Prophesies in Zechariah

We concluded that chart last night in the chapter, Leviticus chapter 23, but really, we haven't exhausted the subject. And so the subject runs throughout the Word of God. Now, I'm going to ask you tonight to turn, and don't groan when you hear this, to turn to the book of Zechariah.

The book of Zechariah. And we're going to read in chapter 1. And have a little patience here, because I assure you that we're going to get a little further than this first verse. But we will read the first verse, Zechariah chapter 1 and verse 1. In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berkhiah, the son of Ido, the prophet, saying.

Now, that's an important statement. And there's some important information in that verse that we're going to dwell on just for a moment. And so you'll notice in that verse that we are given the name of a man, Darius.

Darius, historically, is known as Darius Hystapus. That's the title. That's the way that he is referred to.

He rose to the throne of the Medo-Persian Empire. The Medo-Persians were very meticulous and very accurate and full in their recording of events in that empire. And so the records of the Medo-Persian Empire are considered to be very accurate.

And so you'll notice here, and I want you to get this date for a moment fastened in your mind. You will notice that it says that Darius Hystapus became the... Well, he doesn't tell you that, but it says that Zechariah was writing in the second month of the... In the eighth month of the second year of Darius. And so we have the time established when Zechariah is writing.

But we know more than that because Darius Hystapus became the emperor of the Medo-Persian Empire on September the 29th in the year 512 B.C. Now that's the date that I want you to get into your mind fastened there very securely. On that particular date, I'll repeat it again. On September the 29th, 522 B.C., this man became the ruler of the Medo-Persian Empire.

There actually were two rulers. One was a man by the name of Cyrus. And it was Cyrus who issued that decree that allowed those Jewish people from the Babylonian captivity because the Medo-Persians have now defeated the Babylonians.

And so Cyrus issued a decree that allowed them to come back to Jerusalem. Now this man, Darius, is going to issue another decree. We'll touch very briefly upon that in just a moment.

But I want you to get that date. September the 29th, 512 B.C. Now since we know that date, and since we know that that is a firm historical date because those records are very accurate that the Medo-Persians kept, and so now we know exactly when Zechariah was writing. And so Zechariah was writing in the second year of Darius.

And so we know now that Zechariah was writing in the year 520 B.C., in the second month of Darius. Now there are many books in the Bible that we don't know the exact date that they were written. But we know when this book was written.

We know the date when this book was written. At least we know the year of this book. We know that this book was written in the year 520 B.C. And so Zechariah is writing just shortly after Darius Hystapus became the ruler of the Medo-Persian Empire.

Now I'm going to give you a little bit of background so you'll understand when I get to what is upon my mind tonight, upon my heart, so you will be able to follow me. You have to understand that when Solomon died, his kingdom was divided. Now that's the background of what we have read here that touches what we have read.

That sort of is the issue really that is going to spring out and become a difficulty here in Zechariah. And so when Solomon died, his son Rehoboam, foolishly, rejected the advice and the counsel of the old man and he listened to the advice of the young man and listening to the advice of the young man, that resulted in Solomon's kingdom being divided. And so Rehoboam took two of the tribes of Israel, Benjamin and Judah, plus some of the Levites, and they moved to the south in the environment of Jerusalem and Rehoboam established his kingdom.

The other ten tribes, there was a man by the name of Jeroboam. And Jeroboam was not a friend of Solomon. In fact, Solomon tried to put him to death.

He fled from Solomon and he went down to the land of Egypt. And when he heard that Solomon had died, Jeroboam returns to the land. And he takes ten of the tribes, and I'm leaving out a lot of the details here, just to get the overall picture.

He takes ten of those tribes, we've kind of mentioned this before, but he takes the ten tribes and he moves to the north. Now, Jeroboam establishes what was known as the Northern Kingdom. And so sometimes in your Bible, again, that is referred to as Israel.

Other times it is referred to as Ephraim. So the Northern Kingdom, Israel, Ephraim is the kingdom that Jeroboam established in the north. And in the south we have Rehoboam and two of the tribes of Israel.

Now there were difficulties that came in very quickly. The northern part very quickly departed from God. They refused to come to Jerusalem, which was the place that God had appointed, where they passed over and the worship was to be carried out.

