Striking The Shepherd, Scattering The Sheep (Zechariah 13:7)

 


Saturday, November 23, 2024


Psalms 54; 55:1-12

Zechariah 13

Revelation 10


Observances: Ember Week [Prayers for the ministry of the Church are appropriate this Ember Week]; Clement of Rome, bishop and martyr (d. c. 100)


Striking The Shepherd, Scattering The Sheep (Zechariah 13:7)


The explicit Jesus references have been coming thick and fast over the last few days, and today is no different. Today’s verse is explicitly quoted in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark as referencing Jesus’ arrest in the garden: the Shepherd was arrested, and the disciples scattered, ducking for cover.


Something that may have popped up for you while reading through Zechariah the past few days is the fact that these prophecies are not linear. We began with the triumphant entry into Jerusalem; skipped to the resurrection (or Second Coming, depending on how you look at it); looked back to the Great Commission and the in-gathering of God’s people from around the world; then to the betrayal by Judas; and yesterday we had the crucifixion and Pentecost joined together. Today we are in the Garden of the arrest.


It is a curious thing for the prophet to do this, but it is more curious for God to inspire the writing of this book in this way. There is no easy answer to this conundrum, but perhaps there needn’t be. We live in the age after Christ’s exultation, and so, looking back after the fact, we have a fairly good idea of how all these parts of the Jesus story fit together. And as far as narratives go, the story of Jesus as recorded in our four Gospels are without peer.


This calls us to reflect on where we are now. We are almost at the end of our project of The Sword And The Trowel; we have returned from exile, rebuilt the holy city, and now look forward to the gradual and unstoppable drawing upward of humanity back to its Creator by virtue of the blood of Jesus and the help of Holy Spirit. The story of Jesus of Nazareth is a nicely contained little narrative; yet it draws from and inspires the grand narrative of all the rest of creation. In the prophets, we cannot so easily draw the same straight narrative line from verse to verse as we can in the Gospels. We have to try and hold this big picture of God’s redemption of the world while figuring out where our individual lives fit into that story. In some regards, we can see ourselves being drawn upwards towards Christ in glory. In others, we seem to move backwards and forwards, one day in the fire of Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the next day as a scattered sheep. Not only individually, but corporately, as a church, neighbourhood, and nation do we also find ourselves shunted back and forth, yet also firmly held in God’s good and perfect purpose.


If you had to place yourself in the Jesus story right now, what part would you be in? Where were you yesterday? Where would you like to be tomorrow?


Christ our Good Shepherd: you lead us to green meadows and quiet streams. Assure us of your protection and guidance when we find ourselves in the valleys of despair, and lead us finally to the table of your great feast that you have prepared for us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Lord Was Moved (2 Chronicles 33:13)

Image
  Wednesday, August 28, 2024 Psalms 143; 146 2 Chronicles 33:1-20 Romans 15:14-21 Observance: Augustine of Hippo, bishop and teacher (d. 430) The Lord Was Moved (2 Chronicles 33:13) In our passage from St Paul’s letter to the Romans, the apostle is making a small break in his preaching to tell his audience that he is not telling them anything they do not already know. This is perfectly understandable if we recognise that this letter is a sort of fundraising appeal for his missionary work: the apostle wants to get on and start planting the gospel in places where Christ is not known, and so he gives the church in Rome a run-down on what his theology is, so that they will feel comfortable in supporting him financially. The fact that we have this fundraising appeal as part of inspired scripture can teach us something important: God wants us to keep being reminded of certain eternal truths. Reading through the story of King Manasseh can feel a bit same...
Read more

I intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God.

  Friday, September 8, 2023 Psalms 20; 21 1 Kings 5 Acts 25:13-27 Observance: Birth of Mary, Mother of the Lord I intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God. How big do you dream? Try this experiment on yourself: next time you are walking down the street, observe where your eye level sits. Do you watch your feet move around the cracks in the footpath? Do you do that trick where you stare blankly into the middle distance, so as to avoid making eye contact with passers-by? How do you think that relates to your spiritual aims, and the requests you make of God? Solomon dreamt big. He knew perfectly well that the God of his nation was also the God of the entire universe. No house would be entirely suitable, nor appropriate. But by golly he was going to give it a red-hot go. And just look at how much work he put into it: an entire nation of people were hired to provide the best timber on the planet. His own nation too was put to work, either a...
Read more

Marvellous? (Zechariah 8:6)

Image
  Wednesday, October 16, 2024 Psalm 105:1-22 Zechariah 7:1-8:8 1 Peter 1:18-2:3 Observance: Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, bishops and martyrs (d. 1555) Marvellous? (Zechariah 8:6) There are several phrases that, when we see them in the Bible, should make us sit up and pay attention. Anything to do with the “Day of the Lord” is one of them; another is when God speaks about when “they shall be my people and I shall be their God”. This second phrase, which, because of its frequency, risks becoming bland to our hearts, is so tremendously deep and rich in what it speaks of, is nothing less than the gospel of Jesus Christ. We remember way back in Genesis that God would walk through the Garden of Eden in the cool of the afternoon and speak with Adam and Eve about their day. One can imagine the scene: an enchanted place, a place with no evil, our first parents probably bouncing along, joyfully telling their loving Maker about all the wonderful things the...
Read more