Zechariah 9
We began this sermon series with a vision that Zechariah had one night when he was a young priest in Jerusalem, in the early years of his return with the other exiles from Babylon. That took us through chapters one to six. Then Cory and Elliot preached from sermons Zechariah preached two years later. Now, as we come to chapters nine to fourteen, we move toward the later years of Zechariah’s life. These next four sermons will take us to the end of the book of Zechariah. It has been a delightful journey for me and Zechariah is not the mystery it used to be when I read through the minor prophets.
These last six chapters are different from what we have looked at thus far. The earlier chapters of Zechariah focused on the current situation in Jerusalem with the temple needing to be rebuilt and Israel’s relationship with God needing to be restored. But now God is taking Zechariah beyond his current situation and speaking about things that will happen far into the future. And the look into the future Zechariah received he communicated by using past events to describe what will happen. It is as if Zechariah received a glimpse into the future and used what he knew of history to explain what he saw. For this reason it is a mistake to try to find modern significance in every detail of what Zechariah writes. This leads in false directions. In order to understand Zechariah’s message it is best to look at the big picture presented in these chapters.
Zechariah begins this oracle with judgment. I have talked about this in earlier sermons from Zechariah. We want God to love but we forget that God is also just. His love and his justice are his character and neither can be removed without diminishing who God is.
Paul began his letter to the church in Rome with a discussion of the wrath of God. Before Paul could talk about the love of God, he needed to paint the picture of how desperately we are in need of him. Unless we understand our true circumstance, we cannot have a proper appreciation for the love of God.
So in 9:1-7 Zechariah talks about God’s judgment on Syria, Phoenicia, and Philistia. These were Israel’s long-time enemies and can be viewed as a future look into the judgment of God against the nations of the world.
Then in 9:8 there is God’s promise of protection for his chosen people.
8 But I will encamp at my temple
to guard it against marauding forces.
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch.
“Never again.” Surely this is a clue that Zechariah is talking about a far future event, because just six hundred years later in 70 AD, Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans and the temple Zechariah was rebuilding was destroyed. The Jews were dispersed and political Israel ceased to exist. Once again an oppressor overran God’s people in Jerusalem.
So when Zechariah says “never again,” he cannot be talking about the Jews in Jerusalem, he must be talking about God’s people at some time in the future. Who are God’s people today? The apostle Peter wrote (1 Peter 2:9–10)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
The followers of Jesus throughout the ages of the church are God’s people. Has an oppressor ever overrun God’s people in the history of the church?
The early followers of Jesus were persecuted. Of Jesus’ disciples, only John died a natural death. The early church was persecuted by the Romans. Peter wrote his letter to followers of Jesus who were being persecuted. Paul experienced the persecution of the church and wrote about this in his letters. The writer of Hebrews was written to Jews who became followers of Jesus and then, because of the intense persecution of Christians, wanted to return to their Jewish faith.
Followers of Jesus today continue to be persecuted. In fact, what is normal is that followers of Jesus are persecuted. This morning in Rabat we meet with complete freedom – that is not the case with many of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
According to Open Doors, each month 322 Christians are killed for their faith. Each month 214 Christian churches and properties are destroyed. Each month there are 722 forms of violence committed against Christians including beatings, abductions, rapes, arrests, and forced marriages.
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch.
It is clear that Zechariah is talking about a future time that 2,500 years later still has not yet come. We live in a world where God’s people are persecuted but our hope is in a future day where this will never again happen.
The enemies of God’s people will be judged and God’s people will be protected. How will this happen?
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
We are very familiar with the first part of this passage. We read it every year on Palm Sunday. When we are reading through the Bible, our eyes can glaze over as we make our way through the prophets but then when we come to this passage we wake up. “Oh, I know this one! I know what this means!” It is exciting to read something we understand.
This is Zechariah’s prophecy about the Messiah who was to come and speaks of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the end of his public ministry.
This is cause for great joy.
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
We rejoice greatly because the Messiah will be
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
The Messiah will be righteous. He will be just and impartial in judgment. We know from our own countries and from reading the news that we live in a world where money buys decisions of the court. There is a different set of rules for the rich than for the poor. But as bad as it is now, it was far worse in the centuries that precede us. A righteous Messiah was great news for the people who heard Zechariah’s message and it continues to be great news for us today.
The Messiah will be righteous and he will be victorious. This has the meaning of the Messiah “showing himself a savior.” In his words and his actions he will demonstrate that he came to seek and save the lost.
The Messiah will be righteous, victorious, and he will be lowly, literally “afflicted.” He will be a humble Messiah who will come as a servant.
