The Sword of Jehovah Smiting His Shepherd
C. Bradley. Zechariah 13:7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, said the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd… We have our Lord's own authority for applying this passage to Himself. I. THE DESCRIPTION HERE GIVEN US OF HIM. In looking at the terms in which our Lord is here described, we are struck at once with the natural manner in which they bring together His Divine and human nature. This mode of describing Him is of frequent occurrence in the Old Testament. It seems as though the Holy Spirit exulted beforehand in that union of the two natures, which was to be accomplished in His nature, and wished the ancient Church also to foresee and exult in it. In the text, He is described in the same twofold character. He is a man, and yet "the man that is My fellow," saith the Lord of hosts. "My fellow" signifies "my equal," "my companion." It is expressive of our Lord's Divine equality with the Father, and His eternal existence with Him. It intimates exactly what St. John afterwards plainly declared, — "The Word was with God, and the Word was God." But He is man as well as God. Not, however, originally, naturally man, as He was God. Here is an anticipation of a character He afterwards took on Him. And this assumption of our nature was necessary for the work of suffering He had to go through. In this human nature, He is set forth in the text under a third character. He is a shepherd. So called because the charge of His people devolves upon Him; because He performs towards them a shepherd's part, watching over, providing for, and guiding them. He is called God's shepherd, because the flock under His charge is God's flock, a flock committed to Him by God, to be rendered back by Him to God again. Happy they who are fed by Him. II. THE COMMAND GIVEN BY JEHOVAH. It is couched in figurative and highly poetic language. The Lord places Himself on the throne of a king or magistrate. They who bear these offices have often a sword near them as an emblem of their authority, and if need be, a ready instrument to execute any sentence they may pass on the guilty. Here the Lord describes Himself as suddenly addressing the sword near Him, and calling on it to smite, not the guilty but His own Son, and Him as shepherd. 1. We see in it that the sufferings of our Lord were divinely appointed. The persecuting Jews indeed were willing agents in all they did against Him. They did it voluntarily; yet they did "whatsoever God's hand and God's counsel had determined before to be done." 2. Here, too, we see that the sufferings of our Lord were most severe. Man can inflict much misery, but his power is limited. When God calls off our attention from man as the author of our Lord's sufferings, and directs it to Himself, we feel at once that our Lord must be a most severe sufferer. The language of the text conveys this idea forcibly. It is sword — not a scourge or a rack. It is "smite"; strike hard. Mark the word "awake." It implies that, up to this hour, the sword of Jehovah had been sleeping. Now it is to awake, to rise up in its vigour and majesty. It is to strike in the greatness of its strength. 3. The text represents our Lord's sufferings as surprising. Against whom? The very Being of all others, whom we should have expected Him to shield from every sword. The Being who is the nearest and dearest to Him, the man that is His fellow. To add to our surprise, the Lord seems to afflict Him, not reluctantly, but willingly; yea, more than willingly, almost eagerly. He is well-pleased in this thing for "His righteousness' sake." III. THE CONSEQUENCES WHICH ARE TO FOLLOW THE EXECUTION OF THIS COWARD. 1. The shepherd is to be smitten, and the sheep, frightened at the violence done to Him, are to be scattered. 2. The smiting of this shepherd is to be followed by a signal interposition of Jehovah in behalf of the scattered sheep. "I will turn My hand upon the little ones." This term represents to us the feeble and helpless condition of our Lord's followers at the time of HIS crucifixion. These timid disciples of our Lord were strangely kept together, in spite of their unbelief and fears, after His crucifixion, and sheltered from every danger. And we know what the early Church soon became. It was a wonder in the world, itself doing wonders.Look at the practical purposes to which we may turn this text. 1. To strengthen our faith in Holy Scripture. I do not allude to the predictions we find in it, which were afterwards so exactly fulfilled. I refer rather to that beautiful harmony of thoughts and expression, which exists between this verse of the Old Testament, and another passage of the New. (Compare the passage John 10.) 2. The fearful evil of sin. There are moments when we cannot read this text without an inward shudder — it exhibits the great Jehovah to us in a character so awful, and in an attitude so dismaying. He is represented as an offended Judge, calling for, and eager for the sacrifice of His own dear Son. Evidently, the evil of sin is a reality; the Divine justice is a reality; the inflexible unbending character of God's law is a reality; his determination to punish every breach of it, everywhere throughout His wide universe, is a reality. The cross of Jesus Christ proclaims all these things to be most solemn realities. 3. The perfect safety of all who are indeed resting for safety on our crucified Lord. You have nothing to fear from this awful God. In the greatness of Him whom He here commands to be smitten for you, you may see the sufficiency, the completeness, and more than that, — the grandeur and glory of the atonement He has made for sins. (C. Bradley.) Parallel Verses KJV: Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. WEB: "Awake, sword, against my shepherd, and against the man who is close to me," says Yahweh of Armies. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; and I will turn my hand against the little ones.