Joel M Bradshaw

26And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 27And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’‘–Mark 14, part 1

Jesus made famous this verse from the prophet Zechariah. I thought I would have you read the surrounding chapter. I underlined things that stood out to me this morning.

“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

“On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.

“On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth. ’ If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!”declares the Lord Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

In the whole land,” declares the Lord, “two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” (Zechariah 13:1-9, with emphasis)

God would one day do a great work of cleansing in his people. The status quo of hypocrisy jn the face of religious fervor would not move forward. His sheep would be refined as precious metals in the fire. That time would reveal allegiances and the contents of hearts. We are not surprised when Jesus reminded the seven churches in Revelation many times to be overcomers.

One chapter before, Zechariah mentioned mourning for the one they have pierced. One chapter later, Zechariah proclaimed that the Lord will come and reign. Here he is rejected by man and his sheep all run in different directions. God is at work in our lives and uses our situations to reveal the priorities in our hearts. Pay attention to what God is teaching you in your current season and what he is expecting you to learn.–JMB