The Striking Blow For Sinner's Forgiveness - Zechariah 13
Pastor Dennis Bone
9/23/12
THE STRIKING BLOW FOR SINNER’S FORGIVENESS
9-23-12
We are all familiar with the wonderful words of John the Baptist, when he sees Jesus for the first time: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Later Jesus calls John the greatest of all prophets, and as such he clearly declares what the entire Old Testament prophesied and pointed to; as well as what the Old Testament demonstrated through the sacrificial system: the Messiah would come to be the final sacrifice for sin as the perfect Lamb of God.
Simply put, Jesus Christ is that Messiah and Redeemer who comes as promised, and as John recognized and proclaimed to the people; He is the one who fulfills all of the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament. The prophet Zechariah often speaks about this coming day in his prophecy, as he shines the hope of God’s salvation upon a struggling and sinful people. Despite the tendency of people to dismiss God’s truth and reject God’s leadership, God doesn’t give up on sinners. This is the good news of the gospel and the good news of Zechariah chapter 13.
So turn with me to Zechariah 13 as we consider this morning the cleansing power of God’s grace through the coming of His shepherd and our Savior Jesus Christ, beginning with verses 1 – 6:
On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more, declares the Lord Almighty. I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother, to whom he was born, will say to him, “You must die because you have told lies in the Lord’s name.”
When he prophesies, his own parents will stab him. On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision. He will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. He will say, “I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth. If someone asks him, “What are these wounds on your body?” he will answer, “The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.”
Last week I briefly touched on verse 1 and the promise of a fountain of cleansing that God would provide for the forgiveness of His people. In these first six verses we see the resource for God’s cleansing; the recipients of God’s cleansing; and the results of God’s cleansing. Verse 1 is the key verse of this section as Zechariah tells us what God will do for sinful people; and then in verse 7, of the second section of this chapter, He tells us how God does it for His people. Let’s first look at the resource for God’s cleansing.
The imagery of a “fountain” runs throughout the Scripture – old and new testaments – symbolizing the cleansing water of God’s forgiveness. The Psalmist says, “Lord, you give them drink from your river of delights; for with you is the fountain of life.” Back in Exodus 30 we read about Moses making a basin or a fountain for washing between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, so that Aaron and his sons could wash there hands and feet so as to approach the alter without dying. The need for cleansing was essential and an ongoing ritual in worship and sacrifice. Zechariah is pointing us to a day when this outward and ceremonial cleansing will no longer be needed or practiced because a new fountain will be opened when the Messiah comes.
Jesus Christ is the source of this cleansing; Christ is the source of living water and redeeming blood. He is the fountain of life that God provides for the cleansing of His people. Jesus made this clear to the Samaritan woman who asked him for water.
“Everyone who drinks of the water I give them will never thirst (in contrast to the water you clean yourself with). Indeed the water I give will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” We know that this water of life that Jesus gives is based on the redemptive blood He sheds upon the cross. It’s His blood, the blood of the new covenant that cleanses from sin in a way the old covenant sacrificial system couldn’t, nor was it designed to do.
Thus Zechariah’s point is that there is a new day coming where God will cleanse in a way never before seen; and in a way that will be complete. Second, we see the recipients of God’s cleansing. In verse 1 Zechariah says that this fountain will be opened to “the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” This fountain will be open to people under the dominion of sin and to people who are unclean. It will be open to the people who have continually disobeyed the covenant; and have regularly rejected God’s shepherds. It will be offered to those who practice idolatry and break God’s commands; and it will be offered to those who believe false prophets and follow their lies.
We learn from the history of David’s house, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the need to be cleansed from sin. These are the people who reject God’s prophets, and then reject God’s Son; yet from the same line comes the Savior who will offer this cleansing. The recipients of God’s cleansing are the worst of sinners – including us – who repent and follow the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ, the source of God’s cleansing. The apostle Paul tells us that Christ came to save the ungodly; He came to offer cleansing for the unrighteous and the unclean. Peter says that Christ came to redeem people from the empty life handed down from our forefathers – Jews and Gentiles inherit an empty life of sin, whether they come from religious traditions or not – but Christ redeemed us from this through His precious blood, the blood of a lamb without spot or blemish. He is the perfect Lamb of God.
