The Christ in Post-Exilic Prophecy

If we start in your Bibles to the book of Zechariah, I'm going to have you turn to chapter 1, and it is hard to know where to begin when you're going to do some kind of summary on a book that is so complex as Zechariah is, and covered nearly just under 30 messages.

I'm going to read a short portion of Zechariah 1, and then we're going to look at 7 sections in the scriptures all very briefly, and that will be the structure of our message today.

This is God's holy and infallible word, Zechariah chapter 1, beginning at verse 1.

In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the

Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying,

The Lord has been very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them,

Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return to me, says the

Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers to whom the former prophets preached, saying,

Thus says the Lord of hosts, Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.

But they did not hear me. They did not hear nor heed me, says the

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

Yet surely my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants, the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?

So they returned and said, Just as the Lord of hosts determined to do to us according to our ways and according to our deeds, so he has dealt with us.

May the Lord bless our time of study for this last time in this series in Zechariah.

Let's pray together. O Lord, we thank you for your inscripturated word.

We thank you that your ways are high and lofty and not like our ways.

We thank you that you have instructed us with a wide breadth of images and pictures and themes in Zechariah.

And Lord, we pray that you would drive home the truths that we have learned in these weeks together.

O Lord, today I ask, O Lord, that you would allow us to derive again some benefit from the sections that we covered and that would make rich application into our lives.

We ask this in Jesus name. Amen. Please be seated. The one great blessing that I have experienced in studying

Zechariah for these messages is I have been really pushed to interpret hard and challenging texts of Scripture.

When I read an epistle of Paul, I don't have that same hard work of interpretation because of some more familiarity.

And maybe in the passage of time, books like Zechariah will be more familiar to us and to our children because we study them.

And we don't just study the familiar books of the New Testament that we like to read.

The title of the message today sounds much better than it is. The Christ in Post -Exilic

Prophecy. Very ambitious title. It will fall way short of that. The Christ in Post -Exilic

Prophecy. You'll remember the occasion of the writing of this book.

It is the people coming out of the Babylonian captivity. And this is a time that's filled with some promise and hope, but in the intervening period, some real challenges.

They're coming back to the land that has been decimated, that they have been plucked out of.

They've been hauled away to Babylon. And now, about 20 % at maximum of the population has made its way back.

And if you remember, the temple construction project is now underway.

They're challenged and called, commissioned to rebuild the nation of God.

They're called to reestablish the worship of the temple and to have a functioning and holy priesthood.

And actually to begin to grow grapes and fig trees and then have a productive and prosperous life of faith and service to God.

And as we studied Zechariah, we knew this temple rebuilding project was prominent.

But I think we were a little bit surprised to learn that ultimately, the goal of Zechariah was to rebuild the people.

To refashion the people who have come back from captivity.

To remake them, to shape them in service to God that they might see their place in the kingdom and the virtue of the work that they have undertaken in service to Him.

The first thing I'd like us to consider today is found there in chapter 1. And just that very simple statement in verse 3.

Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you.

In verse 2, we have the Babylonian captivity explained. Children, look at verse 2.

This is why the people were taken captive. Verse 2 says, the Lord has been very angry with your fathers.

They have been disobedient. They have been idolatrous. The Lord is patient.

His patience runs out. Jeremiah prophesies they're going to be carried away into captivity.

And they are. And we're at the end of that 70 year period of captivity by the time we reach the book of Zechariah.

But there's something I want to consider, and I don't remember if I mentioned this the first time. The people of God in Babylon have done nothing to merit the favor of God in returning them to the land.

I think this is very significant. It's something that we kind of gloss over probably in thinking about this.

The people of God had not done anything that would warrant God intervening on their behalf in Egypt and plucking them out from under Pharaoh.

You and I have not done anything that would prompt God to intervene and to provide salvation for us in Christ.

We have contributed nothing positively to this. God is the

God who brings us out of Egypt and out of Babylon and Assyria and out of Roman occupation.

And he blesses us. The Lord had every reason to be angry with the fathers, but he holds out this hope.

