Zechariah 9

CHAPTER 9THEME: First prophetic burden; the coming of ChristWe have come to the end of the historic interlude, and we now enter the third and last major division, which I call “Prophetic Burdens.” And I have divided this final section into two divisions: The first “burden” deals with the prophetic aspects which are connected with the first coming of Christ (chs. 9-11). The second “burden” deals with the prophetic aspects which are connected with the second coming of Christ (chs. 12-14). We will see that this new division goes over the same ground that was covered in the ten visions, but it is approached from a different viewpoint. It begins with the people of Israel as they were in the days of Zechariah when they were a small, discouraged remnant attempting to rebuild the temple. God had raised up Haggai and Zechariah to encourage them to rebuild the temple. Zechariah begins with that local, contemporary scene, then moves on down into the immediate future when they would experience for a time the blessing of God. Then he moves on down through the centuriesGod had a plan and purposeto the coming of the Messiah. We shall see the two comings of the Messiah, coming first as the Savior and coming the second time as the Sovereign. His coming the first time had the Cross in view; His second coming will have the crown in view.

Zechariah 9:1

FIRST BURDENJUDGMENT UPON GENTILE NATIONSIn the first eight verses we read of the judgment upon the gentile nations which was accomplished by Alexander the Greatan amazing section. In the days of Zechariah some folk could have become a little too optimistic. They could have said, “Well, this is going to be the Millennium now that we are back in the land and the temple is rebuilt.” So Zechariah is telling them, “No, out in the future there is coming another world ruler.” And we will see the contrast between that world ruler and the One whom God will send to the earth for His first coming. The world ruler is Alexander the Great, an arrogant, insolent, highly conceited young man but probably the most brilliant general the world has ever seen. Not only was he a tremendous military leader, but he was a great political leader as well. He had a certain charisma, and multitudes followed him. “The burden of the word of the LORD.” This word burden means judgment, a judgment of God. Alexander the Great was unwittingly God’s instrument of judgment. His forces subjugated “the land of Hadrach,” taking the key towns, Damascus and Hamath. Damascus was the capital of Syria and still is today. Also, it continues to cause Israel a great deal of difficulty. The cities mentioned in verses Zec_9:1-7 trace the march of Alexander’s great army down into the Promised Land. It is history now; but, when it was written, it was prophecy. Its literal fulfillment makes it one of the most remarkable accounts we find in the Word of God. This is so disturbing to the liberal theologian that he attempts to move the time of the writing of Zechariah up to the time of Alexander the Great! Alexander left Europe and crossed over into Asia Minor (modern Turkey), and he took city after city. He was a cruel and brutal man. However, we must understand that he had an army of only fifty thousand men, which in that day was rather small. Therefore, he could not leave any of his men behind to control the cities that he conquered. He had to either destroy the cities or so weaken them that they could not attack him from the rear. He obliterated many of these cities mentioned here.

It is interesting to note that Alexander, brilliant though he was, died of alcoholism at the age of thirty-two, almost the same age as the Lord Jesus when He died. In the Book of Daniel, the Graeco-Macedonian Empire is represented as the third great world power of Daniel 2, the panther of Daniel 7, and the rough goat of Daniel 8 (the goat is the Graeco-Macedonian Empire, and the horn is Alexander the Great himself). Here Zechariah presents to us the march of Alexander. I am looking at the works of Flavius Josephus in which are recorded the Jewish wars, including details of the march of Alexander as he came with his army into the land of Palestine.

Zechariah 9:2

“Tyrus, and Zidon” were wealthy commercial cities of that day.

Zechariah 9:3

Everyone felt that Tyre was impregnable as it was situated out on its island fortress. The inhabitants were Phoenicians, a seagoing people who had developed a great commercial nation and had accumulated a great deal of wealth. Alexander besieged it for seven months and finally conquered it by scraping the ruins of the old city into the sea to build a causeway out to the island city. Today we can see all of this, and I have pictures which I have taken that reveal how that prophecy was literally fulfilled. After taking Tyre, Alexander moved down into the Philistine country.

Zechariah 9:5

I have been in this area and have pictures of ruins of the old temple of Dagon. That area has been returned to the nation Israel today. At Ashdod they have built an artificial harbor, and they have built apartment after apartment there. Literally thousands have moved into Ashdod. Farther inland as you go down the coast you will find Ashkelon. It is a thriving city today, but it is not in the same location as the old Ashkelon. The original Ashkelon was right on the seacoast, and the ruins are still there today. It is more or less a park now, a beautiful area, but it is not inhabited. It is not a city anymore. It is interesting to see how God’s Word was literally fulfilled. Alexander the Great destroyed these cities and broke the power of the Philistines.

