Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Zechariah
Book: Zechariah
Chapter: 3
Overview:
The restoration of the
Church.
(1-5) A promise concerning the
Messiah.
(6-10)
1-5 The
Angel showed
Joshua, the high
Priest, to Zechariah, in
a
Vision. Guilt and corruption are great discouragements when we
stand before
God.
By the guilt of the sins committed
By us, we
are liable to the
Justice of God;
By the power of
Sin that
dwells in us, we are hateful to the
Holiness of
God. Even
God's
Israel are in danger
On these accounts; but they have relief
from
Jesus Christ, who is made of
God to us both
Righteousness
and
Sanctification.
Joshua, the high
Priest, is accused as a
criminal, but is justified. When we stand before
God, to
Minister to him, or stand up for
God, we must expect to meet all
the resistance
Satan's subtlety and malice can give.
Satan is
checked
By one that has conquered him, and many times silenced
him. Those who belong to
Christ, will find him ready to appear
for them, when
Satan appears most strongly against them. A
converted soul is a brand plucked out of the
Fire By a
Miracle
of free
Grace, therefore shall not be left a prey to
Satan.
Joshua appears as one polluted, but is purified; he represents
the
Israel of
God, who are all as an unclean thing, till they
are washed and sanctified in the name of the
Lord Jesus, and
By
the
Spirit of our
God.
Israel now were free from
Idolatry, but
there were many things amiss in them. There were spiritual
enemies warring against them, more dangerous than any
neighbouring nations.
Christ loathed the filthiness of
Joshua's
garments, yet did not
Put him away. Thus
God By his
Grace does
with those whom he chooses to be priests to himself. The guilt
of
Sin is taken away
By pardoning
Mercy, and the power of it is
broken
By renewing
Grace. Thus
Christ washes those from their
sins in his own
Blood, whom he makes
Kings and priests to our
God. Those whom
Christ makes spiritual priests, are clothed with
the spotless robe of his
Righteousness, and appear before
God in
that; and with the graces of his
Spirit, which are ornaments to
them. The
Righteousness of saints, both imputed and implanted,
is the fine
Linen,
Clean and
White, with which the
Bride, the
Lamb's
Wife, is arrayed, Re 19:8.
Joshua is restored to former
honours and trusts. The
Crown of the priesthood is
Put On him.
When the
Lord designs to restore and revive religion, he stirs
up prophets and people to pray for it.
6-10 All whom
God calls to any office he finds fit, or makes
So. The
Lord will cause the sins of the believer to pass away
By
his sanctifying
Grace, and will enable him to walk in newness of
Life. As the promises made to
David often pass into promises of
the
Messiah,
So the promises to
Joshua look forward to
Christ,
of whose priesthood
Joshua's was a
Shadow. Whatever trials we
pass through, whatever services we perform, our whole dependence
must
Rest On Christ, the
Branch of
Righteousness. He is
God's
servant, employed in his work, obedient to his will, devoted to
his honour and
Glory. He is the
Branch from which all our
Fruit
must be gathered. The
Eye of his
Father was upon him, especially
in his sufferings, and when he was buried in the
Grave, as the
foundation-
Stones are under ground, out of men's sight. But the
Prophecy rather denotes the attention paid to this precious
Corner-
Stone. All believers, from the beginning, had looked
forward to it in the types and predictions. All believers, after
Christ's coming, would look to it with
Faith,
Hope, and
Love.
Christ shall appear for all his
Chosen, as the high
Priest when
before the
Lord, with the names of all
Israel graven in the
precious
Stones of his
Breastplate. When
God gave a remnant to
Christ, to be brought through
Grace to
Glory, then he engraved
this precious
Stone.
By him
Sin shall be taken away, both the
guilt and the dominion of it; he did it in one
Day, that
Day in
which he suffered and died. What should terrify when
Sin is
taken away? Then nothing can hurt, and we sit down under
Christ's
Shadow with delight, and are sheltered
By it. And
Gospel Grace, coming with power, makes men forward to draw
others to it.