The Gospel Courtroom of Prophet Zechariah

The Gospel Courtroom of Prophet Zechariah.

“Then the guiding angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of Yahweh, and Satan standing at Joshua’s right hand to be his adversary and to accuse him.” (Zechariah 3:1).

Setting the Scene of Zechariah’s Vision. The prophet found himself in a court of justice somewhere in the heavenlies. At the judge’s Bench sits the Angel of Yahweh, the preincarnate Christ, Jesus Himself. Standing before Him is the high priest Joshua who has returned from exile in Babylon. Skulking in the shadows near Joshua is the Accuser, the prosecuting attorney, waiting to offer his testimony against Joshua in particular and Israel in general. There are attendants throughout the courtroom, quietly waiting to serve the judge and obey his wishes.

Angel of the Lord. This is another mysterious appearance of a specially designated Angel of Yahweh. In many places in the Hebrew Bible, this particular Angel is specifically identified with the Lord God and is distinguished from Yahweh. This One-of-a-Kind heavenly Messenger has appeared as a divine visitor to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre and on Mt. Moriah, was a welcome comfort to Hagar, and a wrestling opponent to Jacob. This Angel appeared to Moses in the burning bush, as a sustainer to Elijah and a redeemer to Isaiah. This Angel was reportedly with Daniel’s three friends in the fiery furnace and to Daniel himself on the banks of the Tigris River. He appeared to Gideon on the threshing floor and to Samson’s parents at his birth announcement. Balaam was shocked to see Him while riding his donkey, and so was Joshua just outside the city of Jericho. Most scholars, including the early church Fathers, considered this special Angel of Yahweh to be God in the form of a Man, the preincarnate Christ, Lord God’s unique Representative to speak His mind and do His will on earth. It is safe to say that it is Jesus Himself who is giving Zechariah the Word of the Lord and meeting him in his visions like this one.

Joshua the High Priest. Standing before the Judge in this heavenly courtroom is the high priest Joshua, just returned from Babylonian exile. He is representing the priesthood of Israel as well as the nation of Israel itself. He is wearing priestly garments, but they are absolutely filthy, covered in excrement of all things, and therefore ritually unclean and certainly unworthy to appear before the Lord. This polluted garment represents the broken state of the priesthood after the exile, the sinful unfaithfulness and rebellion of the Israelites, and the “dust and ashes” of mourning as Israel stands in guilt over the spiritual catastrophe of their shameful disobedience to the Lord. In this trial, Joshua humbly stands before the Judge awaiting His pronouncement as to whether the priesthood will be restored after the exile, and whether the vile sins of Israel will be forgiven. Joshua is waiting to see if the National Day of Mourning is finally at an end.

The Prosecuting Attorney. The Hebrew word for accuser is “satan,” and so it’s clear who is lurking in the shadows to the right of Joshua in the courtroom. A brief character description of this Accuser includes… He wants to assume the throne of the Most High God; he hates the truth; he wants to take life out of people and replace it with death; he accuses the innocent and slanders the godly; he tells nothing but lies; he loves to thwart the purposes of God and hinder the gospel; he loves to antagonize the followers of Jesus; he is poised to tempt those in their weak moments; he is always prowling for those who are vulnerable; he is a master of disguise; he counterfeits that which is good and perverts what is pure; he spawns evil through those who are fooled into following him; he would deceive the whole world if he could; he loves to mar and deface that which is beautiful; he loves to be smooth and alluring and convincing in his temptations; he overflows with ambition and pride; he wants to embrace all the glory due to God and desires for all to worship him alone; he will be accountable to no one but himself; he is the original trickster, sneaky, and plays dirty; he knows now that Jesus came into the world to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), and works extra hard to bring as many as he can down with him to his eternal doom.

