Zechariah 11:8
In one month I got rid of the three shepherds. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Zechariah 11:4-8
Zechariah is acting out the prophecy as the Lord asked him to do. God told Zechariah to shepherd the flock marked for slaughter in verse 4 and now by verse 8 he is a month into the job. He’s already had to get rid of three shepherds because as we have read, these shepherds don’t really care about the sheep. They are there to profit themselves. So they probably weren’t doing a very good job and Zechariah has dismissed them from their duties.
This is such a cool prophecy because God is telling it to us through the events of Zechariah. The things that happen to Zechariah as he shepherds the flock are all part of the prophecy. It’s happening in real time and these events point to future more significant events that will be fulfilled by the Messiah.
Zechariah had to get rid of three shepherds within a month of his task. Practically speaking, it had to be done so that Zechariah could properly shepherd this flock. But who or what do these three shepherds represent? That’s a tough one because we don’t have much context about these shepherds. We aren’t told anything about them or what they did to warrant being fired.
We know that Zechariah is a type of Christ. By shepherding the flock, Zechariah is playing the part of Jesus. As we have covered over the last few days, Jesus would come to earth and minister to God’s chosen people – particularly the oppressed. Zechariah represents Jesus as he shepherds this flock. Zechariah is doing what Jesus would do.
Zechariah dismissed these shepherds within a month. That’s a very short period of time that seems to point to the very brief time that Jesus would spend ministering to Israel. Jesus’s ministry only lasted about three years and this interpretation would fit nicely in Zechariah’s prophecy.
In letting these three shepherds go, Zechariah is in real time prophesying that Jesus will also get rid of three leaders of some sort. There are a lot of theories floating around in various commentaries as to who these three shepherds represent. Some think that they represent three historical persons in particular but I don’t think that fits the narrative of the prophecy. Jesus didn’t remove anyone in particular from their position of authority.
But Jesus did render some people irrelevant after he died and rose again. The Old Covenant that was established between God and the Jews through Moses was replaced with the New Covenant between God and all mankind through the blood of Jesus. There were three offices that were rendered useless when Jesus established the New Covenant – prophets, priests and kings.
There are other Scriptures that reference the end of these offices particularly in Jeremiah’s writings:
“‘The priests did not ask,
‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who taught my word ignored me,
the rulers turned against me,
and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal,
wasting their time on worthless idols.
Therefore, I will bring my case against you,’
says the Lord.
‘I will even bring charges against your children’s children
in the years to come’” (Jer 2:8-9, NLT).
“Israel is like a thief
who feels shame only when he gets caught.
They, their kings, officials, priests, and prophets—
all are alike in this” (Jer 2:26, NLT).
“Then the people said, ‘Come on, let’s plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don’t need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let’s spread rumors about him and ignore what he says’” (Jer 18:18, NLT).
“The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done—they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem” (Jer 32:32).
So it is certainly possible that these three shepherds represent the rulers, prophets and priests who are no longer required to uphold the Old Covenant. We now have a direct relationship with the Father through the Holy Spirit. These “shepherds” are no longer needed. Jesus has replaced them all. Jesus is now our prophet, priest and king.
The other possibility for the three shepherds are the Pharisees (conservative party), Sadducees (liberal party) and Herodians (political party). These three groups of people all led the people during Jesus’s ministry and all were eventually successful in having Jesus executed. But Jesus specifically dismissed these three groups of people throughout his ministry and specifically all on one particular day:
“Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians… But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, ‘You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?’” (Matt 22:15-16, 18).
“That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question… Jesus replied, ‘You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God’” (Matt 22:23, 29).
“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question… No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions” (Matt 22:34-35, 46).
Regardless of exactly who these three shepherds represent, the message is the same for us today. Jesus is our Lord and Savior. His voice is the only one we should listen to. People today tell us to do all kinds of things. They preach what the world says is compassion and shame us if we don’t do as they do. Jesus warned us not to follow these shepherds:
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matt 7:15-16).
“For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you ahead of time” (Matt 24:24-25).
“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matt 24:10-13).
If we stand firm to the end and only follow the Good Shepherd, we will be saved. We should test what we are told and make sure it lines up with what Jesus says:
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God” (1 John 4:1-3).
Christ in the Old Testament 
Leave a comment