The Messiah will be riding on a donkey. Since the time of Solomon a donkey was viewed as a lowly animal and a symbol of peace.
This is a Messiah we want and need.
When the Messiah comes he will establish his kingdom.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
His kingdom will be peaceful. The chariots and warhorses will be taken away and the battle bow will be broken. This is a message that is found in others of the prophets. (Isaiah 2:4)
He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
His kingdom will be peaceful and it will be united. Ephraim from the north and Jerusalem from the south will be brought together. 250 years before Zechariah, the prophet Hosea, who married a prostitute, had a son who was named in judgment against the northern kingdom of Israel. (Hosea 1:8–9)
After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.
This is a terrible judgment, a horrible rejection. Two hundred fifty years before Zechariah God had cut off the northern kingdom of Israel but now with the promise of a Messiah to come, he brings them back into the fold. In the Messiah’s kingdom the northen kingdom of Israel, the Samaritans, would be brought back into the family of God’s people. We see this in Acts 8 when Phillip preached the good news of Jesus in Samaria. (Acts 8:14–17)
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
Even more despised than the Samaritans were the Gentiles and Paul wrote about his experience with Gentiles becoming followers of Jesus. (Ephesians 2:13–22)
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace,
17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Because of the disobedience of the northern kingdom of Israel God cut them off. God’s justice must be satisfied. But with the coming of the Messiah, God’s justice is satisfied and then all those who were cut off, all those who were rejected, all those who were far off, are brought near.
His kingdom will be peaceful, united, and it will be universal.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
The river here is the Euphrates, the most remote boundary of the Promised Land. The two seas may be the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Zechariah is saying that the Messiah’s kingdom will incorporate all the old territory of the Promised Land and more. It would extend to the ends of the earth.
This is also what Jesus said about the kingdom of God. The disciples asked the resurrected Jesus if he was going to restore the kingdom of Israel and he replied. (Acts 1:7–8)
“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
As I said a few weeks ago, we are the grateful recipients of the work of Jesus and those he sent to our countries so we could hear the gospel, the good news of Jesus, and have the opportunity to respond by surrendering to his love.
With the coming of the kingdom of the Messiah, he will bring redemption.
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
God made a covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai after Moses had received the law. Moses offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls. He took half of the blood and splashed it against the altar and then took the other half and sprinkled blood on the people and said, (Exodus 24:4–8)
“This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
But this covenant took place in the past and Zechariah is looking to the future when there was a better covenant made with a perfect sacrifice. At the last supper, Jesus, when he shared the Passover Seder meal with his disciples, (Matthew 26:27–29)
took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
This is the covenant that set the prisoner free from the waterless pit. This is the covenant that rescued us and gives us hope of eternal life.
As we move through Zechariah’s oracle we come to one more picture of the coming of the Messiah.
14 Then the Lord will appear over them;
his arrow will flash like lightning.
The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;
he will march in the storms of the south,
15 and the Lord Almighty will shield them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones.
They will drink and roar as with wine;
they will be full like a bowl
used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will save his people on that day
as a shepherd saves his flock.
This is not the suffering servant, lowly and riding on a donkey. This is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords we read about in Revelation who comes on a powerful, white horse. (Revelation 19:11–16)
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
king of kings and lord of lords.
16 The Lord their God will save his people on that day
as a shepherd saves his flock.
This part of Zechariah’s oracle speaks about how Jesus, the Messiah, said he would return. (Matthew 24:30–31)
“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Zechariah takes us all the way from the return of the Jews to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple to the birth of Jesus, the coming of the Messiah, all the way through the age of the church which has not yet ended. We are still waiting for the return of Jesus, the Messiah, who will come to judge the world. We are still waiting for Zechariah’s glimpse into the future to be fulfilled.
If you sat down with the book of Zechariah a hundred years before Jesus was born and tried to anticipate what the coming of the Messiah would look like, how close would you have gotten to the truth of what actually happened? There is so much that is said, there are so many images. Without knowing what happened, it would be impossible to figure it out.
Because we know what happened when Jesus was on earth, we read along and certain verses leap out at us and we know what they mean. We know how to interpret them. And when we read about a trumpet blast and the Messiah coming to judge the earth, we think we know what that means because of how we think it will be when Jesus returns.