The Divine Trial. Everyone stands as the Judge announces, “The court will now come to order!” The Accuser begins to open his mouth to offer his testimony against Joshua and Israel, but the Judge immediately intervenes before the Accuser can even utter a word…. “Don’t even bother to speak, Satan. Your testimony is officially inadmissible. In fact, you are permitted to be present at these proceedings only so you can get a front row seat and will be an eyewitness to how I decide this case. Certainly you realize that I see right through you, Satan. I know what you’re thinking, and I reject your every thought. You are here to accuse Joshua of being unworthy of My priesthood, and you want the entire priesthood to be declared unfit for service. Not only that, but you are here to accuse my Chosen People of unforgivable sins, of crimes against divinity, and so you want to emphasize their unworthiness of my special covenant with them. And of course, Mr. Prosecuting Attorney, beneath all your contempt is your hidden motive of impugning my character, of declaring Me unfit to be God of the universe. You want to accuse Me of poor judgment in choosing Israel as My beloved possession, of lowering Myself to welcome these sinful people as they worship and serve Me. You see Me as unworthy of My Kingship and want me to be demoted! Well, know this, Accuser, I rebuke you here and now. I reject you and everything you stand for, and you are not even worthy to be heard in My courtroom. Because you are Unmercy, you want me to judge my people and throw them right back into the fire of punishment? No, to the contrary, I have graciously picked them out of the fire and will rekindle My people with My Shekinah glory to serve Me and bring My light to the world. I only allowed your presence here, Satan, so you can get another good eyeful of what Mercy looks like.”

The New Wardrobe. The Judge continues… “Joshua, you may take your place before Me at this place of judgment. Yes, I am fully aware, more than you know, of how filthy your priestly garments are. Here is my finding in this case: You are to completely strip yourself of your defiled clothes, Joshua, and stand naked before me. Believe Me now, you can trust Me as I can see everything about you and My people Israel. Nothing is hidden from Me. And now, court attendants, bring the cleanest, most beautiful garments to Joshua that he may be reclothed to My liking. Help Joshua put on My robe of righteousness, for I have forgiven him of his spiritual dirt and filth, as well as the vile sins of My people. And yes, let’s not forget to place on his head the priestly turban, the royal headdress of dignity that completes the clothing of My high priest. Joshua, do you see what I have done? Do you understand my finding in your case? All is forgiven, and the day of mourning has ended.”

Take Off and Put On. Believers in God have a holy garment to put on. We put on Christ, we wear garments of His Presence. Faith indeed has a uniform. Following Jesus is like putting on a whole new wardrobe, a new set of clothes. We are now wearing Christ, we have a new identity, a different look, a new style that reflects our heart’s desire. Following Jesus means we are now clothed in a different line, we have a new fashion designer. We have changed wardrobe consultants, and we are now covered in a new garment, a robe of righteousness. We have put on God’s goodness as our garment, and righteousness as our covering. Our new uniform reflects a right standing with God, as well as a pursuit of what pleases God out of our response to His love. Our new wardrobe now reflects God’s nature and character as He transforms us from within. We are now clothed in Christ, displaying the very virtues of God, reflecting a state of righteousness offered through the grace of Jesus. Our uniform has an identity. We want to identify ourselves with Christ. We want our clothes to reflect our faith. Our new wardrobe is priestly, and holiness has a uniform. HOLY: Set apart for special use; assigned to a godly purpose; sanctified; consecrated; designated for a sacred function; separated from that which is ignoble or dishonorable. To be holy is to wear a redeemed wardrobe. Isaiah talks about putting on garments of splendor (Is. 52:1). The psalmist refers to being clothed with godliness (Ps. 132:16). Job claims that he has put on righteousness and it clothed him, wearing justice like a robe (Job 29:14). Isaiah once again said that God dressed him with the clothing of salvation and draped him in a robe of righteousness (Is. 61:10). Before we put on, we have to take off. We need to strip ourselves of the old Adam as we put on the new Adam. Putting off our old garment starts with repentance, to confess our old nature to God. Our new wardrobe represents repentance, our confession, our desire to strip off the old and put on the new. God’s grace is the only power strong enough to enable us to take off and put on. When we put on our new set of clothes, we need to keep growing, making sure the outside is matching up with the inside. We need to make sure our new identity matches up with our growing faith. It’s easy to simply obey a set of rules, to simply put on holy appearances, a righteous exterior, a superficial goodness. Jesus gave some stern rebukes to those religious leaders who were hypocrites, actors wearing a stage costume of righteousness. Putting on Jesus means we have genuine character on the outside, nurtured by the Holy Spirit, which matches up with the maturing faith on the inside. A mere costume of goodness is not good enough.

