Zechariah 3 "Hope for Despairing Sinners"

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I'm warning you, I'm going to cry this morning. I'm not 100% sure why, but fair warning.

I don't always give you a warning on that. I don't know what's coming.

This morning we're going to turn to the book of Zechariah.

Now, it's near the very end of the Old Testament, right before you hit Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

The story in chapter 3 is actually a vision that God gives this prophet.

A vision that in a really glorious way tells the whole gospel.

The good news of this redeeming God we've been talking about this summer in the Old Testament.

And a gracious Savior that He's sending.

Let's read this vision in Zechariah 3 all the way through.

And then I'll give you some context as we consider it together.

This is God's holy word.

In a world where people often tell you what you want to hear.

The only constant source of truth.

In a world where things are constantly changing.

The only thing you can count on to stay the same.

In a world that's full of cynicism.

The one thing that always, always offers hope.

Let's listen.

Zechariah 3 verse 1.

Zechariah 3:1

Then He showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord,

and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

And the Lord said to Satan,

The Lord rebuke you, O Satan.

The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you.

Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?

Now Joshua was standing before the angel clothed with filthy garments.

And the angel said to those who were standing before him,

Remove the filthy garments from him.

And to him he said,

Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you,

and I will clothe you with pure vestments.

And I said, Let them put a clean turban on his head.

So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments.

And the angel of the Lord was standing by.

And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua,

Thus says the Lord of hosts,

If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge,

then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts.

And I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.

Hear now, O Joshua the high priest,

you and your friends who sit before you,

for they are men who are a sign.

Behold, I will bring my servant, the branch.

For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua,

on a single stone with seven eyes,

I will engrave its inscription,

declares the Lord of hosts.

And I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.

In that day, declares the Lord of hosts,

every one of you will invite his neighbor

to come under his vine and under his fig tree.

This is God's word.

Let's pray and ask for his help.

Father, you've been so kind to us.

And we ask again this morning that we would

experience your kindness and grace in yet another way,

that you would take this word

and that you would write its truth

on our hearts.

We know your word is true.

We need it to penetrate our hearts,

to redirect us,

to shape us,

to help us believe the truth

and have that be life-changing to us forever.

You love to do that by your spirit.

So would you work, we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

In case, like me,

you're not a Zechariah scholar,

let me tell you a bit of the story

of God's people up to this point

so that we'll understand where we are

when this vision comes in.

God's people are created

to reflect his image, right?

To fill the earth with his glory.

In fact, Israel in particular

has been called especially

to have this special close relationship

with God

where they trust him,

where they follow his laws

and they share his goodness

with everyone

as a light to the nations.

That's who they're to be.

But instead,

they have over and over,

generation after generation,

wandered after other gods

in repeated idolatry.

So eventually,

in an effort to bring their hearts

back to him,

God has raised up the Assyrians

and the Babylonians,

these foreign nations

who don't know him,

to take his people into exile

away from the promised land.

And they've spent decades

suffering under foreign domination,

cruel oppression.

But now,

some of them have been brought back

to the promised land

to make Jerusalem great again.

And they've begun to work

to rebuild the city

and the temple

where the presence of God

dwells among them.

And hopes are high.

There's excitement.

Visions of promised greatness

return.

We'll be God's people

in God's land

and everything will be

the way it's supposed to be.

But those hopes

have started fading

pretty quickly.

When Zechariah shows up,

Jerusalem is far

from its former glory.

The walls of the city

and the temple

are incomplete.

Opposition has been strong.

Taxes have been high

from foreign nations

and their influence

in the world is low.

Light to the nations.

They're just trying

to keep some light on at all.

God's people,

discouraged by the progress

they see.

They're ready to despair

of that hope of former glory,

have left off the work

of rebuilding God's city

and God's temple.

They've begun to focus

on their own homes

rather than God's house.

They're just seeking

to make life

as good as they can

for themselves.

Nothing better could happen.

Maybe you can relate

to feelings like that.

High hopes about God.

And then disappointment.

Maybe even spiritual discouragement.

And you're ready

to give up.

Perhaps to give up

on great things for God

and just kind of get by

with what you can get

for yourself.

