This is a difficult passage to interpret. Who are the shepherds this shepherd
destroys? Who are the flocks? Whose covenant is annulled? Zechariah is appointed as a good shepherd to
the flock and in stepping into the role, it is necessary to deal with the bad
shepherds but he is ultimately rejected by the flock and walks away in disgust,
breaking his two staffs with which he began the job. It is never an easy job to lead the flock,
ask Moses. Better yet, ask Jesus who
himself was rejected by the ones He came to save and yet He stayed with the job
to the end, not annulling the covenant but fulfilling it and ensuring it. In the end, the Lord promises to raise up yet
another bad shepherd who will surely make the people willing to receive a good
shepherd. In John 10 we see Jesus talking
about this very thing and says, "I am the good shepherd."
On the way to His destiny Jesus, with probably a great
entourage of other pilgrims, passes near Jericho. As He enters the town, word about Him has
clearly spread to this place and a blind beggar cries out, referring to Him as
the Son of David, a high messianic title.
Jesus asks what He wants Him to do, the man is possibly simply asking
for a handout from the pilgrims, he has begged for mercy. His desire is more than money, however, he
wants his sight restored, implying perhaps that he once had sight. His faith makes Him well, belief that Jesus
could do such a thing enabled Him to receive.
His response was to glorify God and to join with the pilgrims as they
head to the festival. Within a week he
will wish that he could not see as he watched the one who healed him die on a
cross. It is a messed up world we live
in. Are our eyes open to that reality?
All of us are workmen, nothing more. We are not the architect or the contractor,
we are workers. Leaders, pastors,
priests, whatever we are called, are nothing more than workmen and we are to
build on the foundation of Jesus and our workmanship must be to exacting
standards. We are the temple of God and
He dwells in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have a rabbi, we have a shepherd, and that
shepherd is Jesus. We others are nothing
more than those who lead you to Jesus, connect you to the vine, not to
ourselves. We are not to boast in men,
in Christ alone. That doesn't mean we
don't value those who teach us and who lead us in the ways of the Lord, but
ultimately we must be personally connected to Jesus for He alone is our hope
and our salvation. He is the only truly
good shepherd, good by even God's standards.
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