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Zechariah Chapter 13
The Shepherd of My People The Striking of God’s Shepherd Provides Cleansing from Sin Sin Forgiven 13:1 "In that day there will be a fountain opened up for the dynasty of David and the people of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity. God through the prophet chooses his words deliberately. Unlike a lake, a fountain is an ever flowing stream of fresh water. And a naturally occurring spring is set here in contrast to a well – for wells are dug by man’s effort whilst springs or fountains bubble up from the earth because of the action of the Creator. In this way the verse reveals that it is God himself who will deal with human sin, providing a way for cleansing; yet this way would be opened by God’s action upon earth, just as a spring bubbles up from the ground. The Jews knew and understood the image of water cleansing away their sin (Psa. 119:9, 11); it was through obedience to the Torah that men could avoid sinful paths (Psa. 19:7-11). Yet God had spoken to them through the prophets that as he sprinkled clean water on them to make them clean, he would write his law within their hearts (Jer. 31:33-34; Eze. 36:25-27). This would lead to obedience, not to the letter of the law, but to its spirit. Jesus similarly recognised the cleansing power of God’s word when he said “You are clean already because of the word that I have spoken to you” (John 15:3 see also Eph. 5:25-26). Yet the Jews also knew and understood that according to the law, sin and uncleanness were removed by the blood of animal sacrifices. Hence, unusually, this was to be a fountain not only of water but also of blood (see also Moses using water and blood in Heb. 9:19). This is the significance of John’s writing of Jesus that “one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out immediately” (John 19:34). Christ’s death on the cross is regarded by the evangelist as fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy and providing a fountain for the cleansing of sin and impurity. It is interesting of course that this fountain is opened for the king and people living in Jerusalem. Of course, the cleansing effect of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is available to all who will believe (Rev. 7:9, 14); but the death of Christ itself took place exactly here – in Jerusalem, just outside the city gate. Paradoxically the ultimate sin of the rejection of Christ – the Davidic King of Judah – by his own people in Jerusalem became the ultimate source of their forgiveness; and Christ’s once and for all offering for sin does away with the need of any further animal sacrifice (Heb. 9:10).