~ Jesus Christ Is Smitten Shepherd ~
The Bible is about Jesus Christ
~ “Jesus
said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that
the prophets have spoken! Did not the
Christ have to suffer these things
and then enter His glory?’ And beginning
with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the
Scriptures concerning Himself” (Luke 24:25-27).
Jesus Christ
is found in the Book of Zechariah as our Fountain, as the Righteous Branch
(3:8; 6:12; 6:13; 9:9; 12:10; 14:9), as Yahweh’s Servant, the King-Priest, the
gentle King, and the Smitten Shepherd. He
is the One wounded in the house of His friends.
He is the fountain which opened up in the house of David for the
cleansing of all forms of sin.
The Smitten Shepherd ~
“‘Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My
Companion,’ says the Lord of
hosts. ‘Strike the Shepherd, and the
sheep will be scattered; then I will turn My hand against the little ones’”
(Zechariah 13:7). “Then Jesus said to them,
‘All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is
written: “I will strike the Shepherd, and
the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” But after I have been
raised, I will go before you to Galilee’” (Matthew 26:31-32). “Then Jesus said to them, ‘All of you will be
made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: “I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep
will be scattered.” But after I have
been raised, I will go before you to Galilee’” (Mark 14:27-28).
The King—Priest
~ In the time of Zechariah Joshua
was the high priest. Joshua’s root name
in Greek can be translated in English as Jesus.
The names Joshua and Jesus include the meaning of “the Lord saves.”
Zechariah is
commanded by our Lord to make a crown and put it on the head of Joshua—the
priest. This is significant since kings
and priests were from separate tribes in that day (Judah and Levi
respectively). This fact provides insight
to the following passage: “Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘Receive the
gift from the captives—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from
Babylon—and go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of
Zephaniah. Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the
head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the
high priest. Then speak to him,
saying, “Thus says the Lord of
hosts, saying: ‘Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, and He
shall build the temple of the Lord;
yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and
rule on His throne; so He shall be a
priest on His throne [both priest and king], and the counsel of peace shall
be between them both.”’ Now the
elaborate crown shall be for a memorial in the temple of the Lord for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. Even those from afar shall come and build the
temple of the Lord. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently
obey the voice of the Lord your
God” (Zechariah 6:9-15).
The
Gentle King ~ Jesus Christ is described in the New
Testament as the gentle and righteous King riding on a donkey. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold,
your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding
on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah
9:9). “Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came
to Bethphage, at the Mount of
Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village
opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with
her. Loose them and bring them to
Me. And if anyone says anything to you,
you shall say, “The Lord has need of them,” and immediately he will send
them.’ All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophet, saying: ‘Tell the
daughter of Zion, “Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey”’” (Matthew 21:1-5). Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey,
sat on it; as it is written: ‘Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt’” (John
12:14-15).
of particular
note:
The first coming of The Messiah was in lowliness as noted above as “The
Gentle King” (Zechariah 9:9).
The Messiah is the Prince of Peace
(Zechariah 9:10).
The Messiah was crucified (Zechariah
12:10).
The Messiah was a Shepherd who was
forsaken by His sheep as noted above “The Smitten Shepherd” (Zechariah 13:7).
Comment
~ We have only touched the
surface of Christ in Zechariah.
additional comment: Compare these passages from Scripture.
Zechariah 3:2
– Jude 9
Zechariah 8:8
– 2 Corinthians 6:16
Zechariah
8:16 – Ephesians 4:25
Zechariah
11:12 – Matthew 27:9
Zechariah
12:10 – John 19:37
The Apostle
Paul told us the Scriptures present many shadows of things to come but the
reality is found in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:17).
~~~ EXPLANATORY “JESUS
CHRIST IN EVERY BOOK OF THE BIBLE” SERIES ~~~
(1) Approximately once a month ALN posts an
overview of how Jesus Christ is seen in a specific book of the Bible.
(2) In most cases these posts only scratch the
surface regarding Jesus Christ in the particular book.
(3) These posts will typically be in the same
order as the books are found in the Bible.
(4) These serial posts are in addition to our
other ALN postings.
(5) Subscription to ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog is
simple—just use the link on the left sidebar.
Once subscribed you will not miss future posts.
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
NOTES:
(1)
The
current
TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very
bottom of this home page.
(2)
There
is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the
left column.
(3)
You
may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website.
(4)
You
may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by
prominently displaying the following statement: Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free
blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid
Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/
.
