Newsletter Article

Zechariah: Your Kingdom Come!

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 26th and so does our emphasis on the . The prophet’s chief concern is God’s kingdom. Throughout all fourteen chapters, Zechariah joyfully and profoundly announces that God’s kingdom is coming through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus. The book of Zechariah abounds with stunning portraits of our Savior. Jesus serves as the prophet’s Interpreting Messenger throughout the first six chapters. Zechariah calls Jesus a “Shoot” (3:8; 6:12), “Servant” (3:8) and “Stone” (3:9). It is in his last six chapters, though, that the prophet describes Jesus in much more compelling ways. Jesus is righteous and humble (9:9). The blood of his covenant sets prisoners free (9:11). He is the church’s Cornerstone, Tent Peg and Battle Bow (10:4). Then, in a dramatic twist of fate, Christ is detested (11:8), sold for thirty pieces of silver (11:12), struck so his sheep scatter (13:7) and finally pierced and killed (12:10). In the end, however, God’s kingdom comes—finally and permanently, in pristine beauty (14:9, 16, 17).

Sermon plans are as follows:

Ash Wednesday “First Things First” (:1–6) Lent 1 “It’s Tool Time!” (Zechariah 1:18–21) Lent 2 “Silencing Satan” (:1–10) Lent 3 “Who Will Take the Garbage Out?” (Zechariah 5:5–11) Lent 4 “First Secure Your Own Oxygen Mask” (:20–23) Lent 5 “The Redeemer’s Refinery” (:1–2) Palm Sunday “Expectations Meet Reality” (:9–10) Maundy Thursday “Covenant Blood” (Zechariah 9:11–12) Good Friday “God is Dead!” (:10–14) Easter “All Things New!” (:8–11)

The Sunday Morning Class will look at the exciting history and theology connected with the book of Zechariah. It will all be very practical and useful!

This Lent, rejoice, for God’s kingdom comes to you—through Jesus our Lord!

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Ash Wednesday

Theme of the Day: Today we begin a sermon series on the prophet Zechariah— Your Kingdom Come. God’s kingdom comes when we put first things first. That means we repent.

INVOCATION AND CALL TO WORSHIP (From selected verses in Zechariah 9:9–10)

[NOTE: This is the Invocation and Call to Worship for the series]

P: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. P: Behold, your King comes to you— C: Righteous and having salvation. P: Speaking peace to the nations. C: And ruling from sea to sea— P: To the ends of the earth! C: God’s kingdom comes— P: To us! ALL: Through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Hymn: Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain 435 (stanzas 1–3)

[NOTE: This is the first and second hymn in the series]

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

[NOTE: This is the Confession and Absolution for the series]

P: Come to Calvary’s holy mountain, sinners ruined by the fall. C: Here a pure and healing fountain flows for you, for me for all. 2

P: In a full, perpetual tide— C: Opened when our Savior died! P: Coming to Calvary’s holy mountain, we confess our sins.

Silence for reflection and confession.

P: Merciful Father— C: I am wrapped up in myself. P: I cling to comfort and choose the easy way. C: I want tweaking, not transformation. P: Greed, envy, intolerance and jealousy mark my life. C: I fail to learn, and what I have learned, I fail to practice. P: I judge others with a standard I never use for myself. ALL: Lord, have mercy! Christ, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! P: Zechariah 13:1 states, “On that day there will be a fountain opened to cleanse from sin and uncleanness.” Because of Christ’s cross and crucifixion—Zechariah’s day is today! Here a pure and healing fountain flows for you, for me for all. In a full, perpetual tide opened when our Savior died! In Jesus’ name, you are absolved, forgiven and loved! God’s kingdom comes to us— ALL: Through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Hymn: Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain 435 (stanza 4)

Prayer of the Day: P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who repent. Create in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain from you, the God of all mercy, perfect forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. ALL: Amen.

Scripture Readings: The readings are about repentance OT: Zechariah 1:1–6 EP: Romans 2:1–5 GO: Luke 5:27–32

Creed

Sermon

The First Part in the Series

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Your Kingdom Come First Things First (Zechariah 1:1–6)

This is a 1563 painting by a Dutch artist, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Bruegel called this painting Babel Tower.

The painting depicts the story in Genesis 11 when people say, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves.” (Genesis 11:4) What lies at the heart of the tower? Pride. What is pride? People. Recognize. I. Did. Everything.

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Pieter Bruegel based his painting upon this 1551 sketch the Coliseum in Rome.

Both the Coliseum and the Tower of Babel are unstable; both are crumbling; both are about to come crashing down. The painting, however, displays one detail that differs from the Roman Coliseum—the tower is dangerously leaning to one side.

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And why is that? Take a closer look at the Tower of Babel’s foundation. It’s unfinished! It’s just a matter of time before the whole thing comes crashing down! Anything—and I mean anything—with pride as its foundation is bound to collapse. After all, a building is only as good as it’s foundation. A building is only as good as it’s foundation. That’s what Zechariah says. Today we begin a fifteen-part sermon series on the book of Zechariah. I’m calling this series Your Kingdom Come. Zechariah longs for God’s kingdom to come. That’s because ’s temple in ruins. The Babylonians had destroyed it in 587 BC— some seventy years earlier.

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It was natural for the people to say, “God’s kingdom will come when we rebuild the temple!”

After all, God says, “Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified.” (Haggai 1:8) It’s time to build! We all know the feeling of looking at broken timbers and busted bricks. What has been destroyed and torched in your life? Is it a relationship? Your health? Your family? Your future? Your finances? Your vocation? God has called all of us to build something. It might not be Fox News worthy or get the attention of Time Magazine—but raising children who trust Jesus, being an honest and hard- 7

working employee, running a business with biblical integrity, studying God’s Word on a regular basis, being a loving grandparent, keeping the Sabbath Day holy. It’s time to build! Not so fast! That’s not how Zechariah begins his book. “Return to me, says the LORD of armies, and I will return to you.” (Zechariah 1:3) A building is only as good as it’s foundation. Before we build, we need a solid foundation. You know, first things first. Homework, then free time. Plow the ground, then plant the seeds. Save your money, then buy a car. Exercise, then eat a pecan pie. Talk to your wife, then make vacation plans. Lay the foundation, then build. And if we don’t? We will end up building a tower of Babel. “Let us make a name for ourselves!” People. Recognize. I. Did. Everything. If my reputation, my honor, my plans are founded on pride, whatever I build will come crashing down. We see it all the time. A building is only as good as it’s foundation. A solid foundation has two parts. First, “Return to me, says the LORD of armies.” (Zech 1:3). A return to the land, coupled with a return to the work of the temple, will be in vain unless people return to the LORD. First things first. Not every slope is slippery, but to rebuild the temple without returning to the LORD is like building a Tower of Babel. Disaster is just around the next corner! Rebuilding is rooted in the soil of repentance and faith. The fundamental need of the people was not a rebuilt temple; it was a renewed heart. “Repent” is not a suggestion to “be nicer” or “try harder.” “Repent” is a call to take God with the utmost seriousness. “Repent” is a command to confess, come clean and be honest. To repent is not a rite of passage; it is a way of life. It’s easy to grow tired of the messy business of dying and rising. It’s easy to ignore the call to repent. Too often, we don’t pray for it. Too often, we don’t listen for it. Too often, we don’t we don’t do it. It’s tempting to avoid the call to repent. But we can’t build a life of love, faithfulness and kindness apart from heeding the call to repent. Apart from repenting we end up building the Tower of Babel. A great testimony to us. A great insult to God. Listen to Zechariah. “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Repent from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.” (Zech 1:4) The danger is to be like the ancestors who, in the days of Jeremiah, relied on the temple and ignored the needs of the orphans, widows and sojourners. Zechariah drills down to our fundamental need; it is not a rebuilt temple but a renewed heart. The temple needs to be rebuilt—no doubt! But the work on the temple will become a teetering Tower of Babel, unless it is accompanied by spiritual reconstruction. “So they repented.” (Zech 1:6) The flame of faith is relit! A new day is on the horizon! Zechariah’s generation made a clean break with their failed ancestors. How did it happen? Through confession. Confession. The word conjures up many images—not all of which are positive. Backroom interrogations. Chinese water torture. Confession isn’t telling God what he doesn’t know. Confession isn’t complaining about my sorry lot in life. Confession isn’t blaming and pointing fingers at others.

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David confesses, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10). The prodigal son confesses, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” (Luke 15:18–19) The tax collector confesses, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13) Here is my confession. It’s easy for me to fast-forward through confession. Say the words. Say the absolution. Then get on with things. When I realize what I’m doing I realize I’m a hypocrite. A pretender. Two-faced. I’ve written sermons about people like me—people who only go through the motions, say the right words, but their hearts are galaxies away from God. Let’s all slow down. Confess our sin. Repent. A building is only as good as it’s foundation. Zechariah’s foundation has two parts. “Return to me, says the LORD of armies [that’s the first part], and I will return to you” [that’s the second part, the Gospel part (Zech 1:3) How does God return to us? Pieter Bruegel the Elder didn’t only paint a picture of the Tower of Babel. He also painted a picture simply called Calvary. Here it is.

How does God return to us? Zechariah’s last six chapters answer this question—do they ever! Jesus is our King who comes to us, righteous and humble (9:9). The blood of his covenant sets us free (9:11). He is the church’s Cornerstone, Tent Peg and Battle Bow (10:4). Then, in a dramatic twist of fate for the ages, Christ is detested (11:8), sold for thirty pieces of silver (11:12), struck so his sheep scatter (13:7) and finally pierced (12:10). God returns to us with steadfast love, cleansing mercy, full and complete pardon for all our sin. A building is only as good as it’s foundation. Edward Mote knows. In 1834 he composed a hymn. The first few words say it all. “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. No merit of my own I claim, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ the solid 9

rock I stand, all other ground sinking sand.” Now that’s a foundation we can build upon—now and forevermore! Amen.

Hymn: My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less 575

Prayers: [NOTE: These are the prayers for the series—Good Friday and Easter are different]

P: Our King comes to us, righteous and having salvation. May God hear our prayers, because of our crucified and risen King—Christ Jesus.

A brief silence.

P: Heavenly Father, we invite you into our lives— C: We make ourselves available to your holy will. P: Help us become living examples of your love in the world. C: Open our hearts to the areas of our lives that need to change— P: So that we carry out the mission of your church— C: Connecting People to Jesus. P: Inspire us to live the Christian life— C: In ways that are dynamic and engaging. P: Bring renewal to our church. C: And make us hunger and thirst for more of Jesus. P: Give us courage when we are afraid. C: Hope when we are discouraged. P: And clarity in times of decision.

Here other intercessions may be offered.

P: They that drink shall live forever, ‘tis a soul renewing flood. C: God is faithful, God will never, break his covenant of blood. P: Signed when our Redeemer died— ALL: Sealed when he was glorified. Amen.

Benediction: (From Zechariah 9:9)

[NOTE: This is the Benediction for the series—Good Friday and Easter are different]

P: Behold, your King comes to you— C: Righteous and having salvation. P: Speaking peace to the nations. C: And ruling from sea to sea— P: To the ends of the earth! C: God’s kingdom comes—

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P: To us! C: By his Spirit. P: God’s kingdom comes through us— C: To the ends of the earth! ALL: Amen.

Hymn: Abide with Me 878 (stanzas 1 and 8)

Silent Prayer: Heavenly Father, empower me to build my family, my vocation—my everything— upon Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I pray in my Savior’s name. Amen.

Lent 1

Theme of the Day: On Ash Wednesday we began a sermon series on the Old Testament prophet Zechariah—Your Kingdom Come. God’s kingdom comes through craftsmen who know that It’s Tool Time!

Prayer of the Day: P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. Heavenly Father, your gift of victory comes chiefly in the weakness of our Savior’s bitter suffering and death on a cross. Empower us to build our lives upon this amazing grace; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. ALL: Amen.

Scripture Readings: The readings are about victory through weakness OT: Zechariah 1:18–21 EP: 2 Corinthians 12:7–12 GO: Mark 8:27–38

Creed

Sermon

The Second Part in the Series Your Kingdom Come It’s Tool Time! (Zechariah 1:18–21)

“It’s Tool Time.” In the 1990s this expression was made famous by a TV sitcom called Home Improvement starring Tim Allen. Each episode included Tim’s home improvement show, called Tool Time, which was a meta-program, or a show-within-a-show. Tim was joined on the 11

program by his friend and mild-mannered assistant Al Borland. They were introduced with the question, “Does everybody know what time it is?” And the response was always, “It’s Tool Time!” The prophet Zechariah was also concerned about time and tools. The three dates in his book (Zech 1:1; 1:7; 7:1) make it clear that, because Darius the Persian is the reigning monarch, it is a time of discouragement and despair. So one night God gave Zechariah eight visions—“Oh What a Night!” In the second vision God shows the prophet four craftsmen. We can summarize its gist in three words—“It’s Tool Time!” That might have sounded strange to Zechariah’s contemporaries. We wouldn’t be surprised if they were a bit cynical and sarcastic, especially when we understand more about “the horns that have scattered , and Jerusalem” (Zech 1:19) Moses helps us in Deut 33:17 when he describes Joseph with these words: “In majesty he is like a firstborn bull; his horns are the horns of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations.” To have horns, then, is to rip and tear apart your enemies. This is confirmed in 1 Ki 22:11 where a false prophet named Zedekiah makes horns of iron and tells king Ahab, “Thus says the LORD, ‘With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” In Daniel horns are on the heads of animals representing ruling powers, crushing everything that stands in their way. In the book of Revelation both the dragon (Rev 12:3), as well as the first beast (Rev 13:1; 17:3, 7), are described as having ten horns. They, too, are out to maim, maul and murder. The prophet employs the term, “horn,” five times in his second vision. What do “four horns,” symbolize? The number four refers to all of the nations hostile to Judah, Israel and Jerusalem. Horns may be likened to nuclear warheads that wreak destruction, devastation and death. Or, as the prophet puts it, they “scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.” And the solution is four craftsmen? “It’s Tool Time”? Really? Judeans probably said, “Zechariah, dream on!” You know the feeling. Trying to defeat enemies that assault and scatter you and your family using the tools of God’s Word sometimes seems pointless. We often hear voices that say, “Everyone with their head on straight and eyes wide open knows that reading the Bible doesn’t change a darn thing. It’s a quaint, antiquated activity that is completely irrelevant. The real movers and shakers are generals in the war room, politicians in Washington and investment bankers on Wall Street. Studying the Bible, singing hymns and getting involved in a church is a waste of time.” And so we shuffle off to worship with our shoulders slumped and our spirits downcast. We walk into the sanctuary to put in our time, do our duty, and then we go home, defeated and discouraged. Craftsmen? Humph! We don’t stand a chance against “the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem” (Zech 1:19). Though the ESV renders the Hebrew word charashim in our text with “craftsmen,” the New Revised Standard Version translates charashim with “blacksmiths.” I think that the NRSV is on to something. Don’t you? Doesn’t “blacksmith” sound better, more powerful? Yes, maybe we have a chance against the horns after all! Let’s go with blacksmiths. Don’t you feel better already? We can post this on our website: “At this church our members are like blacksmiths with strong hands and bulging biceps! They are strong-muscled people who emerge from worship with sweat on their brow and fire in their eyes!” We aren’t craftsmen with pliers and screwdrivers; we are blacksmiths with sludge hammers and blowtorches! Ya!

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Too bad that’s not what Zechariah means. Sure, charashim may refer to blacksmiths in some texts, but the prophet’s second vision isn’t about pulverizing metal it’s about building the temple. The translation “craftsmen” is confirmed by the adjacent visions in chapters one and two. In Zechariah 1:16 the LORD says, “My house will be rebuilt,” while in the third vision the prophet sees a young man with a measuring line in his hand, getting ready to build. In fact, all eight of the prophet’s visions are connected to rebuilding the temple so, as much as we want to see ourselves as blacksmiths, it’s not the right translation. This means we’re back where we started; craftsmen taking on the big, bad, beastly horns. This is Moses against Pharaoh; Joshua against Jericho; Amos against Amaziah. This is weakness in the face of massive power. And that’s exactly the point. God’s power is shown most perfect in weakness. Evil is not brought down by military hardware, political gamesmanship, or by cutting edge investments. No, the scattering horns meet their match against craftsmen building God’s temple with plumb lines and saw horses. Don’t believe me? Zechariah’s second vision ends with these words: “The craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations.” (Zechariah 1:21) When the temple goes up the horns go down! “Horns” appears five times in this vision, while Zechariah mentions “craftsmen” once. We may think that the craftsmen are outnumbered and outmanned. Think again! “Nothing can hinder God from saving by many or by few.” (1 Sam 14:6) God defeats every enemy in the book of Zechariah! At the top of the list is Satan, the prosecuting attorney (3:2). Sin also meets its match throughout the book. It is taken away (3:5), destroyed (5:4), removed (5:9–11) and washed away (13:1). In 9:1–8 God marches from the north to the south, overthrowing each enemy in turn. , Hamath, Tyre, , Gaza, Ekron and all fall before Lord Yahweh. All of this previews and predicts Christ’s Easter victory when he defeats every enemy in the universe—every dragon, devil, all darkness, and even death! There once was another group of people that also didn’t look like much. They were clumsy, hardheaded and forgetful. Their leader knew more about bass fish and boat docks than he did about Roman culture and Greek language. His cronies weren’t sophisticated nor did they have any formal education. Were they humble? They jockeyed for cabinet positions. Were they loyal? Once, at the worst possible moment, their three leaders fell fast asleep. I know, they were sensitive to the needs of others, right? Two of them called “the Sons of Thunder” once wanted their enemies torched with fire. Before Jesus came along the disciples were loading trucks, coaching kids’ soccer, and selling Slurpee drinks at Quick Trip. Their collars were blue and their hearts were hard and there is no evidence that Jesus chose them because they were smarter or nicer than the other guys down the block; but they launched a movement that began to bring down the powers of this present evil age. And get this. Zechariah’s “Tool Time” was a part of their message. Only these tools weren’t used to build up; they were used to tear down. Zechariah 13:7: “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Tools of torcher were used against the Good Shepherd; a blindfold, a whip, some thorns, a purple robe, a hammer, some nails and finally a spear. This isn’t a syrupy, sentimental love; but a fierce love for you—written in the blood of the Lamb.