But I would encourage you to hold what you think will happen with a handful of humility. Be wary of preachers and teachers who are so definitive about when Jesus will return and how it will be when he returns. Why do you think you or they can predict what will happen when Jesus returns any better than the best minds in the world who studied the scriptures and completely missed the fact that the Messiah would come as a suffering servant, not a triumphant king? We know Jesus will return. He promised he would return. But how that will be has yet to be discovered. I hope I am alive when that happens. Come, Lord Jesus!
If you talked with the people who heard the oracles Zechariah delivered, what do you think they would have said the world would be like after the Messiah came? I am sure they would have thought that the coming of the Messiah would quickly bring an end to corruption and violence and that people would no longer be treated unfairly, no longer be abused, no longer be taken advantage of, no longer have to fear what someone might do to them.
But the Messiah came two thousand years ago and what has happened since then? There has never been a year in the last two thousand years when there was not a war or several wars taking place. There has never been a year in the last two thousand years when people did not suffer and die because of natural disasters. There have been famines. There have been plagues. The Black Plague in the fourteenth century killed an estimated 75 to 200 million people. 30 to 60% of Europe’s population died. It took three hundred years for the world’s population to recover. Genocide has many times been inflicted on populations around the world. Sex trafficking is not new. Throughout the ages, women and girls and boys have been forced into sexual slavery. The church has been persecuted from the very beginning and continues to be persecuted today. In our world today we fear terrorist attacks and nuclear disaster.
If you could be transported back in time and could speak to Zechariah and the people who heard his oracle, they would not believe you when you spoke to them about what has happened since the Messiah came.
We live in a world of suffering. Zechariah spoke of this, but I don’t think he thought that there would be at least two thousand years of suffering before the end.
The sermon title for today is “Good News! The Messiah Is Coming!” As we move into chapters 10 and 11 next week the title will be “Good News! The Messiah Is Coming! Bad News! There Will Be Many Years of Suffering Before He Returns. Good News! Jesus Is Coming Soon.”
How does this oracle of Zechariah help us?
We pay a lot of attention to news of what is happening in the Korean peninsula as tensions between North Korea and the US mount, with South Korea having to face the consequences of the heated dialog between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.
Some of us pay a lot of attention to the stock market and whether it moves up or down. We pay a lot of attention to trade agreements between countries. We pay a lot of attention to terrorism. We pay a lot of attention to the rise and fall of our national leaders. We pay a lot of attention to health concerns. We pay a lot of attention to changing sexual practices and values.
These are important issues, but they are not eternal issues. I read Robert Harris’ three-volume novel about Cicero this past summer. Cicero was a public orator in Rome who saw the rise and fall of Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony in the century before Jesus was born. When I read the novels I realized that the issues that were important to people then are the same issues that are important to people today. Cicero fought for the democracy of Rome and lost but five hundred years later the Goths sacked Rome. Empires have risen and fallen. None of them have lasted forever. We read about Cicero, but what difference does that make to him now? Every person I read about in those books has been dead for two thousand years and what mattered so much to them when they were alive in Rome is completely meaningless to them now.
Understanding this is deep wisdom.
John wrote (1 John 2:17)
The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Peter quoted Isaiah in his letter. (1 Peter 1:24–25)
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
In Psalm 103 David shared the wisdom of the writer of Ecclesiastes (Psalm 103:15–16)
The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
We need to study and do well in school. We need to work hard to be good parents. We need to work hard and do well in our work. We need to provide for ourselves and our family. But regardless of how successful you are in these different spheres of activity, it will pass and how the world rated your success will be absolutely meaningless.
Nations rise in influence and fall. Economies flourish and collapse. Meanwhile, Jesus is at work building his kingdom. We look at what has happened in Zimbabwe and hope that the new government will help the economy of Zimbabwe to improve. Is this the concern of heaven? I am not sure. What matters is how Jesus is able to use this transition in the lives of the people of Zimbabwe to draw people to himself. Heaven has a different focus than we do on earth. We focus on the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms. Heaven focuses on the building of God’s heavenly kingdom.
The German theologian Karl Barth said, “Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.”
Keep the broad sweep of history Zechariah preached alive in your mind. As you move through your week, don’t allow the stresses and tensions to pull you away from understanding that things far more important than the decisions you are making are being worked out. Remember that the people you meet during your days are people Jesus loves and wants in his kingdom. You may not speak to them about your faith in Jesus, but it helps to be aware of Jesus working in their lives as you speak about other things.
500 years after the prophecy of Zechariah the Messiah was born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph. 2000 years later we are still waiting for his return. Be patient as Jesus is patient. Be eager for his return as Jesus is eager for his return. The time is coming. We are nearing the end. Stay alive to the work of Jesus in your life and in the world.
