1992 issue 2 - sermons on zechariah: the ultimate priest - counsel of chalcedon

8/12/2019 1992 Issue 2 - Sermons on Zechariah: The Ultimate Priest - Counsel of Chalcedon

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I

Kenneth

L

Gentry, Jr

SERMONS

O ZECH RI H

t ~ H ULTIMATE PRIEST

Zechariah3:1-10; Hebrews 7:19-28 oversight of them,

despite

their

dire

We come now to the fourth viSion ; econornicandpoliticalcircurnstances,

though back in the

Land

(l:8-21).

given Zechariah on his night of vi The third viSion spoke

in greater

de

sions, the others occurring in 1:8;2:1; tail

of

His determination to enlarge

3:1 Since the historical context is so and bless Jerusalem

(Ch.

2).

The

important to the understanding of the presentviSion now turns its attention

prophecy,letusrefreshourmemories

even

more closely

to

Jerusalem by

and get our historical

bearings

once considering the

high

priesthood.

again.

As

we engage the text we must

As-Isaiah

prophesied

long before

it

keep

in mind

that

all of the actions

happened, Israel had

been

exiled

to here

are

viSionary

symbols, as before.

Babylon

for

her idolatry. During the

He sees

the actions in a dream (1:8;

. exile the prophets Daniel and Ezekiel 1:18; 2:1). Thus, though involving

ministered

God's

word in

Babylon. real

persons, the showing of Joshua

But seventy years after the first phase the high priest to Zechariah, is never

Qf

the captivity, God raised up Cyrus theless done in a viSion. This same

of Persia to overthrow Babylon in Joshua will reappearagain in Chapter

order to

free

the Jews so that

they

6:9-15.

(Keep

in mind that this is not

could go back to the

Promised Land

. Joshua,theassociateofMoses.) l.etus

Upon their retumhome theyenthu- conSider the point

of

this vision.

siastically laid the foundation for

the

rebuilding of the Temple. But

they

1. The Humiliation of the

Priesthood.

soon apathetically dropped the con-

structionproject, allowing it tornake

Zechariah 3:1,2.

;As

we begin, we

no further progressfor fourteenyears. must keep in mind that

Joshua

was in

fact

the

high priest of

Israel.

As

high

BecaUSe

of

this God raised up the priesthe was the representative of

God

to

prophets Zechariah and Haggai to His people, and His people to God. This

encourage the rebUilding

effort,

de-

is the

significance

of

the descriptive state

spiteJudah'ssinfulrecalcitrance. The ment 'Joshua the high priest standing

first two viSions informed the

still

before the

angel

of the

Lord." This

dejected

Jews of God's

providential phraseology

(';standingbefore"

the

Lord)

2 TIlE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon February, 1992

was COtnnlonly used in Scripture of the

representationalfimction

of

the priests

and others. So,

although

the actions

are

specifically referred to Joshua

and

do

apply to him

they

alsO have reference to

the people

whom he

represents.

..

Now

consider the

imagery

here

presented. Joshua, the

high

priest

of

God,

is

before

the

angel of the

Lord

(Jesus ChrisO being

accused

by

Satan.

The

name "Satan"

literally

means

"ad

versary,

accuser."

Here,

as in 1

Chronicles21 :1 andJob 1-2, the name

refers

to that personal, evil, fallen

angel we know as theDevil and

Satan.

Just as

the high

priest

is

arepresenta

tive

of

God

to

the people and of the

people

to God,

so Satan has anegative

counter

~ n c t i o n .

He

is

seen

i l l

Scrip

t u ~ as

rruilidously

representing

God

toman(ashe

did

withEve, "Yea, hath

God said?", Gen .3:4,5) and accusing

man before God (as here, inJob 1-2,

.and in

Revelation

12:10, where he is

called the "accuser

(jf

the brethren").

Satan has alegirimate charge: the

people of

God had

miserably

failed,

despite God'sgoodness

to

them .

They

built their own houses,but

neglected

the house

and worship of God (Hag.

