Zechariah 13
Cleansed Sin, A Striked Shepherd, and The Scattered Sheep
In this section, Zechariah described a coming day when God would forgive the sins of His people, cleanse the land of idolatry, and regather Israel like sheep that have been scattered.
A Fountain Will Be Opened
On That Day
Zechariah continued to use the phrase “on that day” three more times in this section as he described a future time of cleansing and regathering for Israel.
Wash Away Sin
Vs. 1 - a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.
The figure of a fountain pictures abundant cleansing that would continue indefinitely. This will be the fulfillment of God’s promise to forgive the sins of His people Israel in the New Covenant. - Thomas Constable
I Will Banish The Prophets
Vs. 2 - I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will banish the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.
Zechariah prophesied a coming day when public opinion would not tolerate false prophets. There would be such a commitment to the Lord and His truth that even the family of a false prophet would condemn the false prophet. - David Guzik
You Cannot Remain Alive
Vs. 3 - ‘You cannot remain alive because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord.’ When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through.
Commentators note that the Mosaic law required the penalty of death for false prophets (Deuteronomy 13).
Hairy Cloak
Vs. 4 - they will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive.
If a false prophet escapes, he might try to preserve his life by throwing away his prophet’s cloak and disguising himself as a farmer. - Don Fleming
Wounds
Vs. 6 - If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’—then he will answer, ‘I received the wounds in the house of my friends.’
Such scars were a characteristic of sorcerers and false prophets. They were made by cutting ‘magic’ marks in the skin. (See Leviticus 19:28; 1 Kings 18:28; 1 Kings 18:28.) If someone notices the scars, the false prophet will lie to protect himself, saying that he received the scars through a fight or an accident in a friend’s house. - Don Fleming
Some commentators see Messianic prophecy in these “wounds" from friends, but others note that the context does not lend itself to this interpretation. The shepherd described here flees for his life because of idolatrous practices.
Strike The Shepherd
Vs. 7 - Sword, awake against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
The prophet makes a dramatic and confusing pivot at verse 7 from the banishing of false shepherds to the striking of “my shepherd.” Because of the wording “my shepherd” and “my associate” and because Jesus quoted these words the night before His passion, many commentators interpret this entire section as Messianic, comparing this “sword” and “strike” to the “stripes” endured by Isaiah’s suffering Servant (Isaiah 53).
As Jesus prepared His disciples for the terrifying hours between His arrest and His resurrection, He quoted Zechariah’s description of sheep being scattered when the shepherd was struck.
Matthew 26:31, 56 - Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled. Then all the disciples deserted him and ran away.
Mark 14:27, 50 - Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will fall away, because it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Then they all deserted him and ran away.
While it is common to find wholly Messianic interpretations of this passage, other commentators note that Jesus may have been simply applying Zechariah’s prophecy rather than claiming to fulfill it.
Jesus' quote of the lines with regard to his death and his disciples’ falling away suggests that “shepherd” may have anticipated the Messianic king. However, it is possible that Jesus was using the verse proverbially rather than declaring the fulfillment of Zechariah's prediction. - D. Brent Sandy
This kind of intra biblical quotation (intertextuality) for proverbial purposes is not uncommon in scripture.
To illustrate, if I borrowed the opening phrase from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'' to describe a season of my life, I would not be claiming that Dicken’s words were specifically written about my life, but rather that they could be used to accurately describe it. For me, the phrase would be descriptive, not predictive.
Vs. 9 - 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 our God.’
Zechariah ended this prophecy with a description of God’s preservation and purging of a regathered remnant of His people who will look to Him for satisfaction and salvation.
