![]() ![]() Christ said to the apostles on the occasion of his Passion: "All ye shall be offended in me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad" ( Matthew 26:31 Mark 14:27). ![]() "Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered and I will turn my hand upon the little ones." These became God’s true people, though they suffered persecution at the hands of the rebellious ( Romans 9:6-8 Romans 11:5-7 Galatians 4:28-29). His own people killed him, and with his death the majority of Israel fell under God’s judgment. No doubt this true shepherd was Jesus the Messiah ( Matthew 26:31 John 19:37). The minority who are left go through a time of suffering, but through this they become better people and come into closer fellowship with the God in whom they have trusted. As a result of this shepherd’s death, the majority of his people fall under divine judgment. But the people kill him and persecute his followers. (The leader referred to here may be the person of 12:10 who was killed by his own countrymen.) The leader of God’s choice is one who is close to God and who truly cares for God’s people. Zechariah returns to the subject of leadership, using again the illustration of the shepherd. #STRIKE THE SHEPHERD AND THE SHEEP WILL SCATTER SKIN#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 (4-6). (Such scars were a characteristic of sorcerers and false prophets. But he will not be able to remove the scars on his back. 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. Therefore, all false prophets must be killed (2-3). One of Israel’s chief sins was idolatry, and this had been encouraged by the false prophets. Having introduced the subject of forgiveness and cleansing, Zechariah goes on to deal with those evils that had to be removed from the land. And so this little flock was most wondrously preserved, and has been increasing from year to year from that time to the present day.įalse prophets and true shepherd (13:2-9) I will take care of the little flock, and preserve them from Jewish malice and Gentile persecution. Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered - This is quoted by our Lord, Matthew 26:31, in relation to his disciples, who should be scattered on his crucifixion: and they were so for every one, giving up all for lost, went to his own house.Īnd I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. "The WORD was God, and the WORD was WITH God " John 1:1. The man that is my Fellow] ועל גבר עמיתי veal geber amithi, "upon the strong man," or "the hero that is with ME " my neighbour. There is a fine passage in AEschylus to the same effect: -Ī cruel umpire-their high claims afford." ![]() This is a prosopopoeia, and the address to the sword is very poetic. Jesus is here called God's Shepherd, because he had appointed him to feed and govern, as well as to save, the whole lost world. The sword is that of Divine justice, which seemed to have been long asleep, and should long ago have struck either MAN, or his SUBSTITUTE, the Messiah. Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd - This is generally understood of Jesus Christ. ![]()
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