Zechariah: Messiah is Coming

The Message of Zechariah: Zechariah like Haggai, encouraged the people to finish the Temple.

Zechariah predicted more about Messiah than any other prophet except Isaiah.

The book is one of consolation and hope, beginning with a call to repentance and concluding with prophecies concerning the return and reign of Christ.

Prophecies concerning His first coming include 3:8; 9:9, 16; 11:11-13; 12:10; 13:1,6; and prophecies to be fulfilled at His second coming include 6:12; 14:1-21.

Key Verse

⁹Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
¹⁰I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem;
And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations;
And His dominion will be from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Zechariah 9:9-10 (NASB)

Available Lessons

Content Outline

Setting and Timeline

“Zechariah sought to encourage the people to build the temple in view of the promise that someday Messiah would come to inhabit it.

The people were not just building for the present, but the with future hope of Messiah in mind.

This book is the most messianic, apocalyptic, and eschatological in the OT. Primarily, it is a prophecy about Jesus Christ, focusing on His coming glory as a means to comfort Israel (cf. 1:13, 17).”
Dr. John MacArthur

“Haggai’s ministry was aimed at arousing the Jews to action, while Zechariah’s messages were given for their encouragement.

Both prophets motivated the people by predicting future glory for the temple and future greatness for Israel.

Zechariah has much to say about the future of Jerusalem and the coming of Messiah. He presents Messiah as a king (9:9), a stone (3:9; 10:4 NIV), a slave sold for thirty pieces of silver (11:12), the smitten shepherd (13:7), the Branch (3:8; 6:12), and the glorious Redeemer and Ruler of Israel (14:1-4, 9, 16-17).”
Dr.Warren Wiersbe

“Like Haggai, Zechariah’s message is one of encouragement.

But he was aware that not all the returned remnant were fully sincere in their desires to serve God, and he therefore counseled them to repent of sin and return to God with all their hearts and minds.

Zechariah should encourage anyone who is trying to do work for Christ in any age.”
Dr. James Montgomery Boice

“According to the book of Ezra, the exiles returning to Jerusalem after the captivity began rebuilding the temple, but gave up in discouragement. The project was abandoned for years.

Then the post-exilic prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, came preaching, saying, in effect: ‘Of course you can rebuild this temple.’ The people of Jerusalem, spurred on by these prophets, resumed and completed the work.

Much of Zechariah’s encouragement involved his emphasis on the Messiah. No other Old Testament book gives more information about Christ: His humble appearance and humanity, His rejection and suffering, His betrayal for thirty pieces of silver, His priesthood and kingship, His glorious return to earth, and His ultimate victory and reign.”
Dr. David Jeremiah

“Almost 70 years after the exile, the Israelites were experiencing hardships and wondered if prophetic promises of a New Jerusalem would ever be fulfilled.

The book of Zechariah answers this question through several dream visions.

Zechariah’s visions foster hope in the future promise of the messianic kingdom, and challenged Israel after the exile to remain faithful to God.”
The Bible Project

About the Author

References

The Minor Prophets Volume 2 (Micah – Malachi): An Expositional Commentary by James Montgomery Boice
Be Heroic: An OT Commentary on the Minor Prophets by Warren W. Wiersbe
The MacArthur Bible Commentary: by John MacArthur
The Bible Project: Zechariah