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From Zechariah we also know that, when the LORD is present, destroyed temples are rebuilt; so on the third day Jesus—the Temple—was alive forevermore! When the temple goes up the horns go down! Jesus conquered the powers of death and demons, devils and darkness. Then he announced a building program. For it he is looking for humble people, not the proud; the weak, not the strong; sick people, not the healthy; not Goliaths. Blacksmiths need not apply. Craftsmen, on the other hand, are most welcome; craftsmen who humbly lay the foundation of Christ crucified for sinners; who carefully build on it with the dynamic theology of our church; and who faithfully repair it with the fruit of the Spirit. And they do it all with great vim and vigor, joy and delight. All of which is to say, we know what time it is. “It’s Tool Time!” Let’s build! Amen.

Next week’s sermon is titled “Silencing Satan.” Read Zechariah 3:1–10 and answer these questions: 1. What does Joshua, the High Priest, say in this chapter? 2. Who takes his side against Satan? 3. In Zechariah 3, Christ is the LORD’s Messenger. What are his other names in Zechariah 3:8–9. How do they provide you comfort and courage?

Hymn: God of Grace and God of Glory 850

Hymn: On What Has Now Been Sown 921

Silent Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, it’s tool time. Empower me to build! Amen.

Lent 2

Theme of the Day: Satan accuses Joshua, the High Priest. All seems lost until the LORD’s Messenger appears. Our Lord Jesus Christ silences Satan—for Joshua and for us!

Prayer of the Day: P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, you have all authority in heaven and on earth. Use that authority in our time to defeat the devil, plunder the accuser and silence Satan; for you live and reign with the Father and Spirit—God forever, ALL: Amen.

Scripture Readings: The readings are about silencing Satan OT: Zechariah 3:1–10 EP: Romans 16:17–20 GO: Matthew 16:13–23

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Creed

Sermon

The Third Part in the Series Your Kingdom Come Silencing Satan (Zechariah 3:1–10)

Ten years ago I was in the Atlanta airport and my flight home to St. Louis had just been canceled. The next one was jam-packed. If I miss it, I’m stuck in Atlanta, all night. So I say to no one in particular, “I’ll give up to half of my kingdom for a ticket home!” Just then I spot one in the jacket of a man sitting on my left. He’s sleeping and a cane is propped up against his seat. What a lucky break! I’ll snatch the ticket from his pocket, run like a man possessed into the concourse crowd, and then reappear just in time to board my flight! No, bad idea, as I come to my senses. Reed Lessing—Lutheran Pastor—Lands in Jail is not a headline I want to wake up to the next morning. So I strike up a conversation with the Delta Airlines ticket agent, “Please get me home. Anything airborne will do: 747, regional jet, crop duster, hang glider, kite.” I pour on all of my charm and amazing wit only to hear her say, “You’re on the standby list.” Oh no, the dreaded standby list! It’s like the time I almost made the varsity basketball team in high school or the time I almost got that date in college. As I slump away from the ticket counter a wise guy standing next to me says, “Buddy, it’s too late, now.” Joshua knows the feeling. He’s also stuck with no way out. Zechariah 3:1, “Then he showed me standing before the LORD’s Messenger, and the accuser—the Hebrew is literally “Satan”—standing at his right hand to accuse him.” Satan also appears in Job 1–2 to bring charges against Job, while in Ps 109:6 the Satan is likened to the Hebrew word rasha which means “evil one.” And he is evil all right. In Zechariah’s fourth vision the accuser stands in the heavenly tribunal ready to throw the book at Joshua, who has just traveled from Babylon to Persian Yehud. It is time to rebuild the temple, offer up sacrifices, and cover God’s people with divine mercy and grace. But Zechariah 3:3 says that Joshua is wearing “filthy clothes” that disqualify him from serving as high priest. The word denotes maximum filth and defilement. Related terms include “excrement” and “vomit.” A sewer of pollution covers him! Why is that? Joshua was born in a defiled and unclean land—Babylon. How can an unclean priest serve a holy God and remove uncleanness from the people? All is lost! Joshua might as well be on a standby list, stuck in a noisy airport with pushy people, a loud PA system and overpriced food. The accuser stands to his right and chuckles, “Buddy, it’s too late, now.” In 1 Samuel 3 God rejects Eli as high priest. In Zechariah 3 why doesn’t he do the same with Joshua? And while he’s at it, why doesn’t the LORD reject me? That’s the accuser’s goal. He wants to rub my face in my filth so I feel stuck and trapped with no way out. He points out

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that—just like Joshua—I’ve lived in a defiled and unclean land. I am perfectly at home in the ghetto of gossip, the jungle of judgment, the precinct of pride and the slums of slander. The accuser throws the book at me, even as he fiendishly gloats, “Lessing, it’s too late, now.” And believing the lie we get lost in a world of darkness and despair. If you have ever felt shame and disgrace, it was Satan’s whisper that crushed your heart. If you have ever felt alone and abandoned, it was all according to his plan. If you have ever felt useless and no good, it was his accusing finger in your face. But listen again to Zechariah 3:1, “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the LORD’s Messenger, and the accuser standing at his right hand to accuse him.” The LORD’s Messenger stands in our court! In Zechariah 3 God calls him “my Servant.” This is the same Servant Isaiah describes as stricken by God and afflicted; who bears our griefs and carries our sorrows; who was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. In Zechariah 3 God also calls the Messenger “the Shoot.” This builds on the earlier promise in Jeremiah 23:5, “Days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for a righteous Shoot, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.” What’s more, in Zechariah 3, the LORD’s Messenger is also called “the Stone” which comes from Psalm 118, “The Stone the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone. The LORD did this and it is marvelous in our eyes.” In the presence of the LORD’s Messenger—who is the Servant and the Shoot and the Stone—what does the accuser say? Nothing! He is speechless! He falls to the ground like a popped balloon. Satan is silenced! The LORD’s Messenger who rebukes the accuser two times in Zechariah 3:2. The verb is ga’ar and it denotes defeating and driving back an enemy with anger and rage. The LORD’s Messenger says something like this to Satan: “How dare you bring charges against my Joshua! You are completely out of line here and have absolutely no authority in this court. Leave immediately. I don’t ever want to see your sorry face again!” And the result? Joshua’s filthy clothes are taken off while the LORD’s Messenger announces the absolution, “Behold, I have taken away your iniquity and clothe you with clean garments.” (Zechariah 3:4) But the accuser won’t give up against Joshua’s interceding Messenger. Five-hundred years later he goes to court with him again. This time the accuser sends Judas to the garden, Pilate to his palace and Herod to Jerusalem; all so that the crowds will render this verdict, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” After everything is said and done, the Messenger can’t say a word. The Servant is led like a Lamb to the slaughter. The living Shoot is pruned, uprooted and cut down, while the Stone is pulverized and crushed to pieces. Does this mean that the Gospel promises in Zechariah 3 are null and void? Not on your life! In takes a leftover stone from Solomon’s temple and uses it to construct a new temple. Ezra 3:12 narrates the same event telling us, “All the people shouted a great shout.” The complimentary “Grace! Grace!” in Zechariah 4 describes this great thanksgiving for the rebuilt temple. And a rebuilt temple makes—as they say—all the difference in the world. The Messenger lives to rebuke the accuser! The Servant is vindicated and alive! The Shoot is flourishing and stunningly beautiful. And the Stone the builders rejected has become the

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Cornerstone. The LORD did this and it is still marvelous in our eyes! “Grace! Grace!” amazing and life-changing grace! Baptized into Christ’s Easter victory you are not stuck on a standby list, destined to live a life of hopeless desperation. No. You are flying home in first class. How can you be sure? The LORD’s Messenger—our Lord Jesus Christ—says even now, “Behold I have taken away your iniquity and clothe you with a clean baptismal garment.” Salvation is God’s business. Grace is his idea. Forgiveness comes from him. But can God really be that generous? That loving? That giving? Yes. Yes. And yes! Jesus doesn’t say, “Everyone who achieves” or “everyone who succeeds.” Jesus says everyone who believes will be saved (John 3:16). But the accuser just won’t give up. Can you hear him? “It’s too late now to restore that relationship, launch that ministry, go for that dream, break that deadly habit, take that risk, embrace that promise.” Shhh. Don’t say a word and don’t make any excuses. Rather trust that the LORD’s Messenger is in your court and claim this truth—

In Zechariah 3 we see Satan for who he really is. A deadly enemy? You bet. A supernatural creature who can do great harm? No doubt. The tormentor of our souls? Indeed. Does Satan hate Jesus and hate us? Count on it. But also count on this—Satan is a defeated enemy who has no authority over us—whatsoever. Listen to this truth, one more time. Because of Jesus, Satan is forever silenced! Forever silenced, for you! Amen.

Next week’s sermon is titled “Who Will Take the Garbage Out?” Read Zechariah 5:5–11 and answer these questions: 1. To put it mildly, this is a confusing vision! Here is some help. Jesus is the LORD’S Messenger. The woman stuck in the flying garbage can stands for Babylonian idolatry.

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The storks are God’s appointed means to return sin to Shinar—an ancient name for Babylon. 2. How does the LORD’s Messenger demonstrate his authority over idolatry and sin in this vision? In your life? 3. You do not need to live in the pain and brokenness of past sin. How does the LORD’s Messenger finally and fully remove all of the messes in your life?

Hymn: O Church Arise

Hymn: Be Strong in the Lord 655 (to the tune of O Worship the King)

Silent Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, every day rebuke the enemy and silence Satan’s ugly accusations. Amen and amen!

Lent 3

Theme of the Day: Who will take the garbage out? Zechariah knows. In the prophet’s seventh vision, the LORD’s Messenger removes the garbage for all people for all time!

Prayer of the Day: P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. Heavenly Father, in Zechariah’s seventh vision you take away the sin of Judeans. We thank and praise you that in a much greater way you take away the sin of the world through the sacrificial Lamb—Jesus Christ our Lord. We pray in his powerful and priceless name. ALL: Amen.

Scripture Readings: The readings are about God taking away all sin OT: Zechariah 5:5–11 EP: 2 Corinthians 5:17–21 GO: John 1:29–34

Creed

Sermon

The Fourth Part in the Series Your Kingdom Come Who Will Take the Garbage Out? (Zechariah 5:5–11)

Who will take the garbage out? Has that question ever been asked in your family?

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For years it was never asked in mine. I was the default and dutiful trash-taker-outer. But after fifteen years of being the trash man, one day I had a transformational idea. First, twelve- year-old Abi Joy would be on trash patrol; the next day ten-year-old Jonathan would be on duty; and day three’s garbage would fall to little six-year-old Lori Beth Lessing. “Kids,” I cleared my throat to signal the seriousness of the situation, “This is your date with destiny. Tomorrow you will begin taking the garbage out.” How did they respond? Let’s just say that my decree from on high wasn’t met with unending shouts of joy. One day it got so bad that our kitchen smelled to high heaven. With my ingenious system on the verge of collapsing, I took the trash bag out from underneath the sink, tied it up and set it on the porch for the little darlings to dispense of when they got home from school. My subtle hint didn’t work. In fact, nothing worked. Week after week, the frustrating question was asked in our family, “Who will take the garbage out?” Zechariah feels my pain. Living in the Persian province of Yehud toward the end of the sixth century BC, the prophet was overwhelmed with mounds and mounds of spiritual garbage. We know what that looks and smells like too, don’t we? In Zechariah three, Joshua, the High Priest, is wearing tsoim garments. Now the Hebrew word tsoim is often translated “filthy” but that’s being nice. In Deuteronomy 23:14 the word tsoim comes in the context where it denotes excrement, fecal matter. Gross! In chapter nine Zechariah describes with “blood in their mouths and abominations between their teeth.” Disgusting! In chapter 11 the prophet writes, “The cedar has fallen, the glorious trees are ruined!” Who is going to clean up that mess? And then in Zechariah 12 he sees “a blazing pot in the midst of wood” and “a flaming torch among sheaves.” Sounds like he will need an industrial- sized vacuum! Who will take the garbage out? God will. He appoints two women who have wings like storks, yes storks, and, “They lifted up the Ephah between the heavens and the earth.” (Zech 5:9) But, we are getting ahead of ourselves. In this, the seventh of Zechariah’s eight visions, the LORD’s Messenger shows the prophet an ephah—think of it as a garbage can. The prophet then raises his eyes and sees its lid lifted up, and surprise, there is a woman sitting inside. Zechariah raises his eyes again—this is the only time in his eight visions that he looks up a second time. Why? Because this vision is the most complex. You think? Just then, the woman tries to get out so the Messenger throws her back in and slams the lid shut. Wickedness is always quick to run loose as fast as it can. When it does, it spreads like wild fire! The Messenger, though, pushes the woman back in the garbage can! Though we have no authority over sin in our lives, the LORD’s Messenger does. He prevails! Zechariah sees two more women with wings like a stork and this leads to these words, “They lifted up the Ephah between the heavens and the earth.” (Zech 5:9) The stork-like-women take the container with the woman in it all the way to the land of Shinar. “Operation Removal” is in full swing Ok, my hunch is that you might have a question, or two. Let’s begin with this one. “Who is the Messenger?” He is “the LORD’s Messenger,” the pre-incarnate Christ—and note well, he has complete authority over the wicked woman. Remember? She tries to get out of the garbage can but the Messenger slams the lid shut. “Not

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so fast,” you say. “Pre-incarnate Christ?” Indeed! Before taking on flesh (incarnation) Jesus is present throughout the Old Testament—especially in the form of the LORD’s Messenger. “Ok, so who is the woman stuck in the flying garbage can?” Zechariah calls her “The Wickedness.” She stands for Babylonian idolatry. “What does the vision mean?” Idolatry is placed in the container and lifted up with stork wings—known for their strength and ability to go on long migrations—and this idolatry is returned to the land of Shinar which is the ancient name for Babylon. All this is to say—in very vivid detail—that God will take the garbage out. Garbage, you see, is a good way to describe idolatry. Just think of the mess caused when we worship Eros, the god of sexual pleasure; Dionysus, the god of wine and self-indulgence; Mammon, the god of wealth; Prometheus, the god of human power and achievement; and Mars, the god of race and nation. Sex, wealth, achievement and the like are not evil, in and of themselves. They are God- given gifts. But the temptation is to take good things and worship them as if they are the best things; to take valuable things and turn them into supreme things. Our affection for them turns into adoration. And once anything or anyone other than Jesus occupies the innermost part of our hearts, we tell ourselves that we can’t live without them. Then we break God’s commandments, rationalize indiscretions, destroy relationships, and do significant harm to ourselves—just to get what we want. Today is no different. We still find ourselves in the middle of a mess, rummaging through the toxic waste, trying to find that idol we weren’t quite ready to part with. Who will take our garbage out? God will, through his appointed means of grace, which in Zechariah’s case are stork-like- women. Yet long before this vision, it was in God’s heart to take away what is rotten and rancid, what stinks and smells. Right in the middle of the Pentateuch stands the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 when the high priest confessed Israel’s sins upon Azazel—the garbage-goat—who was then cast into the wilderness. Standing in this same tradition, Jesus once sent demons into pigs—the ultimate unclean animal—and they rushed headlong into the Sea of Galilee. And one day he will throw the devil, the false prophet and the beast into the lake of fire and slam the lid shut. But, we are getting ahead of ourselves—again. In the fullness of time Jesus Christ—the LORD’s Messenger in Zechariah’s book—stepped out of the visions and into the garbage. Golgotha was filled with rotting flesh and the stench of death. Corpses hung there for days, sometimes weeks, often consumed by birds and animals. It was there that a Roman soldier thrust his spear into the Savior’s side, not only to fulfill what Zechariah writes in 12:10, “they will look upon me whom they have pierced,” but also Zechariah 13:1, “On that day a fountain will be opened to cleanse people from sin and uncleanness.” That fountain of baptismal water and Eucharistic blood is open wide and is a flowing river of life for you. Shel Silverstein famously writes, “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout would not take the garbage out! She’d scour the pots and scrape the pans, candy the yams and spice the hams. And though her daddy would scream and shout, she would not take the garbage out. It piled up to the ceiling: coffee grounds and potato peelings; brown bananas, rotten peas, and chunks of sour cottage

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cheese. It filled the can, it covered the floor, it cracked the window, it blocked the door. With bacon rinds and chicken bones, drippy ends of ice cream cones. The garbage rolled down the hall, it raised the roof, it broke the wall. And finally Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout said, ‘OK, I’ll take the garbage out!’ But then, of course, it was too late, the garbage reached across the state, from New York City to the Golden Gate.” But, we are getting ahead of ourselves—again! Oh, yes, someday it will be too late, but not now, not here, not for us. Zechariah’s Ephah, Messenger, wicked woman, lead lid and stork- like-women point us to this life-changing promise, “He who had no sin became sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Why continue to sit in the stench? I invite you to stand and sing “Just as I Am.” Amen.

Next week’s sermon is titled “First Secure Your Own Oxygen Mask.” Read Zechariah 8:20–23 and answer these questions: 1. What does the title of this sermon remind you of? Why is this so important? 2. Zechariah 8 contains numerous Gospel promises. Peruse the chapter and find your favorite. 3. Once we are breathing the fresh, life-giving air of the Gospel, according to Zechariah 8:20–23, what will happen?

Hymn: Just As I Am 570

Hymn: Chief of Sinners Though I Be 611

Silent Prayer: Who will take the garbage out? Jesus, you will—all of it. Thank you, forever! Amen.

Lent 4

Theme of the Day: “First secure your own oxygen mask.” This directive is familiar to anyone who travels on commercial airplanes. This is also Zechariah’s directive for us—today!

Prayer of the Day: P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. Almighty God, your crucified, risen ascended Son has sent us into the world to share the good news of your kingdom: inspire us with your Holy Spirit and fill our hearts with the fire of your love, that all who hear the Gospel may be drawn to saving faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord— ALL: Amen.