Maybe that's where you are.

Or maybe you're just

ready to give up altogether

on any true success.

Yes.

Maybe you're on your

second marriage

or a fresh start

on your first marriage

and you've committed

to saying this won't be

like it used to be.

Those same problems

won't happen again.

And they're back.

And this time

you're blaming yourself.

Maybe you look at your church

and her weaknesses

are more obvious to you

than her strengths

and you're pretty sure

it's never going to change.

Maybe you battle feelings,

desires in your heart

that you don't understand

or like.

But God doesn't seem

to be taking them away

and you feel like

He never will.

Maybe you promised yourself

never to fall into

that sin again.

And yet the addiction

to the bottle

or the images

on the computer screen

has reared its ugly head

again.

And you're pretty sure

it's never going to go away.

Is God even real?

Why has nothing changed?

It's easy to get discouraged

and even to lose hope,

isn't it?

Well, it seems pretty hopeless

for God's people

at the beginning

of Zechariah's vision too.

Just look at verse 1.

Joshua, the high priest,

remember what's the priest's job?

The priest is a representative

of God's people

before him, right?

So the priest,

representing all God's people,

is standing there

before the angel of the Lord,

representing Yahweh Himself,

God's people,

standing before their God.

And then in verse 3,

we read that he's clothed

with filthy garments.

You may not even know

exactly what that means,

but it's not good, is it?

That's not the way

God's people

ought to be

before God.

But it's not just

how dirty

the high priest is,

but how disqualified

he is.

For a priest to be

covered in filth

disqualifies him

from his calling.

To stand and serve

in God's presence,

it's not allowed.

Imagine you're invited

to a formal

black tie only event.

And so you get all cleaned up

in your tuxedo,

and it's a fancy evening,

and here you go,

and you're driving

down the highway,

and along the side of the road,

you notice a man

in an orange jumpsuit

working in the hot sun

along the highway

picking up trash.

Now you can't

pick this inmate up

and take him

to the black tie event

because he's dirty, right?

And you just got

your car cleaned,

and you really don't

want him in there

messing up your nice

car and suit.

But it's more than that,

isn't it?

It's not just that

he's sweaty and muddy.

You can't pick him up

and drive off anywhere

with him because

he's disqualified

as a convict

from leaving,

from getting in your car,

and certainly

from going to

a black tie event.

We'll come back

to the orange jumpsuit

and black tie

in a minute.

But it's actually

God's people.

You and me

in the orange jumpsuit,

right?

We're not the ones

in the tux

driving the car

here in this story.

God's people

are guilty

of repeated idolatry,

disqualified

from being

with God.

And it gets

worse.

Who stands there

to point out

the awful reality

of the situation

but Satan

himself

whose very name

means accuser

and he is

attacking

God's people

passionately,

viciously.

It's what he does.

And I mean,

after all,

they're pretty easy

to accuse.

Aren't we?

Satan highlights

our awful

failures.

Reminds us

how undeserving

we are

and those things

may be true

but then as he

always does,

he subtly lies

to us

about God

in the midst

of that.

He tells us

all sorts

of things.

We tend to believe

the lies mixed in

with the truth

that he tells

to us.

Here's

what it sounds

like.

I know

a bit of

what the accuser

says because

just in recent

weeks

he's said

these things

I'm about to

tell you to

one of you

or to me

personally.

Things like

you've blown

it too badly

to be really

loved

or valued

again.

Your marriage

will never be

like hers

anyway

so why bother?

How could

God use you

to share

about him

with someone

else

when you

battle doubts

yourself?

You've lost

your zeal

for God

just coast

through like

everyone else

it'll never

be any better.

You messed

up your own

kid

how could

you ever

be used

to love

someone else?

You're such

a failure

that you do

the big sins

even after

you promise

you won't

again.

No one

can help

someone as

messed up

as you

are.

Don't

even ask

God for

his help

before you

can show

that you

really mean

it

that he's

not just

wasting his

time on

you.

Get it

together

and then

come ask

him to

help out.

God.

And we

tend to

believe

these lies.

The

hopelessness

discouragement

even

despair

creeps

in.

