This week we are reading Zechariah 14, the last chapter in a book that has taken over three months to complete. Because I have spread out this study, putting every chapter under the interpretative microscope, I want to pause and zoom out to remind everyone again of the importance and influence of Zechariah, especially on the New Testament. Zechariah is quoted from or alluded to seventy-one times in the New Testament. Only the book of Isaiah trumps Zechariah in its total number of messianic typologies. During our study, I made note of all the times the New Testament writers directly quoted from Zechariah (8:16, 9:9, 11:12-13, 12:10, 13:7). Revelation was the exception. Revelation so frequently echoes Zechariah that I found it impossible to outline all the overlap. Suffice it to say, John of Patmos was a big Zechariah guy.
Despite Zechariah’s enormous influence on the New Testament writers, the book rarely gets more than a passing reference in Christian Bible studies. At some point from the time of the early church to now, Zechariah lost popularity. I understand that the vision sequence seems obtuse, the shepherd imagery jumps around, and the oscillation between promises and curses is dizzying. Feeling that way about Zechariah does not make you less of a believer. What I have enjoyed about this deeper study of Zechariah is the process of mining the prophetic text for surprises. Those have popped up in every chapter in the form of historical insights, glimmering poetry, funny hypotheticals, messianic profiles, and apocalyptic symbols. All that to say, it has been a fun spiritual ride and I hope you have enjoyed Zechariah as much as I have.
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