One of the difficulties people have when they first become Christians and begin studying the Bible, is what to do with the Old Testament. In fact some people never quite work that one out. It seems so foreign doesn’t it? It’s full of stories of wars; of God’s favouritism towards the people of Israel; telling them to wipe out other nations; of religious and political leaders who keep on doing the wrong thing. And this is supposed to be the word of God! And then you come to the prophets and they’re full of dire warnings of God’s judgement, predictions of things that are to come, even promises that God will work things out in the end. If we’re not careful we come away more confused than we started. So how can we read the Old Testament, particularly today, the prophecy of Zechariah, and not end up confused?
Well, the first thing we can do is to be clear about the nature of prophecy. Prophecy is not, as one Anglican Bishop once suggested, the history of events before they happen. It’s no use picking up an OT prophecy and expecting to read in it precise predictions of things that were to come. That’s what some people expect isn’t it? A bit like the writings of Nostradamus, with explicit dates included, so we’ll get it right. No, OT prophecies don’t work like that. Listen to what Peter tells us about the prophets: (1 Pet 1:10-12 NRSV) "Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, 11inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. 12It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things into which angels long to look!" They searched for the truth of what they were writing, but couldn’t understand it until Christ came. In other words what they were writing contains clues that weren’t enough by themselves, but which were given to help us recognise events when they occur, without necessarily being explicit about the details of those events. Not clues like we had in the murder mystery night the other day, mind you, that are designed to make you ooh and ahh when the detective reveals the murderer, but clues that allow us to recognise when God is acting to fulfill his plans.
The second thing to understand when we read the OT is that the key to understanding the OT is the Lord Jesus Christ. As much as we might gain some sort of insight from the OT about the nature of the world and the nature of God, it’ll never be quite clear until we come to Jesus Christ, because the OT prophets find their fulfillment in him.
So how do we read something like Zechariah? Well, we look in it for clues that point us forward to Jesus Christ. Sure, Zechariah points us to actual events. He speaks of 30 pieces of silver, of a humble king coming, riding on a donkey, but he also gives us a theological interpretation of these events so we can recognise God at work when he acts decisively in history. What we find here in Zechariah, is the beginning of God’s promises being worked out, but more importantly, a pointer to their fulfilment.
So, for example, God says return to me and I will return to you. Well, that had begun to happen with those who had returned from exile hadn’t it? You find it described in Ezra 10. But that was just a foretaste of the great turning of people to God that came about when Christ came and the gospel began to be preached throughout the world. So when Jesus stands up in Galilee and says "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand," he’s saying, the great day that the prophets looked forward to is here.
Similarly the return from exile that’s talked about here, with people from other nations tagging along, had begun to happen already, but its fulfillment awaited the time when Christ would come and preach peace to those who were far of and those who were near; to the time of Paul, when the gospel would be preached widely among the gentiles.
The cry ’Look your king comes to you’, was true to some extent for the exiles. God was ruling in their midst. But it wasn’t until Christ came as King that it’d be fulfilled.
Similarly, without the OT we could never understand the resurrection of Christ. That’s why Paul says in 1 Cor 15: (1 Cor 15:3-4 NRSV) "For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures." You see, how would you interpret Jesus death and resurrection if you didn’t have the OT? Did it mean that people who go round telling parables aimed at the hierarchy are going to get themselves killed. Did it mean that God didn’t like people who were kind to children? Does the resurrection mean he does like people who are kind to children? Unless you have the OT you wouldn’t know, would you?
So as we come to the last few chapters of Zechariah, probably the hardest chapters to understand, we need to recognise that what we have here is a prophecy that tells us about God’s plan for salvation for his people, including the suffering and glorification of Jesus Christ who is to come.
The operative words in these 2 chapters are "On that day." They appear some 16 times in these last 3 chapters. In other words, all the events described here will occur at a time in the future when God brings his plans for his people to a conclusion. Chs 12 & 13 that we’re looking at today can be divided into 4 parts. I’ve listed them for you there in the news sheet.
They are that on that day:
1 God will deliver his People 12:1-9
2 God will bring Repentance 12:10-14
3 God will bring cleansing 13:1-6
4 God will strike his Shepherd 13:7-9
1 God will deliver his People 12:1-9
God introduces himself in 12:1, as the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the human spirit within. He’s the source of our life, and of the life of the universe the one who planned all this from the beginning, and he’s about to do something both terrible and wonderful at the same time.
The picture we’re given is of all the enemies of God gathering around Jerusalem to attack her. It’s like the description of the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC, only this time it isn’t just Babylon that’s attacking. It’s all the nations of the earth. All those who are opposed to God’s rule on earth are attacking. It seems that all God’s plans for his people are about to fail. And when that happens, what should you expect? That God will act decisively to save his people. He says Jerusalem will become a cup of reeling for their enemies. It’ll be like they’ve drunk some potent brew, and can’t stand straight any more. He’ll make Jerusalem like a heavy rock, the sort I remember finding in my backyard once, that just couldn’t be budged, and any who try to move it will end up with a hernia. They’ll try to shift it and all they’ll achieve will be to do their backs in.
