Written by Michael P.V. Barrett |
Friday, August 23, 2024
The principal theme of Zechariah’s preaching was hope in God’s unfailing purpose. Hope is the future perspective of faith. Like all true faith, hope is objective, and its object determines its value. Hope is not a trembling, hesitant, cross-your-fingers wish. On the contrary, it is a confident expectation that God’s promises cannot be anything but true. The Godward gaze is the secret to hope, so Zechariah points the people to God—His power, His authority, His covenant faithfulness, and His Christ.

1. The first thing to know about Zechariah is the identity of the man.
Zechariah was a common name in the Old Testament, but the first verse specifically identifies him as “the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet.” According to Nehemiah 12:1–4, Iddo was one of the priests who returned to Palestine along with Zerubbabel after the Babylonian captivity. The first order of business for those who returned to Judah after the exile was to rebuild the temple that had been destroyed by the Babylonians. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel, the work flourished at first but then floundered because of outward pressure and inward apathy (Ezra 4, 5). Iddo, Zechariah’s grandfather, would have been involved in the initial work on the temple. Zechariah was instrumental in seeing the work brought to completion. Ironically and according to Jesus (Matt. 23:35–37), Zechariah was killed at the very temple that he was influential in rebuilding.
But before his assassination, Zechariah had a lengthy ministry. He dated his first messages (Zech. 1–6) to the second year of Darius, which calculates to 520 BC. He dated his second series (Zech. 7–8) two years later, during the fourth year of Darius (518 BC). Chapters 9–14 are not dated, but references to Greece (Zech. 9:13) suggest a later date, most likely between 480–470 BC. Altogether, Zechariah prophesied for approximately fifty years.
2. The second thing to know about Zechariah concerns his message.
The Babylonian captivity was over, but the people were not experiencing the blessing or prosperity they had expected. They faced opposition from the Samaritans, desolation in the land, hard work, and hardships. The situation seemed to be hopeless; it seemed as though the Lord had forgotten about them. Zechariah’s name means “the Lord remembers,” and just hearing his name would have been a reminder to the people that the Lord had not forgotten them.
The principal theme of Zechariah’s preaching was hope in God’s unfailing purpose. Hope is the future perspective of faith. Like all true faith, hope is objective, and its object determines its value. Hope is not a trembling, hesitant, cross-your-fingers wish. On the contrary, it is a confident expectation that God’s promises cannot be anything but true.
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Written by Michael P.V. Barrett |
Friday, July 12, 2024
Believers are to break the mold of their old conduct, separating themselves from their old desires and habits. What was formerly done in spiritual ignorance as a way of life becomes repulsive to the new way of thinking. Positively, believers are to fashion themselves according to the pattern of the One who called them to be holy. Turning away from sin involves turning to the Lord. 

Holiness is not just the mark of the “super-saint”; it is required for every new creature in Christ Jesus. In 1 Peter 1:14–16, the Apostle makes a compelling appeal based on the profound truths of the gospel to convince and challenge us to live as though grace has made a difference in our lives. The command to be holy goes beyond recommendation to emphatic obligation (v. 15). Holiness is not optional for the Christian; it is a requirement. This holiness involves a life that is set apart and distinct from the kind of living that characterizes the world; it is a transformed life. Verses 14–16 highlight three thoughts about this life of personal holiness to which Christians are called: its recipients, its requirements, and its reason.
First, Peter identifies the recipients of the charge to be holy as “obedient children” (v. 14). This is not a designation of age but rather a reference to those belonging to a class of people characterized by obedience. Simply put, these are people who obey. When Peter issues the command to be holy, he is not demanding the impossible. Rather, he is commanding what regenerating grace has made possible and what God’s design for believers requires. Obeying the call to holiness is within the ability of the converted because the capacity to obey is a consequence of regeneration. For sure, the pace and progress of the pursuit will differ among believers, but to some degree every true believer is a child of obedience.

Second, Peter describes the requirements of holiness both negatively and positively. Negatively, believers are not to fashion themselves according to the desires or lusts done formerly in their state of spiritual ignorance (v. 14). Believers are to break the mold of their old conduct, separating themselves from their old desires and habits. What was formerly done in spiritual ignorance as a way of life becomes repulsive to the new way of thinking.

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Written by Michael P.V. Barrett |
Friday, August 12, 2022
David’s prayer of confession in Psalm 51:7 (literally, “De-sin me with hyssop”) figuratively sums up the theological significance of hyssop. His sin had robbed him of fellowship with God, and knowing that the only thing that could restore that fellowship was the hyssop, he expressed his faith in the cleansing of the blood of the sacrifice. So it is that we must appeal to the blood of Jesus in order to experience forgiveness of sins and the enjoyment of restored fellowship with Him (1 John 1:7, 9). There’s more to hyssop than meets the eye.

At first glance, there is nothing special about hyssop. Solomon spoke about the tall-growing cedars of Lebanon and the hyssop that grew out of a wall (1 Kings 4:33; Heb. 9:19). The cedars and hyssop were at opposite ends of the spectrum: from big and beautiful to small and stark. Hyssop is a small, bushy plant that generally grows in arid, rocky places such as walls. Its principal feature is the sponge-like shoots that collect moisture and transfer that moisture to other objects, particularly when the plant is shaken. Its simple ability to collect and disperse liquids is what made it suitable for its most significant function in the ceremonial rituals of the Old Testament, all of which were picture prophecies pointing to the sacrificial work of Christ.
New Testament references to hyssop underscore the truth that Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament ceremonies, making their continuance obsolete but not obliterating the significance of their message. Hebrews 9:19 specifically mentions the inadequacy of hyssop along with other elements of the Old Testament sacrifices in order to point to the superiority of the sacrifice of Christ, which actually accomplished what all the Old Testament types could only anticipate. Although not in the context of the Mosaic ceremonies, the reference to hyssop in John 19:29 ironically associates it with the supreme sacrifice of Jesus. The vinegar-soaked hyssop touching the parched lips of Jesus immediately preceded His dying declaration “It is finished” (John 19:30). With that declaration, any further ceremonial use of the hyssop became unnecessary. Nonetheless, looking at the hyssop in the Old Testament pictures highlights four realities that Christ’s sacrifice accomplished

Deliverance From Bondage
The Passover marked the first use of hyssop. The Israelites were suffering a harsh bondage over which they had no control and from which they could not free themselves. In keeping with His covenant promise, God delivered them by a mighty display of His irresistible power. But central to the Passover was the sacrifice of the perfect lamb that was chosen to be a substitute for the firstborn.

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