Ep. 211. Zechariah 6-10 | Peace and Judgment

EPISODE 211

PEACE AND JUDGMENT: ZECHARIAH 6-10

Right away, we want to return to Joshua, the High Priest, and see that he has been given a crown. This is a new thing! No High Priest was ever crowned as king, but then we call to mind the words from chapter 3 that this man is a sign of what is to come: a priest and a King. The only place we have seen such a thing in the Scripture prior to this point occurs outside the Jewish system. Melchizedek, in Genesis 14, was the first Priest of God Most High and was also a King. The only place we will see this after Zechariah will be in the person of Jesus Christ. Pay special attention to verses 12-13, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, the man whose name is the Branch; for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord, bear royal honor, and sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." There are a couple of things to unpack here.

First, we already know that "the Branch" is a reference to Jesus. We saw that in Isaiah 11. The Branch will build the Temple of the Lord, or build the house of the Lord. In the New Testament we see that the believers are the Temple of the Lord, built together in Christ our true cornerstone.

Second, is the importance of the mention of both the King and the Priest. While you and I understand this to be a reference to Jesus, the fulfillment of both of these positions, First Century Jews had sometimes interpreted passages like this to refer to two individuals instead of one. There are writings from Jewish history that indicate that at least some Jews believed there would be two "anointed ones" who would lead Israel back to Glory. They were looking for a King from the line of David and a priest from the line of Aaron. Remember in John 6 when the people tried to make Jesus King by force? They believed him to be half of the fulfillment of the prophecies of salvation. But they didn't acknowledge him as Priest. (This is why the author of Hebrews spends three chapters highlighting Jesus as a priest.) For more on the historical view the Jews had of these sorts of prophecies, I suggest you read the book Forgotten Origins: The Lost Jewish History of Jesus and Early Christianity.

ADDITIONAL READING: Isaiah 53:6; Ezekiel 34:5; Matthew 9:36; Jeremiah 23; Matthew 21:4-7; Genesis 49:11; Micah 3:4; Isaiah 1:15