A biblical case could be made that Jerusalem and Judah symbolize the New Testament church in this prophecy.  The New Testament writers spoke of Christians in terms that would have fit the Jews of the Old Testament (cf. Rom. 2:28-29; Gal. 3:29; 6:16; James 1:1; Lk. 22:30), thus showing that under the Christian era it is Christians, not ethnic Jews, who are God’s chosen people.  In like manner, the writer of Hebrews described “the church of the firstborn” as “the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22-23; cf. Rev. 21:2; 19:7; Rom. 7:4).… Read More Zechariah: The Heavy Stone

The Lord then spoke of “a foolish shepherd” whose “equipment” Zechariah was to take again (11:15).  This shepherd would “not care for those being destroyed.”  He would not “seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy,” unlike the Christ Shepherd who certainly would do so. … Read More Zechariah: More Lessons From The Wrong Kind of Shepherds

Judas and the chief priests fulfilled this prophecy when he threw the money into the temple and they determined to use it to buy “the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers” who had died in Jerusalem, rather than put it into the temple treasury since it had been used to kill a Man (Matt. 27:3-10).  They likely knew of a very cheap piece of property near the city from which potters had been taking clay for years to make their pottery, thus now rendering it useless for nothing more than a graveyard, something worth no more than $15.… Read More Zechariah: Thirty Pieces of Silver

Matthew 26:9-10 says that Jeremiah had spoken the prophecy and does not mention Zechariah.  Some consider this a contradiction and thus proof that the Bible is not inspired of God.  “My Bible’s cross-reference says that Zechariah wrote this, but Matthew says Jeremiah said it.  That’s a contradiction!  The Bible must be a fraud!”  Such a conclusion is mistaken for several reasons. … Read More Zechariah: Did Matthew Make a Mistake?

God had indeed cared for His people under Moses’ covenant.  Whenever they had followed His ways, He had shown them grace and favor and had united them (cf. Josh. 24:14-20). Yet in the end they rejected Him.  Because of this, the Messiah would destroy “the three shepherds” – the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day who were leading the Jews away from God  – “in one month,” likely figurative of a very short amount of time (11:8a).… Read More Zechariah: The Wrong Kind of Shepherds

Intertestamental history would show that the Jews would encounter trials and problems over the centuries after returning home, but God would be with them. However, this redemptive journey home also serves as “a shadow of the good things to come” in Christianity.  God calls all who have left Him because of sin through the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the world (Rom. 3:23; Is. 59:2; Mk. 16:15-16; Matt. 28:18-20; 2 Thess. 2:13-14).… Read More Zechariah: Prophecies About the Intertestamental Period and the Church

Both Christ and His church are depicted in the New Testament (with imagery similar to Zechariah’s) as fighting a spiritual war against Satan (2 Cor. 10:3-5; Eph. 6:10-18; 1 Thess. 5:8; Jude 3; Rev. 1:16; 6:2; 19:11-13).  Whatever victories the church has in this spiritual war are because Jesus is with us (John 15:4-5), and those within the church shall certainly rejoice because of the salvation given to them by God’s grace (Phil. 4:4-7).  It strengthens my faith to see – in us – the fulfillment of these prophecies.… Read More Zechariah: A Warning, Some Encouragement, and a Messianic Prophecy

While it is certainly true that any and all victories over Seleucid and Grecian pagan influence by the Maccabees can be attributed to God saving them, it is also true that this paved the way for the Messiah to come not long afterwards, “in the fullness of time” (Gal. 4:4), and bring eternal salvation from sin to “the flock of his people” (cf. John 10:1ff; 1 Pet. 5:4; Heb. 13:20).… Read More Zechariah: Prophecies About Alexander the Great, the Maccabees, and the Messiah

Zechariah foretold of the peaceful nature of the reign of Christ when he wrote of how God would “cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off” (9:10a).  God wanted the prophet to let the Jews know that their Messiah would “speak peace to the nations” (9:10b). Christians, do we understand what this means?… Read More Zechariah: The Peaceful, Universal Reign of the Messiah