Choosing the Right Shepherd

Nothing is certain except the past? Zechariah would disagree and so would we. When God is the author of history, the future can be just as sure as what already happened, even when tomorrow’s details stay hidden. That’s the lens we bring to Zechariah 9–11, where prophecy isn’t foggy or abstract, it’s grounded in names, places, and outcomes you can trace.

We walk through Zechariah’s startling preview of Alexander the Great’s campaign and the surprising protection of Jerusalem, then turn to one of the clearest messianic prophecies in the Old Testament: the King who comes humble and riding on a donkey. From there, the horizon widens to Christ’s second coming, Israel’s restoration, and the removal of wicked shepherds, with rich images of peace, security, and a kingdom where the Lord truly cares for His flock.

Then the tone sharpens. Zechariah 11 confronts rejection, broken covenant symbols, the shattering of national unity, and a prophecy that lands with chilling precision: thirty pieces of silver. We also talk about the “foolish shepherd” who points ahead to the Antichrist, and why false shepherds still tempt us today through money, status, and pleasure.

If you’ve ever wondered whether God is really in control, or who you’re letting lead you, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend, leave a review, and tell us: who is your shepherd right now?

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Transcript

Is The Future Certain?

SPEAKER_00 0:54

There's an old Latin proverb that goes like this Nothing is certain except the past. Well, you know, that isn't exactly true, is it? For the believer, the future is as certain as the past because God controls it. Now, God doesn't reveal everything to us about the future. We don't know the details about tomorrow, and that's probably a good thing because some days we wouldn't get out of bed if we knew what was just ahead. Well, as it relates to Israel now, the prophet Zechariah is actually going to give them a clear picture of their future. We're in chapters 9 through 11. And this little struggling community of former exiles that have returned to Jerusalem. They're trying to reestablish their city, they're trying to rebuild the temple. Well, they're about to be encouraged by God's promise of the future. Yeah, there are still hardships ahead, by the way. Quite frankly, those are going to be the results of their unselfish and unwise decisions. But I want you to get this picture in your mind. Israel's future, just like their past, is certain. Now Zechariah is writing around 520 BC, and in chapter 9, his prophecy looks ahead some 200 years to the time of Alexander the Great. The places mentioned here follow the conquests of Alexander from north to south as he moves down toward Egypt. Hadrach, here in verse 1, is a region along the Euphrates River, and that's going to be conquered. Damascus, the capital of Syria and Tyre and the city of Sidon, those are seaport cities on the Mediterranean mentioned here in verse 2. Well, they're also going to be conquered by Alexander as he sweeps southward. Here in verses five and six, we're given a list of additional cities that Alexander will conquer as well. All you have to do, beloved, is look at your history books to see Alexander did exactly what Zechariah prophesied here. Now, there's one city Alexander did not conquer. Verse eight prophesies, then the Lord will encamp at my house as a guard, so that none shall march to and fro. In other words, God's going to protect Jerusalem from Alexander. That's exactly what happened. Alexander shows up, history records, peaceably, comes to Jerusalem, he doesn't destroy the city, and he leaves peaceably. Well, the promise here at the end of verse eight, it says that no oppressor shall again march over them. Well now that's a prophetic glimpse into the distant future of Jerusalem. He's referring here to that future millennial kingdom. Now, verse nine gives us a prophecy that relates to the Messiah's first coming. Rejoice, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. No, beloved, this is one of those incredibly specific messianic prophecies, isn't it? What happens centuries later? King Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem as the nation's humble king, whom they reject. Alexander entered Jerusalem peaceably, but as a proud conqueror, Jesus is entering Jerusalem humbly riding on the foal of a donkey. In fact, Matthew and John present this prophecy in their gospel accounts as a fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy, just like he said it. Now, in the rest of chapter 9, Zechariah again looks into the future of Christ's second coming. This is when the Lord will preserve and protect and then restore Israel when he comes back in the future. In fact, verse 16 records this promise. For like the jewels of a crown, they shall shine on his land. Wow, what a kingdom. It's described further now in chapter ten. The nation is going to enjoy regular rain, agricultural prosperity. Verses two through five tell us the wicked shepherds who have led God's people astray are going to be