If you've

ever heard

one of

these lies

in your

own head

if you've

ever

believed

something

like that

in your

own heart

I want

you to

listen

to what

God

really

says.

This passage

is going

to set

some of

those lies

straight

and I

want you

to hear

the truth

from God's

word.

Verse 2

for example

the Lord

says to

Satan

as he

accuses

the Lord

rebuke

you oh

Satan

the Lord

who has

chosen

Jerusalem

rebuke

you.

Is not

this a

brand

plucked

from the

fire?

Stop

it!

You think

God is

angry?

Yes

he is.

Angry

with

Satan.

He's

rebuking

him.

The Lord

rebuke

you

Satan.

Don't

you

talk

about

my

kids

that

way.

God

says

I

will

decide

whom

I

will

love

and

treasure

and

use

and I

chose

them.

I

brought

them

back

again

from

exile.

I

plucked

them

from

the

fire

and

am

holding

them

forth

as a

light

to

the

nations.

Don't

you

dare

tell

them

they

should

give

up

hope.

I

am

for

them.

They

are

mine

and I

haven't

given

up

on

them.

Y'all

listen.

We

must

believe

the

greater

story

that

God

tells

when the

lies

of

Satan

come

at

us.

Think

about

it.

Who

are

we

to

tell

God

that

his

love

for

us

is

too

deep?

Who

are

we

to

tell

God

that

his

plans

for

us

are

too

great?

Who

are

we

to

tell

God

that

his

hope

for

us

is

too

firm?

Hear

the

good

news.

Our

God

forgives

and

restores

repeat

offenders,

terrible

ones,

undeserving

sinners,

and

dysfunctional

churches.

He

doesn't

give up

on

them.

He

loves

them.

Did

you hear

that?

He

doesn't

give up

on

them.

Don't

you

believe

that

lie?

That

you're

too

bad?

That

you're

too

far

gone?

That

you

could

never

be

used

or

loved

certainly

not

by

God

on

the

authority

of

God's

word?

It's

a

lie.

And

God

wants

you

to

know

the

truth

of

how

he

feels.

He

loves

you.

Undeserving

sinner,

repeat

idolater

who

keeps

chasing

after

the

thing

that

God's

told

you

not

to,

he

calls

you

back

again

because

he

loves

you

and

he

hasn't

given

up.

Look at

what God

does in

this

passage

so his

children

get a

picture

of the

love

and the

hope

that he

has

for

them.

Verse

four,

the angel

said to

those

standing

before

him,

remove

the

filthy

garments

from

him.

And to

him,

the high

priest,

he said,

behold,

I have

taken

your

iniquity

away

from you

and I

will

clothe

you

with

pure

vestments.

and I

said,

let them

put a

clean

turban

on

his

head.

So they

put a

clean

turban

on

his

head

and

clothed

them

with

garments

and

the

angel

of

the

Lord

is

standing

by

over

all

of

this.

It's

a

change

of

clothes

full

of

significance.

Old

clothes

gone,

new

clothes

on,

and both

of those

are so

important.

There's a

theological

term

for what's

going on

here

that I

want you

to know,

not just

so you

can win

points

at

trivia

night

or

something

like

that,

but because

it makes

a practical

difference

in your

lives.

The term

is

double

imputation.

What in

the world

is double

imputation?

Double

imputation

means that

something

is credited

like

to an

account,

a credit

to an

account.

It's

imputed,

credited

in

two

directions.

Our

sin

credited

to

Jesus

and

Jesus'

righteousness

credited

to

us.

Paul

says it

this way

in 2

Corinthians.

For

our

sake,

God

made

him

to

be

sin

who

knew

no

sin.

That's

Jesus,

right?

God

made

the one

without

sin

to

become

sin

for

us.

He

himself

bore

our

sins

in

his

body

on

the

tree.

So

that

what?

So

that

in

him

we

might

become

the

righteousness

of

God.

Might

be

those

to

whom

God

credits

righteousness

apart

from

works.

Romans

Romans 4 · chapter mention

chapter

4.

Now

in terms

of the

orange

jumpsuit,

if

you

are

in

the

orange

jumpsuit

on

the

highway,

you

can't

go

into

the

formal

black

tie

event,

right?

