Smite The Shepherd and the Sheep Will Be Scattered

The Sword Awakened Against the Shepherd

Please remain standing and turn in your Bibles to the book of Zechariah, in chapter 13. Zechariah, chapter 13. This is the next to last book of the Old Testament. I'll be reading the whole chapter, verses 1 through 9.

This is God's holy and infallible word. In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David, and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. It shall be in that day, says the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered.

I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land. It shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord.

And his father and mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesies. And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. They will not wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive, but he will say, I am no prophet, I am a farmer, for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

And no one will say to him, What are these wounds between your arms? And he will answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Awake, O sword against my shepherd, against the man who is my companion, says the Lord of hosts.

Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. Then I will turn my hand against the little ones, and it shall come to pass in all the land, says the Lord, that two thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one third shall be left in it.

I will bring the one third through the fire. I will refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name and I will answer them. I will say, This is my people. And each one will say, The Lord is my God.

May the Lord be pleased with our consideration of his most holy word. Please pray with me. O Holy Spirit, we ask that you would supply unction and illumination to this word that you have inspired. We pray that Christ would be magnified and exalted and that we would see more of the facets of his glory and beauty here.

And, O Lord, I pray that your people would be strengthened, even though their faith may be waning today, O Lord. I pray that you would gird them up. I also pray, O Lord, that we would keep covenant and renew covenant with you today and say, as this verse concludes, that the Lord is my God.

And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated. We have some guests here today. The Book of Zechariah has been a study that our church has been going through. And this message is really part two of a message that we started last week with the first six verses.

So it doesn't stand perfectly on its own. And I apologize to you for that. But I think you can get up to speed rather quickly with us. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. This is a Messianic prophecy, and we're going to see its fulfillment today.

Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. I've got three outline points for you, for those of you who are taking notes. First is the sword is awakened against my shepherd. The language of the text there in verse 7, the sword is awakened against my shepherd.

The second point is the title of the message. It's the same language. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. And third, the covenant promise fulfilled, realized, and renewed.

The covenant promise fulfilled, realized, and renewed. And that would be chiefly concerned with verse 9. Zechariah 13, verses 7 through 9. The sword is awakened against my shepherd. Let's look at the text again.

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd. The sword is going to be applied to my shepherd. And the description of that shepherd is an amazing one. This is intra-Trinitarian language. God is the person who's speaking.

Zechariah is quoting the very words that proceed from the mouth of God. And what he says is, the shepherd, my shepherd, the sword is going to come against him, and he's going to come against the man who is my companion.

This is 700 plus years before the incarnation of Christ. What explanation could there be other than the incarnation of the second person of the Trinity? There's no other explanation. This language is poetical, certainly, but this is referring to nothing less than God saying, my sword is going to be drawn against my companion, and I'm going to thrust him through, and this is going to be the occasion of salvation, which we learned about a couple of weeks ago.

It's also going to be the occasion of the scattering of the sheep. The Trinity, the incarnation of Christ, the plan of redemption, the satisfaction of God's justice against sin, the efficacy of Christ's atonement, it's all right here in Zechariah.

A minor prophet in this obscure book which nobody reads. What a powerful statement. God himself says the shepherd is going to be struck. The shepherd is going to have to bear this guilt, and the man, the one who's going to do it, is my companion, the Lord Jesus Christ, my only begotten son, with whom I enjoy whatever fellowship exists between the Godhead, the purity and perfection and bliss of that, this is the one whom this sword is going to be drawn against.

The sword is awakened against the shepherd, and I want to stop here for a moment, because we must remember that sometimes Christians blame the Jews for the crucifixion, naively so. Or they blame the pagan Roman governors of Judea for the crucifixion of Christ.

But we need to lay the blame, if we could even call it that, upon whom it's due. God the Father himself ordains and brings to pass the death of his own dear son, that the son's bride might be rescued from the tumult of her war, that she might be rescued from her own putrid disobedience, that she might be a perfect, suitable bride for Christ the Son.

Powerful imagery and language here, and this reminiscing won't go there, but at places like Isaiah 53, prophecies related to this in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my companion, says the Lord of hosts.

I think, and I have to think, that this was, in some ways, puzzling to the original audience. Could they have fathomed with great clarity and detail the person and work of Christ? They anticipated and longed for a Messiah, and Zechariah has already given them some fodder to consider strange things about who the Messiah would be, but this language is so powerful.

The one who is his companion, he's the one who's going to be stricken and smitten and afflicted. It says, strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. And I will turn my hand against the little ones.

