Zechariah Simplified

Author & Date

Zechariah was a Priest as Well as a Prophet

He was the Grandson of One of the Priests Who Came Back From Babylon With Zerubbabel

Zechariah was a Contemporary With Haggai

And a Lot of His Messages to the People of Judah are Similar to Haggai

Haggai’s Main Focus was On the Temple Restoration

Zechariah’s Main Focus was On the Spiritual Restoration of the People

This Makes Sense With Him Being a Priest

According to Jesus, Zechariah Would Eventually Be Killed for His Prophesying

Matthew 23:35 (NASB95)

so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Purpose

It’s Been Almost 20 Years Since the First Return From Exile

And the People of Judah are Discouraged

The Temple is Still Not Rebuilt

The People are More Focused On Themselves Than the Things of God

They Expected a Great Transformation and Renewal From God Once Exile Ended

But Things Weren’t Much Better Back Home Than They Were in Exile

Faithful Obedience Began to Seem Useless By Many

Trying to Pursue the Best Life Possible for Themselves…

Seemed to Make More Sense in Light of Their Present Difficulties

Zechariah was Sent to Remind the People that God is Still in Control

And He Will Bring About His Wonderful Promises at the Right Time

If the People Would Learn From Their Forefathers’ Mistakes…

And Turn Back to God as the Prophets Had Been Saying…

They Would See God Turning to Them as Well

The People Needed Spiritual Renewal and to Practice Justice and Mercy

Zechariah Told the People that God is Going to Establish the Kingdom of the Son of David

Their Sins Would Be Removed When the Promised Son of David Would Take the Throne

Peace, Harmony, and Prosperity Will Be the Result that Day…

For All the Inhabitants of the Land…

And God Will Dwell With His People Once Again

But the Coming of This Davidic Messiah Will Not Be as Expected

He Will Be Different Than All Other Rulers

He Will Be Righteous and Humble

He Will Be a True Shepherd to the People

And He Will Suffer But Still Reign Over All the Earth

And All People Will Worship Him

Structure

The Book of Zechariah Has a Complex Structure to it

The First 6 Chapters Focus On 8 Apocalyptic Visions

Then Chapters 7-8 are Focused On Prophetic Messages to the People

Then Chapters 9-14 are Poetic in Nature and They Focus On Judgement, Salvation, and the Coming King

Several Different Styles of Literature Wrapped Up in One Book…

Which Can Make This a Difficult Book to Understand in Detail

Key Themes

Encouragement for the People of God

The Need for Repentance

The Necessity of Sincerity in Serving God

God’s Care and Concern for His People

The Future Blessings of Judah and Jerusalem

The Coming of the Branch, the Messianic Savior and King

Peace and Prosperity is Coming for All of God’s People From All Nations

Sins Will Be Forgiven, Shame Taken Away, Guilt is Removed

Zechariah in the NT

The Prophecy About Jesus Riding into Jerusalem On a Donkey’s Colt is Found in Zechariah

Zechariah 9:9–10 (NAS)

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

This Chapter is Talking About How All of the Enemies of God‘s People Will Be Defeated

And How the King Will Establish Eternal Peace for His People

It Wasn’t Just About Jesus Riding into Jerusalem On a Donkey

It was About the Humble King Preparing for His Coronation Day…

When He Would Take His Throne and Establish His Kingdom

Zechariah 11:12–13 (NAS)

I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.

Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

Matthew 27:1–7 (NAS)

Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death;

and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor.

Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”

And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.

The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.”

And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers.

Zechariah Acted as a Shepherd to the People and They Paid Him the Price of a Slave

God Told Him to Throw it to the Potter in the Temple

This Foreshadows Judas Throwing the 30 Pieces of Silver in the Temple and it Going to the Potter’s Field

Zechariah 12:10–11 (NAS)

“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.”

John 19:37 (NAS)

And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”

Zechariah Tells of When There Will Be Great Mourning Over the One Who They Pierced

John Tells Us This is Speaking of Jesus

Zechariah 13:7–9 (NAS)

“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,

And against the man, My Associate,”

Declares the Lord of hosts.

“Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered;

And I will turn My hand against the little ones.

“It will come about in all the land,”

Declares the Lord,

“That two parts in it will be cut off and perish;

But the third will be left in it.

“And I will bring the third part through the fire,

Refine them as silver is refined,

And test them as gold is tested.

They will call on My name,

And I will answer them;

I will say, ‘They are My people,’

And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”

God Will Strike His Shepherd and His People Will Be Scattered

There Will Be a Time of Terrible Suffering and Death for God’s People

But They Will Be Refined By the Suffering

They Will Be His People and He Will Be Their God

Mark 14:27 (NAS)

And Jesus *said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’

Jesus’ Disciples Would Scatter at His Arrest

But in the Early Church Age, Jesus’ Disciples Would Face Terrible Persecutions and Death

But They Would Remain Strong and Be Refined By the Fire

There are So Many Other Passages that Point Toward the Messiah

Zechariah is a Very Messianic Book

But it Would Take Us Weeks to Dive into All of the Complicated Intricacies

Zechariah Certainly Points Us to an Age Where God Rules Through His Messiah as King of the World

Outline

Call to Conversion (1:1–6)

The 8 Visions Given to Zechariah (1:7–6:15)

A Prophetic Message to the People (7:1–8:23)

The Future Kingdom (9:1–14:21)

Active Reading

Because of the Great Amount of Visions and Apocryphal Language…

We are Going to Focus On the Sections that are More Practical in Nature

That Consists of 1:1-6 and 7-8

Zechariah 1:1–6 (NAS)

In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying,

“The Lord was very angry with your fathers.

“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the Lord of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.

“Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Return now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not listen or give heed to Me,” declares the Lord.

“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

“But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ”

Then Read Zechariah 7-8