Rejecting the Good Shepherd
Return From Exile: Zechariah 11.
In the previous chapter, the LORD considered the poor condition of His flock due to the failed leadership of their shepherds and promised to judge the shepherds and save His weary, scattered flock.
Zechariah 11 continues the shepherd/flock picture, but now God focuses on those who would reject Him and His chosen shepherd.
Pride Goes Before Destruction
Open your doors, O Lebanon, That fire may devour your cedars. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the mighty trees are ruined. Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the thick forest has come down. There is the sound of wailing shepherds! For their glory is in ruins. There is the sound of roaring lions! For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins. (Zechariah 11:1-3)
These verses picture God’s judgment entering the land from the north, and devouring the pride and strength of the nation like fire. The great cedars of Lebanon and the thick oak forests of Bashan were rich resources. The cedars of Lebanon were used in the construction of Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 5:6).
The shepherds would “howl,” not because the flock was harmed, but because their source of strength, riches, and pride lay in ruins. They would be completely defenseless, as pictured by the “sound of roaring lions.” These shepherds had long stopped caring about the condition of the flock (Zechariah 10:2-3). What they cared about was their own power, riches, and egos.
This picture perfectly describes the leaders of the nation during the time Jesus walked on earth. The people were “weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:35-36). Jesus addressed and condemned the prideful attitude of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23:2-12), as well as their greed (Matthew 23:14; Luke 16:14). One of the reasons they opposed Jesus and plotted to put Him to death was because they were afraid of losing their power (John 11:45-48).
I believe the judgment described in Zechariah 11 points forward to the scene of judgment Jesus warned of at the close of His “woes” upon the Jewish leaders (Matthew 23:34-39), when He entered Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44), and when He was led to be crucified (Luke 23:28-31). This refers to the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of Rome in A.D. 70.
The arrogance of the failed shepherds led them to destruction.
The Betrayal of the Good Shepherd
The Shepherd’s Work
Thus says the LORD my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter, whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt; those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich’; and their shepherds do not pity them. For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land,” says the LORD. “But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor’s hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.” (Zechariah 11:4-6)
The LORD God told Zechariah, who represented the work of the Shepherd, to feed His flock for slaughter. God’s care for His people is shown, although their “owners” slaughter them without feeling any guilt, and who think their profit from the people is God blessing them with riches. They believed their prosperity was a sign that God approved of their actions. But the LORD did not approve.
The time of God’s pity would end, and He would hand them over to each other (Matthew 24:10), and into the hand of their king. This is a picture of great turmoil, both from within the nation itself and from outside forces. The LORD would not deliver them from this disaster.
Jesus’ care for God’s flock being fed for slaughter is shown when he weeps over Jerusalem, and describes what will come upon them (Luke 19:41-44).
The Shepherd’s Authority
So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bonds; and I fed the flock. I dismissed the three shepherds in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. Then I said, “I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other’s flesh.” And I took my staff, Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. So it was broken on that day. Thus the poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. (Zechariah 11:7-11)
Despite the coming judgment, there is an effort made to save the flock. The shepherd made a particular effort for the poor of the flock (Luke 6:20-23; 15:1; 19:10). Zechariah described two staffs that the shepherd used in feeding the flock: Beauty (Favor - ESV) and Bonds (Union - ESV).
The shepherd’s authority is shown in “firing” the three shepherds in one month. Many different theories have been proposed as to who these three shepherds refer to. My opinion is that they refer to the leaders of the Jewish people in some way (the failed shepherds). Zechariah describes animosity that existed between these failed shepherds and the “Good Shepherd,” which we see in the gospel accounts between Jesus and the religious leaders (John 2:13-22; Matthew 21:12-16).
Eventually, the LORD had to leave them to face the consequences of their choices. God is long-suffering and does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9), but there comes a day when His long-suffering ends and judgment comes (2 Peter 3:10). Zechariah cut the staff named “Beauty” (or Favor) in two, symbolizing the breaking of the covenant. The poor of the flock, who were watching all this, knew this was the word of the LORD.
This “covenant” may refer to God’s protection of the Jewish nation from being harmed by other nations. But now, judgment for their sins would come, and God’s protection would be removed. This fits with the context of this chapter, pointing forward to the judgment of God upon Jerusalem in A.D. 70 for their rejection of the Messiah.
The Shepherd’s Pay
Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter. Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. (Zechariah 11:12-14)
These verses are certainly a prophecy of Jesus’ betrayal by Judas, and the amount of money for which Judas agreed to betray the Lord (Matthew 26:15). Thirty pieces of silver were the price of a slave under the Law of Moses (Exodus 21:32). The money was returned to the leaders at the temple (Matthew 27:5), and was eventually used to purchase the “potter’s field” (Matthew 27:6-10; Acts 1:18-19).
This prophecy helps guide us in our interpretation of this chapter. Previous prophecies of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9), and being the rejected cornerstone (Zechariah 10:4; Matthew 21:33-46), place us squarely in the final week of Jesus’ ministry leading up to the cross. Future passages in Zechariah will refer to Jesus’ crucifixion.
Now, with the Beauty (Favor) of the Shepherd gone, and the Shepherd Himself betrayed, the other staff, Bonds (or Union), was also cut in two. The Lord’s protection of this nation was fully removed because of their sin.
The Choosing of a Foolish Shepherd
Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. “Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded!” (Zechariah 11:15-17)
Now, Zechariah would picture a different shepherd. No longer would he represent the “Good Shepherd,” but he would represent a “foolish shepherd.” They once had a Good Shepherd who gently cared for them, but this shepherd would not care at all for the flock. He would do nothing but devour and destroy them.
Jesus pronounced similar woes upon the Jewish leaders (Matthew 23). He also contrasted Himself with the hireling who deserts the flock in the midst of danger (John 10:11-14).
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