punished and removed forever. Verse 3 tells us that the Lord of hosts cares for his flock. In other words, no more wicked shepherds, no more flawed leaders in that coming kingdom. In fact, Zechariah gives us several figures for the Messiah here in verse 4. He says, From him that is from Judah shall come the cornerstone, the tent peg, and the battle bow. Well, he's talking about the Messiah who's going to come from the tribe of Judah. He will be the cornerstone for the redeemed nation. He's going to be the tent peg that secures Israel to himself. He's going to be the battle bow, and that represents the Lord's skill and victory in military battle. So after centuries of suffering due to their breaking of the covenant with God, Israel is going to recognize Jesus as their Messiah as he returns. The prophets say that they're going to repent as a nation when he returns to establish his kingdom. In fact, the Lord Himself says here in verse 12, I will make them strong in the Lord, and they shall walk in his name. Now, of course, the trouble is before this glorious restoration of Israel takes place at Christ's second coming, chapter 11 reveals that Israel is going to reject Christ at his first coming. And that's going to have some disastrous results. The first three verses here in chapter 11 give the poetic description of coming judgment on Israel because of the rejection of Messiah, the Lord Jesus. And then here in verse 7, Zechariah, representing the Messiah, is now told to take two staffs in his hands. In one hand holds the staff he names favor, and the other staff he names union. Now, because the people of Israel reject the Lord, Zechariah is told to break the staff named favor, which indicates God's favor has been temporarily withdrawn from the people. And this act erases God's covenant. But now be careful, beloved. This isn't a reference to his covenant with Israel. Verse 10 clarifies that it's a covenant with all the peoples, that is, all those other nations of the world. One author put it this way that God has essentially made a covenant with all the nations of the earth. And that covenant restrains them. He holds them back, so to speak, so they can't destroy Israel entirely. They can't eliminate Israel. However, Zachariah here is prophesying that because of Israel's rejection of their Messiah Jesus, that restraint is now going to be lifted. Israel is going to experience one trouble after another. Indeed, only some forty years after the Lord's death and resurrection, what happens? The Roman army puts down a Jewish revolt, destroys the temple in Jerusalem, and beloved, that temple to this day has never been rebuilt. All of that because they rejected Jesus, their Messiah. Another incredibly specific prophecy is now given to us here in verse 12, where we're told that the shepherd, again a reference to Messiah, isn't worth any more to Israel than thirty pieces of silver. Does that sound familiar? Oh, yes, this prophecy is fulfilled in Judas' betrayal of Jesus for this exact amount, thirty pieces of silver. Now, here in verse 14, Zechariah breaks the second staff. That one was named Union. And this indicates the dissolving of the national unity. And as one author puts it, you got this new wave of worldwide dispersion. Beloved, to this day, there are millions more Jewish people scattered around the nations of the world than are living in Israel. That there's no national unity today. Now, chapter eleven concludes by speaking of a false shepherd that Israel is going to be more interested in following. Here in verse 15, he's referred to as a foolish shepherd. Verse 16 adds, He does not care for those being destroyed. Well, who is this worthless shepherd? Again, Zechariah is sort of fast forwarding the tape, so to speak. He's describing to us the Antichrist. He's the false shepherd who will mislead Israel for a brief period of time. He's going to be a brutal shepherd. He won't care about the people at all. You know, this makes me want to ask a question to you today. It's actually it's actually the most important question you could you could ever ask yourself. Who is my shepherd today? You know there are a lot of candidates out there, and a lot of them are going to mislead you. Many people are following the shepherd of of business career or bank accounts or sinful pleasures. Let me remind you, uh, beloved, those are false shepherds. Zachariah would say, you know, they don't care about you, and they're not going to care when your life is destroyed. The only shepherd worth following is the good shepherd. He's the one King David sang about back in Psalm 23 when he wrote, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. That is, I am never going to lack anything of true value. David sings there, he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, that is, he satisfies my heart with everything that I truly need in life. Israel rejected him. What about you today? Well, if you haven't already, let me invite you today to follow him, to make the Good Shepherd your shepherd today. Well, until we set sail next time, beloved, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.