Zechariah 9-14, The Glorious Future

Zechariah 9:1-14:21

Sermon Notes

The Glorious Future

3/13/2016

Lynchburg, Virginia

EXHORDIUM

         This is the final sermon on Zechariah, a book with a powerful punch. The prophet calls us up short, reminds of our sins, teaches us about God’s faithfulness and then points us to a glorious future in Jesus Christ.

         Isn’t that a helpful process? We look backwards at what we have done and are reminded that God was always faithful. We repent of our sins and waywardness and receive the forgiveness that God offers us. Then, we submit ourselves to the Lord and learn His ways. When we do this, His plan unfolds before us and we gain hope for what lies ahead.

         Today the message is hope. God has done a great work in Jesus. And when we see that God has been faithful and that His plans are right on schedule, this gives us confidence to trust in Him for our own lives, our own troubles, our own needs.

EXEGESIS

         Zechariah Quoted in NT

Future 9:1-14:21

         9:1-10:12 Zion delivered

        

Zech 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Quoted in Matt. 21:5, John 12:14,15  2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,  5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

In Zechariah he is clearly pointing to the coming king, the one who will be Zech 9: 10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

This is clearly a reference to the victorious strength of Messiah. Jesus quotes this prior to His triumphal entry.

As we make our way through the hope of the glorious future of Israel promised in Zechariah, we need to remember how these Scripture quotes work. Zechariah is prophesying upon the near completion of the Temple. Naturally, the Jews would have thought that the restoration of Israel was happening right then. And to some degree it was. Some of the exiles had returned. The wall around Jerusalem was rebuilt. The Temple is nearing completion. Any Jew would think the former days of glory would now be happening. And it is true but it is only a minor glory, another pointing to the great glory to be revealed in Messiah, the Lord Jesus.

11:1-17 The good and foolish shepherd

Zech 11:13 12And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.  13 And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD. 

           Quoted in Matt. 27:9-10 9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;  10 And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.

12:1-13:6 Future turning to the Lord

Zech 12:10 Zech. 12:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.  10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Quoted in John 19:37 John19: 33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:  34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.  35 And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.  36 For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.  37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

13:7-14:21 Future glory     

Zech 13:7 Zech. 13:7   Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

Quoted in Matt. 26:31, Matt. 26:31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall 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. in Mark 14:27

        

EXHORTATION

Where is the Glory? When is it going to happen?

         Acts 1:4-8 4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Acts 1:6   When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?  7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Think about the question and the answer from Jesus and know what He has said. Americans have spent a lot of time misunderstanding this passage. It is high time we got it.

Will You restore the Kingdom in Israel at this time? What does Jesus tell them?

He says, “Israel? Will I restore the kingdom to Israel? O, ye of little faith! I am sending my Holy Spirit to you. Israel? Well, it will start there but it won’t end there. The Spirit will come to Jerusalem, spread to Judea, convert Samaria and then makes His circuit around the globe. No, I am not restoring the Kingdom to Israel. I am ruling the world!”

So what?

If the church is healthy but we are a mess, what do we do with that? What does it mean for me?

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you. But we have both the Kingdom of God and all these things.

There really has never been a better time to be alive. This is true in the Kingdom of God. This is true in the world at large. This is true in this country. If you would go back, where would you go?
         Seriously? To the 1950’s? To the Reagan years? People, wake up! Political and economic things could certainly get worse for us.  The spiritual condition of our nation is in decline. But not for us! We are His children. He has promised to take care of us. The Lord Jesus is reigning from His throne. The Kingdom of God is advancing faster and further than ever. Who would not want to be alive in this day? In this hour? In all the tomorrows that await us? We are His workmanship, created for good works in Christ Jesus. The day of Lord is here. THIS is the Year of our Lord, two thousand sixteen. Next year will be better and the next better than that one. How can it not be with the Lord Jesus on His throne?