And they set up their own idols and they began to worship idols and idolatry. And you have read the account of some of the kings of that northern area after Jeroboam died. Many of them were not very good kings.

And so there was a tremendous amount of departure from God that set in in the north. And so God judged the north. And he used another empire that had arisen called the Assyrian Empire.

And this, of course, is recorded in the Old Testament. He used the Assyrians to judge this empire of Jeroboam and the successive kings in the north. And so the Assyrians ended up taking most of those in the north into captivity and they dispersed them.

The Assyrians were not very large. They had a relatively small army and they couldn't control the areas that they conquered. And so they had a very unique way of doing that.

They either put the individuals in the areas they conquered to death or they took them out of the area and then brought in their own people to populate the area. Now later on, that became known as Samaria. And you know the Lord and the woman at the well and the Samaritan woman.

And they were surprised that he would have time to spend with the Samaritan woman. That's the northern area. That's how it turned out.

The south was a little different. The south lasted for a hundred years longer. And we're told why.

Because God said, because of my servant David. And so God honored David, a man after God's own heart. And in that southern area.

And some of those kings were good kings. And yet there came a time when the south drifted into idolatry and deported from God. And that's when God used the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar to come on two occasions and to take the southern part into the Babylonian captivity.

Now we're getting close to Zechariah. And so Darius and Cyrus, these two rulers at different times. Some wonder if they were co-rulers.

But they allowed a certain number from the Babylonian captivity to return to Jerusalem. We've already touched that on a previous night. And Darius gave the vessels of the temple that Nebuchadnezzar had taken down to the land of Babylon.

Darius gave many of those back. And so when this little group of Jewish people. And again, many of them are numbered.

You could count them almost in the book of Ezra and Nehemiah. They're coming back with the vessels of the temple. And they are coming back to do two things.

They're coming back to build the walls around Jerusalem. And they're coming back eventually that they are going to build the temple. They ran into some problems.

They had opposition. And the opposition at one point had forced them to cease building the wall. And so word was sent back to Darius.

And again recorded in your Bible, Ezra and Nehemiah. Darius then wrote a decree. Sent it back to Jerusalem.

Allowing this small group. This little remnant testimony. To continue to build the walls.

Some of the heathen so-called kings of the Old Testament. Turned out to be favorable to the Jews. And any nation that favors the Jew is going to be blessed.

And so at this particular time arrives on the scene a man by the name of Zechariah. And so now you get the background. And so the background is this little group of Jewish people.

And they are seeking to build the walls and eventually the temple. And they are laboring in this area. They have come back to a city that is in ruins.

It's in ruins because Nebuchadnezzar had sacked the city. Had destroyed the temple. And done a lot of other damage to the city of Jerusalem.

They have come back to a city that is in ruins. That's not where they left. They left the relative luxury, initially, of the Babylonian Empire.

And then of the Medo-Persian Empire. Yes, they were in bondage. They were taken down as captives.

But their lot in those two empires, serving the Babylonians and serving the Medo-Persians, it wasn't 100%. But it wasn't that bad. But when they come back to Jerusalem, totally different story.

Everything is in ruins. This is different. And so now they have to labor harder, likely, than they ever did when they were in Babylon.

And they have opposition. And their opposition are two men, in particular, that are named in the Bible, Tobiah and Sanballat. And they're trying to hinder the work that these few Jewish people are seeking to carry out.

You remember what Tobiah said? When they were looking at the wall that the Jewish people were building, and Tobiah said, if a little fox walked along that wall, it would fall down. And so they are mocking the Jews. And so they are building, and they are building with a weapon in one hand, and with a tool in the other hand, to protect themselves and to build what they are building.

And so it's not very easy. These are a discouraged people. And so now they have to labor in stone to build the walls.

And they have to plant crops so they have something to eat. They have to work now. And it's not a very good environment.

And so on the scene then comes this man, Zechariah. And Zechariah has come on the scene in order to provide a little encouragement to a discouraged people. And so when you come to the book of Zechariah, there is encouragement found in this book.