Scripture Readings: The readings are about God’s mission to seek and save lost people OT: Zechariah 8:20–23 EP: Colossians 4:2–6 GO: Luke 15:1–10 21

Creed

Sermon

The Fifth Part in the Series Your Kingdom Come First Secure Your Own Oxygen Mask (Zechariah 8:20–23)

“First secure your own oxygen mask.” This directive is familiar to anyone who travels on commercial airplanes. In the event of an emergency (“a sudden loss of cabin pressure”), we’re told that an oxygen mask will drop from the plane’s ceiling for each person. In such an anxious moment, parents would instinctively try to get the air to their children first and adult children would focus on preserving the life of elderly parents seated next to them. Such kindness might be instinctive, but it isn’t wise. “First secure your own oxygen mask.” A passenger who is wheezing is in no condition to rescue others. If we pass out from lack of oxygen, our helpless seatmates will not survive.

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Let me be blunt. We are in an emergency situation! All around us, people are gasping for spiritual breath—and they are dying. Dying without hope. Dying without peace. Dying without Jesus. What can we do? Zechariah to the rescue! Zechariah gives us the great commission comes at the end of chapter 8. But before we get to that, the prophet provides large amounts of spiritual, Gospel-saturated oxygen. And why is that? “First secure your own oxygen mask.” God dwells with his people. “Thus says the LORD: I have returned to and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.” (Zech 8:3) This is not a God only up there. This is also a God down here! People live in peace. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.” (Zech 8:4–5) What a compelling picture of harmony and happiness, sharing and shalom! People come home. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.” (Zech 8:7–8) God brings his people home and makes them his through his faithfulness and righteousness. Creation will be renewed. “For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew.” (Zech 8:12) The day is coming when God will make all things new. Vines and produce and dew from heaven! Fasts will give way to feasts. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts.” (Zech 8:19) God removes mourning and gives music. God removes sackcloth and gives beauty. God removes sighs and fills hearts lives with beautiful songs. This list of gifts is impressive; God’s presence, God’s protection, God’s salvation, God’s renewal and God’s celebration. These gifts are all the more precious and powerful because of Jesus! “First secure your own oxygen mask.” And if we don’t? Then the Gospel will become mediocre for us. Then we neutralize its power by downplaying its most alarming details. An innocent man who died so we don’t have to? A murdered man whose heart started beating again? When we don’t breathe the oxygen of the Gospel we forget it’s freshness, it’s utter and unexplainable joy. What’s meant to be vibrant comes across as blasé—no big deal. We shouldn’t be surprised, then, when no one says, “Tell me more about that.” We all need to be jolted again to life so we have personal wonder so we tell the story more powerfully, with owned insight rather than clichés and stereotyped language. “First secure your own oxygen mask.” Once we are spiritually revived and renewed, then we can assist others so that they, too, begin to take in God’s gifts in Christ Jesus. Like Philip, we have been found by Christ, and so we hurry to find others (John 1:46). Like the woman at the well, we have heard the voice of Jesus, and so we speak to others (John 4:29). Like Paul, we affirm, “I know whom I have believed” (1 Tim. 1:12) and like Peter and John, we insist, “we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).

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So on to assisting others with the spiritual oxygen of the Gospel! That’s the end of Zechariah 8. What does the prophet say? Evangelism is universal. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, 'Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going.' Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.” (Zechariah 8:20–22) They come in waves—first in line are Gentile leaders (Zech 8:20), then city dwellers (Zech 8:21) and finally many people and strong nations (Zech 8:22). A small trickle will become an overwhelming flood! Just as Bethelites came “to entreat the face of Yahweh” (Zech 7:2) so now the nations are described in the same way (Zech 8:21, 22). The prophet envisions God’s redeeming mercy including people from “every tribe and people and language and nation” (Rev 13:7). Evangelism is personal. “In those days ten people from the nations of every tongue will seize of the robe of a Judahite.” (Zechariah 8:23) Ten people grasping the garment of one Judean teaches that evangelism is personal. Unbelievers grab the coattail. The verb “will seize,” frequently appears in contexts where action is fervent and impassioned. The Gentiles are anything but aloof or apathetic. We want unbelievers to seize us and ask us what we have that they don’t. A survey of 8,000 people who became believers indicate that 5% walked into a church and stayed; 7% came because of the pastor; 3% came because the church had a program they liked; 1% came through door-to-door visitation; 4% came through Sunday School; 80% came through invitations from friends or relative. Evangelism is vocal. “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” (Zech 8:23) The confession “God is with you,” connects with Isaiah’s Immanuel prophecy (Is 7:14). Faith comes by hearing.” (Rom 10:17) As you speak kindly to your children on the playground, you demonstrate the Spirit’s power before the other moms. As you refuse to participate in office gossip, you bring honor to Christ on your job. Even in your response to your own sin—admitting wrong and asking forgiveness—you testify to the truth of the gospel you proclaim. As we consider the love and power exhibited through Jesus’s physical, emotional, and spiritual pain, we discover his death and resurrection are undeniably personal. The gospel is the answer to our pain, not just in a general singsongy way, but with italics: “Jesus loves me, this I know.” To the teenager wrestling with the shame of her past, we can say: “Jesus conquered this.” To the coworker burdened by the weight of sin: “Jesus died to redeem this.” To the mourning parents: “Jesus wept because death is this dark, yet he stepped fully into the darkness and demonstrated ultimate victory—over even this.” Sadly, the opposite is also true. If we’re unkind to those around us, if we dismiss the needs of others and speak harshly to our family members, if we’re more often at the ballpark than church on Sunday, if we ignore our sin and fail to repent, we communicate to our neighbors that Jesus isn’t all that important. Though we may have heard it a thousand times, the Gospel is not simply black letters on white paper. It’s vibrant and neon and living color! It provokes wonder in hearts, can be applied

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from a thousand angles, and invites people into the rest for which they truly long. This Gospel breathes life into dead hearts! Do you see the need? Do you hear the cries? Do you see the pain? “First secure your own oxygen mask.” Then what? Look out world! Here we come! Amen.

Next week’s sermon is titled “The Redeemer’s Refinery.” Read Zechariah 13:1–2 and answer these questions: 1. What do you know about an oil refinery? How does Zechariah’s fountain function like a spiritual refinery in your life? 2. How are these words a beautiful commentary on these verses? “Foul, I to the fountain fly, wash me Savior or I die!” 3. Holy Baptism delivers Christ’s refining power. What is keeping you from living more in the light of your baptism?

Hymn: Hark, the Voice of Jesus Calling 826

Hymn: Listen, God is Calling 833

Silent Prayer: Jesus, breathe Gospel power into my heart, so that others see you in me and are saved. Amen. Lent 5

Theme of the Day: Augustus Toplady (1740–78) summaries the only sane response to Zechariah 13:1. “Foul, I to the fountain fly, wash me Savior or I die!”

Prayer of the Day: P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, when you died, the spear through your side brought forth a sudden flow of blood and water that forgives sin, heals hurts and destroys demons. Send forth your Holy Spirit so that we benefit and are saved by these marvelous gifts; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. ALL: Amen.

Scripture Readings: The readings are about God’s gift of cleansing OT: Zechariah 13:1–2 EP: 1 John 1:8–2:2

Suggested anthem:

Troeger, The Hidden Stream that Feeds: “The hidden stream that feeds our daily acts of care, springs forth in worship when Christ leads the church in song and prayer. Lord, through our lives may others hear your living waters drawing near. The stream runs clear and deep and tastes 25

of heaven’s skies, and where its ceaseless currents sweep flows life that never dies. Lord, through our lives may others hear your living waters drawing near. A heart of stone and dust, of withered hopes and dreams, becomes a spring of faith and trust by drinking from these streams. Lord, through our lives may others hear your living waters drawing near. We leave this watered place to work on rocky ground, yet even the streams of grace sustain our daily round. Lord, through our lives may others hear your living waters drawing near” (Borrowed Light: Hymn Texts, Prayers, and Poems). https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-hidden-stream-that-feeds- 9780193869554?cc=us&lang=en&

GO: John 19:28–37

Creed

Sermon

The Sixth Part in the Series Your Kingdom Come The Redeemer’s Refinery (Zechariah 13:1–2)

The Suncor Oil refinery is just north of Denver, Colorado. I remember my family driving past this massive complex when I was a child, growing up in the Mile High City. The jungle of tubes, pipes, valves, switches and pumps reminded me of my Tinker-Toy set. But, unlike my Tinker-Toys, the Suncor Oil refinery actually does something—it processes crude oil. Crude oil? Crude oil is oil in its natural state before it is refined into gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, jet fuel and the like. There is another kind of crude oil. It’s the gunk, slime and dirt in our hearts. You know. When someone barks at us and we bark right back. When our schedule is too tight and we lose 26

our temper. When someone gives us a piece of gossip, marinated in slander, and we pass it on— full throttle. When we see a needy child as a burden to be borne rather than a person to be loved. The gunk and slime and dirt fills our heart. Is there somewhere we can go when our hearts become so contaminated, so dirty and so polluted? Yes! There is! We’re in a series on the book of Zechariah. I’m calling this weekend’s sermon The Redeemer’s Refinery. Jesus, our Redeemer, has set up a refinery to purify and cleanse all of the rotten and rancid stuff in our hearts. Let’s dig into Zechariah 13:1 using these questions—what, why, where, how and when. What, why, where, how and when. What? A fountain! “On that day a fountain will be opened.” (Zech 13:1) The term “fountain,” refers to a fountain of living water. Zech 14:8 promises a never-ending supply of living water! “Living water,” though, implies that there is something called “dead water.” Dead water is the same gossip, day after day. Dead water is the same argument, day after day. Dead water is the same obsessive sin, day after day. Zechariah promises a fountain of living water. It refines and purifies the muck and mire in our hearts. The prophet writes that this fountain is open. Open! This is great news! None of us like it when places are closed. What does it feel like when you really need some milk and you can’t find a store that’s open? Or when you really need some Liquid Drano and you can’t find a store that’s open? Or when you have a hankering for some chocolate fudge ice-cream and you can’t find a store that’s open? God’s refining fountain doesn’t maintain business hours. It is always open. We can come for refining and purifying as often as needed—24–7, 365. And get this! There is no charge. The services are absolutely free! “Wait a minute,” you say. What was wrong with the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament that Zechariah promises this fountain? What was wrong with all of the sin offerings, peace offerings, freewill offerings, guilt offerings—slain bulls and lambs and goats and rams? Answer? Nothing. These gifts point to a greater cleansing, a greater refining. Zechariah couldn't see the whole story, but God showed him at least this much: a fountain of living water will be opened and it will forgive and refine our hearts. What? An open fountain of perfect living and cleansing water! Why? Let me put it this way. You’ve been working out in the yard on a hot summer day. Your sweaty body has attracted dirt like a magnet. You’re caked with grime. You need to attend a wedding that afternoon, so you go inside, put on your best clean clothes, and head out the door. Wait a minute! What’s missing? A shower! Nobody would just change clothes without first washing off the dirt and sweat. When you’re hot and dirty, nothing feels better than a shower. This physical picture has a spiritual analogy, but there’s a difference. The entire human race reeks of sin in the presence of the holy God. But because we all smell the same, we tend not to notice how foul we really smell. Many go their entire lives without sensing their need for cleansing from sin. Others may think that their good works cover the foul odor of their sin, and so they put on their clean clothes without showering. Why is there an open fountain of living water? Because we’re all dirty—really, really dirty! What pollutes us to thoroughly? The seven deadly sins! The Seven Deadly Sins originate with Pope Gregory I who codified them and made them official in 590 AD.

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Lust—I want what I want and I want it right now. Envy—I want what you have and I want it right now. Greed—I want more of what I have and I want it right now. Sloth—I have no drive or desire and I certainly don’t want to do anything with my life—right now or ever. Wrath—I’m full of anger and rage and I’m going to dump it on you right now. Pride—I’m better than you, richer than you, younger than you and smarter than you right now and forevermore! Gluttony— I’m going to indulge myself with whatever I will do it right now! “Binge-watching” is a sure-fire way to be overwhelmed by the Seven Deadly Sins. Binge- watching (something that more than half of all adults in America engage in) involves stringing together several TV episodes all in a row, sometimes for hours on end. Binge-watching is becoming an epidemic, with 50% of viewers in their 20s saying they binge-watch weekly. Researchers at the University of Texas found that binge-watching is correlated to depression, loneliness, obesity and loss of self-control. Binge-watching invites the Seven Deadly Sins right into our homes and into our hearts. What? An open fountain of living and cleansing water! Why? We all desperately need it! Where? Where is the Redeemer’s Refinery? Zechariah 12:10 helps us. In this verse God says, “They will gaze upon me whom they have pierced.” God? Pierced? God pierced with what? The razor-sharp tip of a spear. Where? Calvary. John 19:34 describes a Roman soldier taking his spear and spitting open our Savior’s side. “There was a sudden flow of blood and water.” Water flooding from the one whose body is blistered and burned. A gushing river of life surging from the one who hangs dead upon a tree. Living water flowing from the one who cried out, “I thirst.” Here is Jesus—crushed and cursed by the dirt, slime and grime of the world.

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What? A fountain that is always open for you! Why? We desperately need it! Where? Mt. Calvary. How? How does the fountain of water, gushing from our Savior’s side, purge, purify and refine all of the gunk and goo in my heart? Two words. Holy Baptism! Holy Baptism connects us to the Redeemer’s Refinery! Like a conduit, baptism links us to the fountain of purifying water. Baptism deliver the gifts of Christ atonement that has been made and satisfaction for sin that is complete. Baptism announces that guilt is gone, our debt is paid, our sins are forgiven, hell is vanquished and heaven is open. Baptism empowers us to hear Christ’s voice calling us back, bringing us home, and renewing our spirits so that we flee to no other refuge, build on no other foundation, and wash in no other fountain. But this refinery won’t do us any good if we look at it and think, “I wish my wife and kids would get under that water!” You know how it goes. “Well! I may not be perfect but I’m a whole lot better than my dad ever was!” “I’m just as good as the next guy. I pay my taxes, coach Little League and every now and then I slip a few bucks into the offering plate.” “Me, a sinner? Come on! I get rowdy every now and then, but my momma says I’m a pretty good ol’ boy.” Justification. Rationalization. Comparison. These are the stories of lost people. Don’t become one of them! What? An open fountain of perfect living and cleansing water! Why? We all desperately need it! Where? Mt. Calvary. How? Holy Baptism. When? We’re missing when. When does this water flow? When does it come to me? When does it purify my polluted heart? It’s because Jesus loves you so very, very, very much that his living, life-giving, soul-renewing water flows … when? Right now! Amen.

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Next week’s sermon is titled “Expectations Meet Reality.” Read Zechariah 9:9–10 and answer these questions: 1. What is the difference between expectations and reality? How has this played out in your life? 2. Make a list of Christ’s characteristics, as described in these verses. Which one is the most compelling to you? 3. What kind of savior did most of the Jews expect? What was the reality?

Hymn: Rock of Ages 761

Hymn: Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer 918

Silent Prayer: “Foul, I to the fountain fly, wash me Savior or I die!” Amen.

Palm Sunday

Theme of the Day: On Palm Sunday, many expected a warrior who would conquer Rome. The reality was a humble servant riding upon a donkey—who is just the kind of Savior we need!

Hymn: All Glory, Laud, and Honor 442

Prayer of the Day: P: The Lord be with you.

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C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. Assist us mercifully with your help, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts, whereby you have given us life and immortality through Jesus Christ our Lord. ALL: Amen.

Scripture Readings: The readings are about Christ’s humility OT: Zechariah 9:9–10 EP: Philippians 2:5–11 GO: Matthew 21:1–11

Creed

Sermon

The Seventh Part in the Series Your Kingdom Come Expectations Meet Reality (Zechariah 9:9–10)

Have you ever had expectations meet reality? Sure, we all have.

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Palm Sunday is all about expectations meeting reality. The expectations. Christ’s Palm Sunday parade into Jerusalem wasn’t the only parade in Jerusalem that year. In the year 30 AD, Roman historians record that the governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, also had a parade—a parade of Roman cavalry and soldiers that marched into the city of Jerusalem. From the western side of the city, the opposite side from which Jesus would enter, Pontius Pilate led Roman soldiers on horseback and on foot. Each soldier was clad in leather armor polished to a high gloss. On each soldiers’ head, hammered helmets gleamed in the bright sunlight. At their sides, sheathed in their scabbards, were swords crafted from the hardest steel; and, in their hands, each soldier carried a spear; or if he was an archer, a bow with a sling of arrows across his back. Drummers beat out the cadence of the march. This parade offered political peace through Roman might and power. The expectation, then, on Palm Sunday, was that Christ, coming from the opposite side of the city, was going to defeat the Roman legions and offer political peace through Jewish might and power. The crowd on that Sunday, proclaimed, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” The word “Hosanna” is a Hebrew word that means, “Save us now!” Hosanna was a cry for Jesus to save the Jews from Roman occupation. They expected that Jesus would bring the peace of King David. “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Political peace. That’s what people expected on Palm Sunday—now the reality. “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King will come to you—righteous and saved. Humble and riding upon a donkey; upon a colt, a foal of a donkey.” (Zech 9:9) Let’s unpack this verse. Your King—While Darius the Persian is called “the king” (Zech 7:1) and Gaza has a “king” (Zech 9:5), the Messiah is “your King.” Rejoice and shout aloud because your King comes to earn forgiveness for every sin, direction at every turn, light for every dark day, and an anchor for every deadly storm. This King is too wise to error, too tender to crush and too merciful to ever cast us away. Behold your King! Righteous—Your King is righteous which here means “success” and “victory.” “Righteous” also announces that this is an authentic King. Victorious and righteous kings were mostly oxymoronic during Israel’s history—a fact often pointed out by prophets. All nineteen northern kings were apostates. In the south, twelve out of twenty were evil. Behold your King comes to you, righteous! Saved—Zechariah goes on to describe the coming King with the word “saved.” That strikes us as strange. The King needs to be saved? What’s going on? The LORD called Israelite kings to be passive. Kings are to be dependent on the LORD alone for victory. The passive idea comports with Isaiah’s Fourth Servant Song. Fifteen passive verbs describe the Servant in Isaiah 52:13–53:13. Note, for instance, “he was despised” (Is 53:2); “he was wounded … he was crushed” (Is 53:5); “he was oppressed … he was afflicted” (Is 53:7); “he was taken away … he was cut off” (Is 53:8); “he was numbered” (Is 53:12). Behold your King comes to you, righteous and being saved! Riding on a Donkey—In the ancient Near East, horses and chariots brought victory on the battlefield, not donkeys! In 2 Ki 2:12; 13:14 horses and chariots are proverbial for ultimate power. This King rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. Not a warhorse, not a stallion. He has no chariots, no

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army, no sword, no helmet and no spear. Behold your King comes to you, righteous and being saved, riding on a donkey! What kind of peace is this? In fact, Zechariah says in 11:12 that the King will be sold for 30 pieces of silver. Zechariah says in 12:10 that the King will be pierced through with a spear and die. Zechariah says in 13:7 that the King will be struck and the sheep will scatter. This is hardly the kind of peace people wanted! No wonder people—by and large—didn’t receive Jesus! By Friday Jesus was hanging under a sign indicating why Rome executed him. Matthew 27:37, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Looking for a king who had pomp and power, people missed seeing that God offers a lasting, a much more enduring peace, through the King who is righteous and being saved, riding on a donkey! But get this! God turned the darkness of Good Friday into the light of Easter. God turned death with great suffering into an empty tomb with great joy. God turned the shadow of the cross into shalom—real peace—for all people. Zechariah 9:10, “And I will cut off chariots from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of warfare will be cut off. And he will speak peace (shalom) to the nations. And his rule will be from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.” This is the kind of peace we all need! Why is that? Life often looks like a thousand threads on a table. There is no rhyme or reason. Stuff happens. It all seems so random.