Zechariah 9:6

“A bastard shall dwell in Ashdod.” It does not say that Ashdod will not be inhabited; it just says that there won’t be a very high class of people living there. And Ashdod is inhabited today. “I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.” Alexander the Great brought the Philistine nation to an end. They never again emerged as a nation.

Zechariah 9:7

“And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth” refers to the polluted food and idolatrous sacrifices they engaged in. God would take away the idolatry of Philistia. However, when Christ returns they will be converted to the God of Israel"he shall be for our God," says Zechariah. Philistia will become part of the people of God and will inherit the blessings of Israel. This man Alexander the Great destroyed everything that was ahead of him. If he had to wait around a few months to capture a city, like he did at Tyre, he didn’t mind doing it because he would not leave any strong fortress behind him anywhere. Now he is approaching Jerusalem. What will he do to Jerusalem? Well, we have a very strange statement here

Zechariah 9:8

“I will encamp about mine house,” refers, I believe, to that little temple they were building. God said that He was going to protect it from Alexander the Great. God said it, and Zechariah had the nerve to record it because he could depend upon the accuracy of God’s Word and believed that it would be fulfilled. Well, was it fulfilled? Let me give you the record of the historian Flavius Josephus. According to him, the high priest in Jerusalem had a vision in which he was instructed to go out and meet the conqueror who was coming, and so he waited for the coming of Alexander the Great. And when he understood that he was not far from the city, he went out in procession with the priests and the multitude of the citizens. The procession was venerable, and the manner of it different from that of other nations …and when the Phoenicians and the Chaldeans that followed him, thought they should have liberty to plunder the city, and torment the high priest to death, which the king’s displeasure fairly promised them, the very reverse of it happened; for Alexander, when he saw the multitude at a distance, in white garments, while the priests stood clothed in fine linen, and the high priest in purple and scarlet clothing, with his mitre on his head, having the golden plate whereon the name of God was engraved, he approached by himself, and adored that name, and first saluted the high priest. The Jews also did altogether, with one voice, salute Alexander, and encompass him about; whereupon the kings of Syria and the rest were surprised at what Alexander had done, and supposed him disordered in his mind. However, Parmenio alone went up to him, and asked him how it came to pass that, when all others adored him, he should adore the high priest of the Jews? To whom he replied, “I did not adore him, but that God who hath honoured him with his high-priesthood; for I saw this very person in a dream, in this very habit, when I was at Dios in Macedonia, who, when I was considering with myself, how I might obtain the dominion of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, but boldly to pass over the sea thither, for that he would conduct my army, and would give me the dominion over the Persians; whence it is, that having seen no other in that habit, and now seeing this person in it, and remembering that vision, and the exhortation which I had in my dream, I believe that I bring this army under the divine conduct, and shall therewith conquer Darius, and destroy the power of the Persians, and that all things will succeed according to what is in my own mind” (Flavius Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, Book XI, chap. VIII, p. 350). Then he entered into the city of Jerusalem and worshiped God in the temple. Another tradition says that not only did the high priest approach him arrayed in his priestly garments, but that he also brought along the Book of Daniel and showed Alexander the prophecy concerning him. This so moved him that he went into the city and offered sacrifices and worshiped in the temple. The fact that he did not destroy Jerusalem makes Zechariah’s prophecy very remarkable, and it doesn’t contradict the fact that Alexander, though the most brilliant general of the day, was still highly cruel, brutal, and arrogant.

