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Introduction

The book of Zechariah is the eleventh of what are called “the twelve minor prophets” (Major and Minor Prophets).

The last three of the minor prophets – Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi – are called post-exilic prophets because they prophesied after the Jewish return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian Captivity. Haggai and Zechariah were contemporaries of Ezra and Nehemiah, helping with the rebuilding of the temple by their prophetic encouragement; Malachi came just after them and was the last voice recorded in the Old Testament.

Haggai and Zechariah are mentioned by name in Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 as being co-laborers with those who were rebuilding the temple. In addition to being prophets, Haggai and Zechariah were priests as well. As for differences between their books, Zechariah’s book is not just longer than Haggai’s, it also has apocalyptic passages like Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation that Haggai does not.

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Zechariah 1

A Call to Repentance

Zech 1:3 – Compare these two expressions and see how they fit together.

Zech 1:3 …”Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,”…
2 Chr 15:2 …”the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”…

Zech 1:4 – The “former” prophets include men like Isaiah and Micah who had prophesied before the Babylonian Exile. Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi were post-exilic prophets. After them would come the Intertestamental Period (no prophetic activity), and after that would be John the Baptist and Jesus.

Patrol of the Earth

Zech 1:12 – The “seventy years” were the Babylonian Exile.

Zech 1:13 – “gracious“

Zech 1:16 – Zechariah is speaking of the work Ezra and others were doing to rebuild Solomon’s temple, but it also has implications for how Messiah would rebuild the house of the Lord in a whole new way – that is, spiritually instead of physically. This applies not just to this verse, of course, but to Zechariah’s entire book.

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Zechariah 2

God’s Favor to Zion

Zech 2:1 – Jesus is the one with “the measuring line.” (It’s also His “rod” as in “Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.”) The measuring line is the life Jesus lived – and none of us measured up. He was righteous and we have been unrighteous. His goal is to re-make us into His image.

2 Cor 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Zech 2:11 – Prophetically, this is speaking of what read about in the book of Acts: Jesus gathering together a flock to bear witness to His name. At the second coming, the entire human race became His flock because He inherited the nations from His Father.

Ps 2:8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.

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Heb 1:1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
Heb 1:2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

In that instant of time – that is, the coming of the kingdom of God – the body of Christ ceased to be the church and became humanity instead.

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Zechariah 3

Joshua, the High Priest

Zech 3:1 – “Joshua” and “Jesus” are the same name. (See Joshua/Jesus for an explanation.)

***** Jesus is also a “high priest.”

Heb 2:17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

And indeed Satan accused Jesus as he had accused Job.

Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing?
Job 1:10 “Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
Job 1:11 “But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.”

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Job 2:3 The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”
Job 2:4 Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
Job 2:5 “However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.”

Job is a type of Christ. Satan accusing him shows us how Satan accuses Messiah.

Zech 3:3 – But how could Jesus be “clothed in filthy garments”? He had set aside His garments and donned ours.

2 Cor 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

Zech 3:4-5 – The “filthy garments” were removed when Jesus was raised from the dead and He was “clothed with festal robes” so that he could be enthroned in heaven.

Zech 3:6-7 – Jesus earned the right to rule heaven and earth.

The Branch

Zech 3:8 – Jesus is the Branch.

Zech 3:9 – See “stone” under Types and Shadows of Christ.

Zech 3:10 – For the prophets, a man being able to sit in peace under his own vine and fig tree was a proverbial picture of peace and prosperity in the land. Notice that it was not the government’s vine and fig tree; it was his.

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Zechariah 4

The Golden Lampstand and Olive Trees

Zech 4:6 – Jesus did not amass an army of men to achieve His goals. Rather, He conquered heaven and earth by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

Zech 4:7 – “grace“

Zech 4:9 – Jesus did not lay the foundation of the house of the Lord so that someone else could finish it. Nor is He the kind of man who would fail to finish what He started.

Luke 14:28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
Luke 14:29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
Luke 14:30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

Zech 4:10 – “the day of small things”

Mark 4:30 And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?
Mark 4:31 “It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil,
Mark 4:32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR can NEST UNDER ITS SHADE.”

Wasn’t God trying to make a point to us when He made the acorn so much smaller than the oak?

***** “the plumb line” – See “PLUMB LINE” in Types and Shadows of Christ.

Amos 7:8 The LORD said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,
“Behold I am about to put a plumb line
In the midst of My people Israel.
I will spare them no longer.

***** “the eyes of the Lord which range to and fro throughout the earth”

2 Chr 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His…

Zech 4:11-14 – Which two were more anointed than John the Baptist and Jesus? Didn’t Elijah and Elisha merely foreshadow them?

Rev 11:3 “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

Even when “two witnesses” refers to others, we still cannot help thinking of John the Baptist and Jesus whenever we encounter any exalted reference to two witnesses.

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Zechariah 5

The Flying Scroll

Zech 5:1-4 – The “flying scroll” reminds us of the Scriptures.

Zech 5:5-11 – The “woman” of “Wickedness” reminds us of Jezebel and Athaliah (BSN History Index).