And this, again, makes me think of this wondrous love that our God has for us.

We do not love this way. We love very conditionally, transactionally. You love me,

I'll love you back. We don't love him properly, but he extends this to us, this promise in verse 3.

He says, thus says the Lord of hosts, return to me and I will return to you.

Did God leave his people or did the people leave God? The wayward church member doesn't have

God leaving them. They leave God. The sinner has not turned to God.

He's there. He is willing to save sinners, but the unrepentant sinner doesn't turn to God.

So foundationally and covenantally in the structure of this, this is a very big part of Zechariah.

Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you.

Can you imagine them rebuilding the temple, offering the sacrifices, going through all the motions and their hearts being far from God?

You and I could come to this humble worship service today and we could go through the motions and we prayed through the prayers and we sang hymns.

And our hearts cannot be engaged sometimes. The kind of love that is communicated here is, as we've been seeing the last few weeks in Zechariah, is comprehensive.

It's wholeheartedness. We have to turn to the Lord. And in fact, isn't the

Christian life in essence and substance a return to the Lord? When we open our scriptures and read devotionally, aren't we returning to the

Lord? When we pray, aren't we returning to the

Lord? When we come to worship, when we go to Sunday school, when we participate in the sacraments, isn't it us returning back to the

Lord? You see how impressive this idea is and how it touches all that we are in the

Christian life. We are a people who return. What is the repentance of sin actually?

Isn't it really a turning back to God, a returning to Him? Isn't loving our spouse as we ought and raising our children in the nurture and admonition of the

Lord, isn't that too a return to the Lord? This is a very critical and essential part of the

Christian life. There's a warning here, and you and I need to be warned to not be like our fathers.

Verse 4, it says, To whom the former prophets preached, saying,

Thus says the Lord of hosts, this idea of repentance and turning, Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.

You and I need to be warned to turn from our evil ways and our evil deeds.

Repentance in its complete form is to adopt God's perspective about the situations of the earth.

It's believing His law, His word above our own. To repent ultimately is to turn back to God.

So I ask you today, wherever you are in your walk, whatever griefs or trials are testing you,

I would urge you today to return to the Lord, the very heart and substance of Zechariah's message.

The second thing I'd like you to consider is I want you to turn over to chapter 3. Please turn over to chapter 3.

Babylon, in connection with our first point, chastened Judah. Persia chastens

Babylon, and Judah is set free. The way that they are able to return to God is because he has acted and intervened on their behalf.

They didn't have a standing army to throw off the Babylonians. God brought another army, the

Persians, to set them free. The second consideration is the very powerful image of I am bringing forth my servant, the branch.

Zechariah, we learned at the outset, was a Christological treasure trove.

This is a very messianic book. Zechariah is about King Jesus.

Zechariah is about the priest Jesus. Zechariah is about the prophet

Jesus. Zechariah is about the Lord Jesus Christ. Here we have this incredible image.

I want you to imagine the picture here. Look at verse 1 of chapter 3.

It says, Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the

Lord. Here's the picture. It's astounding. Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.

Can you picture this? Humble Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the

Lord. Standing at his right hand is there Satan to oppose him.

Now we see Joshua as a type of Christ.

He will be the king priest Joshua. Jesus' Hebrew name is

Joshua. But there's something about Joshua that's very different than Jesus.

Joshua looks more like you and me. Look at verse 3. It says, Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel.

Then he answered and spoke to those who stood before him saying, Take away the filthy garments from him.

And to him he said, See I have removed your iniquity from you and I will clothe you with rich robes.

Let them put a clean turban on his head. And they put a clean turban on his head and they put the clothes on him and the angel of the

Lord stood by. See Joshua is going to be the high priest.

Joshua is dirty. Joshua needs to be cleansed.

And here in the sight of the accusing enemy Satan, the Lord says,

I have cleaned and I have purified Joshua. I have consecrated him to him to perform this high priestly service.

And what's interesting here is I see another inverse relationship here.

I see the high priest, Jesus, coming clothed in his fine linen and those beautiful robes and taking off his righteousness and stripping us of our soiled garments and taking our soiled garments onto himself.

