(Zechariah 3:1-2) Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
The Israelites had been saying that Joshua the high priest was unfit to serve. So this vision kind of shows us what happens in the spiritual realm... Satan goes to God and accuses God's people, or - well - tries to. Let's let this sink in for a moment. We need to realize that when we put down our fellow Christians, we are helping to do Satan's work. NOT cool.
Now let's refresh our memory on who the angel of the LORD is... this is the "Jesus of the Old Testament"... the preincarnate of Christ. And what is important to note is that Jesus defends Joshua, who is one of God's chosen. The LORD (Jesus) defends Joshua because as we see in the next verses...
(Zechariah 3:3-4) Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. 4 He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.”
The LORD (Jesus) defends Joshua because He has cleansed Joshua. Jesus is the one to do this since it is Jesus who died for all sins - past, present, future. Faith and salvation from Jesus' work on the cross is retroactive (ie. James 2:23). And it is Jesus who defends us...
(Romans 8:31-39) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,
“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It makes sense that the LORD (Jesus) gave Joshua some guidance, since when there is true faith - there will be works of service and obedience - because we WANT to...(Zechariah 3: 6-7) And the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here..."
THEN the LORD gave Zechariah a message for Joshua and the other priests, telling them about their Messiah...
(Zechariah 3:8-9) Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. 9 For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day...'
This was not only a prophecy about Jesus coming to earth to complete the work on the cross, but also a prophecy about Jesus coming to earth the second time to fulfill the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants in the Millennium....
(Zechariah 6:12-13) Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord. 13 Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’
And if that wasn't enough, the prophecy gets specific about how Jesus would present Himself to them as their King the first time He came to earth...
(Zechariah 9:9-10) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
And the bow of war will be cut off.
And He will speak peace to the nations;
And His dominion will be from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
The first time Jesus came to earth, He preached peace (not only personal spiritual peace through salvation, but the universal peace that will occur in the kingdom of heaven - the Millennium), and presented Himself to the Israelites as their Messiah - their King - riding in on a donkey. If they had accepted Jesus as their King right then - they would have gone right into the Millennium. But (as God knew), they rejected Him and desired that He be crucified. Because of this, their "Jewish Age" as been cut off (put on hold) for an unknown time - with seven years remaining. So when this Church Age is complete, Jesus will meet all believers in the air (at the rapture), and the Jewish Age will commence again. The judgments of the Tribulation will be their signs that their Messiah will be coming - this time on a war horse!...
(Zechariah 10:3-4) “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the male goats; for the Lord of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like His majestic horse in battle. From them will come the cornerstone, from them the tent peg, from them the bow of battle,
From them every ruler, all of them together..."
Meanwhile for us now, this New Testament chapter sums up all of this so very nicely, even encouraging us not to put our fellow Christians down as we have a different sort of "battle" to deal with...
(1 Peter 2:1-25) Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For this is contained in Scripture:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone,
And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
“The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the very corner stone,”
This became the very corner stone,”
8 and,
“A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”;
for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. 17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.
18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. 19 For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
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