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Zechariah 6

The Four Chariots

Zech 6:1-8 – John writes this way in the book of Revelation.

The Symbolic Crowns

Zech 6:9-15 – This part of Zechariah’s sixth chapter builds on what he wrote in Zech 3. ***** Note the similarities between what Zechariah is saying here and what Paul says in Hebrews 7 about the priest and king Melchizedek. See also note about Uzziah in 2 Chr 26:18-19.

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Zechariah 7

Hearts like Flint

Zech 7:5 – The “seventy years” speak of the time of the Babylonian Captivity.

Zech 7:7 – The “former” prophets are those who came before Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC (Key Dates for Ancient Israel). By contrast, the last three prophets in the Old Testament – Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi – are post-exilic.

Zech 7:9-10 – Guidance like that of this verse serves the purposes of both old and new covenants – just like the great commandments do.

Mark 12:28 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?”
Mark 12:29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD;
Mark 12:30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’
Mark 12:31 “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Zech 7:11-12 – Zechariah’s “hearts of flint” are like Ezekiel’s “heart of stone” (Ezek 11:19; 36:26).

Zech 7:13 – The Lord had previously given this same wisdom through Solomon.

Prov 1:24 “Because I called and you refused,
I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
Prov 1:25 And you neglected all my counsel
And did not want my reproof;
Prov 1:26 I will also laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your dread comes,
Prov 1:27 When your dread comes like a storm
And your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
Prov 1:28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,
Prov 1:29 Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

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Zechariah 8

The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

As you’ll see below, the apostle Paul quotes Zech 8:16 in Eph 4:25. This is a sign that the apostles saw the prophecy of Zech 8 being fulfilled in their time – specifically, the time of the New Testament church. This was the time between the first day of Pentecost after Jesus’ ascension into heaven (Ps 110:1) until the time of the second coming (Dan 7:13-14). Something similar happens with James’ quoting of the last part of Amos 9 indicating that the Amos prophecy was being fulfilled in New Testament times as well. (See the BSN notes on Amos 9:11-15.)

Zech 8:1-8 – This is the Zion in heaven, established by Messiah.

Zech 8:16 – Paul told the believers in Ephesus that this verse from Zechariah was to be fulfilled in their gatherings and other interactions.

Eph 4:25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.

Today, in the kingdom of God, may this peace prevail in every family!

Zech 8:23 – A woman who had a hemorrhage for 12 years approached Jesus thinking if she only “touched His garments” she would get well…and was healed. Jesus said her faith had made her well. (Mt 9:20-22; Mk 5:25-34; Lk 8:43-48).

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Zechariah 9

Prophecies against Neighboring Nations

Zech 9:9 – #FJOT The apostle Matthew tells us what this verse from Zechariah has to do with the way Jesus entered Jerusalem the week He would die there. Specifically, Messiah’s entrance was scripted by Zechariah. (Is 62:11 is combined with Zech 9:9 in this quotation, but it is Zechariah’s words that dominate.)

Matt 21:1 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
Matt 21:2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.
Matt 21:3 “If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
Matt 21:4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
Matt 21:5 “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION,
‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU,
GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY,
EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’”
Matt 21:6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them,
Matt 21:7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats.
Matt 21:8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road.
Matt 21:9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David;
BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;
Hosanna in the highest!”
Matt 21:10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?”
Matt 21:11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus had to fulfill the messianic plan that was documented in the Old Testament. This is why we hear Him saying things like…

Matt 26:54 “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

The main reason Peter denied that he even knew Jesus the night before Jesus was crucified was that he was completely bewildered by how events unfolded in Gethsemane. He was ready to fight, and even cut off a soldier’s ear…but Jesus didn’t even make an attempt to escape. And He healed the soldier’s ear! Nothing was happening according to Peter’s expectations, but Jesus was surprised by nothing because He saw everything unfolding according to the messianic plan He’d read in the Scriptures. From time to time, he shared His insights on the subject, even telling them multiple times that He was going to be killed but He would rise from the dead three days later. But His disciples could not grasp these insights. They would just argue about what He meant.

The apostle John also tells the story of how Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt, but from a different angle. For one thing, John reports the incident much more succinctly – only taking about half as many lines to write as Matthew did. Another difference in John’s version is that he emphasizes how unaware Jesus’ disciples were about what was happening and why.

John 12:12 On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
John 12:13 took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.”
John 12:14 Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written,
John 12:15 “FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY’S COLT.”
John 12:16 These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.

Between Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and His departure from earth into heaven (His ascension), Jesus explained to His disciples how He had fulfilled Zech 9:9 and many other passages. (The 40-Day Bible Study of Jesus the Messiah)

Zech 9:10 – #FJOT – Who else could this verse possibly be describing but the Messiah Jesus!

Deliverance of Judah and Ephraim

Zech 9:11-17 – Zechariah is prophesying “The Greatest Generation of All” – the New Testament generation.

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Zechariah 10

God Will Bless Judah and Ephraim

Zech 10:2 – Compare this verse with the last verse of Judges. See the points of similarity.