And instead clothing us in his righteousness. Joshua needed to be further clothed, better clothed.

We have a high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, who was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin.

Jesus Christ takes the filthy rags of our lives and he takes them upon himself and he carries it to the cross.

And there he exchanges his silky clean white robes of his righteousness and he places them on us and makes us righteous in him.

And all this spectacle before Satan, the great enemy, continues.

The angel of the Lord, verse 6, admonished Joshua saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts,

If you will walk in my ways, if you will keep my command, then you also shall judge my house and likewise have charge of my courts.

I will give you places to walk among those who stand there. Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, you and your companions who sit before you.

And the climax is building. Imagine wonderful theatrical music building up the climax here.

For behold, I am bringing forth my servant, the branch.

This is referring to Jesus Christ.

Behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua. Upon the stone are seven eyes.

But behold, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts. And here it is.

And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. What is that day?

It's the day of the cross. It's the day of Calvary. On that day, the high priest is also going to be the spotless lamb.

In humility, in shame, in dishonor, and he's being struck in the sheep are scattering on that glorious day alone.

No one supporting him. No one aiding him. The Lord Jesus Christ alone takes and removes the iniquity of us all.

That leads to a wonderful prosperity.

And that day, says the Lord of hosts, everyone will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree.

The messianic offspring of David promised in Jeremiah 23 and Jeremiah 33, who combines in himself in one person the offices of king and priests.

This image is shocking because we have David's descendant, the governor,

Zerubbabel, on the one hand, and we have Joshua, the other, on the other hand, the high priest, and we see things that are generally reserved for the house of David are applied to Joshua.

In Zechariah 6 .13, it says, Behold, the man whose name is the branch.

From his place he shall branch out and he shall build the temple of the

Lord. He shall bear the glory and sit and rule.

And this week, as I was thinking about this, I was struck by the fact that you and I are engaged in a temple building project as well.

Did you know that? We have a great commission to go and be, to make disciples of the nations, to teach them all that Christ has commanded, to incorporate into the body of Christ more living stones, a dwelling place for God in the spirit.

You see, the physical temple being rebuilt, the second temple of Judaism here, typifies and pictures the greater temple building that Christ will usher in when he makes the nations his inheritance.

When he, as the branch, as the savior, as the high priest, as the king, as the ultimate prophet, when he goes out, when he arrives in the flesh, he's going to recommence the final temple building project.

The temple of his body. After all, he said, destroy this temple in three days.

I will raise it up. The body he refers to is his own corporeal body, but also the body of Christ, the bride, the church.

And in one day, the iniquity has been removed from the land.

Now, can you imagine having not had a sacrificial system and looking forward to a day when the sacrifices would be offered according to the law, according to the word of God, and then having a hopeful prophecy that in one day, a singular day, the day of Christ on the cross, on the atoning day, there will be the removal permanently of the iniquity of the land.

Incredible promise given to the people. Well, it takes us to the third point.

I'd like to turn over to the book of Zechariah in chapter 8. The third point

I've entitled Covenant Renewal, something we are engaged in here today.

We're renewing covenant. We are returning to the

Lord. He's returning to us. I'm going to read a few of these verses just to impress upon you this concept.

Zechariah chapter 8. Again, the word of the Lord of hosts came saying, thus says the

Lord of hosts, I am zealous for Zion with great zeal.

With great fervor, I am zealous for her. I think this is the ideal situation for every wife, that her husband would be zealous for her with great zeal.

With great fervor, he has this very high capacity of intense desire and longing to be with his bride.

It says in verse 3, I will return to Zion and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.

In your mind, do you remember where the presence of God dwelled in the old covenant, in the tabernacle, in the temple, before its destruction?

The Ark of the Covenant? Inside that inner place in the temple?

And now, there seems to be an expansion that the Lord is going to return to his people in Zion and he's going to dwell in the midst of them in Jerusalem.

And when we think about Christ in the incarnation, he has come to dwell with us.