Then third, Zechariah gives us the results of God’s cleansing in verses 2 – 6. Idolatry is removed; and false prophets are embarrassed. This is in fulfillment of Deuteronomy 13 and 18, where Israel was warned about false prophets who would lead them to worship false gods. This idolatry happened time and time again in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 18 Moses speaks about the true prophet, who speaks in God’s name and calls the people to repentance and back to God’s truth. Zechariah’s point here is that this pattern will be stopped when the final prophet Jesus Christ – who is the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18 – comes as the Messiah.
It’s “on that day” that there will be an end to running after false Messiahs, because the true Messiah would have come; and when this happens the false prophets will be embarrassed and ashamed of their deceit; and have no job. Verses 4 & 5: “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision. He will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. He will say, “I am not a prophet.” They will go back to what they should have been doing all along. In contrast to these false prophets, John the Baptist comes wearing the prophets “garment of hair” in order to speak the truth as the final Old Testament prophet.
Verse 6 refers to the self-inflicted wounds often incurred through the idolatry of pagan worship: “If someone asks him, “What are these wounds on your body?” he will answer, “The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.” This may also refer prophetically to Christ’s wounds, for when He comes He is viewed as an idolater and false prophet by the Jews, people who should have been His friends, are people who reject Him and fatally wound Him upon the cross. This then leads us into the second section of chapter 13, where we read about the shepherd of cleansing, verses 7 – 9:
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the Lord Almighty.
Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. In the whole land, declares the Lord, two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet on-third will be left in it. This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, “They are my people,” and they will say, “The Lord is our God.”
This is how our cleansing will be accomplished: God Himself will strike the shepherd; and it’s this striking blow that secures the forgiveness of sinners like us. You see, the worst of sinners will be cleansed because the sinless one, the sinless and perfect shepherd, will be struck with God’s sword of justice. The shepherd becomes the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Thus the imagery here is that God strikes His Son in order to save His sheep. Jesus quotes verse 7 when He tells His disciples that they will all fall away; and that very night He is betrayed, arrested and then the next day crucified.
Jesus knew this passage applied to Him, but so also did the Old Testament prophets. Isaiah speaks about Christ as the servant of the Lord; He is the one who in verse 7 Zechariah says is “close to me.” He is not only close, but Christ and the Father are one, as Jesus said in John 10 right after He described Himself as the Good Shepherd who was going to lay down His life for the sheep. He came to do His Father’s will. He came to be the sacrificial Lamb, as Isaiah says: “He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities . . . for the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was led like a lamb to slaughter . . . because it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer . . . for He bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors.”
This was the striking blow for sinner’s forgiveness. This is why there is a fountain of cleansing open to sinners like us.
God’s good and final shepherd takes the sword of justice so that we can receive the mercy of forgiveness. This is a wonderful picture of justification: God declares us not guilty in Christ, because Christ took our punishment and God’s wrath upon Himself. But then second we also see the fire of refinement. In verses 8 & 9 we see the imagery of God judging unbelievers who reject His shepherd; and purifying His believing remnant. God separates the believers from the pretenders. This is happening and has been happening through the gospel; and as Malachi says in the Old Testament and Peter in the New Testament, God will refine and purify His people. This is the wonderful picture of sanctification. Christ saves His sheep and then He leads the sheep into paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.
And then the third point we see, as the chapter ends, is the comfort of communion. “They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, “They are my people,” and they will say, “The Lord is our God.” This is a beautiful picture of fellowship and communion with our God, all on the basis of God striking His Son for us. Zechariah is saying the God’s presence will be established with His people; and His people will be confident and at peace. This is what forgiveness of sins gives to us. This is the promise that God gave back in Genesis; it’s the promise of the covenant that God will watch over His people and never leave them until He has done what He has promised.
The promise is fulfilled in Christ; and as we read in Revelation chapter 7: “The Lamb who is at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; and He will lead them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” God is doing this right now for us because this Lamb that was slain for us is alive; and the springs of living water is His Spirit whom the Risen Lamb has given to us; and as we live in this sinful world He wipes every tear from our eyes because we are His children. As Christians we live in the joy and peace of God’s forgiveness.
