Zechariah 13
Something Good from Something Bad!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, October 22.
Can something good come out of something bad? Absolutely! Which is why the Cross, a brutal form of humiliation, suffering, and death, is the Christian’s rallying cry. From the outstretched arms and pierced hands of Jesus Christ flow God’s invitation to receive eternal life as members of His forever family. In Zechariah 13:7-9, which is a small portion of the prophet’s second oracle, Zechariah declared that the Messiah’s death was preordained for this very purpose:
“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the man, My Associate,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; and I will turn My hand against the little ones. It will come about in all the land,” declares the Lord, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; but the third will be left in it. And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. 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 my God.’”
Jesus quoted this passage after instituting the Lord’s Supper, promising in Matthew 26:31-32, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” What Jesus alluded to through Zechariah’s veiled prophetic reference, Peter made clear after Pentecost in Acts 2:23, “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”
Seize the moment and trust the sovereignty of God to bring something good from something bad (Romans 8:28). Isn’t that why it’s called Good Friday?
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
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