God’s Compassion and the Danger of Rejecting the Shepherd
Zechariah 11:1-6
June 18, 2023
A few years ago, a photographer accumulated several photos of some of the most famous places in the world that he had visited. Some of you might have been to some of these places as well — do you remember them the way he did?
I suspect you don’t recognize those places from the photos — because while he was in those places, he pointed his camera in the wrong direction.
That made for some humorous photos, but there is a danger in looking at the wrong objects and in going the wrong direction. You know that. And the greatest danger is in going away from and rebelling against God’s commands and provision and attempting to live life by your own standards — and failing to live under the authority of Christ, the King. That theme dominates Zechariah 11.
While the book of Zechariah finishes victoriously and triumphantly, chapter 11 is recognized as a somber and dark chapter; it is “unusually bleak” in a book of hope, especially given the hope that was just expressed in 10:10-12. Not only that, but it is also a tremendously difficult chapter to understand. Several writers have said that it is one of the most difficult sections in the book, and one commentator said it is the most inscrutable (perplexing) chapter in all the Old Testament. So here we are. In verses 1-6, we find…
There are terrible consequences for rejecting the Messiah (Shepherd-King).
In this passage, the prophet first delivers bad news, and then tells us why the bad news is coming.
- The Coming Judgment (vv. 1-3)
- The Good Shepherd and His Rejection (vv. 4-6)
- The Good Shepherd (v. 4)
- The Rejection of the Good Shepherd (vv. 5-6)
Download the rest of this sermon on Zechariah 11:1-6.
The audio will be posted on the GBC website by tomorrow.
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