Christ’s gift of shalom/peace, though, brings order out of chaos; goodness out of tragedy; hope out of despair. Shalom puts life’s broken pieces back together again. “He will speak peace (shalom) to the nations.” Jesus speaks shalom to you. Look at this beautiful tapestry, made up of thousands of threads! This is what Jesus does with your life and mine. We are his beautiful tapestry through shalom!

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“Behold, your King comes to you, righteous and saved, riding on a donkey and delivering shalom!” The angels sang about this shalom when Christ was born and shalom is what Jesus gave his disciples just before he died (Jn 14:27). The Savior’s shed blood makes shalom so that the baptized have shalom with God (Rom 5:1) as well as the shalom of God (Phil 4:7). God delivers shalom in concrete ways in specific places. In the Gospel proclaimed; in Holy Baptism; and in the Lord’s Supper. Through Word and Sacrament God begins to weave broken lives back together again. Christ delivers peace that endures. On the other hand, Pontus Pilate, leading a parade of soldiers into Jerusalem offers Pax Romana—Roman peace. On Palm Sunday, many thought Jesus paraded into Jerusalem to defeat Pax Romana. Expectations meet reality. Did they ever! Judas betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver. Peter used a sword in Gethsemane to strike the high priest’s servant. All of the disciples abandoned the Savior. Finally, by Friday, most of the Jews ended up rejecting Jesus, crying, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” They wanted a different Savior! I once took two of our children—Abi and Jonathan—to buy a bike for five-year-old Abi. Abi picked out a shiny blue bike with a banana seat and training wheels. Jonathan, age three, decided it was time for him to have a bike as well. I explained to him that he was still having problems riding his trike; that a big-kid’s bike would bring him more pain than pleasure; that the day would certainly come when I’d buy him a two-wheel bike—just not today. Jonathan looked up and me and asked, “Then I don’t get a different bike?” “That’s right son, not today. You don’t get a different bike.” Then he said at the top of his lungs, “Then I want a different daddy!” Let’s face it. There are times when we want a different Savior. A Savior who can instantly right our wrongs, heal our hurts and miraculously deliver us from disease, depression and all sorts of doom and gloom. 35

Expectations meet reality. The reality is that Jesus suffers and dies. The reality is that we are called to take up our cross. The reality is that sometimes prayers go unanswered, hopes are dashed and deliverance from debt and depression doesn’t come. There is so much we don’t have—yet. But there is so much more that we do have—now! “Behold, your King comes to you, righteous and saved, riding on a donkey and delivering shalom!” Amen.

Next week’s sermon is titled “All Things New!” Read Zechariah 14:8–11 and answer these questions: 1. Zechariah envisions the New Jerusalem. What feature strikes you as being the most prominent? Why? 2. Why do you think Zechariah 14:9 is the key to the New Jerusalem? 3. Who can you invite to worship with you on Easter so they hear that Christ’s resurrection makes all things new?

Hymn: Ride On, Ride On in Majesty 441

Hymn: Hosanna, Loud Hosanna 433

Silent Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for delivering peace that passes all understanding—it brings healing to my heart and hope for the days ahead. Amen.

Maundy Thursday

Theme of the Day: Covenant blood. That’s Zechariah’s promise to people trapped in a waterless pit, who are stuck with no way out.

Prayer of the Day: P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his body and blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive these gifts thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. ALL: Amen.

Scripture Readings: The readings are about Christ’s gift of his true body and true blood OT: Zechariah 9:11–12 EP: 1 Corinthians 11:26–34 GO: Mark 14:17–25

Creed

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Sermon

The Eighth Part in the Series Your Kingdom Come Covenant Blood (Zechariah 9:11–12)

I invite you to envision a waterless pit. Do you see it? Now envision a 17 year-old teenager man is in the waterless pit. His hands are bound. His ankles tied. His eyes are wet from tears. His voice hoarse from screaming and yelling. His brothers (his brothers!) gather around the pit, ignoring his desperate cries for help. The young man’s brothers sit down to eat and drink—all while the 17 year-old screams for help. This sounds like a TV reality show. But it’s not. It’s a story in the Bible. Joseph—the 17 year-old—was caught by his brothers while they were all sixty miles away from their father’s watchful eye. “They stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.” (Genesis 37:23– 24) These are murderous verbs. Stripped. Took. Threw. Into a waterless pit. Joseph didn’t see this coming— Joseph didn’t see this coming one single bit! Joseph didn’t get out of bed that morning and say, “I’d better pack some extra food and water and put on padded clothing because today I’m going to get thrown into a waterless pit.” The attack came as a complete surprise. So did ours. That’s the way the enemy works. Maybe our pit came when Satan reminded us of a misdeed long ago or of a commandment broken just yesterday. Perhaps we find ourselves in the pit of shame and despair because of Satan’s constant lies and deceptions—lies and deceptions that we’ve fallen for, times without number. Murderous verbs. Stripped. Took. Threw. Into a waterless pit. God has something to say to us, through the prophet Zechariah. “As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.” (Zech 9:11) Zechariah uses the word “prisoners” in both 9:11 and 12. That’s what sin does and that’s what Satan rubs into our nose. Jesus hammers home this hard reality when he says, “I tell you the truth. Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (Jn 8:34) Stripped. Took. Threw. Into a waterless pit. That’s what sin does. That’s what Satan points out—repeatedly. Let me be clear. As believers, we a version of Joseph in our generation. We represent a challenge to Satan’s plan. We carry Jesus in our heart. We have what the world needs—humility, mercy, generosity, kindness. If Satan can throw us into a waterless pit and keep us there, he can neutralize our impact on the world. The devil wants to lock us up and throw away the key. And his strategy works. We’re all trapped. Locked in habits we cannot beat and bound in a bondage we cannot break. The liar keeps whispering, “There’s no way out. Do something drastic. Cut and run. Throw in the towel. Give in, give out and give up!” Luther knew this voice. He writes in his great Reformation hymn: “The old evil foe now means deadly woe; Deep guile and great might are his dread arms in fight; on earth is not his

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equal.” When we believe Satan’s lies, we find ourselves going deeper and farther and longer, until we are bound, tied and fettered—in a waterless pit. But get this! Zechariah writes, “Return to your stronghold, prisoners of hope.” We are not “prisoners of despair.” We are not “prisoners of sorrow.” We are not “prisoners of unending pain.” We are “prisoners of hope!” Biblical hope is not a vague belief that the future will somehow be better. Biblical hope is not “knock on wood.” Biblical hope believes that tomorrow will be better than today because of God’s covenant blood. “As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.” (Zech 9:11) As bad as the waterless pit is, it does force us to look up. Someone from up there must come down here and rescue us! That someone is God and he comes with covenant blood. Exodus 24:8 is the only other place in the Old Testament where “covenant” and “blood” appear together. Moses describes the ratification of God’s promises at Sinai—“behold the blood of covenant which the LORD cut with you.” Just as Israel had been released from captivity in Egypt, so shall we be set free because of covenant blood. God is not the great Terminator. God is not the omnipotent Ogre. God is not the cosmic Ebenezer Scrooge. God is not a vengeful judge, a nitpicky tax accountant, or police officer waiting to give us a ticket. God is a Savior who comes to our rescue with covenant blood! Covenant blood is what Jesus gives us in Holy Communion. “Drink, of it, all of you for this is my blood of the covenant.” With these words, Jesus began to leave a trail of blood. After the Last Supper, Jesus led his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane where Luke tells us that Jesus sweat great drops of blood. After his arrest, Jesus was bound and taken to Annas, the high priest. He was slapped, spit upon, and sent to Caiaphas. Then, blindfolded, he was struck in the face with fists and beaten by guards. The next morning Jesus was taken to Pilate who passed him off to Herod. Herod dressed him in a purple robe. Back before Pilate, soldiers stripped and scourged Jesus—just short of death. Struck and spit upon again, Jesus walked the Via Delarosa. Finally, Jesus was stretched out on two pieces of wood and three iron spikes were hammered into his flesh—blood was everywhere. His friends ran away. His possessions were gambled away. His strength was ebbing away. Even his Father had turned away. All Christ had was his blood—the blood of the covenant. But with the blood of the covenant, our bondage was broken. The sacrifice was complete. Death defeated. Paradise restored. Christ’s covenant blood means we are liberated from the liar and our prison doors are wide open. Luther experienced this gospel in his Turmerlebnis—his Tower Experience. “Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates.” Christ’s covenant blood sets us free from the condemnation of our sin; free from the pain of our past; free from worry about our future. No one can take this freedom from us. No law can stop it, and no power on earth or hell can destroy it. And there is more freedom to come! As we grow in our walk with Jesus, his covenant blood unlocks more and more prison doors. Finally, every believer will experience ultimate freedom in the resurrection of the dead and in the life of the world to come. On that day, God will restore us two-fold—and then some! Really? Yes, really! “Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope. Even today I am declaring that I will restore you two-fold.” (Zechariah 9:12)

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What ever happened to Joseph? Twenty years later, the roles were reversed. Joseph was in power and his brothers weren’t. The brothers came to Joseph in fear, assuming that he would settle the score and throw them into a waterless pit. But he didn’t. But he didn’t do that! “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good!” (Genesis 50:20) These are words spoken by someone who is free—free in every way. Free to live in forgiveness, love and mercy toward others. How does that happen? The covenant of blood. In Jesus’ name, this is God’s gift to you! Amen.

Hymn: Glory Be to Jesus 433

Silent Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for covenant blood—I am a prisoner no more! Amen.

Good Friday

Theme of the Day: God is dead. Not figuratively. Literally. Today—Good Friday—we let that truth sink deep into our repentant hearts.

Invocation P: In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen.

Silent Procession + Please follow the cross as it makes its way from the narthex to the chancel. +

Call to Worship P: Behold, your King comes to you— C: Righteous and having salvation. P: Speaking peace to the nations. C: And ruling from sea to sea— P: To the ends of the earth! C: God’s kingdom comes— P: To us! ALL: Through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Opening Hymn: In the Cross of Christ I Glory 427 (stanzas 1–3)

Confession and Absolution P: Dear Jesus, our Savior and Lord, lead us to reverently behold the agony of your rejection, the pain of your condemnation, and the horror of your crucifixion. C: Bring us to the places you walked and to the people you encountered on that Friday so long ago. P: Stay with us, Lord, as we witness your suffering and listen to your last words of love. 39

C: As we approach Calvary let us become mindful of our sins and of our willful rebellion against your holy commandments. P: Eternal God, we confess that we have turned away from you in our thinking, speaking and doing. C: We have lived for ourselves and have refused to bear the burdens of others. P: We have passed by the hungry, the poor and the oppressed. C: O God, we have tried to hide from you and from one another. P: We confess our fatal attractions that enslave us and the failed relationships that haunt us. C: We cannot plead the strength of our temptations or the frailty of our nature or place the blame on other people. P: We can only say, “For the sake of Jesus, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

+ A moment of silent reflection +

P: By the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, I, a called and ordained servant of Christ, forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. God’s kingdom comes to us. ALL: Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hymn In the Cross of Christ I Glory 427 (stanza 4)

Prayer of the Day P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. Almighty God, graciously behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed and delivered into the hands of sinful men to suffer death upon the cross; through the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen.

Scripture Readings: The readings are about God’s death OT: Zechariah 12:10–14 EP: 1 Corinthians 2:1–8

Sermon

The Ninth Part in the Series Your Kingdom Come God is Dead (Zechariah 12:10–14)

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“God is dead.” So wrote a 19th century German philosopher named Friedrich Nietzsche. The expression, “God is dead,” is famously associated with Nietzsche’s book titled Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Nietzsche, however, uses the phrase figuratively. Zechariah uses the phrase literally. God. Is. Dead. Really? That’s what God says in Zechariah 12:10—“They will look upon me whom they have pierced.” “Pierced,” in this verse, means pierced with a spear so as to kill. Don’t glance. Don’t glimpse. Take a long, hard look. God. Is. Dead. Should we be surprised that God suffers and dies? When God saw evil and misery multiply, he grieved with heart-piercing sorrow (Gen 6:6). When God saw Israel’s suffering in Egypt, he came down into the burning bush and said, “I know their pain” (Ex 3:7). God is the only person in Isaiah’s book who is “high and lifted up” (Is 6:1; 33:10; 57:15). What a mystery, therefore, that Isaiah describes the Servant with the same words, “high and lifted up” (Is 52:13). God and the Suffering Servant are one. Isaiah goes on to write, “But in fact, he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities.” (Is 53:5) Pierced. Crushed. God. Is. Dead. Not figuratively. Literally. John puts it this way, “The world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” (Jn 1:10) Paul gasps, “They crucified the Lord of glory!” (1 Cor 2:8) Zechariah continues, “They shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only Son, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” (Zech 12:10) The only Son? The firstborn Son? That would be Jesus. Jesus is God and God is dead. How did that happen? Christ, as God, created the tree from which his cross was carved. Christ, as God, created the minerals from which his nails were forged. Christ, as God, created the woman whose son was Judas Iscariot. Christ, as God, set in motion the political events that sent Pontius Pilate to Judea, Herod to Jerusalem and Caiaphas to serve as high priest. The implications are stunning. Christ, as God, arranged his own betrayal, torture and execution. At the cross, we see both our willingness to take up the piercing spear as well as Christ’s willingness to take it. At the cross, we see the darkness of our hearts that murdered God, as well as God’s loving heart forgiving sinful wretches like us. At the cross we see Zechariah 12:10 fulfilled, “They will look upon me whom they have pierced.” Look at Christ’s eyes, full of anguish and lament. Look at his cheeks caked with dirt and Look at his parched tongue poisoned with gall, and his face pale with death. Look at his hands pierced with nails, his arms stretched out, and the great wound in his side. Look at his perforated feet, and his blood-stained hands and feet. In less than four-hundred minutes, Jesus experienced an eternity of hell. God. Is. Dead. God hung on a cross and was pierced with a spear? A split-lipped, puffy- eyed, blood-caked God on a cross? A sponge was thrust into God’s face? Dice tossed at God’s feet? God bled? God took nails? Yes. Yes. A thousand times, and forever, yes. For you! Zechariah 12:10 includes this promise from God, “I will pour out on them the Spirit of grace.” Who is the “them”? The perpetrators of his death! God pours out his Holy Spirit of grace on the very people responsible for his death. That would be me. That would be you. What does the Holy Spirit do? He breaks our hearts. “On that day the lamenting in Jerusalem will be as great as the lamenting in -rimmon in the plain of Megiddo [this refers to King Josiah’s death in 609 BC]. The land shall lament, each family by itself: the family of the

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house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.” (Zech 12:11–14) Godly sorrow, from the heart, runs throughout these verses. These verse describe the intense grief. And why is that? God. Is. Dead. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Ps 51:16–17]). This kind of sorrow is very different from feeling bad because our sin was exposed. This kind of sorrow is much more than resolving to try harder next time. This kind of sorrow laments—but it also looks. It looks upon God who was pierced. You know, there are other options. Instead of lamenting and looking, we can be defensive. When we’re defensive about our sin, we don’t admit anything. We tell no one. We keep the skeleton in the closet. We seek innocence, not forgiveness. When we’re defensive we reduce life to one, passionate, all-consuming goal—hide the secret. Cover it up. Don’t address it. Don’t admit it. And whatever we do, never, ever confess it. When we see sin rear its monstrous head in our hearts, another option is to be defeated. When we’re defeated we feel as though we don’t make mistakes—we are a mistake. We didn’t foul up—we are a foul up. We beat ourselves up repeatedly with blame and shame. Defensive people hide sin. Defeated people replay sin. Depressed people lament over their sin, but never look—they never look upon the Pierced One. Scripture teaches about this option as well. Pharaoh lamented over the plagues that God was sending. He even said to Moses, “Plead to the LORD to take away the frogs.” (Ex 8:8) Judas Iscariot lamented for his sin and felt great remorse (Mt 27:3–4). Neither Pharaoh nor Judas, however, were forgiven. They did not lament and look. Defensive. Defeated. Depressed. Is there a better way? You bet there is! We can lament and look. John 1:29, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The Lamb, the Pierced One, takes all sin away. That includes our sin. Our ugly sin. Our shameful sin. Our haunting sin. Our every single sin. He not only takes away our guilt—that’s sin done by us. He also takes away our shame—that’s sin done to us. We don’t have to drink our sin away. Work our sin away. Explain our sin away, eat our sin away, cry our sin away, or bury our sin away. This may be hard to believe. Most of us have carried our sin for so long that we can’t imagine life without it. Maybe we can’t imagine it, but God can. God does. And God does more than just imagine it. He gives us Jesus. Look at this God; don’t glance, don’t take a passing glimpse. Look—fix, fasten, rivet your eyes. “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away [present tense!] the sin of the world.” (Jn 1:29)

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God. Is. Dead. On the cross. For you! Amen.

