Light in the Darkness Session 5

CSCC Students 

3/25/26

Zechariah 3; Romans 4:5-8

Intro:

Imagine it’s the first day back at school after a break. You walk into the cafeteria, and everything feels normal… until you notice people staring. At first you think, “Did I say something weird?” You look down… and there it is. A huge stain on your shirt. Not small. Not subtle. It’s obvious. And somehow… everyone sees it. So what do you do? But here’s the worst part: You didn’t even realize it was there when you left the house.

Now imagine this: Instead of just walking into school… you’re walking into the presence of God. And it’s not just a stain on your shirt— it’s your whole life. Your thoughts. Your mistakes. Your sin. You can’t hide it. You can’t cover it. You can’t pretend it’s not there.

That’s exactly what’s happening in Zechariah 3. Joshua the high priest—the one guy who’s supposed to be clean enough to stand before God—is standing there… and his clothes are filthy. Not just dirty—completely unclean. And Satan is right there pointing it out: “Look at him. He doesn’t belong here.”

But then something crazy happens. God doesn’t argue about whether Joshua is dirty. God doesn’t say, “Actually, he’s not that bad.” Instead, God says: “Take off his filthy clothes… and put clean ones on him.”

Zechariah’s prophecies were delivered when God’s people had returned to the promised land after their exile in Babylon. Although the messages address a specific situation, they also are timeless. Zechariah encouraged the leaders of Jerusalem and called the Jewish people to rebuild the temple—and he looked forward to the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to restore and save. The book of Zechariah is split into several visions and sermons. As you read along you will soon notice that each section almost seems out of order, this just reflects the original oral nature of the book. Think of it as a collection of sermons preached by Zechariah during his time as a prophet. Tonight I would like to focus on Zechariah 3. 

The Temple:

In  Zechariah 3, Zechariah has a vision of the high priest standing before God. Extremely important moment.  The Temple had 4 parts: outer court; inner court; holy place; holy of holies. The Holy of Holies was separated by a thick veil. Inside was the ark of the covenant, where God’s shekinah glory rested, the very face, or the presence of God. On one day a year, Yom Kippur, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies by Himself to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people. God had told the high priests in Leviticus 16 to take great precautions in preparing for this moment, because if they came into the presence of God with defilement on them, they ‘d immediately die. They put a bell on their robe and a rope around their ankle.  One scholar describes in detail the events leading up to this moment: “A week beforehand, the high priest was put into seclusion – taken away from his home and into a place where he was completely alone. Why? So he wouldn’t accidentally touch or eat anything unclean. Clean food was brought to him, and he’d wash his body and prepare his heart. The night before the Day of Atonement he didn’t go to bed; he stayed up all night praying and reading God’s Word to purify his soul. 

Then on Yom Kippur he bathed head to toe and dressed in pure, unstained white linen. Then he went into the holy of holies and offered an animal sacrifice to God to atone, or pay the penalty for, his own sins. After that he came out and bathed completely again, and new white linen was put on him, and he went in again, this time sacrificing for the sins of the priests. But that’s not all. He would come out a third time, and he bathed again from head to toe and they dressed him in brand new pure linen, and he went into the holy of holies and atoned for the sins of all the people…. … this was all done in public. 

The temple was crowded, and those in attendance watched closely. There was a thin screen, and he bathed behind it. But the people were present: They saw him bathe, dress, go in, come back out. He was their representative before God, and they were there cheering him on. They were very concerned to make sure that everything was done properly and with purity, because he represented them before God.”1  One man, the high priest—as clean as He could be; one day a year (Yom Kippur); to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people in the presence of God. 

The Problem:

Read Zechariah 3: 1-2 

What we find here at the beginning of the passage is Satan accusing the priest of being unclean. In the original language it comes closer to satan, the accuser, referring to the accuser of being malicious in his intent. We see the start of protection for the high priest Joshua, how so? What is he being accused of?

Read Zechariah 3:3-10

What Zechariah says (3:3) is shocking. He sees a high priest named Joshua preparing to walk into the Holy of Holies, but his garments were covered in excrement!  But Just as Zechariah despaired (4, 8–9), the Lord said to Joshua: “Take off your filthy clothes. See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you…. (vs. 9) I will send my servant and remove the sin of this land on a single day.” 

This is the gospel. God taking away our filth, our sin, and giving us new clothes, new life.

  “Centuries later another Joshua showed up, another Yeshua. Jesus, Yeshua, Joshua – it’s the same name in Aramaic, Greek, and Hebrew. Another Joshua showed up, and he staged his own Day of Atonement. One week beforehand, Jesus began to prepare. And the night before, he didn’t go to sleep—but what happened to Jesus was exactly the reverse of what happened to Joshua the high priest, because instead of cheering him on, nearly everyone he loved betrayed, abandoned, or denied him. And when he stood before God, instead of receiving words of encouragement, the Father forsook him. Instead of being clothed in rich garments, he was stripped of the only garment he had, he was beaten, and he was killed naked. He was bathed… in human spit.”

Jesus In My Place

What does it mean to have Jesus in our place? What does it look like for us to know that Jesus has already taken our place for the price of sin?

Within Romans, Paul is addressing the church in Rome. As we read the book, we find that it is structured a lot like a court case. We find Paul introducing the problem, the problem of sin, and addressing how this has been solved in our place. 

Read Romans 4:5-8

In Romans 4:5-8 we find Paul telling us that Jesus has already taken our place in judgement. Jesus has made us righteous in the eyes of God. We have already been justified on the day of atonement when we believe in the work of Jesus. We are sinners, and we know that sin has the cost of death, it is up to us to believe that God has already paid this debt through his Son Jesus Christ. When you believe that unbelievable testimony about what God has given you, God gives you eternal life.  It’s hard really to believe that… because it is humbling. It’s hard to admit that you could be that wicked and God could be that gracious. God is gracious because he put Jesus in our Place.

Conclusion:

What we have seen tonight is a look at the process taken in the Jewish law to atone for the sins of Israel. We know now that we no longer have to go through this process. Not because we are better than the nation of Israel, but because Jesus has already paid the cost for us. We see that in Romans, we find Jesus in our place. A place judgement for sin. 

How do we attain this reconciliation with God? It is through the full acceptance of the work already been done. No one can go to the father except through Jesus Christ, this is shown to us through his Life, Death, and Resurrection. 

If you have not made this decision to follow Christ, I encourage you to make that decision today. See what it is like to walk in the newness of Life. 

Let's pray.