Zech 13:2-9

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False prophets and true shepherd (Zech 13:2-9)

Having introduced the subject of forgiveness and cleansing, Zechariah goes on to deal with those evils that had to be removed from the land. One of Israel’s chief sins was idolatry, and this had been encouraged by the false prophets. Therefore, all false prophets must be killed (Zech 13:2-3).

If a false prophet escapes, he might try to preserve his life by throwing away his prophet’s cloak and disguising himself as a farmer. But he will not be able to remove the scars on his back. (Such scars were a characteristic of sorcerers and false prophets. They were made by cutting ‘magic’ marks in the skin; see Lev 19:28; 1 Kings 18:28.)

If someone notices the scars, the false prophet will lie to protect himself, saying that he received the scars through a fight or an accident in a friend’s house (Zech 13:4-6).

Zechariah returns to the subject of leadership, using again the illustration of the shepherd. (The leader referred to here may be the person of Zech 12:10 who was killed by his own countrymen.)

The leader of God’s choice is one who is close to God and who truly cares for God’s people. But the people kill him and persecute his followers. As a result of this shepherd’s death, the majority of his people fall under divine judgment.

The minority who are left go through a time of suffering, but through this they become better people and come into closer fellowship with the God in whom they have trusted. These are God’s true people (Zech 13:7-9).

No doubt this true shepherd was Jesus the Messiah (Matt 26:31; John 19:37).

His own people killed him, and with his death the majority of Israel fell under God’s judgment. Some, however, were saved. These became God’s true people, though they suffered persecution at the hands of the rebellious (Rom 9:6-8; 11:5-7; Gal 4:28-29).