Hymn: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross 425

Silent Prayer: Holy Spirit, empower me to look upon the Pierced One—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Easter

Theme of the Day: So often we wish that we could make old things new. We can’t. But Jesus can. Says who? Says Zechariah!

EASTER GREETING P: Christ is risen! All: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

CALL TO WORSHIP (Selected verses from Psalm 118)

[Begin softly and slowly get louder]

P: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. P: The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation! C: The LORD’s right arm has done marvelous things! P: The LORD’s right arm is raised in triumph. C: The LORD’s right arm has done marvelous things! P: We will not die; instead, we will live to tell what the LORD has done. C: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 43

P: This is the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. C: This is the day the LORD has made. P: Let us rejoice and be glad in it! C: Christ is risen! P: He is risen, indeed!

PROCESSIONAL HYMN Jesus Christ Is Risen Today 457 (stanzas 1–2) (stanza 3 choir only)

[Please follow the cross as it makes its way from the lobby to the chancel]

CONFESSION OF SINS P: Forgive me, merciful and mighty father, when my besetting sins entangle me and completely surround me. C: Who will rescue? P: Forgive me, Lord, when I am so eager to get but so reluctant to give; so ready to receive your gifts but so unwilling to bear the cross. C: Who will rescue? P: Forgive me, merciful Father, when I avoid making any commitment to you; when I doubt that you really see my sin; when I disobey your commandments and am satisfied with only living for myself. C: Who will rescue me? P: Forgive me, Lord, when I am quick to find fault but resentful when someone points out my faults; when I am so soon at play but so late in prayer. C: Who will rescue me? P: Father, forgive me when I rejoice in the temporary but think little of the eternal; when I am so fond of being idle but show little passion for helpful service. C: Who will rescue me from this body of death?

[You are invited to silently reflect on the fact that though our sin is great, Christ’s love is greater.]

P: Who will rescue you and me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, he delivers us through Jesus Christ! By the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, I, a called and ordained servant of the Word, forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son † and of the Holy Spirit. This is the day the LORD has made. All: Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

HYMN Jesus Christ Is Risen Today 457 (stanza 4)

PRAYER OF THE DAY P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. 44

P: Let us pray. Almighty God and Father, through your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, you have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life. Grant that we who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. All: Amen.

Scripture Readings: The readings are about Christ making all things new OT: Zechariah 14:8–11 EP: 2 Corinthians 5:14–18 GO: Luke 24:1–12

Creed

Sermon

The Tenth Part in the Series Your Kingdom Come All Things New! (Zechariah 14:8–11)

It’s hard to see things grow old. Because our three children live in Ft. Collins, Colorado, I go back to my home town of Denver two or three times a year. Buildings that were new when I was a child are now boarded up or torn down. My teachers are either retired or buried in a cemetery. The old Aladdin Theater on East Colfax where I first saw The Sound of Music was destroyed in 1984 to make way for a Walgreens Drugstore. High school sweethearts are divorced. Our fastest halfback died of cancer three years ago. My elementary and junior high schools both went the way of the wrecking ball decades ago. I wish I could make it all new again! I wish I could go to Panorama Park and play little league football and baseball again! I wish I could ride my bike to 38th and Wadsworth and buy some 1974 Topps Baseball Cards again! I wish I could walk through the old neighborhood, see the familiar faces and run again with my dog Cookie. I wish I could walk the halls of my high school—Jefferson High School—and be 18 years old again and a senior, with my whole life in front of me. I wish I could make it all new again! I wish I could make my mother young again—with a sound mind—and put her in the arms of my father whom she loved and buried. I wish I could stretch out her wrinkles, take off her bifocals and put a spring in her step. O God! I wish I could make everything and everyone new again. But I can’t. And neither can you. But Jesus can. And Jesus does! On this day of days, we celebrate that the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The LORD has done this and today it is marvelous in our eyes! On this day of days, we celebrate that though Jesus was betrayed, arrested, tormented, tortured—crucified, dead and buried; and although It was all so ugly, vile and barbaric—it was not the end. Far from it!

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Christ is alive! Death has no more dominion over him! Heaven’s best took hell’s worst and triumphed. The master of death could not destroy the Lord of Life! Christ is risen indeed! For the past two months, we’ve been looking at the Old Testament prophet Zechariah. Today we come to the last chapter of the book—Zechariah 14. I’m calling this sermon All Things New. Zechariah 14 begins with his own Good Friday—spoil, capture, plunder, exile, battle and combat. God says, “I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for battle and the city will be captured and the houses plundered and the women ravished. And half of the city will go forth into exile.” (Zech 14:2) The Jerusalem Zechariah envisions is overrun by marauding armies; people are captured, imprisoned and exiled. Houses are plundered, torn down, shuttered and empty. The prophet looked around and longed for it all to be new again! Five hundred years ago, sailors feared the horizon. If they sailed too far they believed that they would fall off the edge—and that would be that! At the Strait of Gibraltar Spaniards built a huge marker with three Latin words engraved on it—Ne plus ultra or “Nothing more beyond.” But then came Christopher Columbus and the voyage of 1492. The discovery of the new world changed everything! Spain acknowledge this in its coins, which came to bear the slogan plus ultra—“more beyond.” Zechariah 14 begins looking like Ne plus ultra or “Nothing more beyond.” We call that Good Friday. But then Zechariah 14:3, “And the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations just as in the day of his fighting in the day of battle.” The LORD goes forth to fight! Does he ever! He defeats every enemy. And on Easter he defeats the last enemy—death! Life confronts death and guess what? Life wins. Death dies and life wins! Plus ultra—“more beyond.” Zechariah 14:3, “And the LORD will go forth and fight.” God fights for his people—that’s what Good Friday and Easter is all about! God fights for our health and for our family. He fights for our salvation and for our restoration. Are the odds against you? Is the coach against you? Is the boss against you? Is your health against you? Are your emotions against you? Difficult, for sure. Nevertheless, God fights for you. You with the tortured childhood. You with the aging body. You with the absentee dad. You with the lost job. You with the bad back, the bad credit score, the bad grade and the bad break. Plus ultra—“more beyond!” God fights to make all things new! How so? Zechariah 14:6–11 presents a sequence that progressively depicts how creation, Jerusalem, and our lives will be transformed. Let me get more specific. There will be a day with no cold or frost and in the evening, there will be light (Zech 14:6–7). The darkness of warfare will give way to a new day of never- ending light. Zechariah 14:8, “Living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.” Drought and scarcity will give way to water and life. In Zechariah 14:10 the prophet says that Jerusalem will rise while God flattens its surrounding hill country, thus making the city secure forever. Zechariah 14:10 goes on to describe the Gate of Benjamin, the Corner Gate, the Tower of Hananel and the king’s winepresses. All of the old places and markers and buildings are back! Just imagine! Then Zechariah 14:11, “Jerusalem shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security.”

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All things are new! In fact, the term “all,” appears twelve times in Zechariah 14. Twelve? Twelve tribes in Israel. Twelve apostles. Twelve is the complete number in the Bible. Twelve announces all things—everything will be new! Zechariah’s emphasis on what God will do makes it clear that the future is more important than the past. Our past? It’s not pretty. It’s full of frustrations and failures. It’s full of pain and deep disappointment. Our past has been marked by selfishness and sin, pride and pretending. But our future is infinitely more important than our past. What is our future? Perfect relationships. Perfect bodies. Perfect bliss and perfect joy and perfect delight. Jesus will remake all things—everything will be new, even you! Zechariah 14:9 serves as the centerpiece of the chapter. It interrupts its flow of things to accent its importance. God fights for us (14:1–3) and renews what looks old and dead and hopeless (14:4–8). It is only fitting that Zechariah acclaims God as King. “Yahweh—the LORD— will be King over all the earth.” (Zech 14:9) There will be one God ruling from one city over one nation, all for the sake of his one world. A world that he will make completely new! When I’m in Chicago, waiting for my American connection to Ft. Wayne, I always think, “I’ll be home, soon!” The plane will land. I’ll walk down the ramp. I’ll find my car in economy parking. I’ll drive to 6817 Sweetbrier Drive. I’ll be home, soon. You’ll be home, soon, too. We all will—by grace, through faith, because of Christ’s resurrection! We may not have noticed it, but we’re closer to home than ever before. Each moment is a step taken. Each breath is a page turned. Each day is a mile marked and a mountain climbed. We’re closer to home than we’ve ever been. Before we know it, our time will come. We’ll walk down the ramp and enter the city—Zechariah’s the New Jerusalem. We’ll see people waiting for us. We’ll hear our name spoken by those who know us. And we’ll see the face of the one who would rather die than live without us—Jesus. Jesus whose Easter victory makes all things new! This promise cheers us in sorrow, strengthens us in trial, revives us when we lose hope, gladdens us when we feel despondent, and kindles in us an undying devotion to the truth of our Savior’s shed blood, his empty tomb, and his free gift of everlasting life—Zechariah’s New Jerusalem. Hallelujah! Amen.

Next week we begin a new sermon series on the book of Ezekiel titled All Things New. Questions forthcoming.

Hymn: Thine the Amen, Thine the Praise 680

Hymn: Christ the Lord Is Risen Today 469

Silent Prayer: “The one who sits on the throne says, “Behold, I am making all things new.’” (Revelation 21:5). Thank you, Jesus, for an eternal Easter! Amen.

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Bible Study Introduction March 1 – Introduction March 8 – The Eight Night Visions March 15 – Zechariah 1:7–13 March 22 – :1–5 March 29 – Zechariah 9–14

Introduction

“When her people fell into enemy hands, there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction.” (Lam 1:7) August 28, 587 BC was a dark day in Judah’s history. Nebuchadnezzar, the great Babylonian king, torched Jerusalem’s temple and destroyed the city’s walls. Everything—the monarchy, the priesthood, the storied history in the Promised Land—went up in a puff of smoke. So much seemed closed and controlled by hopeless Babylonian imperial policy.

However, to the shock and surprise of everyone, Yahweh raised up his messiah, Cyrus (Is 45:1). Isaiah’s new thing exploded in the desert (Is 43:19). Uprooting and destroying yielded to building and planting (Jer 1:10). Dry bones came to life (Ezek 37:1–14). The Persians defeated Babylon on October 29, 539 BC and Cyrus, the Persian king, allowed exiles to return. He even supported the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s temple (Ezra 1:1–4).

Work began in 537 BC. Returnees constructed an altar and laid the temple’s foundation (Ezra 3). Then came the problems. Enemies “hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.” (Ezra 4:5) Work did not resume until 520 BC.

For seventeen years people walked past the same pile of cut timber, cedars from Lebanon, and hand-carved stones. Nothing moved. Nothing happened. Nothing changed. Year after year, the despair and disappointment became more acute.

When building finally got underway, the prophet Haggai tells us what people were saying. Compared to Solomon’s temple, in all its glory, this temple was nothing (Hag 2:3). Nothing! Who could blame them? The second temple did not have Solomon’s silver and gold or the Ark of the Covenant. Its altar was made of stone, not bronze, and it had one, just one lampstand. When compared to Solomon’s architectural wonder, this one looked second-class—to say the least. Zechariah lived among people who “despised the day of small things” (Zech 4:10).

“Who despises the day of small things?” Not Zechariah! The prophet calls people to repent (1:2–6). Inspires them with visions and oracles (1:7–6:15). Invites Yehudites to change from fasts to feasts (7:1–8:23). Then he gives them stunning revelations about a coming Messiah 48

(9:9–10; 10:4). He will be sold for thirty pieces of silver (11:12–13), pierced and killed (12:10) and struck down so his sheep scatter (13:7). In the end, though, this Messiah will rise again and return to reign with Yahweh in the New Jerusalem forevermore (14:9, 16, 17). Zechariah’s sermons rekindled people’s faith and strengthened their resolve. Yehudites rebuilt the temple and dedicated it on March 12, 515 BC.

Zechariah, like others before him, believed God does big things with small days and small people with their small stuff. All Moses had was a staff and he conquered a kingdom (e.g., Ex 14:16). Gideon defeated Midianite hoards with 300 Abiezerites who lapped water like dogs (Judges 7). Samson took a jawbone of an ass and was victorious over 1,000 Philistines (1 Sam 15:16). A sling and a stone were all David needed to kill Goliath (1 Sam 17:50).

Jesus also found great pleasure in small things—five loaves of barley bread and two little fish (e.g., Jn 6:9). The Savior once said, “The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground” (Mt 13:31). Passing through Jericho, on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus picked out little Zacchaeus and said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham” (Lk 19:9). Then these words for the ages, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mt 19:14).

“Who despises the day of small things?” (Zech 4:10) Not Jesus. He embraced them, knowing that they foreshadowed the ultimate day of small things. On that day, to belittle and demean him, his enemies used a whip, a blindfold, a spear, their fists, and three nails. Zechariah knew about this small day as well. “On that day they will mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn son.” (Zech 12:10) Three days later Jesus was alive, never to die again!

What has been destroyed and torched in your life? What looks hopeless, lifeless and dead? Is it a relationship? Your health? Your family? Your future? Your finances? Your vocation? Your ministry? God’s gift to you is the book of Zechariah. This book is for everyone living in wreckage and ruin.

God has called all of us to rebuild something. It might not be Fox News worthy or get the attention of Time Magazine—but raising children who trust Jesus, being an honest and hard- working employee, running a business with biblical integrity, studying God’s Word on a daily basis, being a loving grandparent, keeping the Sabbath Day holy—these may appear to be small things. In the kingdom of God, not so! Our labor in the Lord is never in vain (1 Cor 15:58).

God is calling us—just as he called Zechariah—to roll up our sleeves and start rebuilding. It takes planning, prayers, endurance and great determination. It is not by might nor by power, but by God’s Holy Spirit that we rebuild the ruins (Zech 4:6). The wreckage can rise again!

Zechariah and the Bible

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Zechariah is virtually unknown in the church today—and it is our great loss. Why is that? Zechariah stands at the end of the OT and functions as a capstone for many earlier texts. The prophet draws on earlier passages and traditions like no other book in the OT. The book functions like a lens that helps focus and fill out the major contours of the OT. Moreover, among the Book of the Twelve, Zechariah is the most quoted and alluded to in the NT. He was led by “the Spirit of Christ” as he “predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and his subsequent glories” (1 Pet 1:11; cf. Jn 5:39).

We see Jesus in the prophet’s first vision (Zech 1:8–13) when he meets a Man riding on a red horse who is “Yahweh’s Messenger” (Zech 1:12). The Messenger is the pre-incarnate Christ, appearing as Zechariah’s Interpreter throughout the rest of the prophet’s visions (Zech 2:2 [EN 1:19]; 2:7 [EN 2:3]; 3:1; 4:1; 5:5; 6:4). Though the Shoot motif is present in earlier prophetic texts (e.g., Is 11:1; Jer 23:5–6; 33:15–16), Zechariah furthers the idea and expands upon it (Zech 3:8; 6:12–15). Next to Ezekiel, Zechariah had a greater impact on Revelation than any other book in the OT. His influence is evident in, for instance, the pierced Messiah (Zech 12:10; Rev 1:7), the vision of the seven lampstands (Zech 4:2, 10; Rev 1:12–13), the four horsemen (Zech 1:7–8; Rev 6:1–8), the two olive trees (Zech 4:3, 12–14; Revelation 11), and the vision of the New Jerusalem (Zechariah 14; Revelation 21–22).

Most importantly, passages from Zechariah 9–14 form the template for Christ’s passion. Some even refer to him as the “Prophet of Holy Week.” The prophet writes, “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and being saved, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech 9:9; e.g., Mt 21:5; Jn 12:15). Predicting Christ’s betrayal, Zechariah notes, “So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into Yahweh’s house to the potter” (Zech 11:12; Mt 27:9). The money was returned to the temple leaders (Zech 11:13; Mt 27:3, 10). In Gethsemane this scripture was fulfilled, “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered” (Zech 13:7; Mt 26:31; Mk 14:27). Foreseeing the events on Good Friday, the prophet writes, “They will look on me, the one they have pierced” (Zech 12:10; Jn 19:37). The Roman soldier’s spear thrust results in a sudden flow of blood and water (Zech 13:1; Jn 19:34–35) while a number of people lament over Christ’s death (Zech 12:10–14; Lk 23:27, 48). The Messiah did not appear unannounced. His cross and empty tomb are declared in advance. After rebuking Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus for their slowness to learn, Jesus opened the scriptures for them (Lk 24:27). He will do the same for us.

Outline

Zechariah 1–8 consists of three parts: 1) an introduction and call to repent (1:1–6); 2) a series of eight visions peppered with interpretive oracles (1:7–6:15); and 3) the prophet’s response to the question of fasting (7:1–8:23). Two oracles appear in Zechariah 9–14—chapters 9–11 and 12–14.

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Historical Background

Monumental events in the ancient Near East had a profound impact upon Zechariah. It is impossible, therefore, to understand the prophet’s dramatic visions and pointed oracles without a basic outline of his historical context—the Babylonian exile and early Persian Yehud.

