Zechariah 11
Israel’s Coming Shepherds
There are as many interpretations of this prophecy as there are scholars who have studied it. But what seems clear is that Israel’s sovereign God will continue to act as her ultimate Protector and Provider.
The Wail of The Shepherds
Vs. 2 - Wail, cypress, for the cedar has fallen
Vs. 3 - Listen to the wail of the shepherds, for their glory is destroyed.
As in the previous prophecy (10), God’s people would suffer under poor leadership. We are not told who these leaders would be, but Zechariah uses two metaphors here to describe them: trees and shepherds. God promised that the strong “cedars” would fall and that the glory of the corrupt shepherds would be removed.
The Rejected Shepherd
Many commentators describe the rest of this chapter as two role plays that God asked Zechariah to act out as illustrations of coming leadership. Many see Messianic prophecy in the rejection of the good shepherd and the then-future Roman empire in the rule of the worthless shepherd.
The good shepherd was given a directive, followed a duty, but was detested and dismissed by the sheep.
Directive - Vs. 4 - The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter.”
Duty - Vs. 7 - So I shepherded the flock intended for slaughter, the oppressed of the flock.
Dismissal - Vs. 8 - I became impatient with them, and they also detested me.
Because Matthew referenced this passage, and a similar one from Jeremiah, many commentators see parallels in Israel’s rejection of Jesus as her Shepherd and Messiah.
Three Shepherds
Vs. 8 - In one month I got rid of three shepherds.
Who these shepherds were or will be has been the subject of much debate. - Thomas Constable
Though there are many speculations as to the identities of these three shepherds, what is clear is that some of Israel’s leaders would need to be removed so that a good shepherd could come and lead the people into blessing and unity.
The Shepherd Staff Divided
Vs. 10 - I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, annulling the covenant I had made with all the peoples.
The good shepherd would come to bring favor and unity to Israel, as illustrated by his two staffs. But when the people rejected him, his staffs would be divided and his covenant annulled. The specifics of the covenant in view here are not provided.
Thirty Pieces of Silver
Vs. 12 - Then I said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed my wages, thirty pieces of silver.
Since Zechariah was terminating his protection of the flock, he asked the sheep to pay him his wages or, if they refused, to keep what they owed him. The sheep weighed out 30 shekels of silver as his pay. This was the price of a gored slave in the ancient Near East (Exodus 21:32) and, though a substantial amount, was a pittance in view of all that the Shepherd had done for the sheep.
Their act was as shamelessly insulting as their general reaction to His ministry as a whole had been. To offer him this wage was far worse than simple outward rejection (Matthew 26:15). It was the equivalent of telling the Shepherd that they could buy a dead slave who would be as useful to them as He had been. This response shows how unworthy the people were of His solicitude. - Thomas Constable
Vs. 13 - “Throw it to the potter,” the Lord said to me—this magnificent price I was valued by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw it into the house of the Lord, to the potter.
The Lord instructed Zechariah to throw the 30 shekels of silver to the potter since it was, ironically, such a handsome price. Throwing something to the potter was evidently a proverbial way of expressing disdain for it since potters were typically poor and lowly craftsmen. - Thomas Constable
Matthew referenced this prophecy but combined it with one of Jeremiah’s sermons and attributed it to him:
Matthew 27:9-10 - Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him whose price was set by the Israelites, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.
Probably Matthew was referring to Jeremiah 32:6-9, which he condensed using mainly the phraseology of Zechariah 11:12-13 because of its similarity to Judas’ situation. Joining (conflating) two quotations from two Old Testament books and assigning them to one prophet follows the custom of mentioning only the more notable prophet. Compare Mark 1:2-3, in which Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1 are quoted but are assigned to Isaiah. - Thomas Constable
A Worthless Shepherd
Vs. 16 - I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are perishing
Vs. 17 - Woe to the worthless shepherd who deserts the flock!
The prophet’s second role to play was that of a “worthless shepherd” who would not “care” for the sheep of Israel but would “desert” them instead.
Who is this bad shepherd? Thomas Constable
Some students of history have seen Bar Kokhba as at least a partial fulfillment. He led the ineffective Jewish revolt against the Romans in A.D. 132-135, and some in his day hailed him as the Messiah.
Others see the fulfillment in "all those leaders of Israel, who, under the guise of shepherds, misled and harmed the poor flock . . . ever since Zechariah’s day, especially since the time that the nation has rejected the Christ." [Note: Leupold, p. 219.]
Perhaps the whole collective leadership of Israel from Zechariah’s time forward culminating in Antichrist is in view.