Zechariah 9:9

THE COMING KINGThe next verse is one of the most remarkable in the Scriptures. Generally we hear a message from it on Palm Sunday because it has to do with the so-called triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. I am going to spend quite a bit of time on this verse because it is a key verse. It is the hinge on which the prophecy turns. I hope you will carefully follow this through with me. May I point out first that salvation would be better translated as “victory” or “deliverance.” He is the King who is bringing victory or who is coming to deliver. Although all the Gospel writers record the so-called triumphal entry of the Lord Jesus, only Matthew quotes from Zechariah. The Gospel of John gives almost a running commentary on the prophecy of Zechariah. For example, instead of saying “Rejoice,” he says, “Fear,” which is actually a good, sound interpretation. Now notice Matthew’s record: “And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 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. And if any many say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 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” (Mat_21:1-5). Notice that Matthew says, “Tell ye the daughter of Sion” instead of “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion” as Zechariah has it. Also note that Matthew leaves out “he is just, and having salvation” (a better translation would be “he is just and having deliverance or victory”). Matthew quoted only a definite portion of verse Zec_9:9. Why did he leave out certain things and include others? Well, that which Matthew quotedand also which John interpretedhas to do with the first coming of Christ. The remainder of the verse has to do with the second coming of Christ. The Lord Jesus came riding on the little animal of peace and came bringing peace at His first coming. He will come riding upon the white horse, the animal of warfare, at His second coming. But He is going to bring peace. How? By putting down all unrighteousness. You see, the world has had over nineteen hundred years to decide what it is going to do with Jesus Christ, and He is pretty much rejected in our day. So God is going to make it very clear that the Son is coming back to reign. He came the first time to die for our redemption, but the next time He will come to reign. This was something that I’m sure puzzled Zechariah (it is still puzzling some folk today), but Simon Peter made it clear that not only Zechariah but the other prophets were puzzled. Peter wrote, “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (1Pe_1:10-11). When the first and second comings of Christ were tied together in one passage, the prophets “inquired and searched diligently,” but they were unable to make the distinction. They just had to write it down as the Spirit gave it to them although they themselves didn’t understand it. Simon Peter by the Spirit of God makes the distinction. Christ came one time to suffer, to bring redemption; He will come the next time in glory to reign upon this earth. And Matthew by the Spirit was able to make that separation so that in his quotation of verse Zec_9:9 he used only that portion of the verse which speaks of the first coming of Christ. Frankly, I think that the church has misnamed it the triumphal entry. I was in San Francisco the night Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived from Japan a great while after World War II had ended. He was whisked from the airport to the hotel in what they thought would be a private or at least semi-private procession. Well, instead there was a public demonstration that snarled traffic. I was leaving on the train that night to return to Los Angeles.

A friend had warned me, “You’d better get down to the train if you intend to catch it, and you ought to leave now.” So I took my suitcase down to the train station and checked it. Then I went back into San Francisco to eat dinner. When I came out of the restaurant, I had never seen such a crowd in all my life! No traffic could move. I tried to get back to the railroad station by taxi, but the taxi couldn’t move. I finally got out and walked from the civic center to the railroad station.

It was the only way I could have gotten there on time. The next day the same thing was repeated when MacArthur arrived in New York. That was a triumphal entry. By comparison, the so-called triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem would seem very poor indeed. It was actually a parade of poverty. It was no ticker tape parade but was the coming in of a very poor man with a few very poor followers. If there had been a Roman in Jerusalem that day who had stepped out of a building at that moment, he would have asked someone what was going on. If they had said, “This is the triumphal entry of Jesus,” he would have laughed. He would have said, “You think this is a triumphal entry? You should have been in Rome when Caesar came back from Gaul. There was a parade that lasted over three days as he brought back the booty and the captives.” To a Roman, this entry of Jesus would have looked mighty poor and beggarly. Well, Christ did not intend that it be triumphal. When He rode into Jerusalem, it actually marked a crisis in His life, a life that was filled with crises. It marked a change of tactics. Heretofore He had slipped into the city silently. He had entered unobtrusively. He had sought the shadows.

There was no publicity. He was always withdrawing from the crowd, not courting attention. It was foretold that He would not cry or strive or cause His voice to be heard in the street (see Isa_42:2). He entered by the Sheep Gate and would attempt to come in eluding the mob, evading the crowd. Even after He had performed a miracle, He put a hush-hush on it. Now there is an about-face in His approach.

It would seem to us that there is an inconsistency here if we did not recognize this as a crisis point. Now He comes out into the open. He enters publicly. He demands attention. He requires a decision. He forces the issue.

For one brief moment the nation must consider Him as their King and their Messiah. The Pharisees were accurate when they said, “…the world is gone after him” (Joh_12:19). Jerusalem was stirred when He came in. In spite of His pushing Himself to the front, He was meek. Matthew lifts that out of Zechariah’s text which says that He was just and lowly. I disagree with several good Bible commentators who assume that His riding on the little animal, the donkey, denotes His meekness.

Far from it. That little donkey was an animal that kings rode upon. You see, the horse was the animal of warfare and is so used in Scripture. The little donkey was the animal that kings rode upon when they were at peace. It was a royal animal. In Jdg_10:3-4 we see a judge who had thirty sons, and he got all of them donkeys to ride upon.