It's not

happening.

But it

takes more

than someone

just taking

the orange

jumpsuit

off of

you and

leaving

you out

there on

the

highway

in a

sweaty

t-shirt

and

athletic

shorts,

right?

That's

not actually

enough.

That may

hide

your biggest

mistakes.

your big

sins,

maybe you're

not visible

as guilty

anymore.

They get

taken away

but there

you are

left out

all on

your own,

right?

You still

can't go

to the

big

event.

You can't

enter that

formal

without a

tux.

You need

new

clothes

too.

Not just

the old

ones gone

but new

ones

given to

you.

Somebody

must give

you a

tux.

And that's

exactly what

God does

for his

priest

in this

vision.

Removes

the dirty

clothes

and brings

the new

white

ones

out.

The only

way he's

allowed to

stand and

serve in

God's

presence

again,

double

imputation.

You remember

that?

Or at least

you remember

what happens.

You're not

standing out

on the

highway

stranded

all by

yourself

just relieved

of your

sins but

on your

own from

this point.

No,

you're

dressed in

these

sparklingly

clean

garments of

Jesus'

righteousness

and ushered

right into

God's

presence.

Remember,

it's God

who does

both of

those things.

What does

he say?

I have

taken

away

and I

will

clothe.

We tend

to look

hope in

ourselves

hope in

ourselves.

Why do we

despair?

Because we

look in

ourselves

and when we

get honest

enough,

we get

discouraged

and think

there's

nothing to

hope in

here.

God says

to you

this morning,

the only

place you

can find

hope is

in his

gracious

mercy.

He does

the cleansing.

See,

that's how we

know we don't

have to clean

ourselves up

before we

come to

God because

God does

the cleansing.

It's his

job.

He loves

it.

You can't

take that

from him.

He's the

one who

does the

cleansing.

You have

to come

dirty to

him and

he washes

you clean.

And that

continues to

be true in

your relationship

with God.

For those

of you who

have known

him, who

he has

washed clean,

that's how

you keep

relating to

him.

You don't

have to fix

yourself before

he can use

you.

He does

that.

double

imputation.

I'm

forgiven

and I'm

righteous.

Radiant.

Maybe kids,

you can think

about the

picture of

Cinderella.

Have you

seen the

movie?

Like the

old one

with cartoons

in it.

Cinderella

there, as

she's getting

ready to go

to the ball

and then what

happens with

her stepsisters,

what do they

do?

They tear

her dress

and there

she is,

Cinderella

left in

shreds with

just rags

hanging off

of her,

right?

And she's

crying and

despairing.

Why?

Because you

can't go to

the ball

dressed like

that.

And she

can't fix

herself.

But the

fairy godmother

knows what

to do,

right?

She comes

and those

rags are

quickly replaced

by a beautiful

gown that

she gets

to go

meet the

prince in.

Maybe that's

what some

of you feel

like today.

Have you

been torn

apart

by others

and left

damaged?

You feel

despair in

that?

You want

to give

up on

yourself?

On God?

Maybe you

just wouldn't

say it

that way.

God doesn't

want to

give up

on you.

He doesn't

just say

bibbidi-bobbidi-boo.

It's not

how it

works.

He sends

Jesus

and lives

perfectly

even in

suffering

and endures

the painful

death on

the cross.

See,

he tells

Joshua

the priest

verse 8

this whole

thing with

the dirty

clothes gone

and the

new clean

turban is

what?

A sign.

It's a sign

that he's

going to do

for his

people something

just like

this when

he sends

his servant

the branch.

That may

sound weird.

Servant

and branch.

Both terms

here for the

promised

Messiah.

The rescuer

God's sending

to redeem.

And when

he comes

God says

I will

remove

the

iniquity

of this

land

in a

single

day.

Y'all

that's a

lot of

sin.

Have you

read this?

The Old

Testament

part?

Lots of

sin,

lots of

people,

lots of

generation,

the whole

land

full of

sin.

Repeated

idolatry.

Failure to

keep promises

to do

better next

time.

Way more

sin than

you've had

time to

commit in

your life

or ever

will.

