet long and 15 feet wide. Written on each side of the SCROLL were CURSES against those who STOLE and SWORE FALSELY, offences committed against both MAN and God. These specific SINS contributed to the DOWNFALL of both Israel and Judah, and God will no longer tolerate such WICKEDNESS in the land.
7. “THE WOMAN IN A MEASURING BASKET”- 5:5-11
COMMENT:
Zechariah saw a measuring basket with a LEAD COVER on it. When the angel lifted the cover and a woman who represented WICKEDNESS sat in the BASKET, and the angel quickly closed the BASKET. And then two women with WINGS came and carried the BASKET off to Babylonia. Once again, if WICKEDNESS raises its UGLY HEAD in Israel, God will remove it from the LAND.
8. “THE FOUR CHARIOTS”- 6:1-8
a. Zechariah saw FOUR CHARIOTS drawn by different colored horses: RED, BLACK, WHITE,
and DAPPLED (multi-colored spotted horse)
COMMENT:
The chariot drawn by the BLACK horses go into the NORTH with the WHITE following. (The NIV incorrectly translates the white horses going West. The Hebrew actually says,
“after them.”) The chariot with the DAPPLED horses go into SOUTH. The ENEMIES of God’s people either came from the NORTH or the SOUTH.
b. The prophet is told that the “Chariots, which are vehicles for BATTLE, represent the four
spirits of heaven, sent out into the world by God”- v. 5
COMMENT:
I believe these were God’s administrative forces sent to inflict punishment on God’s enemies.
II. THE MESSIAH AND HIS KINGDOM- chapters 9-14
A. This section of Zechariah’s writings is saturated with prophecies about the coming Christ 500 years in
the future.
1. “Christ’s triumphal entry on a colt”- 9:9 (READ)
a. This event is recorded in Matthew 21, Mark 11, and Luke 19- “Christ’s triumphal entry into
Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, 5 days before His crucifixion.”
COMMENT:
Jesus rode in on a COLT of a donkey, and the people laid their GARMENTS and PALM
BRANCHES on the road, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David…”
b. Jesus is the King of kings, but He rules with GENTLESS and HUMILITY.
2. “Christ, the GOOD SHEPHERD”- 9:16, 11:4-11
a. In chapter 11 Zechariah describes the coming “Messiah as being a SHEPHERD caring for the
SHEEP that are OPPRESSED and SHUNNED and awaiting to be SLAUGHTERED.”
COMMENT:
This is an unusual DESCRIPTION of the Messiah. To the Jews the Messiah is ROYALTY, one who will REIGN over the nation of Israel and DEFEAT its ENEMIES. He certainly won’t be
a SHEEPHERDER . . . . . . not a lowly SMELLY SHEPHERD.
b. Jesus described Himself as the “GOOD SHEPHERD”- John 10:1-18.
COMMENT:
A shepherd who LOVED His SHEEP and they LOVED Him. A shepherd who would GIVE
His LIFE for His SHEEP, unlike a HIRELING who would RUN at the slightest hint of DANGER.
3. “Christ is the SMITTEN SHEPHERD”- 13:7
a. Jesus quotes Zechariah on the night He is ARRESTED as He tells the disciples that they are going to FALL AWAY on account of Him.
b. Jesus said, “It is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be
scattered.’”- Matthew 26:31 (quoting from Zechariah 13:7).
COMMENT:
We already saw, as the GOOD SHEPHERD, He is willing to SACRIFICE His LIFE for His SHEEP.
4. “Christ BETRAYED for 30 pieces of SILVER”- 11:12-13 (READ) (two-fold prophecy)
a. We know how “Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver”- Matthew 26:14-15.
b. However, this prophecy takes it further than that, as recorded in Matthew 27.
COMMENT:
Judas, recognizing that he had BETRAYED innocent blood, tried to RETURN the money to the Chief Priests and Elders. They refused to take the money back, so Judas threw the money into the temple—“the House of the Lord”—and went out and HUNG himself.
“The Chief Priests took the money and bought a POTTER’S FIELD as a BURIAL PLACE
for STRANGERS”- Matthew 27:7.
5. “Christ’s hands and feet PIERCED”- 12:10 (READ)
a. Zechariah is describing CRUCIFIXION, a method of execution that was not used for another
200 years, and rarely so then until the Romans perfected it another 200 years later.
b. Jesus- “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth (on the cross), will draw all men to myself”-
John 12:32.
6. “Christ will come in JUDGMENT upon Israel”- chapter 14
a. For thousands of years the Jews had been looking and waiting for the Messiah to come.
b. All the PROPHESIES had pointed to Jesus as being the Messiah (Christ) that was promised by
God, but He was REJECTED and CRUCIFIED.
c. Because of Israel’s REJECTION of Jesus as the Christ, Jesus told them that they would be
destroyed- Luke 19:41-44 (READ and COMMENT)
COMMENT:
Zechariah 14 describes that very DESTRUCTION of Jerusalem that occurred in 70 AD.
Jesus also describes that same DESTRUCITON in Matthew 24 warning His disciples as to what SIGNS to look for as the SIEGE upon the CITY begins.
Just 40 years later Jerusalem was completely DESTROYED by the Roman Empire, all because they refused to accept Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But according to historians of the time, when Jerusalem fell not a single Christian died because they took heed to Jesus’ warnings as recorded in Matthew 24.
CONCLUSION:
A. The book of Zechariah speaks of COMFORT, PEACE, VICTORY, and SALVATION through Jesus the
Messiah.
1. God’s chosen people will no longer be the Jews only, but all those who BELIEVE in and FOLLOW the
Messiah—Jesus Christ.
2. The FOLLOWERS of Christ from every NATION, will ultimately be VICTORIOUS and LIVE in everlasting PEACE.
