The passage we are looking at today begins the last section of Zechariah. It is the prophecy God speaks to Zechariah for the hope of Judah specifically for the House of David, also known as the city of Jerusalem, where our journey began in chapter one. God returns to Jerusalem to dwell with his people about 520 B.C. The hardship and oppression Jerusalem feels is going to lift off them and be placed on their enemies. The Lord is bringing salvation through his one and only son, Jesus, that is to be the good shepherd for all that believe in Jesus. This good news gives redemption to the people of God and confidence in the steadfast character of God because he keeps his covenant.

The phrase you will notice repeated more than ten times is “on that day” which is the first clue that God is not speaking about 520-480 B.C or anywhere close to it. Remember, a prophecy is spoken about something that will happen later down the road. What we see in Zechariah 12-13 is a prophecy to be fulfilled at Jesus’ second coming. And what blows my mind is the passage comes before Jesus arrives on the scene in Bethlehem as a baby in his first coming. Now, my honest confession is I spent a couple of hours to understand the “time” all the things would happen. Something I will wrestle with in my life is the fact God lives outside of time, but also enters time to be ever present and sovereign over life as we live it in real time. When the Lord says “I am about to” in Zechariah 12:2, it’s coming, but not what you or I measure “about to”. If I text a friend, “I am about to leave my house” to meet that friend at the park, my statement implies about five minutes or less. Because God lives outside of time with eternal perspective, “about to” is coming a little more distant in the future than you or I can wrap our minds around.

What is the Lord planning for the future? To flip the script. Jerusalem is weak and insignificant. They experience hardship in exile because of the wrath of God that Judah drinks in Isaiah 51:17,22-23. The prophecy is that hardship or “cup of staggering” turns from Jerusalem to their enemies. The people of God will one day no longer be weak but made strong by the Lord. And the strength of Jerusalem will be recognized by other nations. The remaining passage divides into three parts that speak to what I call the “in between” from the time people return to Jerusalem from Babylonian exile until Jesus’ second coming. It makes sense to me to look at the parts out of written order to see how the events build on each other.

First, thinking back to the shepherd and flock theme from last time look at Zechariah 13:7-9. God strikes the good shepherd and the flock scatter. Who is the shepherd? Jesus, the Son of God (Hebrews 13:20). Do we see the prophecy fulfilled? Yes, in Matthew 26:30-32 when Jesus is arrested, and the disciples take off in different directions. God strikes with the sword of judgement and wrath caused by sin. All of us fall short. Jerusalem could not offer enough sacrifices to atone for their sin. They needed rescue, like you and me. Why? On our own accord we run back to idols, to lesser things. In Zechariah 13:2-6, God declares to the prophet cleansing is coming. I notice cleansing in three parts: spiritually (13:1), physically (13:2), and mentally (13:3). The fountain provides spiritual cleansing. Jesus is referred to as the fount of living water. In John 4:11-14, Jesus offers the Samaritan woman living water of salvation to cleanse her and save her from her sin. Also, I thought about Ezekiel’s prophecy that will be fulfilled when Jesus comes again to make a new heaven and new earth in Ezekiel 47. The water flowing from the temple gives life too.

The next cleansing God promises will happen is physical in Zechariah 13:2 from actual carved images and what I imagine altars to pagan gods scattered in high and low places. The distractions and clutter in Jerusalem that divides their hearts between God and lesser things will be remembered no more. I love the fact God wipes them out of minds too. The mind is so powerful which can be used for good or not so good things. God knows because he created the mind. For hundreds of years, Jerusalem mixes the prophecy from God with false prophecy. The last cleansing God promises to come is mentally. I apply Zechariah 13:3 to my life in the sense of stop feeding my mind with lies, junk, and things I cannot find in the Word of God. All of this equates to false prophecy that Jerusalem got hit with on a regular basis. We are created to know and worship our Creator God. Sometimes we allow lesser things to pull us wayward. Sometimes we go through a time of cleansing spiritually, physically, and mentally and are led back to the good shepherd.

Finally, we arrive at Zechariah 12:10-14. God foretells that Jesus, the Son of God, will be the answer to their pleas for mercy (Jeremiah 31:9). The people will weep at Jesus on the cross and ask God to forgive mercifully for their sin. The spirit of grace poured on Jerusalem is good news. It reminds the people, and you and me, of the unmerited favor that only comes from salvation in Jesus. This is the everlasting hope Zechariah tries to communicate to Jerusalem in 520 B.C. But I can imagine they asked when is “about to” coming? This is where faith steps in. Faith is believing without seeing. The choice in front of Jerusalem is to believe with faith that God will do what he says in his timing. How do we live in faith today until the “about to” comes? Say yes to Jesus and trust the good shepherd. Even though you will be refined and tested, surrender to Jesus. And be courageous to ask Jesus for cleansing spiritually, physically, and mentally. Like Jerusalem, you and I have the invitation before us to believe the promises of God in faith. Will you trust the good shepherd?

Q: What area of your life will you ask God to cleanse? Maybe your thoughts or the content that you intake. Maybe physical things you hold onto tightly. Maybe pride, comparison, judgements of yourself or others.