And God

says in

one day

he wipes

it all

away.

And

writes an

inscription

on it.

What is

that new

identity,

new name

tag that

you receive?

It's

holy to

the Lord.

Set

apart

for him.

That's

the

inscription

on the

priest's

garments.

A stone

on the

beautiful

garments

that the

priest would

be wearing

that reads

holy to

the Lord.

God

says I'm

writing that

on you,

on my

people.

Hear

me.

You

can trust

in Jesus

and know

that Jesus

paid it

all.

Everything.

It's

okay that

you're not

okay.

You haven't

figured it

out and

fixed everything

because Jesus

can take away

the mess

and make

you pure

in an

instant.

That's the

good news

of the

Bible.

That's the

message of

this book

is that

people like

us who

don't figure

it out and

don't get

life together

actually have

a Savior

who removes

all of that

and makes

them glorious

the way they've

always wanted

to be.

we trust

Jesus for

that.

He'll do

that for

you.

Will you

trust

Jesus

that his

perfect

blood is

more than

enough

payment

for your

biggest

sin,

for your

darkest

failure?

There's

hope

for all

of us.

Please

don't

despair.

Don't

give up

hope

hope

when

someone

so

powerful

and so

gracious

offers

you

hope

this

morning.

Will you

keep

trusting

that his

perfect

obedience,

not yours,

his

perfect

obedience

is enough

that God

loves

and delights

in you

who have

trusted

Jesus.

Don't

believe

Satan's

lies

to the

contrary.

Listen,

friend who's

never met

Jesus before,

it really

is this

good.

We

actually,

we

Christians

actually

struggle

to believe

it too.

We

struggle

to believe

God

loves

us

like

that

in

spite

of

ourselves.

We're

still

learning

to

trust

him

for

that

and

Satan

still

lies

to

us

and

tells

us

it's

not

true

but

it

is

and

it's

glorious.

And

then God

finishes

off

this

picture

of the

gospel.

As we

walk

with

God

in our

new

clothes

as

his

priests

trusting

him

following

his

word

we

always

have

access

into

his

presence

verse

seven.

Access

not merely

into a

nice event

but into

the head

table

into the

presence

of the

God of

the

universe.

What an

incredible

blessing.

blessing.

It's

one

thing

that

God

would

pluck

you

off

the

side

of

the

highway

and

take

off

your

orange

jumpsuit

and

throw

a

tux

on

you

and

bring

you

to

the

formal

event

but

he

walks

you

right

up

to

the

head

table

and

sits

you

down

with

him.

An

immeasurably

gracious

blessing.

Of

course

we don't

deserve

that.

And

it's

a

blessing

not

just

for

us

but

for

others.

Go back

to where

we

started.

Israel

was

called

by

God

to be

yes

a

nation

that

had

priests

priests

who

represented

them

to

God

and

God

to

them.

They

were

also

called

to

be

a

nation

of

priests

all

of

them

being

a

nation

of

priests

who

all

together

represented

God

to

the

world.

A

light

to

the

nation.

Right?

That

was

why

they

were

there.

And

God

says

yes

yes

a

light

to

the

nations

you

will

do

this

again.

Verse

10

in

that

day

declares

the

Lord

of

hosts

every

one

of

you

will

invite

his

neighbor

to

come

under

his

vine

and

under

his

fig

tree.

Do

you

hear

what

he's

saying?

He's

talking

about

blessing.

We

will

be

blessed

again.

That's

what the

image

means

peace

and

prosperity

under

your

vine

and

fig

tree.

Yes

but

blessed

for the

sake

of

others.

We

will not

only be

invited

to the

head

table

at the

black

tie

wedding

feast

of the

lamb

but also

asked

to set

the

guest

list.

What?

God

to

invite

others

to

come

with

you

you

get

to

bring

them.

You

get

to

invite

people

to

join

you

in

God's

presence

forever.

In other

words we

are given

the

privilege

of expressing

the grace

that we

ourselves

have

experienced.

Of

finding

others

undeserving

like us

and saying

here's a

place for

undeserving

people.

There's a

table

that you

get to

sit at

and a

God

who

loves

you

and