Babylon’s moment in the sun was fleeting (626 BC–539 BC), but the nation’s time on the world stage dramatically changed Judah’s history. The Babylonian deportations of leading Judeans were a heart-rending emotional and spiritual shock (e.g., Lam 2:2–12, 20–22; 4:9–20; 5:1–18). The army leveled Jerusalem’s walls, torched the temple, severally hampered agricultural activity, executed leaders and exiled thousands of Judeans (2 Kings 25). Families were scattered, the royal class had no palace and priests had no altar. Jerusalem faded into an excruciating darkness.

The nightmare continued during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar (605 BC–562 BC), Evil- merodach (561 BC –559 BC), Neriglissar (559 BC –556 BC), Labash-marduk (556 BC), Nabonidus and his son Belshazzar (556 BC –539 BC). Babylon reached the zenith of its glory during Nebuchadnezzar’s regime. When he died, the empire slowly began to crumble. Political intrigue and weak leadership eroded the once mighty nation. With Nabonidus, the burning light extinguished—not with a bang by with a whimper. Persia brought the empire to its knees. Jeremiah declared how it happened. “Yahweh has stirred the spirit of the kings of Media [the people to whom Cyrus’ mother belonged], for his intention regarding Babylon is to destroy it. For this is Yahweh’s revenge, his temple’s revenge” (Jer 51:11).

Cyrus II (c 590/589 BC–530 BC) was the first in a long line of Achaemenid rulers. He conquered Babylon in 539 BC.

Cyrus reigned supreme. All western Asia to the Egyptian frontier was his. Persia’s massive geographical area (from the Aegean Sea to India and from the Black Sea to Egypt) made earlier Assyrian and Babylonian regimes look small. If Assyria and Babylon were powers, Persia was a superpower.

Cyrus’ goal was nothing less than a novus ordo seclorum—a new order of the ages. His policies enacted the most sweeping transformation in foreign relations that the world had ever seen.

The empire’s aim was to co-operate with local elites as long as they were willing to acknowledge Persian imperial power. For instance, Darius—who reigned from 522 BC–486 BC— declares in the famous Behistun inscription carved into the side of a present day Iranian mountain: “Within these countries, the man who was loyal, him I rewarded well; [him] who was evil, him I punished well.” It is not surprising, therefore, that Persia permitted Zerubbabel, a Davidic heir, to serve as governor of Yehud. In contrast to the Assyrians and Babylonians—who were notorious for their brutality and deportation—Persia allowed and even encouraged conquered nations to develop their own life and to maintain their traditions. The king’s favorable 51

edict towards Judah appears in the OT in two corresponding versions; one in Hebrew Ezra 1:1–3 (cf. 2 Chr 36:22–23) and the other in Aramaic (Ezra 6:1–5).

Cyrus died in 531/30 BC while waging war on the eastern edge of the Persian Empire— probably fighting the Massagetai on the empire’s northeast frontier. His son, Cambyses, was serving as coregent at the time, making the transfer of powers straightforward. Cambyses ruled from 530 BC–522 BC.

In July of 522 BC, as Cambyses’ returned from victory in Egypt, a revolt broke out. The eastern part of his empire hailed a certain Gaumata as king. Cambyses had earlier secretly killed his younger brother, Bardiya. Gaumata claimed to be Bardiya and seized the throne. At that point, Cambyses, near Mt. Carmel, either took his own life or died accidentally. Upon hearing of his death, other Persian districts, especially in Babylon, also began to rebel against Acheamenid rule. Cambyses apparently had no direct heir. Therefore, Darius Hystaspes, one of Cambyses’ generals, though only twenty-eight years old, declared himself king. In order to keep dynastic continuity he married two of Cyrus’ daughters and one of his granddaughters. An all-out battle against Guamata ensued. After killing Guamata, only two satraps declared their allegiance to Darius— Dadarshish of Bactria and Vivana of Arachosia. Media revolted, as did Elam. Even Parsa, the homeland of Darius, rebelled. Unrest also broke out in Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Parthia, Sattagydia, and Saka.

Cyrus brought an end Babylonian power in 539 BC. The city of Babylon and its leaders, however, escaped disaster. Cyrus defeated Babylon. Darius crushed Babylon. He was Yahweh’s agent to bring final judgment. In doing so, Darius launched one of the longest and most effective reigns among ancient Near Eastern monarchs.

Darius, a general under Cambyses and a member of the Achaemenid royal family, was installed on October 5, 522 BC. He began his rule with a full-blown crisis, with uprisings throughout the empire. A second wave of rebellions in Babylon continued until June of 521 BC.By 520 BC, Darius was able to squelch most of the insurrections, except in Egypt, an area that was finally subdued in 518 BC.

Judah—or “Yehud” transliterated from the Aramaic—was a province in the satrapy called Abar Nahara (from the Aramaic) or Beyond the River. Abar Nahara included all of Syria-Palestine west of the Euphrates River and south to the Sinai desert. Persians divided Abar Nahara into a number of provinces that included Ashdod, Dor, Galilee, Samaria, Ammon, and Gilead.

To the north, it extended to Gibeon, Mizpah and ; the southern boarder was Beth- Zur and En-gedi. The and Jordan River were Yehud’s eastern boundary. The territory was about thirty-four miles from north to south and forty miles from east to west. It was about 660 square miles or roughly the size of Rhode Island.

Living in the Persian province of Yehud, Zechariah, along with his fellow prophet Haggai, served in the midst of small community, both geographically and numerically. The temple was 52

still a pile of rubble. The Ark of the Covenant with its mercy seat and the cherubim were gone forever. The Babylonians had dispensed with the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the manna, Aaron’s rod, the Urim and Thummim and the continual fire on the altar.

Yehud’s economy was agriculturally based and therefore vulnerable to the whims of the weather. The province lacked large-scale mining and manufacturing and did not lie along a major land route. And, of course, there was no immediate access to maritime trade. The more affluent Yehudites lived comfortably in “paneled houses” (Hag 1:4), but most of the other people endured poverty, scarcity, and hopelessness. Drought brought with it crop failure (Hag 1:10–11), leading to inflation and acute hunger.

Zechariah’s Eight Visions

Introduction

Visions are central to the ministry and message of Israel’s prophets. They regularly include them in their writings (e.g., Isaiah 6; Jeremiah 24; Ezek 1:1; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1). Prophets are sometimes called “seers” (e.g., ,1 Sam 9:9), while several prophetic books begin with the term , “vision” (Is 1:1; Obad 1:1; Nah 1:1; Hab 1:1).

Sometimes prophetic visions occur in a series. For example, Jeremiah has two sequential visions (Jer 1:11–13) while Amos has five (Amos 7:1–9; 8:1–2; 9:1–4). When grouped together, such visions display repetition with intensification—a classical Hebraic literary feature. The repetition underlies their importance as well as authenticates their veracity. Note, for example, Joseph’s two dreams (the sheaves and the sun, moon, and eleven stars, Gen 37:5–9) as well as Pharaoh’s two dreams (the seven cows and seven ears of grain, Gen 41:1–7). “The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.” (Gen 41:32)

Zechariah and His Prophetic Predecessors

Like his prophetic predecessors, Zechariah’s eight visions repeat key motifs as they intensify toward the conclusion where Yahweh’s Spirit exercises dominion over his enemies (6:8). Reading chapters 1–6, then, is like climbing a staircase and then walking down the other side. However, the stairs are not the same. Just as Hebrew poetry functions on the line level most often with the movement of A, what’s more B, so on a strophic level in Zechariah 1–6 we should not understand A and A’ as mirror images of one another. There are important advances and intensifications in these six chapters. The second half takes the argument forward, as the second of two cola within a line characteristically goes beyond the first.

Zechariah differs from earlier prophetic visions. Generally speaking, pre-exilic prophets see visions anchored in earthly experiences. Amos describes locusts and a plumb line (Amos 7:1– 3; 7–9) while Isaiah observes smoke and fire (Is 6:4–6). Jeremiah sees an almond tree and a 53

boiling pot (Jer 1:11–16). After the exile, visions are not as connected to mundane things and events. Ezekiel’s inaugural vision is anything but ordinary (Ezek 1:1–28) and Zechariah follows suit. He employs dramatic movement and action, along with complex symbolism. The strictness of form represented in the visions of Amos and Jeremiah, with their simple dialogue and repetition of symbolic language, becomes more varied in Zechariah who sets his visions within the context of Yahweh’s Messenger and the heavenly council.

Outline

The visions employ incremental repetition, they are separate and distinct, yet also display continuity and interdependence, creating a unified message. The eight visions (along with their explanatory oracles) form this concentric pattern: A.First vision: Universal in scope focused on Yahweh’s omniscience (1:7–13) with an explanatory oracle (1:14–17) B.Second vision: International in scope focused on Yehud’s enemies (2:1–4 [EN 1:18–21]) C.Third vision: National in scope focused on Yehud (2:5–9 [EN 2:1–4]) with an explanatory oracle (2:10–17 [EN 2:6– 13]) D.Fourth vision: Local in scope focused on Yehud’s leaders (3:1–5) with an explanatory oracle (3:6–10) D.Fifth vision: Local in scope focused on Yehud’s leaders (4:1–6a, 10b–15) with an explanatory oracle (4:6b–10a) C.’Sixth vision: National in scope focused on sin in Yehud (5:1–4) B.’Seventh vision: International in scope focused on Yehud and Shinar (5:6–11) A.’Eighth vision: Universal in scope focused on Yahweh’s omniscience (6:1–8) with an explanatory oracle (6:9–15)

Zechariah arranges this chiasm to highlight Yahweh’s concern with the restoration of worship in Jerusalem. The outer visions are the most generally oriented and the inner ones narrow the focus until the temple itself is in view. The movement is from the universal, to the international, to the national to the temple. Zechariah’s chief concern is with the temple and the personnel who serve in it. Meynet discusses this aspect of Hebrew literature:

Instead of developing its argumentation in a linear way, in the Graeco-Roman fashion, to a conclusion which is the point of resolution of the discourse, it is organized most of the time in an involutive manner around a center which is the focal point, the keystone, through which the rest finds cohesion. The center of a concentric construction most of the time presents certain specific characteristics: it is often of a different shape and genre than the rest of the text, it is very often a question, or at least something which is problematic, which in all cases is enigmatic.

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A number of similarities highlight the chiastic parallels in these visions.

1. Visions one (1:7–13) and eight (6:1–8) contain references to horses, identified by various colors (though the distribution of colors is different). They also reference the fact that the horses’ riders have been patrolling the earth (used only at 1:10, 11 and 6:7). 2. The second (2:1–4 [EN 1:18–21]) and seventh visions (5:5–11) each consist of two parts. In vision two, the prophet sees four horns and then four craftsmen. In vision seven, the prophet sees a woman in a basket and then two storks who carry her in the basket to Shinar. 3. The phrase “Yahweh of Armies” is common—appearing twenty times in the visions and oracles. 4. The expression “width and length” occurs in the third vision (2:6 [EN 2:2]), while the corresponding “length and width” is in the fifth (5:2). In the first case, the prophet sees a man going out “to measure Jerusalem, its width and length,” while in the second instance he sees “a flying scroll, its length twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.” 5. The expression “all the earth” appears in four out of the eight visions (1:11; 4:14; 5:3; 6:5). 6. The prophet often employs the phrase “I lifted up my eyes and saw” (2:1 [EN 1:18], 2:5 [EN 2:1], 5:1, 6:1) or its corresponding command, “Lift up your eyes and see” (5:5). Zechariah does not use the expression in visions four (3:1–5) and five (4:1– 6a, 10b–14)—thus accenting their importance. In his first vision, the prophet writes, “I saw” (1:8). 7. “Seven eyes” also highlight the central section. In 3:9 the stone set before the high priest Joshua has seven eyes/facets, while in 4:10b the seven lamps are identified as Yahweh’s eyes that go throughout the earth. 8. Seven of Zechariah’s eight visions include the verb “see” and the particle of immediacy, “behold.” The vision in 3:1–5 begins with “show” but does not employ “behold.” Message

The prophet’s visions are interspersed with five oracles (1:14–17; 2:10–17 [EN 2:6–13]; 3:6–10; 4:6b–10a; 6:9–15), bringing his visions down to earth. Following the first vision (1:7–13), 1:14–17 defines Yahweh’s “good and comforting words” (1:13). After the third vision (2:4– 9 [EN 2:1–5]) Zechariah explains the consequences of a New Jerusalem (2:10–17 [EN 2:6–11]). Subsequent to the fourth vision (3:1–5), 3:6–10 comments on the roles of the high priest and coming Messiah. In between his fifth vision, Zechariah presents an oracle highlighting Zerubbabel’s role in rebuilding the temple (4:6b–10a). The prophet’s last vision (6:1–8) concludes with an oracle clarifying the role of Israel’s future King/Priest (6:9–14).

Although his visions are highly symbolic and often seem otherworldly, Zechariah bases them upon early Yehud’s political, social, religious and economic conditions. The dominating

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event inspiring all the visions but in particular influencing the two central visionary episodes must have been the temple refoundation ceremony. Zechariah blends the heavenly and earthly spheres almost seamlessly—the world of the visions and the world of Yehud. They set before the eyes of faith manifestations of what is real but unseen, what is spiritually true even though unapparent in our outward circumstances. Just as Yahweh gave Moses a vision of the tabernacle (Ex 25:8–9), so Zechariah’s visions function in a similar manner to legitimatize the Second Temple. Like so much else in the postexilic period, premonarchic patterns are reawakened.

Because Yahweh is on the move (2:17 [EN 2:14]), objects are on the move in most of Zechariah’s visions. The prophet’s goal was to get people moving and building. His form of communication reflects this pursuit. Static images would not have been as effective given the status of the building project in 520 BC. The prophet wanted to cut through despair and hopelessness in order to energize God’s people to build.

Throughout the visions and oracles, Yahweh promises to punish Babylon—the nation responsible for Jerusalem’s demise and the exile of her people. Zechariah alludes to Babylon, using the phrases “the land of the north” (2:10 [EN 2:6]; 6:6, 8) as well as “the land of Shinar” (5:11). He names “Babylon” in 2:11 (EN 2:7). Zech 1:7–6:15 moves from promising Babylon’s future judgment (1:12–15; 2:1–4 [EN 1:18–21]; 2:9 [EN 2:5]), to current victory (6:8), to a post- victory response (6:9–15).

Conclusions

Zechariah’s visions not only address Judah’s desperate situation but also point beyond the events in the late sixth century to the coming of Christ, the mission of his Church and his Second Advent. Although the prophet’s visions often single out the high priest, the royal figure is more prominent (3:8; 4:6a–10b; 6:12–13). Standing in a long Davidic tradition, Zechariah announces that a new Davidide means a New Jerusalem (1:14–16; 2:12 [EN 2:8], 14 [EN 2:10).

The visions describe what is real but unseen, what is spiritually true, though unapparent when we look at outward circumstances. The prophet expounds upon things that by nature we do not see, we do not hear, and we could never imagine (1 Cor 2:9). Yet the Holy Spirit gives us insight to understand and embrace these enduring truths (1 Cor 2:10; Zech 4:6). They find their fulfillment in Jesus who is the Christ (2 Cor 1:20; 1 Pet 1:10–12).

Zechariah 1:7–13 A Man on a Red Horse

Introduction

The Man/Interpreting Messenger stands at the center of the first vision. He is the second person of the Trinity—our Lord Jesus Christ. John calls him the Word at the beginning, one with God Most High (Jn 1:1–3) and the supreme interpreter of divine truth (Jn 1:18). 56

Lectio Divina—divine reading—is a process of reading God’s word slowly, deliberately and prayerfully (Josh 1:8; Ps 1:2; Jer 15:16; Rev 10:9–10). In addition to inviting us into Lectio Divina— a skill Zechariah demonstrates repeatedly through echoes and allusions to earlier texts—he also summons us into Visio Divina or divine seeing. As we listen to God through the prophet’s words, we see divine truth through the prophet’s visions.

1:7— The date is February 15, 519 BC—roughly two months after Zechariah’s oracle (1:1– 6). The chronological marker in 1:7 is more exact than the one that begins the book in 1:1 where the prophet only specifies the day and month. Zech 1:7 not only states the day and month, but also names the month “,” which comes from the Babylonian calendar, as does Chislev in 7:1. Shevat is equivalent to the months of January/February in the Julian calendar. All three chronological statements in the book (1:1; 1:7; 7:1) employ the name Darius, indicating that the prophet’s visions occur when God’s people are under Persian domination. God speaks into this oppressive situation to reassert his universal role (cf. 9:9; 14:9, 16, 17).

This is the book’s second of three superscriptions. The first appears in 1:1, while the third is in 7:1. Thus, Zechariah’s visions and related oracles (1:7–6:15) are enveloped with two dates— demarcating this section of the book. The date given in 1:7 is February 15, 519 BC. This is almost fourteen months after the refoundation event on December 18, 520 BC (Hag 2:1–19; Zech 4:6b– 10a; Ezra 3:8–13). Builders would toil for four more years and complete the project on March 12, 515 BC.

1:8 When it comes to God communicating with people on earth, it appears as though God follows one rule—there is no rule! In Abraham’s case there were three strangers (Gen 18:1–15). Moses met God in a burning bush (Exodus 3). A talking donkey got Balaam’s attention (Num 22:22–35). To say that a bright light stunned Paul would be an understatement—he was knocked off his horse and blinded (Acts 9:1–9). John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day and saw the risen Christ (Rev 1:10–20). The Bible is famous for its surprising divine encounters. Zechariah’s is certainly one of the most alarming. In response to the people’s repentance in 1:6, Yahweh shows the prophet a foreboding scene.

It is night. Equestrians are in a deep valley shrouded in darkness and the thick foliage of myrtle trees. This “divine corral” is Yahweh’s heavenly council, a setting analogous to 1 Kings 22; Isaiah 6; Job 1–2. Heavenly beings appear in the first vision. Yahweh does not. He only speaks (1:13).

