Mid-week Devotional
A Christmas 2020 Prophecy
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Hey church! Merry Christmas to you! In my personal time of reading through the Bible chronologically, a prophecy concerning Jesus really jumped out at me, and I want to share it with you. The passage is Zechariah chapter 3. If you’re looking for it in the Bible, it’s just 2 books before the New Testament begins with the book of Matthew.
The setting is this: God’s people have long forsaken their creator God. God brought warning after warning, yet the people refused to repent and change their ways. So, God brought in other nations to conquer and take over Israel, and the people were removed from Israel and taken as prisoners to the land of Babylon- modern day Iraq. They were there 70 years, living in a distant land, that served other gods, that spoke another language, and the very few that still remembered their creator God were persecuted in their attempts to follow Him. There was no temple- that had been destroyed back in Jerusalem- there were no sacrifices taking place that took away sin, they were living as strangers out of place, unable to function in relationship to God in the way that they had learned was the appropriate way to function in. Now after that 70 year period of time, they were released from Babylon, and returned to Jerusalem. They find there that the city is still in shambles, houses/buildings burnt, wrecked, the protective wall around the city torn down, the temple is nothing but a pile of ruins. And so, a small, repentant group of them, start rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, they start rebuilding homes, and they start rebuilding the temple. God’s word to Zechariah occurred during this time period.
Zechariah has a prophetic vision, and in it, God declares a man named Joshua to be the new priest to serve before God in the temple that is being constructed. Note that this is a different, much later Joshua than the Joshua that led Israel after Moses, and keep in mind that the name Jesus is actually the Greek translated name for the Hebrew name Joshua. It’s like if your name is Steven, you go to Mexico and it turns into Esteban. Steven/Esteban- same name 2 different languages. Joshua/Jesus- same name 2 different languages. And this Joshua guy, God is setting aside kind of as a visual/tangible prophecy of the Joshua/Jesus guy that is to come. Verse 8 of Zechariah 3- God says that Joshua and his friends are men who are a symbol of what is to come, God says “indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch” and then the next verse 9 “I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day” and then verse 10 “On that day… every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.”
“The branch” is referring to Jesus the Messiah, this is supported elsewhere. Speaking of the days of the Messiah, in Jeremiah 33:15 God states “at that time I will make a righteous Branch of David sprout; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.” Same kind of support in Isaiah 4:2 “On that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious…” When you think about it, these passages make John 15 all the more interesting when Jesus gives an illustration calling us the branches. (John 15:1-8) He was the prophesied Branch as a descendant of David who was righteous, beautiful and glorious, and He is grafting us into that righteousness, beauty, and glory as partakers with Him, co-heirs, so that we might too be considered branches in the Branch.
And God, speaking of removing the iniquity of the land in one day, foretells the work that Jesus would do on the cross, taking the iniquity- the wrongdoing- of the entire world upon Himself. He was given the punishment that you and I deserve, and because He did that, you and I have the opportunity for complete forgiveness of past, present, and future sins.
Then verse 10 where God says that “every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree” -this speaks of the end result that the Branch will accomplish through removing the iniquity of the land- there will be harmonious peace, fellowship, and prosperity because of the work of the Branch. This is an amazing prophecy, considering at the time the current overwhelming situation Zechariah and the other returned exiles were experiencing, with Jerusalem, their homes, their temple- in ruins. But wait, there’s more! A couple chapters later God says these words “Also take silver and gold, make an ornate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua… the high priest. Then say to him… “Behold, there is a Man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord. Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the majesty and sit and rule on His throne. So He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’ (Zech. 6:11-13) God is saying, this coming Joshua, will be crowned King, in the manner as this current Joshua is being crowned. Yet this coming Joshua (Jesus), this coming Branch, will be the one to build the temple, and He will be both Priest and King with perfect unity and peace between His two functions of priest and king. And roughly 400 years later, Joshua (in Greek- Jesus) was born- He lived, died, resurrected and He now serves as the builder of the temple (His church), He has taken away our sin as our Priest, He is to reign in our hearts as King, and one day soon He will be returning to fully set up His full Kingdom rule.
It’s like God was saying, “Joshua, I know everything is overwhelming! You have been given a task of rebuilding the temple and serving as the first priest in it, since the exile 70 years ago. And I know there’s not a king to lead you, and I know there hasn’t been sacrifices in a temple to take away sin- but don’t worry! What you are doing, is just pointing forward to the fact that God alone is the one who will do the work for you. He will build His temple that will never be destroyed. (constructed of people- not stones and timbers) He will serve as Priest, who in one day will forever take away all your sin, shame, and guilt. He is the one who will one day serve as forever King who will rule with righteousness and justice forever. You are the Joshua who is to be a sign of the Joshua to come. God is the builder, He is the sin remover, He is the one in charge who protects and judges fairly- all you have to do is focus on pointing to Him!”
Now here’s what I want you to consider. You and I are just like the Joshua in the book of Zechariah. Let me say it in Hebrew- We are little “Joshuas” pointing to the real Joshua. Now here’s the Greek- We are little “Jesuses” pointing to the real Jesus. The word Christian carries the meaning of “little Christs” or the “Christ ones.” The work that you and I have, is to be symbols, and point to the Branch, Joshua, Jesus. This Christmas season, may you not be overwhelmed with the situation of our world, or the work you have to do, or the thought of all the details surrounding how two churches should be joining and functioning together during Covid-19- but may your focus be on how to live in such a way as to give a rough sketch of the Jesus and Kingdom that is coming one day. May our church be a symbol of what is to come- may we be a small glimpse and tiny representation of the harmonious peace, fellowship, and prosperity that will be experienced in Jesus’ coming Kingdom.