Zechariah Proofs – Derech HaTorah

Joshua is symbolic of things to come – that “I am going to bring my servant the Branch” (Zechariah 3:8).

The “Shoot” refers to Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, is insignificant in the king’s court, but God will make his greatness burgeon. God will also give him favor in the eyes of the king, so that he will grant Zerubbabel’s request for the building of the Temple and the city (Zechariah 4:6-10; Haggai 1:14-15).

Jesus, as a sacrifice, “will remove the sin of this land in a single day” (Zechariah 3:9).

“One day” refers to a lack of knowledge as to exactly when the Second Temple will be built. The foundation stone for the Second Temple had been laid in the days of King Cyrus. However, the actual building of the Temple was abruptly stopped (Ezra 4:23-24).

Jesus was the “Branch” who will rebuild the Temple and reign as priest and king (Zechariah 6:12-13).

There are two separate people being spoken about in these verses. The Temple will be built by the “Shoot” who is the ruler (Zerubabbel) and there will also be a priest (Joshua) (Zechariah 3:1, 4:9-10; Haggai 1:12).

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:7; Mark 11:7; Luke 19:35; John 12:14).

This is not exclusive to Jesus. Many, many people rode into Jerusalem on a donkey so even if though this verse is about the messiah it cannot only be about Jesus.

The prophecy continues into the very next verse (Zechariah 9:10). This explains that when the Messiah arrives on a donkey, it will be a demonstration that he will be exercising his dominion over the entire world and the implements of war will be destroyed.

Jesus was not a triumphant world leader (Matthew 27:31). Jesus also did not speak of peace (Matthew 10:34).

Judas was paid thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13; Matthew 26:14-15).

The Book of Matthew is the only one of the gospels to mention the thirty pieces of silver. If it was a prophecy that was fulfilled why was it only recorded in one book? There is also conflict as to what actually happened with the money (Matthew 27:5; Acts 1:18). Did he “fulfill the prophecy” as is written in Matthew or did he actually not return the money as is written in Acts?

This passage is speaking about the righteous among the Jews (those who kept God’s mitzvot). The fee refers to the fulfillment of the mitzvot which is payment to God. If this payment is made, then God will not forsake the righteous. The thirty silver pieces refers to the thirty righteous ones. By throwing the deed of these thirty people into the Temple, to the treasurer, Zechariah symbolized that the Temple would be rebuilt because of their merits.

The treasurer is the one who smelts the coins – which is why the word הַיּוֹצֵר is generally translated as “potter”. Why the number thirty? Abraham was promised that there would be no generation that had less than thirty righteous men. God is clearly chiding the wicked amongst the people. When Zechariah threw the deeds of the thirty righteous into the Temple, God declared that it was because of these thirty that the end of the Babylonian exile would come and the Temple would be rebuilt.

Jesus was betrayed by his disciples (Zechariah 13:7; Matthew 26:56).

In this verse, “shepherd” refers to the leaders of the nations who were God’s colleagues. God entrusted His flock (Israel) to the shepherd. However, instead of protecting the flock, the shepherd harmed the flock and God released the sword against the shepherd. The flock was then able to escape and God turns his vengeance against the shepherd (nations). This entire chapter relates to events that will happen in the End of Days.