1:4). God ought to pUnish them

again Look,at how

they

have contin

ued to

behave

Howthisissotrueofus

Do we

not

miserably

fail

God, whenHe has been

sogoodtous? Consideryourownlives.

Are you the Clrristian you oUght to be?

Do

we

not

give

Satan

opportunity

to

scoffat Gad's redemption and holiness?

We should remember that our

sins are

not only

known

by

God

but

loved

by

Satan. Do we really

want to

give Satan

that

which he

loves, i.e.

sinful

conduct

among

the

redeemed

of Gad?


2/4

We

are

not only shown Satan's

accusingofthehighpriest

and through

him

the

people of

God,

but

also

the

miserable

condition of

he priesthood,

Zechariah 3:3. Here the

glorious

priesthood in its most important

functionary, thehigh pliest,

is clothed

in

filthy

garments.

Nowwhatarethese

When Satan came before God to

resist]oshua itapparentlywas done

in

response

to

joshua's prayer

for help.

In

verse

4 joshua's prayer

is implied,

when it

is

written

of

the

angel of

the

Lord, And

he answered and

spake."

Answered

what?

Apparently

a

prayer

from]oshua,

who is seen before the

angel

of

the Lord

.

eignly

chose them, not because of any

good

in them (Deut. 7:7,8). God's

purpose

will

stand despite Judah's

sin.

He

still has a use

for

her.

And because of God's sovereign

election of

Israel

He was determined

to

cleanse

her from her sins, Zecha

riah 3:4. Here the symbolic action

is

very

clear.

Though the

filthy garments ?

Theyclearlyrepresent

sin, the sin of the

people being repre-

sented by Joshua.

In

Isaiah

64:6 we read:

'We

are all as

an un-

cleanthing,andallour

righteousnesses as

filthy

rags." Butwedo

not have to wander

outside

the text to

dis-

cover the

meaning, for

the symbolic imagery

in the next verse

teaches

this

clearly,

Some fear that

the

doctrine of

God's

sovereignty in

predestination

will

encourage lax or even

loose

behavior

high priest and Judah

were clothed with sin-

ful works,

God

would

remove their sin and

clotlle them with clean

garments.

Some fear that the

doctrine of God's sov-

ereignty in predestina-

tion will encourage lax

or

even loose bei1avior.

But God's sovereign

chOOSing

untosalvation

may not be divorced

But

God's

sovereign

choosing

unto

salvation may

not

be divorced from

His determination to

deal

with sin.

Zechariah

1:4.

The

filthy

garments

represent

sin.

So

the picture of the priesthood

and people here is

of

a sin-laden

people in filthy garments giving op

portunity

to

Satan

to accuse

them

before

God.

Alowcondition,

indeed.

2

The

Restoration

of

the Priesthood.

But

thevision does not

end here. It

was

not designed

to

show Godrebuk-

ing and turning from Judah, though

such would have been

perfectly

just

and beyond reproach.

As

with the

earlierprophecies, thereisrepresented

agrandand glorious hope .

Satan

may

be

theaccuser ofGod's

people,

butthe

angel

of the Lord, Jesus

Christ

Him

self, is

their

defender

At Satan's accusation, tlle angel

of

the

Lord

rebukes

him. In fact

, the

angel

of

the Lord rebukes

him;

notice

that hedoes so twice in one sentence,

Zechariah

3:2.

t cenainlyis true that

]udahwasmisetablyfailingonceagain.

But

the

fact

nevertheless

remains:

the

Lord

hath chosen

Jerusalem." The

very fact

they are

out of

captivity

and

backinthe

Landwas indicative of

that

sovereigndetermination: isnot

this

a

brand

plucl


3/4

Joshua.

The

KingJarnes expresses it

as

a protest. It might better be trans-

lated,

"solemnly testified,"

Zechariah

3:6. In keeping

with

the

aim

of

election and the preparation

ofJoshua

for

holy

ministry,

joshua is warned

that he must maintain his integrity

before God,

Zechariah 3:7.

The promise is that

bidding, then blessings are

available,

Zechariah

3:7.