Jesus Fulfills the Prophecy in Matthew 26

I'd like you to turn to the book of Matthew. It's just going to be two books to the right, Matthew 26, and we've had questions. We've had rhetorical questions about, is all this really about Jesus, and are we making too much Christologically about these events in Zechariah, so far removed in time and history?

And we're going to see, again, that Jesus sees himself as the figure depicted, prophesied about in Zechariah. I'm going to read a lengthy portion of Matthew 26, because I want you to get a sense of the context of where we are and where this happens.

I'll begin reading in verse 17. Now on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying to him, where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover? And he said, go into the city to a certain man and say to him, the teacher says, my time is at hand.

I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. When evening had come, he sat down with the twelve. Now as they were eating, he said, assuredly I say to you, one of you will betray me.

And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to him, Lord, is it I? He answered and said, he who dipped his hand with me in the dish will betray me. The son of man indeed goes just as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed.

It would have been good for that man if he had not been born. The Judas who was betraying him answered and said, Rabbi, is it I? And he said to him, you have said it. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, take, eat, this is my body.

We say those words every Sunday before we take communion. Betrayal and the communion are right there, right close together. He took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

But I say to you, I will not drink of this vine, fruit of the vine, from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom. The inauguration of the Lord's Supper, the new covenant being instituted, the covenant sign being given, the pattern of covenant renewal established, betrayal, covenant.

They sing a hymn on the Mount of Olives. In verse 31, then Jesus said to them, all of you will be made to stumble because of me this night, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.

Zechariah's prophecy is quoted by our Lord as he looks to the cross. And before he gets to the cross, all of these zealous, courageous disciples are going to scatter. I've often wondered why these events are tethered to this monumental event in the life of the church.

I will strike the shepherd. He quotes it. Jesus says Zechariah 13 is about me. I am the good shepherd. I am about to be struck. And you, my disciples, my representatives, and you could argue they are typological of the nations, and Israel in particular.

They're going to turn their heads away from the Savior. These are the 12. One of them betrays him. The 11, they're going to be scattered to the wind. But after I've been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.

Another powerful and important lesson embedded here is Peter. Just recently on Pentecost Sunday, went over some of his sermon on that great occasion. Great spokesman, fiery preacher, great leader in the church.

Listen to Peter's boldness. Peter says, answers and says to him, verse 33, even if all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble. Jesus said to him, assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.

Peter doubles down and said to him, even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you. And so all his disciples said. I want to offer a preliminary warning. If these men could turn away temporally, certainly you could.

They're not going to be lost forever. The Lord's mercy and grace conquers this. But these are sobering words for us. We are prone to wander. We are prone to not have faith. We're prone to give up. We're prone to turn our face instead of being shamed because we are identified with Christ.

This should cast a cloud of sobriety over us when we think about these things. It continues and we would all say, but if we were there, we would be with him and we would not have betrayed him. Jesus goes to the garden of Gethsemane.

Look at verse 36. It says, then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane and said to the disciples, sit here while I go and pray over there. He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee.

Supports Mitch and his point this morning, doesn't it? Jesus had that inner circle of close apostles. He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then he said to them, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.

Stay here and watch with me. He went a little farther and fell on his face and prayed, saying, Oh, my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

Verse 40. Then he came to the disciples and he found them sleeping. This is the biggest night of their lives. And they've had wine, Passover, Lord's Supper, third cup of wine at dinner. They've had a big meal, several cups of wine.

Their eyes get drowsy. They're going to go to the cross with him, but now they can't stay up to pray. You and I have a motivation for zeal, but our disciplines and our commitment and our follow through are lacking.

And this is true for all who have followed Christ. And Jesus expressed with great anguish this horror that awaits him, that is the cross, which is the only path for our salvation. And in his humanity, he says, let this cup pass from me.

It's going to be too much to bear. But not my will be done, O Lord, but yours. He finds his disciples sleeping. He says to Peter, what, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Now, Peter's been warned. He's been upbraided for falling asleep. And look what happens next. I don't know about you, but this is very relatable to the Christian.

He's already been corrected just now about this. Again, verse 42, a second time he went away and prayed, saying, O my father, if this cup cannot pass away from me unless I drink it, your will be done.