Isn't that amazing? Not to be an aloof

God like the Robin that we sang about. But to dwell with us as people, to dwell in our midst.

You and I have been so united and bonded to Christ that he dwells in and among us, his people.

The Lord is coming back to his people here in Zechariah and how much more so at the incarnation of Christ that has he come and dwelled with us, tabernacled with us.

Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth. Skip down to verse 7.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will save my people from the land of the east and from the land of the west.

I will bring them back and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be my people and I will be their

God in truth and righteousness. And when I was preaching through this, I don't know if you remember, I said this is really the essence and substance of covenant.

I will be their God. They will be my people.

No more profound words are ever spoken than that, that God, the great

God, would take us to be his people. And he does it in truth and righteousness.

Skip down to verse 22. You may remember when

Zerubbabel was charged with measuring the plumb lines of the city and there's even a debate now about where the ancient city of David was in connection to the modern city of Jerusalem.

There's all kinds of archaeological things and what we've learned in Zechariah is there is a almost limitless boundary line for Jerusalem in the future.

Jerusalem is the holy city of the future. It is where all the nations of the earth are going to gather because the ends of the earth cannot hold or contain the boundary lines of where Christ's salvation will stretch.

Look at verse 22. It says, yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the

Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before the

Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts. Verse 23.

In those days, ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a

Jewish man saying, let us go with you for we have heard that God is with you.

It makes me think, are we so visibly living as the people of God and covenant with him, worshiping and enduring him so distinctly, living holy lives before him?

Why don't we have ten men grabbing our shoulders? But why are they not clinging to us to come into the house of God?

Something to think about. Christ has come. He has redeemed us, his people.

His salvation has gone out to the ends of the earth. It would seem that this prophecy could be fulfilled in us.

It was fulfilled in the days of Pentecost, for example. There's been times of great harvest in the history of the church where it's just so palpable, the presence and the glory of God residing in and on among his people that it's intoxicating and captivating to the nations around.

They have to know and inquire of this salvation. In the first great awakening, they were pressing into the kingdom of God.

Such a work of the Spirit. So we have renewed covenant.

And maybe one of the most powerful images is found in chapter 9. Let's look at chapter 9 of Zechariah.

The coming of the king.

Begin reading in verse 8 of chapter 9. I will camp around my house because of the army, because of him who passes by and him who returns.

No more shall an oppressor pass through them, for now I have seen with my eyes.

And here's that great prophecy, which is fulfilled in the triumphal entry of Jesus.

We celebrate this every Palm Sunday. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.

Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you.

He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey.

A colt, a foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem.

The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations. And his dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.

Brian Gregory has a great portion of this commentary on this.

I'd like to read a little section of it to you about this text. I want you to think about a people languishing under hard conditions, called to do very hard things, and then this promise comes about a king.

This is Gregory. It says, There is cause for great rejoicing because a king is coming.

First, the king's character is described. More than anything else, he will be known for his righteousness.

Early in Israel's history, the ideal king's righteousness was typically paired with justice as a royal idiom for showing special concern for the poor and the oppressed.

In other words, describing a king as righteous meant that he would not only execute justice, govern faithfully, and live with integrity, but also deliver the oppressed and generously support the weak and the poor.

In doing so, he would reflect the Lord himself, since the Lord shows a special consideration in solidarity with the poor.

In the post -exile years, the concept was deepened such that righteousness was more typically coupled with the notion of covenant faithfulness.

The description of the coming king in Zechariah 9 -9 as righteous implies that he will be everything

Israel and her monarchy were called to be but were not. He'll be upright, compassionate, just, merciful, and faithful.

David, with all of his faithfulness, never touches this.

Solomon, arrayed in all of his splendor, never matches the glory that comes with this king.

He continues, I'm skipping down, with Isaiah 40 -55 in the background, it'd be a good thing to read along with Zechariah 9.

It's not surprising that the attribute of righteousness in Zechariah 9 is paired with the descriptions that will bear salvation.

The Hebrew word translated as bearing salvation, noshah, is passive, to be saved or to be vindicated.