This is a wonderful picture of adoption. We who were lost and dead sinners have been made alive and become children of God, because of what Jesus Christ the Lamb of God has done for us. The striking blow for our forgiveness occurred on the cross when God’s wrath and justice against your sin, struck His Son instead of you; and by faith in Jesus Christ we are cleansed from our sin and will no longer be judged for it.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
Pastor Dennis Bone
9/23/12
THE STRIKING BLOW FOR SINNER’S FORGIVENESS
9-23-12
We are all familiar with the wonderful words of John the Baptist, when he sees Jesus for the first time: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Later Jesus calls John the greatest of all prophets, and as such he clearly declares what the entire Old Testament prophesied and pointed to; as well as what the Old Testament demonstrated through the sacrificial system: the Messiah would come to be the final sacrifice for sin as the perfect Lamb of God.
Simply put, Jesus Christ is that Messiah and Redeemer who comes as promised, and as John recognized and proclaimed to the people; He is the one who fulfills all of the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament. The prophet Zechariah often speaks about this coming day in his prophecy, as he shines the hope of God’s salvation upon a struggling and sinful people. Despite the tendency of people to dismiss God’s truth and reject God’s leadership, God doesn’t give up on sinners. This is the good news of the gospel and the good news of Zechariah chapter 13.
So turn with me to Zechariah 13 as we consider this morning the cleansing power of God’s grace through the coming of His shepherd and our Savior Jesus Christ, beginning with verses 1 – 6:
On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more, declares the Lord Almighty. I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother, to whom he was born, will say to him, “You must die because you have told lies in the Lord’s name.”
When he prophesies, his own parents will stab him. On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision. He will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. He will say, “I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth. If someone asks him, “What are these wounds on your body?” he will answer, “The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.”
Last week I briefly touched on verse 1 and the promise of a fountain of cleansing that God would provide for the forgiveness of His people. In these first six verses we see the resource for God’s cleansing; the recipients of God’s cleansing; and the results of God’s cleansing. Verse 1 is the key verse of this section as Zechariah tells us what God will do for sinful people; and then in verse 7, of the second section of this chapter, He tells us how God does it for His people. Let’s first look at the resource for God’s cleansing.
The imagery of a “fountain” runs throughout the Scripture – old and new testaments – symbolizing the cleansing water of God’s forgiveness. The Psalmist says, “Lord, you give them drink from your river of delights; for with you is the fountain of life.” Back in Exodus 30 we read about Moses making a basin or a fountain for washing between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, so that Aaron and his sons could wash there hands and feet so as to approach the alter without dying. The need for cleansing was essential and an ongoing ritual in worship and sacrifice. Zechariah is pointing us to a day when this outward and ceremonial cleansing will no longer be needed or practiced because a new fountain will be opened when the Messiah comes.
Jesus Christ is the source of this cleansing; Christ is the source of living water and redeeming blood. He is the fountain of life that God provides for the cleansing of His people. Jesus made this clear to the Samaritan woman who asked him for water.
“Everyone who drinks of the water I give them will never thirst (in contrast to the water you clean yourself with). Indeed the water I give will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” We know that this water of life that Jesus gives is based on the redemptive blood He sheds upon the cross. It’s His blood, the blood of the new covenant that cleanses from sin in a way the old covenant sacrificial system couldn’t, nor was it designed to do.
Thus Zechariah’s point is that there is a new day coming where God will cleanse in a way never before seen; and in a way that will be complete. Second, we see the recipients of God’s cleansing. In verse 1 Zechariah says that this fountain will be opened to “the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” This fountain will be open to people under the dominion of sin and to people who are unclean. It will be open to the people who have continually disobeyed the covenant; and have regularly rejected God’s shepherds. It will be offered to those who practice idolatry and break God’s commands; and it will be offered to those who believe false prophets and follow their lies.
We learn from the history of David’s house, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the need to be cleansed from sin. These are the people who reject God’s prophets, and then reject God’s Son; yet from the same line comes the Savior who will offer this cleansing. The recipients of God’s cleansing are the worst of sinners – including us – who repent and follow the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ, the source of God’s cleansing. The apostle Paul tells us that Christ came to save the ungodly; He came to offer cleansing for the unrighteous and the unclean. Peter says that Christ came to redeem people from the empty life handed down from our forefathers – Jews and Gentiles inherit an empty life of sin, whether they come from religious traditions or not – but Christ redeemed us from this through His precious blood, the blood of a lamb without spot or blemish. He is the perfect Lamb of God.