Who is the Man, mounted on a red horse, standing among the myrtle trees? Is he synonymous with Yahweh’s Messenger who appears in 1:9? Zechariah describes both as “standing between the myrtle trees” (1:8, 10, 11). This suggests that they are one and the same person who becomes Zechariah’s constant companion throughout his eight visions (2:2 [EN 1:19]; 2:7 [EN 2:3]; 3:1, 5, 6; 4:1, 4, 11; 5:2, 3, 10; 6:4). The Man/Messenger is not a mere angel or divine apparition. His task throughout the visions is to explain and interpret Yahweh’s actions and plans. This is how John explains the role of Jesus—he “exegetes/explains” the Father (Jn 1:18).

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Joshua also has a vision from heaven that includes a Man standing (Josh 5:13). He is “the commander of Yahweh’s army” (Josh 5:14). In like manner, Jacob wrestles all night with a “Man” (Gen 32:25 [EN 32:24]). The next morning Jacob says, “I saw God face to face” (Gen 32:31 [EN 32:30]). The pre-incarnate Christ appears to Zechariah, just as he did to Joshua, Jacob and others throughout the OT.

Jesus, BC? It might be strange to think of Jesus as present and active before his birth in Bethlehem but the human restrictions to time and space do not apply to him. Long before Jesus became flesh in Mary’s womb he was present in the world as Yahweh’s Messenger.

Yahweh’s Messenger first appears to Hagar near the spring on the way to Shur after she had fled from Sarai’s mistreatment (Gen 16:7). He makes a promise that only God can make: “I will surely multiply your seed, and they will be so many that they cannot be counted” (Gen 16:10). Hagar realizes that she had seen God (Gen 16:13). Later, when Hagar and Ishmael are expelled from Abraham’s camp, the Messenger of God called to her and once again promised her concerning her son, “I will make him a great nation” (Gen 21:17).

Yahweh’s Messenger also speaks to Abraham to stop him before he sacrifices Isaac on Mount Moriah (Gen 22:11, 15). Again this Messenger is identified as God when he says, “You have not withheld your only son from me” (Gen 22:11) and “I will surely bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore” (Gen 22:17).

Near the end of his life, Jacob refers to this Messenger in his blessing of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh: “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all of my life to this day, the Messenger who has redeemed me from all danger: May he bless these boys.” (Gen 48:15–16)

Though Yahweh will not give his glory to another (e.g., Is 48:11), he places his name in his Messenger (Ex 23:21). The epiphany at the burning bush (Ex 3:2–6) makes it clear that Yahweh’s Messenger and Yahweh share the same attributes. The Messenger speaks (Ex 3:2), Yahweh speaks (Ex 3:4, 7), and then God speaks (Ex 3:6, 11, 13, 15). This same Messenger goes ahead of Israel to defeat the nation’s enemies (Ex 23:20; 32:34).

Yahweh’s Messenger appears to the prophet Balaam and his donkey (Numbers 22). He instructs Balaam to speak only those words which he gives him, which once again demonstrates that the Messenger is God (Num 22:35, cf. Num 23:12, 26; 24:12).

The Messenger of Yahweh appears several times in Judges. He admonishes Israel for its unfaithfulness when he says, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land I had solemnly promised to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you…’” (Judg 2:1). In Judg 6:12 he makes a dramatic appearance to Gideon. Later he appears to Samson’s mother and father. On this occasion, Manoah confessed, “We have seen God!” (Judg 13:22).This

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Messenger is unlike other angelic beings in the OT. He displays divine attributes, actions, and names. He is even worshiped.

In NT terms, the Messenger “is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15), “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Heb 1:3). Anyone who sees the Messenger sees the Father (Jn 14:9).

The fact that Zechariah’s vision takes place at night suggests vagueness and secrecy. This is furthered by the fact that the Man is mounted on his horse in the midst of myrtle trees— coniferous bushes that are thick and dense. “Behind him [were] horses—dark chestnut, light chestnut and white.” (1:8) The Man/Messenger commands a cavalry patrolling throughout the world. These divine riders/angels demonstrate that Yahweh is all-knowing, all-present and all- powerful. Persia may have authority but Yahweh has all authority in heaven and on earth. “God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne” (Ps 47:8).

Our life in Christ is not that far removed from this vision. We often sit in the ruins and rubble of what was, straining to see God’s promises for something better. Through our present pain, it is difficult to see our future hope. Christ still comes through his means of grace, announcing that God is large and still in charge!

It appears as though Yahweh revealed all eight visions on one night—February 19, 519 BC. No chronological markers separate the visions and Zechariah closely connects them through shared vocabulary and motifs.

Most interpreters believe the prophet received his visions in one night. “Night” also connotes the state of Persian Yehud. Without repentance (1:1–6) and a rebuilt temple (4:9), everything was pitch dark.

God frequently gives visions and revelations in the night; e.g., Abimelech of Gerar (Gen 20:3–7), Isaac (Gen 26:24), Jacob (Gen 28:11–12), Laban (Gen 31:24), Balaam (Num 22:20), Solomon (1 Ki 3:5), Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 2:1; 4:5), Daniel (Dan 2:19), the shepherds (Lk 2:8) and nor dream”;“ , חֲלוֹם word the employ not does however, Zechariah, 27:23). 18:9; 16:9; (Acts Paul does he say he was asleep. In 4:1 the prophet writes that he was “awaken like one who is awakened from his sleep.” This is a comparison, not a description of reality.

Normally Yahweh does not give prophets dreams; several exceptions are Joel 3:1 [EN 2:28]) and Num 12:6–8. Jeremiah writes that prophets who dream dreams are liars and charlatans (Jer 23:25–28, 32; 27:9–10; 29:8–9; cf. Zech 10:2). In general, Yahweh communicated through dreams in the age of the patriarchs and early monarchy. After that, his preferred avenue of communication becomes prophetic visions and oracles.

“Behold!” “Look!” “Take note!” “Something new and unexpected is here!” It means, “This is the whole point of what I’m saying!” “It is newsworthy and should be noticed!”

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The word Man is capitalized in English to denote that this is not an ordinary man, but the God/Man—the pre-incarnate Christ (cf. 1:10). In 1:7–15 the prophet also calls him “my Lord,” 1:9, “the Messenger speaking to me” (1:9, 13, 14), and, “Yahweh’s Messenger” (1:11, 12).

It must not be missed that since this scene takes place in winter (February), the evergreen character of the myrtle would have been ideal to provide coverage for a horse and rider. Zechariah’s vision, then, is analogous to Jacob’s at Bethel. Both visions appear in the night and both occur in transcendent places—for Jacob “the house of God” (Gen 28:19) and for Zechariah . ֹ(28:16 (Gen sleep his from Jacob awakened Yahweh Additionally, meet. earth and heaven where A similar event happens to Zechariah’s as Interpreting Messenger awakens him (Zech 4: ) as though he was sleeping. Given Zechariah’s penchant for alluding to earlier texts, these links offer insight into the prophet’s location for his visions—it is where heaven and earth meet, Yahweh’s divine council.

We should not allegorize the horses’ colors. They are not symbolic. Moreover, three colors do not denote that the prophet only sees three horses; there may be four, or a much larger number. Why, then, does Zechariah mention horses with four colors in his eighth vision (6:1–8)? Three in the first vision connote that something is defective; it is not good that the world is at rest (1:11). Conversely, the four colors in the last vision means that Yahweh wields absolute authority. Four represents completeness as it points to the four quadrants, north, south, east and west. Zechariah also employs the number four to represent completeness when he envisions four horns (2:1 [EN 1:18]), four craftsmen (2:3 [EN 1:20), and four winds (2:10 [EN 2:6]; 6:1).

1:9 This is the first of eight questions Zechariah asks Yahweh’s Messenger (1:9; 2:2, 4 [EN 1:19, 21]; 4:4, 11, 12; 5:6; 6:4). The prophet’s persistent questioning indicates that he is teachable and willing to listen—a trait he wants Yehudites to mimic. Just as Paul exhorted believers “imitate me” (1 Cor 4:16; 11:1; Eph 5:1) in like manner Zechariah’s persistent questions demonstrate how the community is to interact with Yahweh. The Messenger, for his part, is patient. He is willing to answer every question.

1:10 The Man/Messenger announces that the patrol’s concern is not parochial. Its movement is beyond Yehud or even Persia. The riders have a universal scope—they “go back and forth in the earth.” The idea is repeated in 1:11 for emphasis.

Unlike John, who indicates that the colors of the horses in his vision are emblematic of spiritual truth (Rev 6:1–8), when the Man begins to explain the vision to Zechariah he does not refer to the horse’s colors. Therefore, we should not, for example, connect the white horses with victory and conquest. Instead, the different colors indicate different reconnaissance groups.

Persia is not the ultimate power, nor does any other nation control the ancient Near East. Yahweh reigns in heaven and on earth. Riders report to him (1:10). He sends them out (1:10) for he is Lord over all (4:14; 6:5). Darius reigns provisionally. The day is coming when Yahweh will be King over everyone and everything (9:9; 14:9, 16, 17).

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The Man standing between the myrtle trees is the same Man that appears in 1:8. He is synonymous with the Interpreting Messenger in 1:9 and Yahweh’s Messenger in 1:11.

The plea “how long,” is frequent in the Psalter (Pss 6:4 [EN 6:3]; 13:2 [two times], 3 [two times] [EN 13:1, 2]; 74:10; 80:5 [EN 80:4]; 82:2; 90:13; 94:3 [two times]). Yahweh asks Pharaoh how long he will refuse to humble himself (Ex 10:3), while Pharaoh’s servants ask their leader how long will Moses be a snare to Egypt (Ex 10:7). Isaiah wonders how long he will have to announce Yahweh’s condemning Law (Is 6:11).

Yahweh’s Messenger continues his intercession with “you do not show mercy.” The seventy years of exile had been a time of Lo Ruchama—the name of Hosea’s second child (Hos 1:6; cf. Hos 2:6 (EN 2:4); Is 9:16; 27:11; Jer 13:14).

The adjective appears famously in Israel’s creed (Ex 34:6–7) where Yahweh announces that he is “the God of mercy.” Moses writes in Deut 30:3 that Yahweh’s restoration of exilic Israel will be based upon divine mercy (“he will have mercy on you”). “Mercy and forgiveness,” come together in Dan 9:9.

While the idiom “seventy years,” can designate a lifespan (Ps 90:10; Is 23:15), it is more prominently used in the OT and ancient Near East as a period of divine anger against a city or sanctuary. Babylon destroyed Judah in 587 BC and the temple was rededicated in 515 BC (Ezra 6:15); hence, seventy years comes close to the period between Yahweh’s abandonment of his temple and its restoration. Zech 7:5 employs a near equivalent expression—“that is, this seventy years.” Jeremiah indicates Babylon will rule seventy years (Jer 25:11–12; 29:10). Dan 9:2 and 2 Chr 36:21 employ the number seventy to speak of the exile. In these passages seventy years begins with Josiah’s death in 609 BC and ends with Cyrus’ decree in 539 BC.

1:11 Whereas Yahweh sends the riders out (1:10) they answer to Yahweh’s Messenger (1:11). To speak to the Messenger, then, is to speak to Yahweh. The Messenger and Yahweh are one (Jn 10:30; 20:28; Heb 1:3). The riders announce that they have been everywhere and seen everything. “All is quiet on the Western Front.”

We might think that Yahweh’s Messenger would delight in such a report. Why, then, does he lament in 1:12? Why does he interpret peace as evil? Was not Pax Persiana a welcomed relief from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar and his successors? Why is it not good news that, “All the earth is living peacefully” (1:11)?

Cyrus conquered Babylon he did not punish Babylon. It was not until Darius crushed the revolts led by Nidintu-Bel (claiming to be Nebuchadnezzar III) in December of 522 BC and Arakha (claiming to be Nebuchadnezzar IV) on November, 27, 521 BC that divine wrath fell upon Babylon. When Darius impaled Arakah and his 2,500 supporters God finally fulfilled the prophetic promises of Isaiah 47 and Jeremiah 50–51.

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An ongoing literary feature in Zechariah is the delay of a complete answer. For instance, the issues discussed in 1:9–11, 4:4–5 and 7:4–7 are not unpacked until 6:8; 4:13 and 8:18–19, respectively. Moreover, 9:1–10 envisions Yahweh ruling universally, but this is not completely realized until chapter 14. Yahweh will judge Babylon. Zech 6:8 celebrates the evil empire’s final demise.

However for now all the earth—especially Babylon—is “living peacefully.” Ezekiel likewise describes Sodom, “peaceful and at ease” (Ezek 16:49). The connection is clear. Yahweh will do to Babylon what he did to Sodom. He will rain down judgment and wrath (cf. Gen 19:24– 25). Like Asaph, therefore, when the wicked prosper, our best response is to enter into God’s sanctuary and realize their end (Ps 73:17), then rejoice in divine presence and promises (Ps 73:23–28). God will answer our prayer, “Thy kingdom come.”

1:12 Yahweh’s Messenger not only interprets. He laments, “How long?” (Zech 1:12) According to Is 54:7–8 Yahweh’s punishment of his people using the Babylonian war machine was to be brief. “Seventy years” is a long time to wait! Why is the situation dragging on?

The seventy years for Jerusalem spanned 587–515 BC (from the temple’s destruction to its rededication). On the other hand, Jer 25:9–12 makes it clear that the seventy years for Babylon begins with Nebuchadnezzar’s first year (605 BC) to the nation’s loss of power in 539 BC. If, however, we begin with 609 BC, the year Babylon’s rise began to affect Judah, then Jeremiah’s seventy years is exact—bringing us to 539 BC. Kline believes the seventy years were “a literal, if slightly rounded, number for the critical period of captivity (605–538), from the deportation in the time of Daniel to the decree of Cyrus permitting the exiles to return.” The span of 587–515 BC best fits the use of “seventy years” by the Messenger in his lament recorded in Zech 1:12.

Biblical laments are not sighs of resignation. They protest God’s inactivity. Laments frequently complain that Yahweh is asleep (e.g., Ps 35:23), detached (e.g., Ps 22:2 [EN 22:1), or slow to show concern (e.g., Ps 13:2–3 [EN 13:1–2). Such petitions try to motivate God to deliver, based upon what enemies might say (e.g., Ps 13:5 [EN 13:6]) or for Yahweh’s own honor (e.g., Ps 79:9).

Laments begin early in the OT. When God renders his verdict against Cain, the world’s first murderer cries, “My punishment is too great to carry!” (Gen 4:13). Moses asks God, “Why have you done evil to this people?” (Ex 5:22). After Achan’s sin, Joshua laments, “Lord Yahweh, why did you bring this people across the Jordan?” (Josh 7:7). Job cries out to God “why” five times in just one chapter (Job 3:11, 12 [two times], 16, 20, 23). Sixty-five of 150 psalms are Psalms of Lament. Then there is an entire book in the OT called Lamentations.

Heart-breaking questions permeate OT laments. Why did this happen? Why is life so unfair? Is there any order in the world? God, where are you?

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Sometimes we refuse to lament. Instead, we respond to angst and anguish by denying the pain. We live by these words. “Keep your chin up!” “Big boys don’t cry.” “When the going gets tough the tough get going!” Do not tell that to Zechariah. After eleven verses in a book set in the context of shattered hopes and dreams, the prophet quotes Yahweh’s Messenger saying, “How long?”

That is because we survive sorrow—we never get past sorrow; we can only survive it—by going through it. Often we wish we could survive sorrow by going around it, tunneling underneath it or taking a big jump over it. Zechariah goes through it. In fact, in 12:11–14 the prophet described numerous people mourning and lamenting.

God did not design us to look at massive loss and ignore it. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Mt 5:4). If we cover up our sorrow, if we pretend our sorrow does not exist, then we will not receive comfort. David prays, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” (Ps 23:4).

We also survive sorrow by looking beyond it. We look beyond our sorrow to see Jesus. Jesus knows what it is like to lament. Jesus knows what it is like to mourn, sorrow and grieve. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps 22:2 [EN 22:1]).

When did God save his people from their long night in Egypt? In the morning (Ex 14:24). When does Psalm 46 say God delivers? In the morning (Ps 46:6 [EN 46:5]). When did Jesus rise again? In the morning (Jn 20:1). When does God deliver us from the long nights of loss? According to Lam 3:23 his mercies are new every morning. And what is the last name the Bible gives Jesus? The bright Morning Star (Rev 22:16). “Weeping lodges for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Ps 30:6 [EN 30:5]) Morning joy will come for Jerusalem. That is the message of Zechariah’s eighth vision (Zech 6:1–8) where Yahweh’s horses and chariots defeat Babylon in the morning (Zech 6:1, 8). Yahweh will show mercy on Jerusalem!

In 1:12 Zechariah mentions Jerusalem for the first time in his book. The prophet will use the name for the City of David over forty more times. Zechariah longs for Jerusalem to become a city overflowing in prosperity (1:17); teaming with people and animals (2:8 [EN 2:4]); the “Holy Mountain” as well as the “City of Truth” (8:3); a city that includes old men and women living in peace (8:4); and safe streets where young children frolic with reckless abandon (8:5). Divine intervention is on the way (1:13) and Yahweh has returned (1:16). The day is coming when Yahweh will elevate Jerusalem and make the city secure from all her enemies, filled with the riches of the nations (14:10–14).

Do the Yehudites deserve any of this? They are P.M.S.—Poor Miserable Sinners. Yet in mercy, Yahweh’s Messenger intercedes for them. And, not only for them, but the Messenger— having become incarnate in Jesus—prays for us (e.g., Lk 23:34; Rom 8:34). Jesus, as our Mediator (1 Tim 2:5) and Great High Priest (Heb 7:24–25), places our needs before the throne of his Father in heaven. The Spirit of Jesus also intercedes for us (Rom 8:26–27).

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1:13 Yahweh does not answer the interceding Messenger with, “Try harder! Pray more! Reach higher!” Yahweh elucidates his “good and comforting words” in 1:14–17 where he reveals that Yehud’s future rests solely upon divine action. “I have zeal.” (1:14) “I am angry … I myself was angry.” (1:15) “I have returned … my house.” (1:16) “My cities.” (1:17) There are no second person references (“you”) in these verses. Yahweh will also overthrow Gentile powers (1:14–15; 2:1–4 [EN 1:18–21]), surround Jerusalem with a protecting wall of fire (2:9 [EN 2:4]), and keep his people as the apple of his eye (2:12 [EN 2:8]). The future is in Yahweh’s hands, not ours!