And he came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. How zealous we are when we talk about our faith in Christ. We would die for him. We start to pray and we fall asleep. So he left them, verse 44, went away and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

And he came to his disciples and said to them, are you still sleeping and resting? So it looks like a third time they fell asleep. Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand. And while he was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, Whomever I kiss, he is the one sees him. Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, Greetings, rabbi, and kissed him. Jesus said to him, Friend, why have you come?

And they came and laid hands on Jesus and took him. And suddenly one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Elsewhere we learn it was Peter.

Peter is a complete disaster. He's a zealot and he can't stay awake. He can't believe that he'll deny him and he's cutting servant's ears off. He is all over the place. Jesus said to him, Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

Or do you think that I cannot now pray to my father and he will provide me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then can the scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen thus? In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to take me?

I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize me. But all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be filled. The fulfillment of prophecy like Zechariah chapter 13.

The last half of the verse I want you to consider. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. It says,. Then all the disciples forsook him and fled. These are the hand-picked apostles. The betrayer has been expelled from their number.

He's told them this day was coming. And when the day comes, the day of greatest trial, they cannot stand with him. Read it again. Then all the disciples forsook him and fled. Strike the shepherd and the sheep are scattered.

The Scattering of the Early Church and Persecution

Because of, I don't want to turn more times, I want you to do it now. Let's go to the book of James first because of the order. We'll conclude with 1 Peter. I'm only going to read a couple of verses from the book of James.

James chapter 1. There's something that happens in Jerusalem. We know that Jesus appeared numerous times to his disciples after the resurrection. We also know from the Gospels that he appeared to 500 brethren at once.

But we get to Acts chapter 1, prior to the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And there's only 120 disciples in the upper room. I don't know where the other disciples are. The other followers of Christ.

I don't know if they've already shrunk back. I don't know the story. I can't tell you where those other 400 plus people are. But something happens to the church. Persecution comes. And the people of God are driven out of Jerusalem.

They end up, by the time the Roman siege happens, the end of which happens in AD 70, most of them had taken flight to Pella about 80 miles away. They're in what is now Jordan. They've fled Jerusalem. They've been warned by God, through an angel it would seem, to not stay in Jerusalem because trouble is coming.

This fits into our text in Zechariah. When we get to the writing of the book of James, which is very early in the New Testament church, one of the first books written in the New Testament, it says this, James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad.

The church has been struck and persecuted like her master, and they scatter. James writes to the diaspora of that community scattered abroad. Turn over to 1 Peter really quickly. This has a little more significance because of what we just read about Peter.

1 Peter chapter 1. Peter, now restored, now back in full power. He's an apostle of Jesus Christ, and he writes his first epistle to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and sanctification of the Spirit for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials. Pay close attention. It's going to be part of our application later. Persecution, trials, gets us to where we need to be.

For the early saints who are going to be the one-third that are spared in our text, they're going to take flight out of Jerusalem and it's going to be their salvation because hundreds and thousands of Jews are going to die at the hand of the Roman soldiers.

They are persecuted and they see the signs, they hear the message and they flee and they're protected. But it doesn't go swimmingly for them once they get out there. They get chased by people like Saul of Tarsus.

The early church is rife with persecution, but it becomes the means by which the gospel spreads to the entire world. Been grieved by various trials that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

A more quick thing from Peter, you don't have to turn there, just listen. Peter says to the elders, the elders who are among you I exhort, I whom a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory which will be revealed.

Shepherd the flock of God which is among you serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly, nor as being lords over those entrusted to you but being examples to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. Likewise, you younger people submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility.

God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him for he cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after you have suffered a while, and here's something very important, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

To him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.

Amen.

You and I have to go through some persecution and some trials. We have to share in the sufferings of Christ that we might grow up and have a mature faith, a gold, silver kind of faith. We need to embrace those trials and learn the lessons from them.

The Refining of Faith Through Trial

Let's turn back to our text in Zechariah, chapter 13. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. Very painful to read the last phrase. Then I will turn my hand against the little ones. The sheep themselves are going to be chased by the wolves, and this is going to be the Lord's doing.

Like Paul, we're going to have to know how much we're going to suffer for him. There's glory and a crown that awaits us, but there's a hard road between here and there. There's something else in view here, and this shepherd that's articulated in verse 7 is the Lord Jesus Christ, of course, but he's also the Messiah of Israel who is not believing him.

And Israel has historically struggled to remain in covenant with their God. Look at verse 8. It says, And it shall come to pass in all the land, says the Lord, that two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it.

I mentioned the flight to Pella, the siege of Jerusalem, varying accounts. Josephus says a million Jews died and 97 ,000 were enslaved. Other estimates have it 500 ,000 die, a similar number who are enslaved.