Well, you know the background that Zechariah is ministering to a little group of people that are working but are very discouraged and are facing their enemy and it's hard going for this group of people. In your Bible, there are three post-exile prophets. By post-exile, I mean they are prophets that ministered to this little group after the captivity, after the exile to Babylon.

So post-exile prophets, there are three of them. Haggai and Zechariah are contemporaries. They ministered at the same time.

And so both of these prophets, Haggai and Zechariah are ministering to the same group of people. The third post-exile prophet is Malachiah and he came a hundred years later. He ministered to the same group of people.

And so Haggai, Zechariah and Malachiah all have this group of people in view. Now what are they going to say? What is Zechariah going to say that is going to encourage this group of people? I want you to have this date in your mind because this is important. 520 B.C. I don't want you to forget the date.

And so fasten that firmly in your mind with what I'm going to read from the book of Zechariah. 520 B.C. That's when this man is writing. That's when his prophetic statements occur.

And so we'll come to Zechariah chapter 9 and verse 9. Zechariah is going to tell them that there's another man who's going to come to Jerusalem. He's going to tell them this other man is going to face Jerusalem in a very difficult time. Now notice what he says.

Zechariah chapter 9 and verse 9. This is tremendous. 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 full of an ass.

And I will cut off the chariots from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle boat 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 to the ends of the earth. That's a tremendous statement. Now remember, get this again in your mind, that Zechariah wrote that 520 years before the Lord was born.

And so he wrote that 553 years before it was fulfilled. Now do a little calculation. You can calculate that.

520 before BC. And then the Lord was upon earth for 33, maybe 33 and a third years. Now you can figure that out.

So that's 553 years. After Zechariah wrote these words, they were perfectly fulfilled. 553 years.

This is one of the statements in the Bible that we use when someone asks us how do we know that the Bible is the Word of God? You produce a book that a mortal man has written that can do what Zechariah has said here. There's no book you could find that could accurately predict the future like Zechariah did 553 years before the event took place. And so Zechariah describes here this event is told in the Gospel records in the New Testament exactly what Zechariah wrote about.

And so I'm referring now to Matthew chapter 21 because Matthew is going to quote from Zechariah. And so when you read Matthew chapter 21 and the incident when the Lord Jesus rode into Jerusalem and then you go back to Zechariah you'll notice that Matthew quotes what Zechariah says. And so what's Zechariah going to do? He's going to take you in a remarkable way to the last week that the Lord spent upon this earth.

And so at the beginning of that last week. Now Zechariah has taken you back, has taken you to that week or taken you ahead in his time to that week. But for us we're going back to that week.

And so that is the time when from the Mount of Olives and I indicated that the Mount of Olives was very precious to the Lord. He's on the Mount of Olives and he wants an animal. He purposes to come to Jerusalem.

And so he sends two disciples to secure an animal. And he says that when you get to the animal and the man that owns the animal might question you and simply say, the Lord hath needed him. And he'll let you have the animal.

One might conclude that that man knew the Lord. Or at least knew who the Lord was. And he was prepared to let that animal go.

And so those disciples led that animal to the slopes of the Mount of Olives. Zechariah has told us all this. Or he has referred to it very specifically.

And on the Mount of Olives they put their garments on the animal and along the way they're going to spread the branches of trees in the way and the Lord is going to start a journey from the Mount of Olives. And he's going to go down through the Kidron Valley. And he's going to come up to the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem.

And as he comes up to the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem they're going to say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. And as he enters the Gate of Jerusalem Matthew records that they will sing, thy king cometh. And so he comes.

He comes to a cross. They acclaim him for a moment. But it will not take very long.

By the end of that week when they acclaim him as he comes to Jerusalem on that lowly animal, they're going to put him on a cross. Zechariah tells us that he's going to come to Jerusalem on that animal. Now I want you to come back for a moment to Zechariah chapter 9. Read verse 9 again.

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, upon a cold, fallen ass. And that was perfectly fulfilled when the Lord Jesus came into Jerusalem. I'm going to say this again.

I might repeat this. There is no book that you can put your hand on that would have something prophesied 553 years before the event. And the event takes place just exactly as Zechariah said.

That's the Spirit of God guiding the hand of Zechariah as he writes. Draw a line after verse 9. Now notice what happens. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle-boar shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace unto the heathen, and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.

