Today in God's Word—December 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
December 30, Zechariah 13
On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness." - Zechariah 13:1
More than 40 years ago, soon after I'd gotten my first real computer, I remember a conversation I had at the bank where my wife worked at the time. I told one of her coworkers how wonderful and useful the computer was. I said, "The computer changed my life." The woman looked at me and said, "I thought Jesus was supposed to change your life." She was right. She gently, but pointedly admonished the young preacher by her words. Since then, I've been very careful about attributing life-changing power to anything or anyone except Jesus.
Zechariah 13 is a beautiful word portrait about Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. In the prophetic details, we find a rich picture of Jesus and his genuine life-changing power.
The best known verse of this chapter and maybe this book is the text verse. It describes a fountain that would open at Jerusalem for the house of David. It was not a fountain where physical thirst could be quenched or physical washing could be done. This fountain was for cleansing sin and all uncleanness.
We don't know exactly what this would have meant to the ancients who were the first to read and hear the message from Zechariah. But with New Testament knowledge, we realize this fountain is nothing other than the blood of Christ himself, shed on the cross. That blood is the only cleanser that can cleanse us from the guilt of sin. The blood of Christ crucified is the fountain God opened at Jerusalem. It was for the whole world, not just for the Jews, though no Israelite was excluded. The effective cleansing power of the blood of Christ would be greater than the power of sin that had marred our lives and separated us from God.
In a single demonstration of both divine love and divine sovereignty, Messiah would be wounded in the house of his friends. God would give his Son to die on the cross to redeem us from our sin and restore our relationship with the Father. The Son would be betrayed by Judas, forsaken by his disciples and rejected by the leaders of his people. They would refuse to acknowledge him as the Christ throughout his brief ministry, and then formally reject him before Pilate, claiming they had no king but Caesar. Under God’s sovereign control, Pilate would sentence Jesus to death and Roman soldiers would crucify the sinless Son of God. God determined the roles Pilate and the Romans would play in accomplishing the grand mission of redemption. This sacrificial demonstration of God's sovereign love should produce an exclusive love and devotion to God in our hearts.
Zechariah also saw that Messiah's people would share in his suffering. Many of the Jews to whom Jesus was sent would reject him, but a much smaller number would receive him gladly. This smaller group would be faithful despite adversity and trials. Jesus’ example would be their pattern to endure suffering with complete trust in our Father. These faithful ones would emerge from the crucible of suffering refined and purified like precious metals through the heat and pressure of adversity. They would pass through the sea of troubles, striking down its waves and drying up its depths by the power of God in their lives.
In the end nothing matters more than to be among the people who are cleansed in the fountain of Jesus' blood. The prophesied and long-awaited Messiah came. He lived, died for us on the cross and rose again, according to the Scriptures. He makes a life-changing difference in those who follow him. They move from hopelessness to hope, from guilt to pardon, from defiled to cleansed, from alienated to reconciled.
Yes, my wife's coworker was right when she corrected me that day. Jesus is the one who changes our lives. This chapter reveals and reminds us of truth that should deepen our love and fortify our devotion to the Lord. Why not read these nine verses again and savor this amazing revelation of our Lord?
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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