It is well-accepted that Zechariah 6:12 is a prophecy about Jesus, even though at first glance it appears to be talking to and about someone else. Notice the section. After some of the exiles returned, Zechariah was given the following message from the Lord in 6:11-13 Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. 13 It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ After this it tells how people will come from far away to build the temple.
It looks like the man, Joshua, is the focus of this message, but he is just the symbol and shadow of the Christ who was to come. Let’s notice some things. 1) Joshua and Jesus are forms of the same name and both basically mean savior. 2) Behold the man is exactly what Pilate said when he presented Jesus to the people with a crown of thorns on his head. 3) Zerubbabel built the physical temple in their day, yet the Branch was going to build the temple. 4) The Branch was to sit and rule on his throne and be a priest, neither this Joshua nor any other priest of the tribe of Levi ever was king. In fact Israel never had it’s own king again after this time.
When we take all of these things and more together we can see that this was an encouragement to the people to trust that God had a plan and that if they would obey him he would bless their obedience. Christ is still branching out today, and he began branching out from Jerusalem. Are you trusting God’s plan and being obedient to him so that your obedience can bring blessings as well?
jp
It looks like the man, Joshua, is the focus of this message, but he is just the symbol and shadow of the Christ who was to come. Let’s notice some things. 1) Joshua and Jesus are forms of the same name and both basically mean savior. 2) Behold the man is exactly what Pilate said when he presented Jesus to the people with a crown of thorns on his head. 3) Zerubbabel built the physical temple in their day, yet the Branch was going to build the temple. 4) The Branch was to sit and rule on his throne and be a priest, neither this Joshua nor any other priest of the tribe of Levi ever was king. In fact Israel never had it’s own king again after this time.
When we take all of these things and more together we can see that this was an encouragement to the people to trust that God had a plan and that if they would obey him he would bless their obedience. Christ is still branching out today, and he began branching out from Jerusalem. Are you trusting God’s plan and being obedient to him so that your obedience can bring blessings as well?
jp
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