Salvation by grace, through faith, apart from works, distinguishes from all other religions. We may suffer for Christ, and loving service proves the genuineness of our faith. However, neither our suffering nor our service saves us. We are saved by God’s mercy, not by our merit—by Christ’s dying, not by our doing. Grace is everything for absolutely nothing.

Sometimes we think, “God’s grace has a limit.” We tell ourselves, “A person can only ask for forgiveness so many times.” The devil loves this kind of talk. If he can convince us that God’s grace has limits, we’ll come to this conclusion. “I’ve used up all of God’s grace. I’m finished! I’m done!” Not so! “Where sin increases, grace increases all the more.” (Rom 5:20) Yahweh still speaks “good and comforting words” (Zech 1:13).

Zechariah 2:1–5

The Measuring Line Introduction

The situation in Yehud was deplorable (Hag 1:6, 9–11); resources were scant to rebuild both the city and the temple. Yahweh’s Messenger laments, “O Yahweh of Armies, how long will you yourself not show mercy to Jerusalem and Judah’s cities with whom you have been indignant with for these seventy years?” (1:12) Zechariah’s third vision (2:1–5) and accompanying oracle (2:6–13) record Yahweh’s response—and it is all Gospel!

The movement in Zechariah’s first three visions is from the universal (1:7–13), to foreign nations (1:18–21) to the city of Jerusalem (2:1–4). The fourth vision narrows the focus even further as it concerns Joshua, Jerusalem’s the high priest (3:1–5).

In his third vision, Zechariah sees a man measuring Jerusalem—a scene that evokes a reference in the first vision (1:16). Yahweh’s return to Jerusalem is an ongoing refrain in this section (2:5, 10, 11, 13). The motif recalls a time when he took three steps to leave the city and her temple during the Babylonian crisis of 587 BC (Ezek 9:3; 10:19; 11:23). Now Yahweh is coming back! The city will have a vast population protected a “wall of fire” (2:5). God will be present to protect his people, forever.

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2:1 The marks of Babylon’s destruction were still visible. The wounds were still fresh. Babylon took so much away—soldiers burned monumental architecture, separated families and pillaged the national treasury. Yet the deepest heartbreak was God’s departure from his temple. He left his people (Is 54:7; Jer 12:7; Ezek 11:23). Would he ever come back? Zechariah’s third vision expands upon Yahweh’s earlier promise of return (Zech 1:16).

The third vision begins much like the second, with Zechariah raising his eyes (1:18]; 2:1). He sees a man measuring Jerusalem, implying that the city is about to be rebuilt. Amos describes a plumb line, indicating that the Northern Kingdom lacked justice and righteousness (Amos 7:7– 9). This resulted in death, destruction and exile in 721 BC. Conversely, Zechariah sees divine blessing and hope in the man taking Jerusalem’s measurements. Although the craftsmen have scattered the enemy horns (1:18–21), new enemies (horns) could arise at any time. The time to measure and rebuild is now!

2:2 While Zechariah seeks clarification in his first two visions (Zech 1:9; 1:19), here he does not question Yahweh’s Messenger. Instead, the prophet enters the vision and asks the man about his destination. The man—a member of Yahweh’s heavenly court—tells the prophet he is measuring Jerusalem to ascertain its width and length. This man has believed the prophet’s message that Jerusalem will be rebuilt, but he expects the new Jerusalem to be no different from the old, and he would therefore conform its measurements to those it had before its fall. The expectations of the man taking measurements are excessively low. Yahweh “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Eph 3:20). He needs to drop his yardstick, fall to his knees and lift his eyes heavenward. Only then will he live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7).

2:3 Yahweh’s Messenger suddenly interrupts the vison as signaled by the interjection “and behold.” Another lower-ranking messenger joins him. Both the Messenger and the messenger, along with the man taking measurements, are council members in the divine throne room.

Zechariah’s sixth vision includes specific measurements (5:2). He cites no numbers here— implying that Jerusalem cannot be measured. Zech 1:16 likewise avoids numerical specifics. The blueprint is not of a city with normal walls whose dimensions can be fixed. The New Jerusalem in chapter 14 adds living waters (14:8), an exalted elevation (14:10) as well as perfect holiness (14:20–21).

2:4 The Messenger commands “another messenger” to run and speak to the misguided young man/angel. In doing so, the Messenger even gives the lower-ranking emissary the words to say. “Jerusalem will be inhabited like unwalled settlements, because of an abundance of people and animals in her midst.”

The angelic messenger takes the role of a prophet, announcing God’s word to the young man/angel. It is time to cease preconstruction surveying because Jerusalem will be a city without

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conventional walls. The New Jerusalem will be different from the old Jerusalem. The only wall will be a wall of fire (Zech 2:5).

Just like the young man/angel, we often need to replace our human perspective with a divine perspective. Using our yardstick, we end up with a small view of what God is doing. Then we become pessimistic and jaded, believing we are weak against the powers of this present evil age. But here is another picture: God’s redeemed crowding the streets of the new Jerusalem, bursting out beyond the city limits and covering the surrounding hills as the sand covers the seashore. Yahweh is no nickel and dime God! Security and prosperity will not be achieved by man-made walls, or indeed by any human activity at all, but by the promised presence of God. Jerusalem’s population will burst forth, exceeding everyone’s wildest dreams.

This abundance parallels Zech 1:17 and both texts echo Is 54:1–3 (cf. Gal 4:27). “In this place where you say, ‘It is a wasteland without man or beast’ … there will be heard again the voice of joy and gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride … for I will restore the fortunes of the land.” (Jer 33:10–11). Yahweh will reverse the curse! Both Isaiah (Is 49:19–20) and Ezekiel (Ezek 36:11, 33, 37–38) likewise envision the new community busting at the seams.

Instead of “Israelites” or “Yehudites” Zechariah says that the city will be populated with “humanity.” He does not identify any specific ethnic group. In 2:11 the prophet identifies the population as including “many nations” who become Yahweh’s people, while in 8:23 the nations ask a Yehudite, “let us go with you because we heard that God is with you.” In like manner, Jesus pictures a multiethnic church (Mt 8:11) made up of every nation and tribe and language and people (Rev 14:6).

Nehemiah did not live to see this promise fulfilled. He had to compel people to inhabit the city (Neh 11:1–2). This implies that Zechariah’s vision foresees the New Jerusalem where “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and language” will stand “before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands” (Rev 7:9).

2:5 David initiated the temple’s construction (1 Chronicles 22) and his son Solomon built it (1 Kings 6). From then on, the monarchy and temple were closely connected. Yehudites were acutely aware that now—because of Persian hegemony—there would be no Davidide to accompany the temple’s construction. Would it be legitimate? Zechariah answers with a resounding, “Yes!” Yahweh’s presence, indeed his glory, will once again inhabit the temple and the city, thus vindicating Jerusalem.

Fire may denote judgment and destruction (e.g., Amos 1:4, 7, 10), but here it is a positive symbol of divine favor. Instead of bricks and mortar, Yahweh will fortify the city with fire and glory. The metaphorical depiction of Yahweh as a ‘wall of fire’ transfers the security and autonomy implied by a wall to the presence of Yahweh. Yahweh likewise promises protection for

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Jerusalem in Zech 9:8. He will himself serve as Guard and watch over it with his own eyes (cf. Ps 125:2). No oppressor will gain access to Yahweh’s house!

Zechariah may have based this vision of fire upon the pillar of fire that accompanied Israel during the exodus and wilderness wanderings (Ex 13:21–22; 14:24; 40:38; Num 14:14; Neh 9:12, 19). The prophet may also have in mind Pasargadae, one of the four Persian capital cities, built by Cyrus and later the site of his tomb. Pasargadae had no walls but was surrounded by altars of fire that supposedly depicted the god named Ahura Mazda. If this image lies behind Yahweh’s statement, he is making an imperial claim that the city of Jerusalem is the residence of the true emperor, Yahweh, from which he will rule the earth.

Because divine glory is connected to the tabernacle (Ex 40:34) as well as Solomon’s temple (1 Ki 8:11=2 Chr 5:14), both Ezekiel (Ezek 43:4) and Haggai (Hag 2:3, 7, 9) associate glory with the rebuilt temple. Externally, Yahweh’s fire protects his city. Internally his glory will inhabit the temple.

On the one hand, God’s glory reveals his presence. On the other hand, God’s glory conceals his presence. So which is it? Reveal or conceal? It is both because we cannot see God’s full presence. Yahweh tells Moses, “No one can see me and live.” (Ex 33:20) This is why God veils his presence, frequently through a cloud (e.g., Ex 13:21–22; 40:34–38; Lev 16:2; Is 4:5; Ezek 1:4).

The cloud concealing God’s glory in the OT points to the incarnation of Christ Jesus. “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation [χαρακτὴρ] of his being.” (Heb 1:3) If the cloud concealed God’s full presence in the OT, what conceals Christ—the Second Person of the Trinity? Flesh covers Jesus. “Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see! Hail the incarnate deity!” The word χαρακτὴρ denotes the perfect image produced by stamp. The Father stamps his perfect image on Jesus (cf. Jn 14:9). Jesus completely embodies God’s glory and presence (2 Cor 4:6). “We have seen his glory!” (Jn 1:14)

When we hear the word “glory” connected to Jesus, most often we think of beauty, power, majesty and might. We think of Jesus walking on water, feeding the 5,000, raising Lazarus, healing the sick, cleansing the lepers and making crippled people whole. Christ’s glory must mean that he was always walking just an inch above the ground, right? Christ’s glory must mean that he was always emitting a glowing, heavenly light. Right? Wrong.

Dead wrong. Christ displays his supreme and ultimate glory in his suffering and death. On Palm Sunday, with his face set like flint towards the cross, Jesus says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” (Jn 12:23) In the Upper Room, right after Judas Iscariot leaves to betray him for thirty pieces of silver, Jesus says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified.” (Jn 13:31) Just before his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son.” (Jn 17:1) Christ’s glory in John’s Gospel is his bitter suffering and God-forsaken death.

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There was a legionnaire’s whip of leather strips with lead balls on each end, beating his back beyond recognition. There was a crown of thorns leaving deep gashes in his head, caking his hair with blood. There were clenched fists striking his face. And there were nails disfiguring his body as he twisted and turned, writhing in pain.

Rome famously called it moris turpissima crucis, “the utterly vile death of the cross.” Words collapse before the sheer atrocity of it all. Melito of Sardis, who lived in the second century AD, famously writes, “He who hung the earth in its place hangs there. He who fixed the heavens is fixed there, upon a tree. The Master has been insulted. God has been murdered.”

Christ’s greatest glory is to love us, forgive us and come to us right where we are with water, bread, wine and words—his means of grace. Baptism, the Holy Supper and the Gospel deliver Jesus to spouses whose marriage is dying, to the divorced, the desperate and the bitterly broken. Jesus comes to the soiled and the shamed, to people who are sickened by what they see going on in their life.

Three times in Zechariah’s second chapter Yahweh promises to dwell in the midst of his people (Zech 2:5, 10, 11). This will change Yehudites from vulnerable to protected; from barrenness to prosperity; and from irrelevance to significance. Yahweh changes the world by entering the world—with glory!

Along with glory and fire, Exodus themes continue in Zech 2:5 with Yahweh’s promise “I am,” which also appears in Ex 3:14. Divine presence and protection, patterned after God’s dealings with Israel in Egypt, will continue for Jerusalem. Abraham was longing for this city (Heb 11:10) and God has brought the baptized to it. “You have come to Mt. Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” (Heb 12:22)

Zechariah 9–14 The Coming Messiah

Introduction

Yahweh makes stunning promises in Zechariah 1–8. Jerusalem will become an impregnable city (2:5). Believers will prosper, sitting “under a vine and under a fig tree” (3:10). Carefree people, young and old will, fill the city’s open spaces (8:4–5). The nations will eagerly make a pilgrimage to Zion (8:20–23). Yet, after the temple’s completion, historical realities of life in Yehud fell short of this vision.

Zechariah 9–14 addresses these unresolved promises, indicating how Yahweh’s kingdom will advance so that he reigns for eternity. Suffering, however, will precede the final celebration. The cross will come before the crown. Chapters 9–14 temper the positive features in chapters 1– 8. Zechariah prevents us from embracing an illusory optimism or a theology of glory.

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The book’s first eight chapters mostly exhibit the “now” of God’s kingdom. Temple work resumes in 520 BC and Yehudites dedicate the edifice on March 12, 515 BC. On the other hand, chapters 9–14 announce the “not yet” of the divine plan which will be consummated through the Messiah’s rejection, death, resurrection and Second Advent. Everyone suffers in the last six chapters; God’s people, their enemies, the coming Messiah and, most surprising of all, God himself gets pierced in the battle. The transition from the ‘now,’ when the temple is completed, to the ‘then,’ when the kingdom of God is fully revealed, is like the birthing of a child.

Zechariah 9–14 in the New Testament

From the perspective of the NT, chapters 9–14 announce what has happened, what is happening and what will happen—in Christ. Our surest guide to the interpretation of these chapters will be the ways in which their content is reflected in the fuller revelation of the coming of God’s kingdom in the New Testament. However, the “then,” the “now,” and the “not yet” of our Lord’s ministry are often fused together and sometimes appear indistinguishable.

Although Zechariah introduces the Shoot in 3:8 and 6:12, he specifically defines the Shoot’s future in the book’s last six chapters. Most remarkable, the relationship between the messianism in Zechariah 1–8 and 9–14 is similar to how Isaiah presents the coming King—he is both triumphant (Is 2:1–5; 9:2–7; 11:1–9) and marked by suffering (Is 50:4–9; 52:13–53:12). The Davidic figure in Zechariah 9–14 is a commentary on the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 40–55. The Davidic Shoot, therefore, will have triumphs (Zech 9:9–10) and tragedies (Zech 11:12–13; 12:10; 13:7). He will be both Victor and Victim.

NT authors provide a grid for us to make sense of Zechariah 9–14. Correspondences between Zechariah and the Passion narratives are as follows:

Event Zechariah Gospels Palm Sunday 9:9–10 Mt 21:5; Jn 12:15 Holy Communion 9:11 Mt 26:26–29; Mk 14:22–25; Lk 22:14–23 Christ betrayed 11:12–13 Mt 27:9–10 Christ deserted 13:7 Mt 26:31; Mk 14:27 God’s/Christ’s death 12:10 Jn 19:37 Cleansing from Christ’ death 13:1 Jn 19:34 Lament over Christ’s death 12:11–14 Lk 23:27

Zechariah presents these Messianic visions from different angles. The Messiah is a lowly King endowed with salvation; he is a rejected and pierced shepherd; he is a powerful king who will sit on David’s throne. His ministry is marked with suffering but ends in glory.

Outline

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Zechariah 9–14 consists of two parts—chapters 9–11 and 12–14. Each section is demarcated by the word, “oracle” (9:1; 12:1). The first section envisions a new king (9:9–10) ruling a nation that reunites the north and the south (9:1–8; 10:1, 3–12). Chapter 11 judges evil leaders and functions to bridge the hopeful chapters of 9–10 with the battle-torn oracles in chapters 12–14. Zechariah 12–14 offers two perspectives of this one war. Yahweh, the God who “stretched out the heavens and founded the earth” (12:1) will equip his people to fight for Jerusalem. Even the feeblest in the army will be like David—indeed, like Yahweh’s Messenger (12:8). In the rage of the battle, though, Yahweh will be pierced and die (12:10). Great mourning will ensue (12:11–14). Miraculously, a fountain will open up and its waters will cleanse people from their sin (13:1). The land will be purified of idols and of false prophets (13:2–6), and holiness will reign supreme (14:20–21). Yahweh will rule as King over all people (14:9, 16, 17).

Zechariah 9 and 12 present the overall picture of these chapters, while –11 focus upon leadership. Zechariah 13–14 depict divine cleansing with the result of cosmic holiness. Throughout the section, shepherd-flock imagery appears in pericopae that are negative in tone (10:1–3; 11:1–3; 11:4–17; 13:7–9).

Overview

Zechariah 9–14 may appear to present numerous battles, followed by Yahweh’s end time reign. However, these chapters depict one battle from several different angles, resulting in Yahweh’s enthronement as King of the universe (14:9, 16, 17). Recurring motifs include God’s battle against the nations (9:4–7, 13; 10:5; 12:2–9; 14:1–2, 12), his protection for Jerusalem (9:9, 14; 12:3, 8; 14:11), a coming King (9:9–10; 10:2, 4; 12:10; 14:9, 16, 17) and exiles regathered (9:11–12; 10:8–11; 12:6; 14:11, 16–22). These recurring themes strongly suggest that what we are dealing with here is not a collection of disparate prophecies, nor a chronology of separate events, but the same event viewed from different perspectives. In each cycle there is a focus on a different aspect of this final-day battle that will usher in Yahweh’s kingdom, but all the time building on and developing what has gone before, rather than negating or modifying it.

These chapters do not offer a linear progression of God’s plan for the world. The prophet introduces themes and motifs, drops them, and then takes them up again. Zechariah presents a collage rather than a circumscribed progression of events. These chapters do not unfold chronologically, but present the inbreaking of God’s kingdom through ecstatic victories and crushing defeats. We see Christ’s humiliation as well as his glory, his suffering as well as his greatness. Jesus is accepted yet rejected, conqueror yet conquered. Zechariah presents these ideas A summary of these chapters is as follows:

Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 12 Chapter 14 Battle against nations 9:4–7, 13 10:5 12:2–9 14:1–2, 12–15 Yahweh fights for his people 9:4–7, 14 10:11–12 12:3–4, 6, 9 14:3–5, 12–15 Yahweh protections Jerusalem 9:8 12:3, 8 14:10–11

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A coming King 9:9–10 10:2, 4 12:10 14:9, 16, 17 Yahweh rescues his people 9:9, 16 10:6 12:7 14:5, 11 Exiles return 9:11–12 10:8–11 14:11, 16–19

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