Zechariah 13
Read Zechariah 13
Helpful Background Information:
Right after Jesus partakes in His last supper with the disciples, they make their way over to the Mount of Olives. It’s there that Jesus warns them that they will all “fall away” (Mark 14:27). As per usual, Peter is the first to respond in protest. He assures Jesus that even if everyone else falls away, he would not (Mark 14:29). In response, Jesus intensifies his initial claim by predicting that Peter would actually deny Him three times that very night (Mark 14:30). Still, Peter insists that he would die before denying Jesus (Mark 14:31). In order to make sense of Jesus’ words and actions in this scene, we need to look closer at the reasoning He gives in verse 27. He says that when the disciples fall away at the crucial moment, they’ll fulfill the words of the prophet Zechariah, who said, “strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered” (Zechariah 13:7).
It’s important to know that Zechariah was living and writing after the return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem. One of the major challenges in Zechariah’s day was that God’s people felt that there was a wide distance between the promises God made and reality on the ground in front of them. Sure, they were finally able to return from exile, but life back home wasn’t quite what they hoped. The book of Zechariah, then, points out what went wrong. In chapters 9-11, Zechariah describes the arrival of a messianic king riding on a donkey into the new Jerusalem to establish God’s kingdom over the nations. He then compares the king’s role to that of a shepherd. The problem, Zechariah says, is that this shepherd will ultimately be rejected by his own people. What’s especially interesting, though, is that Zechariah essentially says the Lord will use what happens to refine and regather a faithful remnant to be His people.
Later in Mark 14, Peter denies Jesus three times, just as it was predicted (vv.66-71). Tragically, the scene ends with Peter breaking down and weeping when he realizes what has happened (v.72).
Reflection Questions:
Can you think of a time when you, like Peter, acted contrary to your intentions or commitments to Jesus? What led to that moment?
In Zechariah, the scattered sheep are later regathered and refined. What does this suggest about God’s purposes in seasons of failure, confusion, or distance?
In what ways might God be using a current struggle or failure in your life to refine you and draw you back to Himself more deeply?