Now, 553 years, the first part, verse 9, was fulfilled. Draw a line. And verse 10 is now 2015 years and counting.

That is, what is said in verse 10 has not been fulfilled. Verse 10 is in the language of Zechariah. He's describing the moment when the Lord is going to come, and when the city of Jerusalem will be surrounded by her enemies, He is going to come and He's going to deliver the city.

Remember, 2015 years and counting. And so when He comes to deliver the city, He's going to free Jerusalem from the enemies that have surrounded her. And then it says in this verse that He'll speak peace to the heathen, and His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the rivers to the end of the earth.

Now come over in Zechariah again to chapter 14. Zechariah says, notice this, and His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives, so precious to the Lord.

And on the east, the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mountain shall be moved toward the north and half of it toward the south. Notice verse 9. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day there shall be one Lord, and His name one.

What is Zechariah telling us? He's now taking us to the language of John in Revelation chapter 19. And in Revelation chapter 19, John looks up and he sees the heavens opened. And coming out of the heavens is a rider upon a white horse.

Now just pause for a moment. I have to take that white horse as very literal. In fact, to my simple mind, it's very necessary to take the book of the Revelation literal, unless there are two little words that are used.

And the two little words are like or as. And when you have those two words, like or as, that is referring to something that is symbolic. And so someone says, well some of the things in the book of the Revelation, those are things that hardly are imaginable.

They will take place just as John has recorded them. And so when John records this horse coming out of heaven, now brother, I would have one big problem. Trying to picture a symbolic horse, whatever that's supposed to symbolize, with a literal rider upon the horse.

The rider is real. The rider has on his vesture and on his thigh a name written. And that name is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

So I have no doubt, I'm not left even to question, that the rider on the horse is the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he's riding a literal horse. Now I know what's going through your mind.

And so someone might want to ask me at the end of this meeting, are there horses in heaven? And I have no problem with that. When my God says that his son is going to come out of heaven on a white horse, that's all I need. He's coming out of heaven on a white horse with many horses following him.

I sat one day at a house out on the western prairies and this man has a whole herd of horses. I don't really call horses a herd, but whatever spooked them, whatever happened, the thunder of those horses as they ran across the prairies. And think of an army of horses, multitudes of them, myriads of them, for you're going to have a horse.

Those who are following him are those who have been redeemed by him. And those who are following him are those who are coming back with him. And so we are told where the horse is heading.

The horse is heading exactly where the angel told those men when the Lord ascended to go to heaven, right back exactly where the angel said he would come. And so the angel said, this same Jesus shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go up into heaven. In like manner, his feet left the Mount of Olives, that precious place.

He was standing on the Mount of Olives when he left earth and commenced the journey to heaven. He's coming back in like manner to the same place. The identical place.

And so when that horse brings him down to the Mount of Olives, I would have to conclude from what Zachariah has said, that he will momentarily dismount the horse. Because Zachariah says his feet are going to stand on the Mount of Olives. And then the Mount of Olives is going to cleave asunder.

And some would suggest, perhaps correctly, that Jerusalem will become a seaport for the Mediterranean Sea will flow up to Jerusalem. There's that rift valley that flows through that area. And then what? From the Mount of Olives.

That precious place to the Lord. He's going to start a journey again. He's going to come from the Mount of Olives.

And he's going to come down through whatever there is of the Kidron Valley right at that moment. And he's going to come up to that golden gate. And if they think that that golden gate is going to keep him out of Jerusalem, they got a big dream.

I'd rather refer to the passage in Psalm 24. Lift up your head, all ye gates. Be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors.

And the Lord is going to look at those gates. Lift up your head, all ye gates, and the gate will disintegrate. And the one who rode that lowly animal into Jerusalem in verse 10 of Zachariah here is going to enter Jerusalem again.

The same pathway, the same journey, the same gate. But he's not coming to a cross. He has liberated Jerusalem.

And now he's coming not to a cross, but he's coming to a throne. I touched that last night. Don't know what that throne is going to look like, but he's coming to a throne.

Tremendous thing what Zachariah has told us. Now, we're not finished. Zachariah is going to do something else.