And while the attacking army is blinded and terrified out of their minds, the house of Judah will be like a blazing pot in a pile of wood or a flaming torch among wheat sheaves. Have you ever seen a news report of a fire in a wood yard, with the firemen pouring on water to no effect whatever? Or of a bushfire racing through a wheat field? That’s what it will be like on that day. Just when the enemies of God think they’ve won, his people, strengthened by God, will become an unstoppable force defeating their enemies and winning a great victory.
Now we need to be clear, here, that when Zechariah speaks of Jerusalem he isn’t just talking about the city. Jerusalem here is code for God’s people, God’s choice, God’s long-term plan to make a people for himself. So what we find here is a description of how God will deliver his people, achieve his promise, establish his rule on earth, demonstrate his grace and power.
Now imagine you’re walking along the Emmaus Road on that first Easter day, feeling like all your hopes have been dashed. God’s long-awaited Kingdom hasn’t eventuated like you thought. The one you thought was the Messiah has been killed. And then, Jesus comes up to you, though you don’t recognise him, and begins to talk about the things that have just happened. He begins to remind you of the Scriptures. That is, the OT. Do you think this might be one of the passages he’d mention? He might even ask you, what should you expect when all the forces opposed to God seem to have triumphed, when God’s plan seems doomed? Even when God’s Messiah has been put to death? What you should expect if you know Zech 12, is that that’s the very moment when God will act in power. That’s when you’d expect the Messiah to be raised, when you’d expect God to achieve his purpose.
2 God will bring Repentance, 12:10-14
But it isn’t enough that God will act decisively in history, he also needs to have a people who are fitting followers of the living God. So the next thing we’re told is that God will bring repentance. Notice that this repentance doesn’t come from the people themselves. It isn’t because they realise that what they’ve done is wrong. As is always the case, it’s God who changes them. He says, "I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David." And the sign of their repentance? ’They’ll look on me, the one whom they’ve pierced, and will mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child.’ They’ll suddenly realise, perhaps for the first time, that their sins have hurt God. They’re not just moral lapses, they’re things that cause offence to the heart of God. Their mourning will be greater than the mourning for Josiah, who died in the valley of Megiddo. The people of God will suddenly realise what they’ve done and repent of it. John picks this up in his description of the crucifixion, but perhaps the greatest outworking of it, is on the day of Pentecost, when Peter confronts the crowd with what they’ve done to Jesus, and what’s their response? (Acts 2:37 NRSV) "When they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ’Brothers, what should we do?’"
So God will deliver his people, God will bring repentance and next,
3 God will bring cleansing, 13:1-6
"On that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity." The Jews were used to cleansing rites where people were sprinkled with water, but here they won’t just be sprinkled, there’ll be a great fountain sufficient to wash away the greatest sin, to make the foulest sinner clean. Along with this cleansing from sin, the land will also be cleansed: cleansed of idols and false prophets. The people themselves, even the prophets own families, will remove the false prophets as the law required, and the prophets themselves will be ashamed of their prophecies and visions. They’ll remove the outward signs of being a prophet and take up normal employment, with the result that false worship is removed from the land.
So one of the signs of the day of the Lord is a cleansing in the area of truth and understanding. The great danger for God’s people, you see, isn’t worldliness, it’s false religion. Our great danger isn’t those outside who oppose what we’re doing, but those inside, those false prophets, who would draw us away from true worship of the true and living God. Those teachers who add to the gospel, ceremonies and spiritual disciplines that Paul says "have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value in checking self-indulgence." (Col 2:23)
4 God will strike his Shepherd, 13:7-9
"’Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate,’ says the LORD." This is the Good shepherd that we read about in chs 10&11. The one who would come to rescue his sheep. Well, the last thing you’d expect would be that God would strike down his shepherd, his close associate, his right hand man, the leader that he’s appointed over his people. Yet Jesus himself quotes this verse in Mark 14 when he says (Mark 14:27 NRSV) "You will all become deserters; for it is written, ’I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’" Isaiah tells us (Isa 53:10 NRSV) "Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him." If it weren’t for passages like this we’d be totally perplexed to see Jesus raised on the cross wouldn’t we? But here we find the reason as well as the prediction. His purpose is to bring judgement on his people so that a remnant might be saved for himself. Two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one-third shall be left alive. And these will be refined as one refines silver and tested the way gold is tested, and in the end they will be a pure people set aside for God. "They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ’They are my people’; and they will say, ’The LORD is our God.’"
So what will God do on that day? He’ll deliver his people by bringing repentance, by bringing cleansing from sin, and by striking down the Shepherd.
Well, how are we to respond to this great act of God in salvation?
By holding on to our faith in a God who will deliver his people, achieve his purposes and keep his promises. By not being swayed by false prophets who promise a quick fix, instant gratification, a spiritual high, but rather waiting for God to act in his own time.
We’ll respond by repenting of our sin, because by it we hurt God; we’ll ask him for the spirit of compassion and supplication, that we might understand how serious our sin is, how it was our sin that meant Jesus had to die.
We’ll respond by receiving the cleansing from sin that he offers. We’ll realise that because of the death and resurrection of Christ we’re now able to stand in God’s presence without shame.
And we’ll respond by worshiping the good shepherd who gave up his life for the sheep and who has been raised and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father.
He reigns; ye saints exalt your strains;
your God is King, your Father reigns;
and he is at the Father’s side,
the Man of love, the crucified.
For more sermons from this source go to www.sttheos.org.au