In this day it would be like buying them each a Jaguar sports car. Riding a donkey did not denote meekness. The thought in Zechariah’s prophecy was that in spite of the fact that the coming Messiah would be riding in as the King, He would still be meek and lowly. In this incident there is another false impression that needs to be corrected. There is the assumption that there was one so-called triumphal entry. Bible teachers in Great Britain and Europe have largely recognized that Christ entered Jerusalem on three consecutive days. He came the first time on the Sabbath Day, which was Saturday. Also He came in on Sunday and again on Monday. He came in the first time on the Sabbath Day as the King.

Notice Mark’s record: “And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve” (Mar_11:11). He just looked around. The money changers were not thereit was the Sabbath; He just looked around and left. His very action was one of rejection. He came in as King on Palm Saturday, if you please. Then, when He came in on Sunday, the first day of the week, the money changers were in the temple, and He cleansed the temple at that time. “And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves” (Mat_21:12).

This is quite remarkable. It is the only action that He ever performed as Priest when He was here upon this earth. The writer to the Hebrews makes it clear that He was not a priest here on earth: “For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law” (Heb_8:4). No priest dared to cleanse the temple, but He did when He came back to the temple on Palm Sunday. Then He came back in on Monday, and on the way He cursed the fig tree, then"…when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?" (Mat_21:23). Notice that on this day He was teaching; He was speaking for God. He was God’s Prophet. At that time He met every objection; He silenced the enemy. His was the voice of God. He said, “…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father …” (Joh_14:9), and certainly it was equally true that he that heard Him had heard the Father. So you see that Christ’s entry into Jerusalem was not one but three times. His final appearance before the nation was in His threefold office of Prophet, Priest, and King. We have seen that His entry was not meant to be a triumphal entry, but was it an entry at all? No, actually He was making an exit not an entrance. He was not arranging to take up residence in Jerusalem and reign as King. He sent His disciples ahead to arrange for a room to eat the Passover, but He didn’t send them in to rent an apartment. He was not preparing for His reign; He was preparing for His passion, His suffering, His death, and His passing through the portals of death. His entrance into Jerusalem was not a one-way ticket but a round-trip ticket, and it was part of the program which led to His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His intercession, His coming at the Rapture, and finally His coming as King. The fact of the matter is that the trail of triumph cannot be confined to a ride on a little donkey from Bethany to Jerusalem. That is only a minor segment of a trip which began in eternity pastwhen He was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the worldand extends into eternity future. My friend, when you see it in those terms, it becomes meaningful. Without that perspective it is meaningless. The One who came out of eternity is the One who came into Jerusalem"…the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy …" (Isa_57:15).

As Moses wrote, “…even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psa_90:2). That is, from the vanishing point to the vanishing point, He is God. The church calls it a triumphal entry, but I think it is a triumphal exit. That crowd who followed Him crying “Hosanna” did not think of Him as the Son of God, the Savior of the world. That same crowd that said “Hosanna” on one day said “Crucify Him” on the next day. One of the most expressive pictures I have ever seen, painted by an artist whose name I do not know, depicts a little donkey in the foreground chewing on a palm frond while in the background there stand three crosses. That tells the story. It wasn’t a triumphal entry; it was a triumphal exit.

Six months earlier He had steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem to die. He moved by a prearranged program, an avowed arrangement, a definite decision. Nothing was accidental. When He rode into Jerusalem, He had come out of eternity, and He was going into eternity. It was an exit rather than an entry. The Cross and the empty tomb were not His final destination.

Neither was the Ascension the end of His story. He could say to the dying thief, “…Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luk_23:43). When He returns He will come as King. As we look into the future, we can sing, Crown Him with many crowns, The Lamb upon His throne; Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns All music but its own! Awake, my soul, and sing Of Him who died for thee; And hail Him as thy matchless King Through all eternity. Matthew Bridges As we leave verse Zec_9:9, I hope you see the importance of it. It is the hinge of the door on which the interpretation of this section of the book swings. Now we have seen something of the march of Alexander the Great as he crossed what is now modern Turkey and destroyed those great Greek cities. (It was almost a shame to destroy some of those lovely things, but he did it, of course, because he was moving swiftly to world rulership.) Then he made the turn to go down across the land bridge which is the land of Israel. He destroyed the great cities which were in Assyria in the north, then we saw him as he entered into the Promised Land, first the land of the Philistines, then he came to Jerusalem. Everyone expected him to destroy Jerusalem because the high priest there had refused to pay the tribute money to Alexander which he had been paying to Media-Persia. The high priest felt obligated to keep the treaty with Media-Persia. Naturally this infuriated Alexander, and he was intending to destroy Jerusalem. But he did not destroy it because of the vision he had had of the high priest. Zechariah presents a contrast here. The triumphal entry of Alexander into Jerusalem was something to behold. Then here comes Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a little donkey. And Jesus is not coming to destroy the world; He is coming to save the world. He is not coming to form a great kingdom and attract a great following that would minister to Him. “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mar_10:45). As we have said, when Jesus came into Jerusalem as Israel’s King, it was not a triumphal entry; it was an exit. He was getting ready to leave. But He will be coming back. The world will have had a long time to decide what they are going to do with Jesus. They have to make a decision concerning Him. He is coming someday to bring peace to the world. So He says