He has taken you to the first or to the first days of that last week of the Lord's sojourn on earth. Now, he's going to take you not just exactly to the middle, a little past the middle of that time, so we'll turn to chapter 11. Zachariah chapter 11.

And read these tremendous words. Verse 12 of Zachariah chapter 11. And I said unto them, if ye think good, give me my price.

And if not for bear, so they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, cast it unto the potter a goodly price. And I was prized out of them.

And I took the thirty pieces of silver and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. Now, verse 13 of course, the I and the me in that verse have reference to Judas. Tremendous thing.

That now Zachariah takes you to the middle of that week, just a little past the middle of the week. And he's going to record accurately the betrayal of the Lord Jesus Christ by the betrayer Judas. And he's going to tell you exactly how much Judas got for the betrayal of the Lord.

Now you tell me again, can you find a book on this world and this earth any place that can 553 years before an event takes place and now Zachariah says thirty pieces of silver. That's exactly what the Lord has betrayed for. I want you to know this statement for a moment.

Give me my price. Who said those words? I would suggest that those words are prophetic of the Lord Jesus. And here he is addressing Israel and he's saying, give me my price.

He came on to his own and his own received a nod. And so now he's asking them in the prophetic language of Zachariah, give me my price. In other words, how much am I really worth? I came to demonstrate, to show the love of God to man.

And he did that so wonderfully. And then he could say to them, I came to heal. And he did that.

I came to forgive. I came to bless. He dispensed blessing every step of the journey here.

He would say to them, you heard my words. You heard me speak. And there were those who had to acknowledge.

Never man speak like this man. He didn't use the words of a university professor. He didn't use the words of Webster's dictionary that are long and difficult to understand.

His words were very simple. Very easy to understand. Come unto me, all ye that labor.

Have ye laid in? I'll give you rest. You couldn't get more simple words but words so full of truth. So tremendous words.

You heard my words. You looked at me. You watched me.

You viewed me. You watched the dumb speak. You looked as the blind were made to see.

And the lame were made to walk. You saw the dead raised. Proof was evident.

It was obvious on every hand that I am who I claim to be. And in return, he expected their love. He expected their devotion.

He expected their obedience. He expected there would be reception on their part from him. And now the challenge is give me my price.

What was the price? So they weighed 30 pieces of silver. The hymn is correct. Just the price of a slave.

That was the price that if a man's bold gourd, another servant of another man, he had to pay 30 pieces of silver for the damage of the loss of that servant. And so they valued him. They placed a value upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

That was the price of a slave. That was an insult to heaven. The psalmist records the words of the Lord Jesus.

I am a worm and no man, of an approach of men and despise of the people. That was a value they placed upon him. And can I say it again? That was an insult to heaven.

That was how they valued the Son of God. That was how they valued the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Glory. Just the value of 30 pieces of silver.

So they weighed out the 30 pieces of silver. And they gave the 30 pieces of silver to Judas. Judas betrayed him for the price of a slave.

Isn't it a tremendous thing that Zechariah records that exactly as it took place? And now he's going to tell us something about Judas. And so the language of the next verse of verse 13 is about the betrayer. And so Judas' conscience begins to bother him.

As some have suggested, perhaps so, we're not exactly told this, but when Judas discovered that the intention really was to put the Lord to death, perhaps he thought he would put the 30 pieces of silver in his pocket, walk away, and they would let the Lord go. But that wasn't their intention. And when Judas discovered that they were going to put him to death, Judas comes back to the temple and he stands in the presence of those men.

He says, I've sinned. I've betrayed the innocent blood. But it's too late.

The deed had been done. It couldn't be undone now. And so they said to Judas, what is that to us? What do we care about that? You see to that, that's your problem.

That's not ours. Judas took the 30 pieces of silver. A man with a tortured conscience now, and he throws the 30 pieces of silver onto the floor of the temple.

And it has been well said that one of the last sounds that reached the ear of Judas was the tinkle of 30 pieces of silver as it rolled across the floor of the temple. And he wrote and hung himself. But how Zechariah tells us, is this not tremendous? Zechariah tells us, they looked at the floor of the temple, they saw the 30 pieces of silver, and they said, it's a price of blood.

