Which Shepherd Are You Choosing? (Pt. 1) Series

Intro

Our text today begins with a horrific military invasion. The first three verses of Zechariah 11 constitues a poem vividly picturing the destructive advance of Rome against the Jewish people. Because it is poetic, it has some symbolism in it. How much is symbolic and how much is literal is subject to debate. But in the context, it is reasonably clear that Zechariah is seeing a scene in Rome’s advancement against Jerusalem that culminated in the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.

Follow with me as we read Zechariah 11:1-3.

“Open your doors, O Lebanon, That fire may devour your cedars. 2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the mighty trees are ruined. Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the thick forest has come down. 3 There is the sound of wailing shepherds! For their glory is in ruins. There is the sound of roaring lions! For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins.”i

How do we know that is describing Titus’s campaign against Jerusalem in the first century AD? Verses 12-13 place the context of this prophecy in the First Advent of Christ and Israel’s rejection of Messiah. In Zechariah 11:12-13 the prophet writes, “Then I said to them, ‘If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.’ So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’ — that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.” Matthew 27 tells us this was fulfilled when Judas betrayed Christ. What we are seeing in the first three verses of Zechariah 11 is the consequences that came on Israel when they rejected Christ.

The chapter is divided into three sections: (1) Verses 1-3 introduce the prophecy with this horrific account of the destruction that comes as a result of Israel’s rejection of the Good Shepherd. (2) Verses 4-14 depict the offer of Messiah as the Good Shepherd and the national decision to reject him and crucify him. (3) Verses 15-17 introduce the Antichrist as the Wicked Shepherd who will be accepted by Israel in the last days and ultimately judged by God.

We are fortunate to have Matthew’s application of Zechariah 11:12-13 to help us understand this chapter. Without it we would have an impossible job of knowing what Zechariah is predicting. Even with this information, there are a wide variety of interpretations, even among conservative scholars. This is partly due to the lack of historical context surrounding Zechariah’s delivery of this message to his own generation. We know that the prophecy probably came in the latter part of his life, estimated to shortly after 480 BC.ii

We do not have much historical information about that timeframe. However, we know from Nehemiah 5 that the overall quality of leadership deteriorated during Zechariah’s lifetime and thereafter. In Zechariah’s early ministry, Joshua, the High Priest and Zerubbabel provided godly leadership for the Jews in Judah. Zerubbabel was the last representative of the Davidic line.iii Zechariah’s last record of Zerubbabel is in chapter 4 where it is prophecied that he would complete the construction of the temple (Zech. 4:9). The temple was completed in 516 BC. “For some mysterious reason, Zerubbabel is not mentioned in connection with the Temple dedication. Neither is he mentioned after this time. Perhaps he died or retired from public life upon completion of the Temple.”iv Joshua the High Priest had probably died prior to the second half of Zechariah’s life.v With these godly leaders gone, corrupt leaders gained preeminence.

Later in 433 BC (Neh. 5:14), Nehemiah comments on the leaders who preceded him. He said, “Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the governor's provisions. 15 But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God” (Neh. 5:14-15).vi Nehemiah 5 gives us some insight on the unfaithful shepherds Zechariah had to deal with in the latter part of his life. That sets the historical context for Zechariah 11.

Some commentators focus on the historical setting when Zechariah gave his prophecy in our text.vii Certainly, Zechariah gave his message in a historical context, and it is helpful to understand that context. However, there is not much historical information to work with. And the significance of the text revolves around the predicted events that occur during Christ’s First Advent. Therefore, we will give our attention to what is predicted for that timeframe.