Meaning that when he comes bearing salvation, he does not come as one holding salvation in his hand, but as one who receives salvation.

He himself will experience the saving work of God. Like the suffering servant in Isaiah, the coming king of Zechariah 9, the righteous will undergo an ordeal in which he will experience

God's vindication of him. Do you know what that is? Thus he will not only be characterized by righteousness, but also humility.

He's so humble that he will ride on a donkey, on the colt, the foal of a donkey.

Though kings sometimes rode horses and chariots in times of war, a sign of their regal stature and military practice, the custom was to ride donkeys for normal royal functions.

What sets the king apart is that when he comes riding on a donkey, he does not so in worldly power or status, but in meekness and humility.

The king's accomplishments are described. He does not wield the sword, but comes as one who in his humility is utterly dependent on the

Lord to establish worldwide dominion. Through him, the Lord will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the bow of combat from Jerusalem.

Both the northern and southern kingdoms will be reunited. There will no longer need to be a war, neither with each other nor with the surrounding nations.

International and international peace will be the order of the day. The coming of the king, and it's interesting in this, the vindication of Christ in his victory is found in the resurrection.

He becomes a type, a first fruits for us who will experience salvation.

It's interesting, you and I need to follow after our glorious head

Christ who has a type of salvation when he is raised from the dead.

It's very interesting that we can't even have salvation without following after Christ in his footsteps.

Well, time is running on. Let's look again at verse 11.

The Lord is not only, and this king is not only humble and just and lowly riding on a donkey, but he's also a warrior king.

Look at verse 11, it says, As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.

Return to the stronghold, all you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you for I have bent

Judah my bow, fitted the bow of Ephraim, and raised up your sons,

O Zion, against your sons, O Greece. Then the Lord will be seen over them and his arrow go forth like lightning.

The Lord God will blow his trumpet and go with whirlwinds from the south. The Lord of hosts will defend them.

They shall devour and subdue with sling stones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine.

They shall be filled with blood like basins, like the corners of the altar.

The Lord their God will save them in that day as the flock of his people.

Do you remember the beautiful imagery? For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, lifted like a banner over his land.

For how great is its goodness, how great is its beauty. Grain shall make the young men thrive and wine the new women.

New wine the young women, I'm sorry. In his crucifixion and resurrection,

Christ profoundly embodies both the humility of the king and the success of the

Lord's conquest. On the cross, Jesus wore a crown of thorns.

In the resurrection, he's vindicated and exalted as the righteous victor over all the earth.

He dethroned all principalities and powers and is lifted up as the highly exalted one, the king of kings and the

Lord of lords. The tension, which must have been hard for Zechariah because humility is not, meekness is not generally associated with conquering kings, the humility of the king and the conquering of the king in these chapters finds its perfect resolution in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Well, it takes us to the last two points. I'm going to be quicker with these.

Something very powerful happens in Zechariah chapter 11. Quickly look over there. The good shepherd is going to be rejected.

There are foolish shepherds and they lead the flock to the slaughter.

You'll remember that the good shepherd, Jesus Christ, will be rejected and it will be a cause of the punishment of many in the

New Testament era. It says in verse four, feed the flock for slaughter, whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt, who sell them, say blessed be the

Lord for I am rich and their shepherds do not pity them for I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land.

Judgment comes upon those who reject the king who is also the good shepherd.

They will not be pitied and that destruction happens in 80 -70 and as I mentioned recently, it typifies the destruction that will happen at the end of the age.

Then there's this prophecy of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas.

Look at verse 10. It says, I took my staff beauty and cut it in two and that which

I break the covenant which I made with the people so it was broken on that day. Thus the poor of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the

Lord. Then I said to them, if it's agreeable to you, give me my wages and if not, refrain.

So they weighed out for my wages 30 pieces of silver. So we have in chapter 9 to 11 the very prophecies that are fulfilled in that day leading up to the crucifixion of the

Lord. It said to me, verse 13, and the Lord said to me, throw it to the potter. That princely price set on me so I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the

Lord for the potter and Judas himself was hung and buried in the potter's field, a worthless piece of ground where the potter threw all of his scraps, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah chapter 11.