We can't put that into the treasury. We've got to use it for something else. And so they used it to buy a potter's field, Zechariah tells us, to bury strangers in.

Tremendous. To the last, to the middle of that last week of the Lord spent upon this earth. No, he's not done.

Give me my price. Can I just make an application of that for a moment? Give me my price. Let's all just search ourselves for a moment.

We're thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ. What is he worth to me? If I was to put a price of the value of the Lord Jesus to me, what would you say? That was the challenge. Give me my price.

And if the Lord is saying in heaven, as we have read this, give me my price. How do we value him? That is, what does he mean to us? What is the measure of our love for Christ? Give me my price. Let's turn to chapter 13.

Chapter 13 and verse 7. Now Zechariah's going to take you to that last few days, last few hours. Zechariah chapter 13 and verse 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.

And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die, and the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name.

These are beautiful words, and I will hear them. And I will say, it is my people, and they shall say, the Lord is mine. What's Zechariah doing now? He has taken you to the first part of that last week that the Lord dwelt upon this earth, and he has prophesied about the Lord coming into Jerusalem on that animal, and has indicated that the Lord will come to Jerusalem again in the following verse.

Then he has taken you to the moment when Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver. Now he's going to take you to the cross. This is Zechariah.

553 years before the event took place. Now Zechariah is going to tell you about the cross in very beautiful words. And so Zechariah records these words, Awake, O sword, against my shepherd.

And so the first question that might come into your mind is, who is speaking? Who is speaking to the sword and addressing the sword as awake, O sword? Well the only possible speaker here is God himself. And he's speaking to a sword. Now if you have studied English literature or so on, you might have come across an expression that really is the same as we have here.

And that expression is called anthropomorphism, and don't try to write it down because you won't be able to do that. And it doesn't matter anyway. But the significance of the word is significant.

Now this anthropomorphism is an object addressed as a person. And so the sword is addressed as a person. And so God is speaking to a sword, Awake, O sword.

Now the sword is being commanded to awake. It implies that the sword has been sleeping. And now there comes a moment when the sword is told to awake.

So God is speaking to a sword. The sword is an instrument of judgment. An instrument of solemn judgment.

And so when God says, Awake, O sword, he is causing the sword of judgment to awaken, to be stirred. That sword that has been sleeping. In other words, the judgment of God has been held back and held back and held back.

And now the moment has come when the judgment is going to fall. And so this is the sword of divine judgment. And so he says, Awake, O sword.

And then God says, Against my shepherd. That suggests the preciousness of the Lord Jesus Christ of God. God looks at his son now.

His son is on the cross. Men have crucified him. And now as he is on that cross and as God views the cross, he says, Awake, O sword.

He stirs the judgment to life. And the judgment is going to fall upon the one who is my shepherd. Very precious title to God.

And the nearness of the Lord Jesus Christ. That title, my shepherd. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd.

Against the man. And that expression, the man, would remind us of the perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Against the man.

Zechariah is reminding us that the one who came from heaven took upon himself the form of humanity made in the likeness of human flesh. And now at this moment, to become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. But he is going to bear the sword of divine judgment.

Must have been a solemn moment for those two thieves. Remember, that those two thieves were experiencing death by crucifixion too. And so all that the death of crucifixion meant, those two thieves experienced all that the Lord Jesus experienced, death by crucifixion.

But they never experienced what Zechariah is telling us. Must have been something. I have thought that those thieves would struggle.

There might even be oaths and curses as the Roman soldiers are driving nails through their hands and feet. Those men didn't want to be crucified. They would have done anything to escape that awful death.

Crosses of those two men are lifted up. And now as they look down upon another man, different than they were, the other man lays his hands upon the cross. That wouldn't require a Roman soldier to force his hands on the cross.

Those soldiers must have been amazed. And as they drove their nails through the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus, no oaths, no curses. And it must have dawned upon them, as it dawned upon that thief that this man wanted to die.

And there came a moment when that thief said to his fellow, we indeed justly, but this man, notice, against the man, this man has done nothing amiss. I believe that I'm going to see some of those Roman soldiers in heaven. I believe that the Roman centurion is going to be in heaven.

I think there's chapter and verse to prove that. Matthew records that. I can't just give you the verse.

