Pilgrim Traveller

Zechariah prophecies that some people will not value a good, even great leader, even to the point of betrayal, desertion, and death.

Read: Zechariah 11: 12-13 and 13: 7-9

Thirty pieces of silver and scattered sheep – once again the gospel writers found events in Jesus’ life that fulfilled both of these prophecies.

Thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave, will always be associated with betrayal and Judas Iscariot.

Things had not gone as expected for Judas. He had misunderstood why Jesus, the Messiah had come…not as he expected, to rid Israel of the invading Romans, but rather to build a Kingdom of peace, where the lost and the least were welcome. He was disappointed with Jesus; despite the teaching and the miracles maybe he was starting to doubt who Jesus really was.

And Jesus knew! Judas was still a trusted and welcomed disciple. At the last supper he let Judas know that he knew and allowed him to get on with the betrayal.

After Jesus had been captured, it seems that a remorseful Judas tried to undo what he’d done, but failed to convince the priests, and ultimately took his own life, after hurling the thirty pieces of silver back to them. They used it to buy a potter’s field, which they used as a burial place for foreigners.

When Jesus was taken prisoner in the Garden of Gethsemane, we’re told that the remaining disciples also betrayed him by running away. Jesus had predicted this while they were going to the Garden, quoting from Zechariah 13: 7 as he did so. Peter followed Jesus to the High Priest’s house, where he also verbally betrayed Jesus by denying he knew him three times. Once again Jesus had predicted that Peter would do that. When the disciples reappear in the story, on resurrection day, they are hiding behind locked doors, traumatised by disappointment, bewilderment, and fear.

The fact that Jesus seems to have known all this in advance makes his willingness to come and live and die for us even more remarkable. What a wonderful Saviour!

How is your relationship with Jesus? Have you cooled off and lost much of the love you had for him and his ways? If you think about it, are there times when you too have betrayed and deserted your Saviour and Lord. Confess it and ask for strength to follow faithfully again as Jesus gives his grace.

When the Messiah comes, he will bring safety and stability to God’s people.

Read: Zechariah 9: 16 and 10: 2-4

The early church picked up two images that were fulfilled by Jesus in this part of Zechariah’s prophesy: the image of the good shepherd who rescues and cares for the sheep, and the image of the stone that was rejected by the builders but became the cornerstone, the source of stability for the whole building.

The image of the good shepherd is introduced in stark contrast to the shepherds that are currently supposed to be caring for the flock. It was a direct attack on the record of the actions of the spiritual and secular leaders of the nation of Israel at the time Zechariah was writing. God promises that because the people have been so let down by their leaders that he will come in person to care for his people.

In the New Testament this theme is picked up in John 10, where Jesus, “the good shepherd” cares for his sheep to the point of giving his life for them, to rescue them and give them security.

The image of the stone is a powerful one at this time, when the Temple was being rebuilt. The cornerstone was the most important stone upon which the strength and stability of the whole building depended.

Unfortunately, even though the Temple was rebuilt, its spiritual foundations continued to be as weak as the spiritual leaders in the nation. Jesus got pretty upset at the way the Temple was being misused when he visited Jerusalem towards the end of his life on earth. Eventually, in 70 AD the Temple was demolished by the Romans, never again to be rebuilt.

Jesus, however, the Messiah rejected by his own people went on to build not an alternative temple building but a “living temple” made up of everyone, both Jews and non-Jews who chose to follow him. The apostle Paul writes, in Ephesians 2:17-22,

“He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. [18] Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. [19] So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. [20] Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. [21] We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. [22] Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.”

Do I always resemble Jesus, the good shepherd, in my relationships with others, or do I sometimes ill-treat people or use them selfishly for my own ends? Take a serious look at yourself, and ask for forgiveness and God’s help to do things differently. Maybe apologise to the person or people concerned…

People had certain expectations about what the Messiah would be like. How did they respond when the reality was quite different?

Read: Zechariah 9: 9-10

There are some incredible contrasts in this passage. The image that is being used is that of a conquering king or a triumph parade. In those times, when a nation had been conquered the victorious king or general, mounted on a warhorse, would process into the capital of that country, often preceded by captured prisoners, to reinforce the fact that the country was now under new management.

Contemporary Jews were expecting just such a conquering warrior, who would rescue them from their Roman oppressors. They were so wrong.

The gospel writers did not hesitate to make the link between this prophesy and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. As Messiah and part of the royal line of King David, Jesus was proclaiming that he had come to win back the nation of Israel and indeed the whole world from not the Roman empire, but from the empire of evil that had dominated them for so long, and to bring the rule and reign of the Kingdom of God.

This King was righteous…he would look after the wellbeing of his people…and humble. No warhorse for him, but rather a donkey a symbol of humility and peace. Nothing could be further from the actions of many people down through the years who have sought to co-opt Jesus and Christianity for war and conflict.

Israel was expecting a Messiah of the conquering variety, who would fight to free his people. Instead, they got a Messiah of the humble and peaceful variety, who sought to win the hearts, minds and lives of people everywhere.

What a host of contrasts: war versus peace, Israel’s agenda versus God’s plan, empire of evil versus Kingdom of God…two radically different kinds of power.

And in case there was any doubt, in the Sermon on the Mount, alongside several of the unexpected reversals in Jesus’ upside-down kingdom we have, “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.” (Matthew 5: 5). Perhaps this looks forward to a future day, when God is eternally present on a renewed earth, but this in no way diminishes the humble power of Jesus or his followers.

Are their relationships that I have where I act more like a conquering dictator than a humble leader…maybe in my family, my work, or as a church leader? What steps can I take to be more like Jesus in those relationships?