It’s time for some theological clarity, commentary and devotional. There are few Messianic Scriptures from the Hebrew text which are alluded to and/or directly quoted in all four gospels—so, the passages from Zechariah 9:9-10 are altogether poignant, laced with overt prophetic fulfillment and found in Matthew 21:5; Mark 11:7, 9; Luke 19:38; John 12:15, to wit:
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9)
Allow me to pause here for Messiah’s First Coming wrought us so great a SALVATION—yes, His Triumphal Entry on Nissan 10 (so-called “Palm Sunday”—which will occur on April 18, 2024 with Passover on April 22—contrariwise, Easter will occur on March 31, 2024 with Palm Sunday on March 24, 2024). Nisan 10 matches the same date on the Hebrew Sacred Calendar as the choosing of the spotless lamb on that first Passover—4 days before it was slain (Exodus 12:1-11). Moreover, it was on Nissan 10 the very day the children of Israel crossed over the Jordan River into the Good Land (Joshua 4:19) – and the day when Ezekiel saw the vision of the Holy City, the Holy District as found in Ezekiel 40:1-2—viz. “. . . at the beginning of the year [religious Rosh Hashanah], on the tenth day of the month . . ...”
Nissan 10—The Lamb is Chosen for Passover -
Nissan 10—The Children of Israel cross into the Good Land –
Nissan 10—Ezekiel sees “in the visions of God” the Holy City –
Nissan 10—Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as the "Lamb-King" of God Who takes away the sin of the world whereby “. . . that he (Caiaphas the High Priest) prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.” (John 11:51-52 NIV). Salvation AND Unity in Messiah!
But we have left off Zechariah 9:10 where Zechariah prophesied that the Messiah:
“Shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be from the sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
This speaks of His Second Coming—for Messiah’s two-fold accomplishment initially wrought SALVATION but His “coming again in glory” will manifest in fullness His Kingdom here on earth.
Furthermore, we have been far too dismissive with Zech. 9:10’s “dominion peace” Messiah brings where He declares:
“I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow shall be cut off—He shall speak peace to the nations;”
I don’t know if we have ever seen this: Ephraim’s chariot and Jerusalem/Judah’s horse will be cut off—the carnal weapons of warfare now so blatantly manifest upon the earth with “wars and rumors of war” shall be confounded—Ephraim and Judah will dispense with WAR as Messiah implements His PEACE PLAN! Indeed, "the people of God" will never again use such carnality--either in concert or against one another!
But there is abundantly more to this amazing prophecy in Zechariah 9 . . . for we read:
“As for you ALSO (you see this ALSO tells us the preceding Messianic text continues) because of the BLOOD OF YOUR COVENANT I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope.” (vs. 11-12a).
You see, this reference to the “blood of your covenant” is directly connected to Messiah--He is the antecedent of YOUR--it is His blood, not ours! We did not make this "covenant of blood"--He made it for us. You ask: How can that be? Because only He, through His own blood, the very “blood of the everlasting covenant” (Heb. 13:20) could ever “set your prisoners free from the waterless pit” and make them “prisoners of hope.” In context there is only One Whose blood is sufficient to set the prisoners free and make them His prisoners of Hope!
Moreover, not only will He restore double to His People—but “His People” is clarified when we read:
“For I have bent Judah, My bow, fitted the bow with Ephraim (vs. 13) and raised up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and made you like the sword of a mighty man.”
Those familiar with “Commonwealth Theology” immediately recognize this prophetic fulfillment as the bringing together of both Judah (the Jewish natural branch of the One Olive Tree) and the “wild branch” (those called out from among the nations—aka, Ephraim/Gentiles) in the latter days. The “Jerusalem Council” (Acts 15) concluded by the summation of the Apostle James that what they were witnessing by the incursion of the “nations/Gentiles” into the Assembly/Congregation (aka, Ekklesia) was the raising up of the United Kingdom of David in the here and now (not future but NOW) whereby Amos 9:11-12 is fulfilled:
“On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; that they may possess the remnant of Edom (i.e., the “rest of mankind”) and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” says the LORD who does this thing.”
Yes, the “fullness” of “all Israel’s restoration” will culminate the present age—and even now this is accelerating, for the day of His visitation is upon us! Christ said He would build His Ekklesia—and that is precisely what He is about doing!
Zechariah’s prophecy persists:
“Then the LORD will be seen over them. And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord God will blow the trumpet, and go with whirlwinds from the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them; they shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar is if with wine; they shall be filled with blood like basins, like the corners of the altar. The LORD their God will save them in that day, as the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, lifted like a banner over His land—" (vss. 14-16).
These prophetic adumbrations are awesome. Brethren—“the battle is the Lord’s!” Judah’s the bow and Ephraim the arrow—“His arrow will go forth like lightning!” He, the Lord God will “blow the trumpet!" Is this the “Last Trump?” It very well could be—but it is most definitely the sound of His triumphant victory over those who would assail God’s people at the close of this age. His people are being measured at the Altar (Rev. 11:1-2)—and those worshipers so measured will be saved by the Lord their God in that day for they are the “one flock” of His pasture. Amazing, the crown of Messiah is fitted with those who have built His Kingdom with “gold, silver, and precious stones." It is this crown which will be lifted up on high as a banner to be displayed—no doubt to principalities and powers—how great is His mercy and love for all them who have suffered with Him for they shall reign with Him!