Zechariah 9:10

“Ephraim” represents the northern kingdom, “Jerusalem” the southern kingdomone went into Assyrian captivity, the other into Babylonian captivity. However, they are one people and will be reunited under Christ’s rule. “I will cut off the chariot …the horse …the battle bow.” These stand for the whole class of offensive weapons. The Jews won’t need their armaments anymore. “He shall speak peace unto the heathen [nations].” This earth, my friend, will never have peace until Jesus Christ comes and establishes peace. I always shiver when I hear each succeeding president of my nation talk about bringing peace to the world. None of them has been willing to recognize that he is not able to bring peace to the world. Only Jesus Christ can bring world peaceit is just as simple as that. For this reason we have armed soldiers throughout the world today, and we have fought two terrible wars since World War IIin Korea and Vietnam. I agree that we should stay prepared, but we are not going to bring peace to the earth by war.

Only Jesus Christ can bring peace to the earth by putting down unrighteousness, and that will not take place until He comes again to this earth. Instead of trying to make peace throughout the world, we just need to keep prepared to protect ourselves because this is a big, bad world that we live in today. We talk “brotherhood” among nations, which is not scriptural at all. The only brotherhood that can be formed today is in the body of Christ among those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. I know it is not popular to talk like this, but I have discovered that the doctor gives me medication and puts me on the operating table and keeps cutting and cutting on me to get rid of the cancer. It is not fun, but the only way in the world that I can have health is by that route. And the only way the world is going to have peace is through Jesus Christ, whether the world likes it or not. There is no alternative.

Zechariah 9:11

“As for thee” refers to the godly remnant in Israel which was suffering. The best I can do is to make a spiritual interpretation of this verse. The only deliverance for mankind is through the blood of the covenant, and that blood of the covenant is the blood of the New Testament, the blood of Christ. Man talks about his freedom and his liberty. Man in this world today does not recognize that he is actually a prisoner. He is “sold under sin” (Rom_7:14). He is a slave to sin. In a day in which we hear so much about liberty, I receive hundreds of letters from former drug addicts who have been delivered. How? Only by the blood of Christ, my friend, only by turning to Him for deliverance. He alone can deliver prisoners from “the pit wherein is no water.”

Zechariah 9:12

“When I have bent Judah for me.” We are looking now toward the Millennium, to the time when Christ will reign. All the nations of the world are going to bow to Him. My friend, when Christ comes again, that is going to be a triumphal entry.

Zechariah 9:14

I would say that this is a picture of how it is going to be until Christ comes. Man is not going to bring the Millennium to this earth!

Zechariah 9:16

“In that day” is an expression which Zechariah will use a great deal in chapter 12. “That day” is the Day of the Lord, which will begin after the church makes its exit from the earth by way of the Rapture. It ushers in the Great Tribulation period, and it ends, we believe, after the seven years of tribulation when the Lord Jesus Christ will return to establish His Kingdom here upon this earth. Then upon this earth will be the thousand-year reign of Christ. “They shall be as the stones of a crown” or like the glittering jewels of a crown. The prophet Malachi tells us that the Lord is going to make up His jewels in that day: “Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name” (Mal_3:16). This refers to the godly of Israel and of the gentile nations. The church, the “…pearl of great price …” (Mat_13:46), is not included, by the way. Christ paid a tremendous price for that pearl.

Zechariah 9:17

“How great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty!” This is the goodness of the One who is coming in contrast to Alexander who was not known for his goodnesshe was cruel, brutal, and filled with pride. The Lord Jesus was meek and lowly, and He is great in His goodness and in His beauty. There was “…no beauty that we should desire him” (Isa_53:2) when He came the first time. The Cross was a horrible thing. But when He comes againoh, how beautiful He will be! We speak of beautiful people in our day, but He is the beautiful one, and He puts His beauty on those who are His own. “Corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.” New wine is not intoxicatingit hasn’t had a chance to ferment. So what we have here is a reference to abundance of food. There will be no famine or energy shortage during Jesus’ reign upon this earth. It will be a joyous time of plenty; that will be one of the characteristics of His Kingdom.