My Servant the Branch. “Behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the Branch.” (Zech. 3:8). The Messiah is referred to, time and again, as the Branch in the Hebrew Bible (Is 4:2-3; Is. 11:1-4; Jer. 23:5-6; Jer. 33:15). One can easily imagine Jesus as the flourishing branch from the Tree of Life. God promised David that his kingdom would endure forever in 2 Samuel 7:16. But not very long after that word from God, David’s reign, his royal line, seemed to betray the truth of that promise. The royal line was chopped down, and the reign of David’s kingdom seemed nothing but a dead stump. But God’s word to David remained in place. The ideal king, the Messiah, coming from David’s line, would somehow emerge in Israel in due time. When Jesus was called “the son of David,” the people were acknowledging that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the fulfillment of the prophecy given to David so long ago. And so the Messiah, the righteous Branch, will shoot out miraculously from that dead stump. And Jesus is that Branch. He is the new growth springing forth from that old root beneath the ground, given up for dead. And what little village becomes Jesus’ adopted home, but Nazareth, a word meaning “Branch.” ‘Nazarene’ literally meant ‘the Branch’! Certainly the biblical scholars witnessing the crucifixion that day must have realized that Pilate’s sign on the Cross, right there above Jesus’ head, proclaimed for all to see, “Jesus the Branch, King of the Jews.” Thank you, Pilate, for that prophetic word.

The Living Stone. “Behold, look carefully upon the stone which I have set before Joshua, for upon that stone are seven eyes, and I will carve upon that stone its inscription.” (Zech. 3:9). There are so many messianic references in this vision, it would seem logical to see “stone” in the same way. The Messiah is called the Stone a number of times in Scriptures, including St. Peter himself, “Come to Jesus then, to that Living Stone, who men tried and threw away, but who is chosen and precious in God’s sight.” (1 Peter 2:4). As if to underline this messianic reference to the Stone, in the very next vision of Zechariah this is said, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall produce that excellent Stone: it shall be greeted with shouts of ‘Beautiful! Beautiful!… When they see the Stone of Distinction, they shall rejoice.”  (Zech. 4:6-7). There have been many attempts to explain the “seven eyes” of the stone… Some say this is a reference to the all-knowing watchfulness of God around the world; some say the eyes are facets of the gemstone such as a sparkling diamond; others say this is referring to the sevenfold dimensions of the Holy Spirit mentioned in Isaiah 11:1-3 and several times in John’s Revelation, such as 1:4 and 3:1. This makes sense too, since the stone is living, full of life and perfection, and the Spirit is the “Lord, the Giver of life.” The inscription has also proven to be a mystery, with many scholars saying it is probably referring to the gemstone placed on the high priest’s turban which has the words “Holy to Yahweh” inscribed on it. That phrase has seven Hebrew words, so that makes sense too.

In One Single Day. “I will remove the sin and guilt of this land all at once, in a single day!” (Zech. 3:9). Here we find another messianic reference to the finished work of Jesus Messiah, the short period of time in which He sacrificed Himself for the sins of the world, conquered death itself, and rose from the dead in His glorious resurrection. Yes indeed, the Anointed One stripped the world of iniquity’s filth in one fell swoop of grace.

Shalom. “In that day, says the Lord of hosts, Yahweh-sabaoth, you shall invite each neighbor to enjoy fellowship beneath his own vine and his own fig tree.” (Zech. 3:10). The Angel of Yahweh concludes His finding in this case by bringing to mind classic biblical symbols of peace and blessing, of security and prosperity in the eventual messianic era that all believers will enjoy in due time. This powerful mini-gospel of Zechariah ends with the promise of a peaceable kingdom after all is said and done here on earth.