Book of Zechariah
Visions of hope, the coming Messiah, and God’s future kingdom.
About the Book of Zechariah
Zechariah is the most extensively quoted Old Testament prophet in the passion narratives of the Gospels. Written in two parts — chapters 1-8 (520 BC, contemporary with Haggai) and chapters 9-14 (often dated later) — it combines immediate encouragement for the post-exilic community with sweeping visions of Messianic fulfillment.
The first section consists of eight night visions given to Zechariah, each carrying a message of encouragement for the struggling community: God is jealous for Jerusalem, He will be a wall of fire around her, He has chosen Jerusalem, the Branch will come and rebuild the temple. In chapter 4, the famous word to Zerubbabel: "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty." The vision of the flying scroll, the woman in a basket, and the four chariots patrol the whole earth on God's behalf.
The Messianic prophecies of chapters 9-14 are extraordinary in their specificity: the king coming on a donkey (9:9 — fulfilled on Palm Sunday), thirty pieces of silver (11:12-13 — the price of Judas's betrayal), the piercing of the one they looked on (12:10 — fulfilled at the crucifixion), shepherd struck and sheep scattered (13:7 — Jesus quotes this at Gethsemane). Zechariah sees the full arc of redemption with remarkable clarity.