Judg 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

In the ancient mindset, a king was a shepherd of people. In modern times this is where we are (that is, “scattered”) because decreasing numbers of people acknowledge Jesus as king. The shepherd of Western Civilization has been struck down. We can also say that the shepherd of every family has been struck down as well – just not erased as thoroughly.

Zech 10:4 – Jesus – from the tribe of Judah – is the cornerstone. ***** Jesus – from the tribe of Judah – is the tent peg.

Zech 10:6 – This was achieved in the time of Messiah.

Zech 10:12 – The prophets are constantly sounding common themes.

Mic 4:5 Though all the peoples walk
Each in the name of his god,
As for us, we will walk
In the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.

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Zechariah 11

The Doomed Flock

Zech 11:12-13 – These two verses prophesy Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Here below is how the New Testament describes that fulfillment, beginning with Matthew’s comments on it.

Matt 26:14 Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
Matt 26:15 and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him.
Matt 26:16 From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.

Of course, the chief priests had no idea they were fulfilling Scripture by bribing Judas – otherwise they would have made his payment ten or fifty pieces – anything but thirty. And they would have paid him with gold or some other precious coin – not silver.

The story of Zechariah’s thirty pieces of silver unfolds in Matthew’s next chapter when Judas returns the bribe.

Matt 27:1 Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death;
Matt 27:2 and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor.
Matt 27:3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
Matt 27:4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”
Matt 27:5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.
Matt 27:6 The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.”
Matt 27:7 And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers.
Matt 27:8 For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
Matt 27:9 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “AND THEY TOOK THE THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, THE PRICE OF THE ONE WHOSE PRICE HAD BEEN SET by the sons of Israel;
Matt 27:10 AND THEY GAVE THEM FOR THE POTTER’S FIELD, AS THE LORD DIRECTED ME.”

As for why Matthew mentions Jeremiah and not Zechariah in Matt 27:9-10, see OT Quotations in Combination.

Finally, Luke finishes off the story of Zechariah’s thirty silver pieces in the book of Acts.

Acts 1:15 At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said,
Acts 1:16 “Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.
Acts 1:17 “For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.”
Acts 1:18 (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.
Acts 1:19 And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
Acts 1:20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms,
‘LET HIS HOMESTEAD BE MADE DESOLATE,
AND LET NO ONE DWELL IN IT’; and,
‘LET ANOTHER MAN TAKE HIS OFFICE.’

Thus a few words Zechariah wrote in the middle of his book eventually became one of the memorable details in history shared around the world for two thousand years. Zechariah and all the Old Testament prophets were highly regarded by God. He promised that He would vindicate them…and He did.

Is 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.

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Luke 24:25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
Luke 24:26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
Luke 24:27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

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Zechariah 12

Jerusalem to Be Attacked

This chapter prophesies the history we read in the New Testament. Scenes from the Gospels through the book of Revelation are foreshadowed here.

Zech 12:10 – “grace“ ***** The quote of this verse from Zechariah plays a minor role in the following paragraph from the apostle John. Zechariah is not even mentioned by name. But his words had prophetic meaning from the moment he penned them. This is but one example of the many, many Old Testament scriptures that gave details of the messianic plan, each prophet contributing parts to the whole.

John 19:31 Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
John 19:32 So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him;
John 19:33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
John 19:35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.
John 19:36 For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “NOT A BONE OF HIM John 19:37 And again another Scripture says, “THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED.”

In anticipation of Jesus’ imminent return, the book of Revelation includes an echo of Zech 12:10 in this verse:

Rev 1:7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

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Zechariah 13

False Prophets Ashamed

Zech 13:6 – The verse reminds me of the following verses from the Gospel of John.

John 1:11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.

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John 20:27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

Zech 13:7 – Jesus, ever mindful of the messianic plan of which He had the central part, but by no means only part, lets His disciples in on the plan so that they will not be caught off guard. (This incident is also recorded in Matt 26:30-32.)

Mark 14:26 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Mark 14:27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP SHALL BE SCATTERED.’
Mark 14:28 “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

However, like so many other warnings from the Old Testament that Jesus gave His disciples, it was like water off a duck’s back to them. They were still shocked when their shepherd was struck down even when they had been told that’s what would happen.

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Zechariah 14

God Will Battle Jerusalem’s Foes

This chapter, like previous ones in Zechariah, is apocalyptic in nature. Among other things, this means it is similar to parts of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation. For example, the way that Jerusalem is portrayed surreally in this chapter, with the living water flowing out from it, is the same way it’s portrayed in the last two chapters of Revelation. One verse in this chapter, however, stand out as clearly in an apocalyptic setting as it would in one of normal prose: Zech 14:9.

God Will Be King over All

Zech 14:9 – #FJOT Everything in the Bible points to a conclusion. This verse describes that conclusion: the eternal kingdom of God, instantiated and ongoing. We live in that instantiation. That is, the kingdom of God has come. It is here…and it is never going away. This kingdom has a king and His name is Jesus Christ. So, it’s no longer that “God Will Be King over All” – it’s that “God IS King over All.”