The people of God trusting in Christ aren't there. They've been pushed out by persecution. While they're going through the persecution, it's unpleasant, but that persecution is their temporal salvation.

Who knows how many trials that have been very painful for you have spared you other worse outcomes. Look again at verse 8. It shall come to pass in all the land, says the Lord, that two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die.

Apostate Israel is slaughtered in the streets, and they revert to cannibalism in the darkest last days of Jerusalem. Not a stone was left upright, unturned, looking for gold and treasure, the Roman army.

But a third will be saved. The language of Peter, the language of James, I will bring the one-third through the fire, and I'm going to refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested.

If you are going through persecution and trial, this is ultimately a good thing for you, that your faith may be tested to see what sort it is, that the impurities of your faith may be burned off, that old language, the dross consumed, but the substance of your treasure would remain.

You and I have to become more comfortable with being very uncomfortable with the difficulties of life. Don't we really act as if God owes us a comfortable, soft life? In our prayers, we can't have any hard things.

Things have to go according to our plan. They have to go to our timing. There can't be any bumps in the road. You see the arrogance of our own hearts. We don't know what's best for us, but God does. And He's refining us.

He's testing us so that we can keep covenant with Him. I love how this turns at the end of this section. I don't like the sheep scattering when the shepherd is struck. I don't like that. It's horrific for me to think of two-thirds of the nation dying, but it is historical fact.

It's what happened to all those people of the Jewish nation who rejected Christ. They were slaughtered in the streets, but God is still opening His arms to Israel and to the nations, and He says, come to me, all you who are weary.

Come to me, all of you who are in need of salvation. Come to me, all of you sinners who need a Savior. He calls us and draws us to Himself. The last point, they will call on my name, and I will answer them.

The people that pass through the trials, the persecution, the fire, they're going to call upon the name of the Lord, and hallelujah, praise Jehovah, He's going to answer them. He answers you, His children, when you cry out to Him in prayer, and He responds, you are my people.

We respond, the Lord is my God. Covenant theology is very complicated, but this is the substance of it right here. God has a people, and He hears their prayers, He receives their worship, He blesses them, He gives them salvation, He gives them life eternal, He gives them peace with God and with one another.

He says, you are my people, and we respond, you are my God, and we worship Him, and we enter into that covenant, and we stay there, and we renew covenant with Him, like we will in just a few moments. The sword is awakened against the shepherd.

Who's the shepherd? The shepherd is the man, the incarnate Christ, who is God's companion. There's so much rich depth in that little statement. And then the Lord commands the shepherd to be stricken. He commands that the sheep be scattered, and it turns out the scattering of the sheep through hard things ends up being their lives being saved on the one hand, and them being beaten on the back and driven out of town causes them to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the next town, and the next country, and the next land over, and the gospel spreads.

Application: Embracing Trial and Renewing Covenant

Brethren, you and I, believe it or not, can drift away from our God. It takes a deep resolve in the times of peace and strength to not waver, to flinch in unbelief when the trials come. A few words of application here, and we'll close.

It seems hard to believe that God works this way, but persecution, trial, it gets you where you need to be. If you have a bodily affliction, if you have a hard spouse, if you have rebellious children, if you have difficult in-laws, if your job is not going well, trial gets you to where you need to be.

It drives you back to Christ and His provision and His protection and His loving care, and you'll find that your faith is refined, strengthened. It's not going to be long after Peter's rebellion, disbelief, and denial that he'll stand before any man fearlessly and preach Christ even unto death because he's been restored and renewed just like you and I have.

Learn from the trial. Be instructed by it. It's going to get you where you need to be. Second, we have to be honest about this. Your faith will occasionally be weak and wane. Our sin, when we sin now as believers, is a little act of unbelief, a little lack of trust, just like our first parents.

There are going to be days, and you know this to be true, where your faith is not as strong as it ought to be. Take heart. His mercy and love will restore, revive, and renew you. After all, He says, you are my people.

You see, the disciples didn't have enough faith to stick around, but His covenant promises conquered their unbelief. He kept them, even though they failed. He kept covenant with them. That's what He does with us.

You fail, but He continues to keep covenant and love you. We've got a great example for husbands loving their wives, isn't it? They may do things wrong, they may disappoint, but we keep loving them. Third, we have a privilege every week to participate in the renewal of covenant, but I'm going to ask you to renew covenant now in your hearts and at the table.