Then third, Zechariah gives us the results of God’s cleansing in verses 2 – 6. Idolatry is removed; and false prophets are embarrassed. This is in fulfillment of Deuteronomy 13 and 18, where Israel was warned about false prophets who would lead them to worship false gods. This idolatry happened time and time again in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 18 Moses speaks about the true prophet, who speaks in God’s name and calls the people to repentance and back to God’s truth. Zechariah’s point here is that this pattern will be stopped when the final prophet Jesus Christ – who is the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18 – comes as the Messiah.
It’s “on that day” that there will be an end to running after false Messiahs, because the true Messiah would have come; and when this happens the false prophets will be embarrassed and ashamed of their deceit; and have no job. Verses 4 & 5: “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision. He will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. He will say, “I am not a prophet.” They will go back to what they should have been doing all along. In contrast to these false prophets, John the Baptist comes wearing the prophets “garment of hair” in order to speak the truth as the final Old Testament prophet.
Verse 6 refers to the self-inflicted wounds often incurred through the idolatry of pagan worship: “If someone asks him, “What are these wounds on your body?” he will answer, “The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.” This may also refer prophetically to Christ’s wounds, for when He comes He is viewed as an idolater and false prophet by the Jews, people who should have been His friends, are people who reject Him and fatally wound Him upon the cross. This then leads us into the second section of chapter 13, where we read about the shepherd of cleansing, verses 7 – 9:
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the Lord Almighty.
Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. In the whole land, declares the Lord, two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet on-third will be left in it. This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, “They are my people,” and they will say, “The Lord is our God.”
This is how our cleansing will be accomplished: God Himself will strike the shepherd; and it’s this striking blow that secures the forgiveness of sinners like us. You see, the worst of sinners will be cleansed because the sinless one, the sinless and perfect shepherd, will be struck with God’s sword of justice. The shepherd becomes the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Thus the imagery here is that God strikes His Son in order to save His sheep. Jesus quotes verse 7 when He tells His disciples that they will all fall away; and that very night He is betrayed, arrested and then the next day crucified.
Jesus knew this passage applied to Him, but so also did the Old Testament prophets. Isaiah speaks about Christ as the servant of the Lord; He is the one who in verse 7 Zechariah says is “close to me.” He is not only close, but Christ and the Father are one, as Jesus said in John 10 right after He described Himself as the Good Shepherd who was going to lay down His life for the sheep. He came to do His Father’s will. He came to be the sacrificial Lamb, as Isaiah says: “He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities . . . for the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was led like a lamb to slaughter . . . because it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer . . . for He bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors.”
This was the striking blow for sinner’s forgiveness. This is why there is a fountain of cleansing open to sinners like us.
God’s good and final shepherd takes the sword of justice so that we can receive the mercy of forgiveness. This is a wonderful picture of justification: God declares us not guilty in Christ, because Christ took our punishment and God’s wrath upon Himself. But then second we also see the fire of refinement. In verses 8 & 9 we see the imagery of God judging unbelievers who reject His shepherd; and purifying His believing remnant. God separates the believers from the pretenders. This is happening and has been happening through the gospel; and as Malachi says in the Old Testament and Peter in the New Testament, God will refine and purify His people. This is the wonderful picture of sanctification. Christ saves His sheep and then He leads the sheep into paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.
And then the third point we see, as the chapter ends, is the comfort of communion. “They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, “They are my people,” and they will say, “The Lord is our God.” This is a beautiful picture of fellowship and communion with our God, all on the basis of God striking His Son for us. Zechariah is saying the God’s presence will be established with His people; and His people will be confident and at peace. This is what forgiveness of sins gives to us. This is the promise that God gave back in Genesis; it’s the promise of the covenant that God will watch over His people and never leave them until He has done what He has promised.
The promise is fulfilled in Christ; and as we read in Revelation chapter 7: “The Lamb who is at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; and He will lead them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” God is doing this right now for us because this Lamb that was slain for us is alive; and the springs of living water is His Spirit whom the Risen Lamb has given to us; and as we live in this sinful world He wipes every tear from our eyes because we are His children. As Christians we live in the joy and peace of God’s forgiveness.
This is a wonderful picture of adoption. We who were lost and dead sinners have been made alive and become children of God, because of what Jesus Christ the Lamb of God has done for us. The striking blow for our forgiveness occurred on the cross when God’s wrath and justice against your sin, struck His Son instead of you; and by faith in Jesus Christ we are cleansed from our sin and will no longer be judged for it.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