There's another thing I'd like us to consider. It's found in chapter 12 and that's the pierced one.

And this is one of the most striking passages in all of Zechariah. Look down with me to verse 10.

Zechariah 12 .10. This is what it says. This is the

Lord speaking. I don't know if you remember this when we were in this section. These words are hard to understand, particularly in the

Jewish mind. How can this be true? Listen to what it says. Zechariah 12 .10.

This is God speaking prophetically through his servant.

These are the words of the Lord. And listen to this description. Yes, they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn.

The only begotten son of God, himself

God, is going to be pierced. Christ is going to be pierced.

And the Lord openly speaks of it here in Zechariah.

And that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem. Turn over to chapter 13.

The Lord's speaking again. Verse 7. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd.

The Lord is awakening the sword against his shepherd, the good shepherd, the mighty king, the king of kings, the

Lord of lords. And listen to this description. This is God out of heaven speaking in the 500s, 500 years before the arrival of his son in the incarnation.

Strike the shepherd, O sword, against the man who is my companion.

He's saying here in the prophecy of Zechariah that God himself out of heaven is going to be incarnate and he's the one that's going to be struck.

Surely this is the gospel according to Zechariah.

Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.

Well, that brings us to the last chapter, which we've just spent the last several weeks on. Chapter 14 speaks of a day.

A day that's coming. It's going to come to pass in that day, verse 6.

There's going to be no light. The lights will diminish. It shall be one day which is known to the

Lord, neither day nor night. Verse 8. And that day it shall be that the living waters shall flow from Jerusalem.

The living waters of salvation, you'll remember, are going to flow supernaturally uphill out of Jerusalem.

In verse 9. And the

Lord shall be king over all the earth. Zechariah 14 ends with the absolute total victory of Christ the king.

And the consequence of which is great sanctification and holiness unto the

Lord. Brethren, what's so powerful about Zechariah is the precision of the prophecies and their fulfillment in Christ.

At a time when the nation was floundering, there was great promise about the coming incarnate one, the one who is

God's own companion. The branch anticipated in places like Isaiah and Jeremiah.

The final prophet, priest, and king. The one who all the ideals of Jerusalem and the

Davidic king find their realization. All the hope of what

Israel ought to be find its fulfillment in the person of Christ.

Today, you and I need to return to the

Lord. We do that by repenting of our sins, by reading his word, by praying together, by raising our children up in the nurture and admonition of the

Lord. Return to the Lord today and he will return to you.

Recognize that God has accomplished an incredible work and he tells us some of the playbook hundreds of years before it comes to pass.

He is bringing forth his servant, the branch. And in all of this, we've learned that God so loves his people that he never forgets his promises.

And you and I should scream hallelujah, amen. We break covenant, he never does.

We fail, he never does. Our sin is great, his grace and mercy are greater.

He keeps covenant with us, that's why we renew covenant with him. And brethren, make no mistake about this, our

Lord Jesus Christ reigns. He's always reigned, but now greater evidences of his reign and rule are being unfurled in Zechariah.

He as the humble and lowly king, he goes out and fights in front for his people and he dies and he sacrifices his life for their salvation.

But his humility is eclipsed by his glory because he's vindicated and the

Lord raises him up on the third day and where is he now? Ascended, reigning, ruling.

You and I have been given a great salvation.

It seems fitting that we should be a worshiping, adoring, repenting, serving, and also a joyful and thankful people.

For we have been united to Christ the Lord. I'm thankful for the book of Zechariah.

Let's pray together. Oh Lord, we thank you for all the ways in which you are revealed to be the

Christ in Zechariah. We thank you that you are a king who wins the peace for his people.

That you are the high priest who exchanges his glorious robes of righteousness for our filthy rags.

Who grows up like a tender shoot to fulfill all things.

Lord, we ask that you would in the power of your spirit impress your word into our hearts that we might continue to derive benefits from this study.

But most of all we pray for the glorification and exaltation, the howling of the

Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts. We ask these things in his name.