Thy Strong Word - Zechariah 13: Scattered & Refined, Gathered by Sacrament Fountain

Rev. Steven Theiss, Retired pastor in Frohna, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Zechariah 13.

“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” After waves of disciples had left Him, our Lord quoted these words from Zechariah 13 to signal that the Twelve were about to abandon Him as well. Even in the centuries since, waves of sheep have wandered off from the church, and disasters have scattered us at times.

Yet through it all, God “refines” us like silver and gold, and we never stop gathering as God’s people, albeit in different forms. When our Lord was pierced, “a fountain opened” in His side to give us the Sacraments, which make us part of His body. God refined His people as the Maccabees purified the Temple, and we look forward to the day when God will make us totally pure in the new creation.

Lutheran Heritage Foundation - Underwriter of Thy Strong Word — Underwriter of Thy Strong Word

Thy Strong Word is a daily in-depth study of the books of the Bible with host Rev. AJ Espinosa and guest pastors from across the country. Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation and produced by the LCMS Office of National Mission.

Zechariah 13

13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

Idolatry Cut Off

²“And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. ³And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.

⁴“On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, ⁵but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’^[a] ⁶And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’^[b] he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck

⁷“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who stands next to me,”
declares the Lord of hosts.

“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
    I will turn my hand against the little ones.
⁸In the whole land, declares the Lord,
    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
    and one third shall be left alive.
⁹And I will put this third into the fire,
    and refine them as one refines silver,
    and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
    and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

Footnotes:

Zechariah 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth
Zechariah 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.org

Rev. AJ Espinosa

It’s no coincidence that the favorite hymn for Rev. AJ Espinosa, host of Thy Strong Word, is Thy Strong Word. Working on his PhD from Concordia Seminary St. Louis, Pastor Espinosa takes breaks from his studies by beating the competition in his favorite video and board games, reading “Mere Christianity,” or getting some quality sleep. When he’s not mixing curries or whipping up a fresh flan for dessert, you may find him researching cryptocurrency, watching Star Trek Discovery, or jamming out to the Coco and Moana Spanish-language soundtracks (with his daughter, of course). Pastor Espinosa lives in California, where he enjoys time at the beach with his wife, Gaby, precious little girls Ellie and Natalie, and exceptionally friendly black cat Heike.