Day 281

Prophecies of Holy Week

Read: Zechariah 9-14

Zechariah may not be a very familiar book to us, but it was to the writers of the New Testament. There are many references to Zechariah in the book of Revelation. Of even greater significance is that in the narratives of what happened to Jesus during the last week of his life on earth, the Gospel writers cite Zechariah more than any other prophet.

It begins with Palm Sunday. Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Matthew and John both remind us that this happened to fulfill what is mentioned in Zechariah 9:9. Zechariah 11:12 mentions 30 pieces of silver and the Gospel of Matthew tells us that this was the amount of money given to Judas to betray Jesus. On the night before the crucifixion, Jesus himself quoted Zechariah 13:7, “Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered.” Jesus refers to this prophecy in order to prepare his disciples for what will soon happen.

The Old Testament looks forward to the New, which we will begin studying in a couple of days. We needed to spend all of these days on the Old Testament in order to rightly understand the fulfillment of the plan of God in the New. The Old Testament is like a bud, the New like the flower which develops from the bud. The Old Testament says, “The Messiah is coming.” The New Testament proclaims, “He is here.”

PRAYER
Father, we praise you that we live in the time when the promises have been fulfilled in Christ. In his name. Amen.