The

reference

"places

to walk is a difficult phrase to trans-

late

and interpret.

But

there seems

to

be general agreement that

the

plural

ity of

the

"places to walk" indicate a

free and abundant access to God,just

as

the angels thatstandby" have. The

righteousness ofordainedofficeopens

3.

The

Fulfillment of the PrIesthood.

Now all of

this is

good

in

and of

itself But

the story does not stop

there. An

attention arresting

"hear

now" is

uttered

in this

connection,

Zechariah 3:8 Joshua and all

the

priests around him are especially

re

minded to give consideration

to

their

ultimate goaL In

the

final

blessmgs

will flow, IF.

A

with

all

of

God's cov

enants and promises,

they are conditioned

upon obedience. For

Joshua'thereis a personal

exhortation and an offi

cial exhortation. He

is

personally urged to

waIkinmyways. That

is, to keep himself holy.

Andhe

is

also instructed

to

keep

my

charge

."

That is, to conduct

himsel,f

as

the minister

IIn aday in

which

Christianity is scOffed

.

analysis,

they are men

to

be wondered at.

Now

what

does

this

mean?

at because of the misdeeds

of

highly

visible televangelists, this message

needs

to

e

h ~ a r d Those in

ordained

positions

charget/withaparticular

work

for

God

Actually the word

translated wondered at"

is

indicativeof something

that serves

as

a

"sign"

or

symbol. The whole

priestly line from Aaron's

day into

the

New Testa

ment

era was

to serve fi-

nallyas

a

sign

of

the

com

ing, ultimate, final Great

must

e careful

in

the conduct

of

their

affairs. We must strive to

e

diligent

and m m i t t e to the

task

beforeu

And

we need the prayers

of

God's

people to that effect.

High Priest, jesus

Christ.

OearlytheOldTestament

saints

themselves

mew

of God.

Thissortofchargestill

has relevance to the

officers

of

the the

gates

to

heaven,

says Zechariah's

church today, pastorS

i

elders ; and prophecy.

deacons.lnadayinwhichCbristianit)r

is scoffed at because of the misdeeds

of highly

visible

televangelists, this

message needs to be

heard.

Those in

ordained positions charged with a

particularworkforGodmustbecare-

ful in the conduct of their affairs. We

must

Strive

to bediligentandcommit

tedtothetaSkbeforeus. Andweneed

the

prayers of God's people to

that

effect.

May

God spare

me, the

elders

and deacons of this church, and all

faithful church officers from

failure

that leads

to

ridicule and

the mockery

of church office.

f

the

priesthood of Israel or

the

officers ofmodem churchesdo God's

ThuS, all

is readied

for the gloriOUS

restoration of the priesthood.

Rather

than

being clothed in filthy rags,

the

high priest

is

clothed

by

the

angels of

God with festal garments (literally).

Hischargeisrenewed. This is another

of the several confirmations

that

the

TemPle

will

be rebuilt so that the

worship

of

God

will

be restored in

the

world.

there

was

the direct

com

mand of

God

regarding the

rebuild

ing of

the Temple, the

promise re

garding jerusalem's

restoration,

and

now the preparation for the high

priesthood

to

minister before

God

in

the Temple in Jerusalem in a

worthy

manner. The priesthood is back

2 TIlE COUNSELofChalcedon t Febmary, 1992

that the priesthood W S never

in

tended to

be

a

final

solution

to

sin's

p r o l ~

It pointed

to

the

coming

Lamb

of God who would

take away

the sin of

the

world.

In

fact, He is

mentioned under the

Old

Testament name,

"Branch

. This

seems

to

hearken back to the proph-

ecy ofEzekiel,

which he

gave

while in

exile in

Babylon,

Ezekiel 17:22-23 .

Once glorious Israel was like astately

cedar

.

But God

had

to chop

it

down

.

From that cedar a illie

twig

or branch

was

taken, which would grow

to

be

great. That

Branch is Christ,

who

is

also

mentioned even earlier in

Jeremiah 23:5 and 33 :

15.

