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| ZECHARIAH |
| Explanatory Footnotes |
| 1:18 Brute Power In an agricultural society that does its plowing with oxen, nothing is stronger than a bull. Probably because of this, horns are frequently used as symbols of power in the Old Testament. In our day we might say "bulldozer." 5:2 A Message for Everyone The flying scroll probably symbolizes God's law, which condemns sin. It is unrolled and flying like a banner for all to read - not rolled up for only priests to read. 7:3 Repent for How Long? While in exile, Jews had fasted and mourned on certain days in memory of the siege and overthrow of Jerusalem. Now that they had returned to Jerusalem they wanted to know: should we keep fasting? Zechariah's answer came in 8:19: fasting should now be replaced with feasting. But Zechariah warned that all religious ceremonies, however proper, were meaningless unless people's lives were controlled by God. 13:7 A Prophecy of Jesus Jesus applied this verse to himself just before he died (Matthew 26:31). Some commentators believe that his words about the shepherd who "lays his life down for his sheep" (John 10) also drew on this passage. Zechariah's prophecies were on the minds of the Gospel writers: 9:9 is quoted in Matthew 21:5; 12:10 in John 19:37; and 11:12-13 in Matthew 27:9. 1:21 No More Secular and Sacred The priests and the temple had always been separate and more holy than the rest of Israel. HOLY TO THE LORD had been inscribed on the priests' turbans (Exodus 28:36) as a symbol of this. But, Zechariah predicted, in the future such words would become as sacred as the holy sacramental vessels. There would no longer be a |