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REAT judgment is coming against
Israel just prior to their return to Jehovah. This is not news really. We have
read it and discussed it frequently. Yet, here in Zechariah 13 we find what
seems to be another allusion to that day of wrath - vague perhaps, but an
allusion, nonetheless. More particularly
though, this passage refers to the judgment of God against Israel as it was
poured out upon the Messiah at His First Advent. In Matthew 26:31 it is
recorded that, between His celebration of the Passover with His disciples and
His arrest in the garden, Jesus quoted from Zechariah 13:7 - "Jesus said unto them, 'You all will be
offended because of me this night: for it is written, 'I will smite the
Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered
abroad.""
Elsewhere in Zechariah 13, there are other
reminders of the plight of Christ. There was a fountain filled with blood,
drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all
their guilty stains (Zechariah 13:1). Jesus was rejected by His own people; "thrust through" by the very
nation that begat Him (Zechariah 13:3). He told them the truth and they accused
Him of lying. Again, Jesus came meek and lowly, presenting Himself as a servant
(Zechariah 13:5). And, we know very well about the wounds in His hands that He
received "in the house of His
friends" (Zechariah 13:6). Again, Zechariah 13:7 appears to be strongly messianic. The sword of God's wrath
was drawn against the Good Shepherd of Israel. The phrase, "the man that is My fellow" seems to point to the nature
of the relationship between Jesus and His heavenly Father. The closing section
of this chapter directs our attention to the work of Christ on the cross. A
remnant of Israel will be saved. They will call on the name of the Lord, and
their faith will bring healing into their relationship with Jehovah.
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