Read the chapter in Matthew about the crucifixion. For it says that they said, that's the soldier and the centurion. They said this is the son of God.

In other words, those men, when they crucified Christ, knew this is something different. We have never crucified a man like this before. This is the son of God.

So on that cross, God is looking down now against the shepherd, against the man. Now here's a most precious title or expression. Very, very rare.

It says against the man who is my fellow. That is God now. He's looking down upon the cross and the suffering savior upon that cross, his son.

God witnessed all that took place at Calvary. Every blow of the Roman mallet that drove those nails, every blow was hurting heaven. Everything that they did was witnessed by the God of heaven.

And now God is looking down and he says, that man on that center cross, that man is my fellow. That's a rare title. That expression, my fellow, means, has the idea of two that are bound together.

It's the idea of my companion, my united one. It has the idea of my equal. The man on the cross was the equal unto the God of heaven who is looking down upon him.

And now he says, awake, O sword, against my shepherd. Smite the shepherd. That is, the command is to the sword to smite the shepherd.

And that sword of divine judgment and justice fell on sparingly at the command of God upon the person of the Lord Jesus on the cross. We sing some very beautiful hymns. Annie Ross Cousin wrote the hymn that we sing, 176, in your believer's hymn book.

And how many times have you sang these words? Jehovah bade his sword awake. O Christ, it woke against thee. Thy blood, the flaming blade, must slake thy heart, its sheaf must be.

All for my sake, my peace to make. Now sleeps that sword for me. And so every soul here at this present moment who values the sword that smote the Lord Jesus Christ at the command of God, that's the judgment of God.

For us, that sword sleeps. It will never be stirred again. It will never be called upon again to judge our sins.

Because they have all been judged by the Lord Jesus on the cross. Now notice Zachariah chapter here again in chapter 13. Notice verse 7 again.

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd. 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 my hand upon the little ones. Now I'm not going to tell you about the little ones, but draw a line after that. Because the following two verses have not been fulfilled.

And so between verse 9, between verse 7 and then verses 8 and 9, there are 2,015 years and still counting. They haven't been fulfilled yet. And so notice what it says.

It shall come to pass that all the land saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die. Now he refers to the land, he's referring to the people that are in the land. These are the people that we have mentioned in the Feast of Trumpets that have come back to the land.

And from all parts of the world they have gone back to the land, which is our land. But they have gone back in unbelief. And now the hand of God is against them because of their unbelief.

These are the ones that are going to be smitten, be cut off and die. But the third part shall be left therein. Now what's going to happen to the third part? And I will bring the third part through the fire.

That's the fire of Jacob's trial, Jacob's judgment. That's the trial of the tribulation. And so of all these people that have come back, a third of them are going to be brought through the fire.

And now notice what he says. And we'll refine them as silver is refined, and we'll try them as gold is tried. And what are they going to do? They're going to call on my name.

And God says I will hear them. What has happened to them? They have now embraced the Messiah. They have accepted Christ.

They have embraced the one whom their fathers put to death. The one who suffered upon the cross. And so God says, I will hear them, and I will say.

He's looking down at the remnant that have passed through the fire. These are Jewish people. And he says, I'll say, they're my people.

And then they will look up to God, and they will say in the language of Zechariah, the Lord is my God. Now, as surely as absolutely certain, as verse 7 has been fulfilled in the book of Zechariah, verses 8 and 9 will be fulfilled. I've said, 2000, 15 years, and still counting.

So Zechariah has done some tremendous things. There are other statements in Zechariah. This is a tremendous book.

If you were to ask me if I understood everything in the book of Zechariah, I would have to be honest and say, no, I don't. There are many statements in Zechariah that I don't understand. But when you read the book of Zechariah, you can glean a little here, and you can glean a little there, and then you begin to realize the wonder of the words that Zechariah has written.

And so this is a tremendous book, Zechariah. He has told us about the Lord coming into Jerusalem on that little colt, and he has told us that will happen again when he comes into Jerusalem on that white animal, that white horse. He has told us in an amazing way about Judas betraying the Lord Jesus Christ, and then he has told us in the language of Zechariah about the cross, and we go sword against my shepherd.

We'll pray.