And even

jeremiah'sprophecybuildsonlsaiah's

much earlierreferences in Isaiah

11:

1


4/4

and53:2. Christwasthetenderbranch

that would

grow

out of

Israel

to be-

came

a greatinlluencein the world

for

righteousness. And

the priesthood

pointed

to

him

IS

such.

ThenZechariahintroduoesanother

symbolic representation of Christ,

Zechariah 3:9. Apparendy an actual

stone isset before] oshua in

the vision.

Here

the stone portrays

Christ,

which

Isaiah

called

the

stoneofstumbling.

He

is mentioned

as the Stone

in

Mat-

thew 21:42; 1 Corinthians 3:11;

Ephesians 2:20-22; 1

Peter 2:4.

s

the

Stone for

the ultimate spiri-

tual temple, He will be filled

with

the

Holy Spirit. The seven eyes appar-

endyhavereference

to

the

Holy

Spirit's

being everywhere

present and

seeing

all.

In

Revelation 1:4

the

Holy Spirit

is

signified

as seven Spirits

before the

throne

of

God.

In

Revelation 4:5 He

is symbolized as seven lamps. In

Revelation

5:6 Christ is said to

have

seven eyes

which

are the

seven

Spir-

itsof God sent forth into

all

the

earth.

Christ

w ll

be

full

of the

Holy Spirit,

knowing

all

and

seeing all.

Not only areJoshua andhis

associ-

ate

priests said to be a sign, thus

indicating

they are types

of

Christ.

Not only

does

the

text specifically

mention that they

are

a sign for,

behold, I

will

bring

forth my

servant

the

Branch.

But the ultimate out

comeofthepriesdylineandtheBranch

is pointed

to: I

will remove the iniq-

uity of that

land in one day.

Nowthis

is

amost important

piece

of information. The priesdy

line was

to

find

its culmination in

Christ. s

1

have

pointed out, it was never

de-

signed to continue on through

his-

tory.

There

are

some

evangelical

Christians,ofthedispensationalschool

of thought, who

teach

that the temple,

sacrificial

system,

andpriesthood

w ll

be

revived

in

the

future when Jesus

returns to earth

to

set up a

political,

earthly kIDgdom. This

is surely a

serious error.

The whole purpose of the priest-

hood

as

such

was

to reckon with sin.

The

Old Testament high priest put

off

that reckoning

each year

at

Passover,

moving the day

of

reckOning into the

future.

And

verse

9

tells us

that

the

One to

whom the priesthood pointed

woulddeal with sin"inoneday." That

is, in one

climactic act

Christ would

putawaysin.lsdli.snotwhatHebrews

teaches,

Hebrews

7:27;

1O:10?

This is the ultimate glory of the

priesthood, which was being

re-established under Joshua in

Zechariah's day. The

Branch,

the

Stone would come and bringnew

life

and become a foundation stone

for

the people of

God.

Thus would

he

completed

the

need

for

a priesthood.

But until then,

God

was

pleased to

re-establish the priesthood

for His

worship.

Zechariahclosesoutthevisionwith

oneof

great

hope,

Zechariah

3:

10. "In

that

day,

that

is,

when Christ

comes

there will

flow

abundant peace. This

is what Paul spoke of when he spoke

ofnow being the

day of salvation

(2

Cor. 6:2).

Christhasestablishedpeace

with

God (Rom.

5:1)

for all

of those

who believein

Hirnas

lordand

Savior

.

The end result of this growing Branch

is

that oneday in

this era,

throughout

the world men will freely call their

neighbors over to share their bless-

ings

with them in peace and har-

mony.

The

reference to

dwelling

underthevine and

fig

harkens back to

theheightofSolomon'sgloriousreign,

when Israelwas at its richestandmost

secure,

1

Kings

4:25. This becomes a

symbolforpeaceand prosperity. This

w ll

come about

as

dIe

Gospel

of] esus

Chl1st

spreads further in

the

world.

February, 1992 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 3

1992 issue 2 - sermons on zechariah: the ultimate priest - counsel of chalcedon

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