Brethren, let us come wholly under His Kingship—His Crown—His Authority—"return to our stronghold” as His “prisoners of hope” and aspire to be doubly restored . . .
“Oh Lord, we put down our carnal weaponry to become Your bow, your arrows—yes, Judah and Ephraim . . . raise us up as the sons of Zion to be as Your mighty man as a sword in Your hand . . . send us forth as Your arrows like lightning for it is Your Trumpet that blows . . . we rest on Your promise to defend us, save us in that day as the flock of Your people . . . THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S . . . may we be the jewels in Your crown which are lifted up as a banner to be displayed before principalities and powers—how great is Your inheritance in the saints, how beautiful it is—the victory is Yours!
The summation of Zechariah’s glorious prophecy declares the “body and blood” of His Covenant with all them who call on the Name of the Lord: “Grain (the bread/body) shall make the young men thrive, and new wine (the cup/blood) the young women” (vs. 17) – both young men and women shall thrive because they have been nourished by the body and blood of Messiah.
And all this takes place at the end of this present age:
“Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone” (Zech. 10:1).
Is this the final end-times’ harvest that He shall reap—the “grass in the field for everyone?” On that day:
“I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped” (Rev. 14:14-16).
Far too long we have truncated Zechariah’s prophecy and have stopped at His entry into Jerusalem cir. 33 AD—but we must go on to the rest of Zechariah’s all-inclusive prophecy of what the King of kings is about doing both in bringing His people together as One and how He shall come to judge the nations with righteousness and justice for “another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle” which shall reap the ungodly harvest—there will be no “middle ground” for the worthy Lamb of God will pour out His wrath on that day.
But we, “the flock of His people” will together declare: “How great is its goodness – and how great its beauty!” (Zech. 9:17) This is the LAND—the Good Land—our REST—our Sabbath —our Deliverer! The King of kings and Lord of lords has given us such an inheritance—He has sealed it with the “blood of Your covenant” whereby “the LORD will be seen over them!”
It is here that we would be remiss in not acclaiming these Third Heaven visions with the three distinct "headdresses" found in Zechariah chapters 3, 6, and 9.
(1) The High Priest's TURBAN wiith GOLDEN CROWN: Zechariah 3:5 speaks as follows: "And I said, 'Let them put a clean turban on his head.' So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by." The "turban" was initiated in Exodus 29:6 whereupon the turban was bedecked with the "holy crown on the turban" which "holy crown" was a "golden plate" inscribed with "Holiness to the Lord" (Targum of Jonathan). A multiplicity of commentaries suggest that this Joshua, the High Priest of Zechariah, is a type of "My Servant the BRANCH" (Zech. 3:8); therefore, He pictures Christ on whom the sins of the world He did bear: "Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, 'Take away the filthy garments from him.' And to him He said, 'See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.'" For only He can remove iniquity "in one day" (Zech. 3:9). This wholly signifies our salvation through the spotless Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.
(2) The ELABORATE (DECORATIVE) TRIPLE CROWN WITH YHWH'S SIGNET: Zechariah 6:9-15 tells us that instead aof Zerubbabel, the Governor, being crowned, it was Joshua the High Priest who is crowned with the most unusual crown of silver and gold received from Heldai, Robijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon and fabricate it in the "house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah . . . and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest . . . Then speak to him, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, saying: 'Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His palce He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the LORD; Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and ruleon His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both'" I have written extensively in my text: Unsealing the End of Days--The Visions, Prophecy & Messianic Scenario of Zechariah (Amazon Books). Here it is revealed that this crown atop Joshua's head was thrice gold braided (three braids surrounding the turban with the frontal marking with a signet having the Name of YHWH (Jehovah) upon it. The "triple crown" is seen in Revelation 19:12 ("many crowns") and connotes what we see in Zechariah that Christ is the bowl in the midst of the two olive trees ("sons of oil") whereupon is Zerubbabel (the "kingship") and Joshua (the "priesthood") and in their midst is the Son of Man (Revelation 1) as the Prophet--thus, PROPHET, PRIEST, and KING--the Triple Crown.
(3) THE JEWELED CROWN LIFTED UP LIKE A BANNER OVER HIS LAND - In Zechariah 9:16-17 we see the "crown" atop His head--already established in Zechariah 3 and 6 as bedecked with Jewels representing the people of God transformed into the "gold, silver and precious stones" by His Holy Spirit--it is this JEWELED CROWN which is displayed before the universe, before principalities and powers, to declare His great Name--yes, displayed over His Land, the place of His Covenant so wrought.
THIS "Jeweled Crown" lifted up on high as a banner is wrought by the blood of His covenant and certainly is representative of the Worthy Lamb Whose TESTIMONY (viz. "The Testimony of Jesus") is seen as the Prophet in the midst of the "Seven Golden Lampstands" as the victorious Son of Man.
From this vantage we can readily view His PRIESTLY ministry (Zechariah 3); His KINGLY crowning and authority (Zechariah 6); and His Ministry as PROPHET--the "Testimony of Jesus" (Zechariah 9) - Our Prophet, Priest, and King.
Yes, THIS is how our Lord is building His Ekklesia today--"Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts!" (Zech. 4:6).