Zechariah 6:12
Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Zechariah 6:9-15
We saw yesterday Zechariah’s vision in chapter 3 refer to the Branch. Here we have another reference to the Branch. And again, the high priest Joshua is a type of Jesus in the vision. Zechariah was to make a crown of silver and gold and set it on the head of Joshua. With Joshua wearing the crown, Zechariah is to say to him:
“Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH!” (vs 12, NKJV).
Pause here for a moment. Joshua is wearing the crown prepared by Zechariah and is presented with the words: “Behold, the Man.” We saw a similar scene when Jesus was crowned as The King of the Jews and presented before the people. Except Jesus was wearing a crown of thorns:
“Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the Man!’” (John 19:5, NKJV).
The Lord then tells Zechariah:
“He [the Branch] will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two” (vs 12-13, NIV).
We see that Jesus, the Branch will do the following things:
- build the temple of the Lord
- sit and rule on God’s throne clothed in majesty
- serve as priest on the throne
- harmonize the offices of priest and king
Jesus built the temple when he went to the cross. The temple under the Old Covenant was an actual building. The temple under the New Covenant is Jesus and also the Church because Jesus now lives in us – his followers – through the Holy Spirit.
“Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days’… But the temple he had spoken of was his body.” (John 2:19, 21).
“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matt 16:18).
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Eph 2:19-22).
“For we are the temple of the living God” (2 Cor 6:16).
Jesus fulfilled his mission to build the temple of the Lord. We are the living proof. Jesus then also was to sit and rule on God’s throne as priest and king bringing harmony between the two. The writer of Hebrews took an entire book to explain this concept but the abbreviated version is found in the following Scriptures:
“Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ ‘You have said so,’ Jesus replied” (Matt 27:11).
“They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers” (Rev 17:14).
“On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev 19:16).
“The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:
‘You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek’” (Ps 110:4).
“Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood” (Heb 7:23).
“But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool” (Heb 10:12-13).
Jesus now sits at the right hand of God. He is our priest and king. He must be both. Jesus offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to present himself to God as an acceptable offering so that we could be forgiven of our sins. In order to be free from the consequences of our sin and the guilt of our sin, we must accept Jesus as our Savior.
But we also must accept him as our Lord and King. Because of his great love for us and the sacrifice that he made for us, he commands our allegiance to him as King. He deserves our full obedience as well. He cannot just be our Savior. He must be both priest and king.
“Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 5:8-10).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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