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Zechariah 9:1-14:21<\/strong><\/span> I love it!\u00a0 In today\u2019s readings Zechariah prophesies 500 years in advance about Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey to a hail of Hosanna\u2019s (days before his death \u2013 popularly known as Palm Sunday) in verse 9: \u201cRejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey\u2014 riding on a donkey\u2019s colt.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>This reminds me of a saying of one of my classmates in a Bible study class: \u201cYou can\u2019t understand the New Testament if you don\u2019t understand the Old Testament!\u201d How have the prophecies in the Old Testament this year strengthened your faith in the New Testament? How have they strengthened your faith in Jesus? Below is an image of the fulfillment of this prophesy by the Italian artist Ambrogio Bondone Giotto from the year 1303:<\/span><\/p>\n We continue to read some incredible prophesies from Zechariah today about Jesus, the Messiah, coming in 500 years!\u00a0 In chapter 10 verse 4 today Zechariah calls Jesus the \u201ccornerstone\u201d: \u201cFrom Judah will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the bow for battle, and all the rulers.\u201d <\/em>Why do you think Zechariah called Jesus the cornerstone?\u00a0 \u00a0You\u2019ll recall that we read earlier in the year this passage in Matthew chapter 21 verse 42: \u201cThen Jesus asked them, \u201cDidn\u2019t you ever read this in the Scriptures? \u2018The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord<\/span>\u2019s doing, and it is wonderful to see.\u2019\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Have you heard Jesus referred to as the cornerstone in our world today?\u00a0 Is Jesus the cornerstone of your church?\u00a0 Is Jesus the cornerstone of your life?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n In Zechariah chapter 11 verses 12 & 13 we have a foreshadowing of Judas betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver \u2013 and Judas\u2019 money being used to buy the potters field:\u00a0 \u201cAnd I said to them, \u201cIf you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to.\u201d So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord<\/span> said to me, \u201cThrow it to the potter\u201d\u2014this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the Lord<\/span>.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 (hopefully you caught Zechariah\u2019s sarcasm in \u201cthis magnificent sum\u201d\u2026)\u00a0 A couple things to note here \u2013 30 pieces of silver was the price of a slave among the Israelites in ancient times.\u00a0 Paying this price to Zechariah was an insult.\u00a0 However, paying this price for the life of Jesus was an unfathomable insult.\u00a0 Our Lord\u2019s life was sold for 30 pieces of silver\u2026\u00a0 During this Christmas season this is really sad to think about \u2013 it\u2019s sad to think about this at any time, but somehow just celebrating our Lord\u2019s birth 2 days ago, and then now thinking about how his precious life was sold for 30 silver pieces is just incredibly sad for me today.\u00a0 Zechariah was rejected.\u00a0 Jesus was rejected.\u00a0 Think it\u2019s possible that if you and I really live our lives for God \u2013 really live our faith \u2013 that we too may be rejected some day?\u00a0 That perhaps someday our lives could be sold for just 30 pieces of silver?\u00a0 (There are modern day martyrs whose lives were taken for much less than this amount\u2026)\u00a0 \u00a0Below is the artist Rembrandt\u2019s painting from the year 1629 of \u201cJudas Returning the Thirty Silver Pieces\u201d and below that is a replica of 30 silver shekels from the 1st century:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Bible.org\u2019s commentary on today\u2019s readings in Zechariah titled \u201cOracle Concerning YHWH\u2019s Sovereignty\u201d<\/strong> is <\/span>at this link<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Today in Zechariah chapter 12 we begin the second oracle in the book of Zechariah!\u00a0 It is interesting to note that the Hebrew term for \u201coracle\u201d or \u201cthe word of the Lord\u201d is only used 3 times in the Old Testament \u2013 here in 12:1, in Zechariah 9:1 and in Malachi 1:1.\u00a0 This indicates that Zechariah chapters 9 through 14 were likely written at about the same time as the book of Malachi \u2013 the last book of the Old Testament \u2013 which we\u2019ll be reading in a couple of days!\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 This 2nd oracle in Zechariah consists of the final siege of Jerusalem and Jesus\u2019 return as Messiah to defeat Israel\u2019s enemies and establish his kingdom.\u00a0 Below is a Russian artist\u2019s icon of the prophet Zechariah from the 1400\u2019s:<\/span><\/p>\n Chapter 12 verse 10 is a powerful Messianic verse in today\u2019s readings: \u201cThen I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on all the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.\u201d<\/em> The first sentence indicates a pouring out of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 In the second sentence it appears that Jesus is speaking in the first person \u2013 here in the Old Testament!\u00a0 The use of the word pierced here is similar to Psalm 22:16 \u2013 \u201cthey have pierced my hands and my feet\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 and John 19:34-37 \u2013 \u201cInstead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus\u2019 side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: \u201cNot one of his bones will be broken,\u201d and, as another scripture says, \u201cThey will look on the one they have pierced.\u201d\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>Below is an oil painting from the year 1515 of the One they pierced by the German painter Matthias Gr\u00fcnewald:<\/span><\/p>\n Chapter 13 verse 7 is another powerful verse about Jesus: \u201c\u201dAwake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner, says the LORD Almighty. Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 This last sentence is quoted by Jesus just before his arrest in Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27.\u00a0 It is applied to the scattering of the apostles, but can also be considered for the dispersion of the Jews in A.D. 70 after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.\u00a0 And yet, even after the sheep were scattered, do you realize that Jesus is seeking after his lost sheep?\u00a0 Have you been found by Jesus?<\/span><\/p>\n Today we finish the book of the prophet Zechariah!\u00a0 Verses 6 through 8 gave my imagination a great workout today: \u201cOn that day the sources of light will no longer shine, yet there will be continuous day! Only the LORD knows how this could happen! There will be no normal day and night, for at evening time it will still be light. On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously both in summer and in winter.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 How does this sound to you?\u00a0 Not bad, eh.\u00a0 The light and the life-giving waters sound wonderful to me!\u00a0 When it comes to the continuous Light mentioned in these verses, where do you suppose the continuous Light will be coming from?\u00a0 Or \u2013 rather than from where \u2013 perhaps I should ask from Whom do you suppose the continuous Light will be coming from\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Verse 16 is interesting: \u201cIn the end, the enemies of Jerusalem who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Tyndale\u2019s <\/span>One Year Bible Companion<\/span> has a great Question of \u201cWhy will there still be an Old Testament Feast during the Messiah\u2019s Kingdom?\u201d\u00a0 And an answer that basically says the Feast of the Tabernacles (also called Shelters or Booths or simply Sukkot) will still be appropriate because it is a festival of thanksgiving, celebrating those who love God with all their soul.\u00a0 The other feasts of the Old Testament won\u2019t be celebrated as they were all fulfilled \u2013 The Passover in Jesus\u2019 death \u2013 Day of Atonement in Jesus\u2019 Salvation \u2013 Feast of Firstfruits in Jesus\u2019 resurrection \u2013 and Pentecost with the gift of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 More great info on the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot, from a Jewish website is <\/span>at this link<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n Bible.org\u2019s commentary on today\u2019s readings in Zechariah titled \u201cOracle Concerning Israel\u201d<\/strong> is at this link.<\/span><\/p>\n Worship Video: <\/strong>Today\u2019s readings remind me of Matt Redman and Tasha Cobbs Leonard song \u201cGracefully Broken:\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \n
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