Week #50 - Zechariah & John 1-11

Week # 50 Study Page

Zechariah (1-14)
John 1-11

About the Book(s)

Zechariah

Date of Authorship: Zechariah includes a few historical markers in 1:1, 1:7, and 7:1 so we can date Part I (chapters 1-8) of this book confidently from November 520 BC to December 518 BC. Part II of Zechariah (chapters 9-14) are harder to date. The origin of these last 6 chapters is a hotly contested issue - most conservative scholars attribute them to Zechariah from around the turn of the 5th century BC (~500 BC).

Author: These are the words of Zechariah, though there are no claims of he himself authoring the book and the consistent use of the third-person throughout seem to indicate that the text was recorded and or compiled by others. Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai. He was a priest (descended from an important priestly family (his grandfather Iddo is mentioned in Nehemiah 12:4) Zechariah and Haggai seem to be a sort of prophetic team as the pair are mentioned twice in Ezra (5:1 & 6:14).

Setting: Zechariah was a priest and prophet to Jerusalem as the return from Babylonian exile was in process. His grandfather (& family presumably) had been part of the first batch of exiles to return with Zerubbabel in 538 BC (see Nehemiah 12:4 - Zerubbabel served as governor of the Israelite people and was a Davidic heir - the grandson of king Jehoiachin - more on Zerubbabel below). Worship at the temple had resumed and the altar of burnt offering was functioning, but the construction of the temple had ground to a halt because of external opposition and a lack of commitment or enthusiasm on behalf of the people of Jerusalem. The occasion for part I (chapters 1-8) of Zechariah is the prophetic push (together with Haggai) for completion of the construction of the Temple which began in 520 BC and was accomplished in 515 BC. Part II of Zechariah (chapters 9-14) came a couple decades later when disillusion had set in about the prospect of Israel’s and Jerusalem’s return to prominence.

Purpose: Zechariah divides into two very distinct sections. Part I is an image-filled prophetic compulsion for the Israelites in Jerusalem to see that the Temple gets restored and Part II is a message of clarity and certainty to a people who are both confused about what God’s promises to restore Jerusalem and David’s line will look like, and doubtful that it will ever arrive.

John

Date of Authorship: There’s a healthy ongoing discussion about when the Gospel of John was written. D.A. Carson and Doug Moo note that there are good arguments for dating this book anywhere from 55 AD to as late as 95 AD. However after considering the external witness of the Early Church fathers, and the internal textual evidence in John they conclude that it was likely written from 80-85. This date would make it the last of the four canonical gospels to be written. (Carson and Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, Zondervan Press, this resource will be used repeatedly in the notes that follow)

Author: John, the Apostle, the son of Zebedee, and the brother of James. While John does not tell us that he (by name) is the author of the book, this was the nearly univocal belief of the Early Church, and it appears that the character referred to in the Gospel as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” is the apostle John - and this disciple does* claim to have written the account. Additionally, there is a certain and convincing shared language, theology, and style between this gospel and the Johanine epistles (esp. 1st John) which we will be reading next.

Audience: Carson and Moo believe (in accordance with the tradition of the Early Church) that John wrote this Gospel in Ephesus (western modern-day turkey) to Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jews and gentiles. You’ll notice that John provides the meaning or translation for many Hebrew words, events, and traditions, but also makes frequent references and allusions to the Old Testament. It is safe to assume that while John’s intended audience was not Hebraic Jews, they were very Biblically literate, similar to the gentile audiences for Paul’s epistles.

Uniqueness: John is the only Gospel not categorized as “synoptic” (‘having the same view’). Matthew, Mark, and Luke follow similar narrative story lines and a number of nearly identical passages; Most commentators believe that these three Gospel writers use Mark as a template or starting-structure to tell their account of Jesus. It is a matter of debate as to whether or not John was familiar with these accounts (they were published and circulating by the time he wrote - according to my understanding of the historical timeline). However, it is demonstrably clear that John’s gospel takes a different format and literary approach to the account of Jesus’ ministry than the other three Gospels do. The most notable difference is the timeline as will be discussed below, but there are more. John is much more forthright about the identity of Jesus - that he is God(‘s Son) and the savior. Whereas the other gospel writers create a drama around the characters and even the readers learning this truth, John opens his account with a deep theological treatment of Christ’s identity and mission. Another striking difference is that John does not include any parables in his Gospel - isn’t that wild? The parables that Jesus taught with were a particularly Hebraic (Jewish) way of speaking, John has recorded Jesus teaching in a way that would have been familiar to his gentile (or at-least Hellenistic) audience.

Purpose: John tells us the purpose of his Gospel directly, at the very end of this book:

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20)

As You Read Notes:

Apocalyptic LITERATURE in Zechariah

When you read Zechariah, you may think that you’ve accidentally opened your Bible to Revelation or Daniel. This is because they share traits of a similar genre; Apocalypse Here’s a note from the IVP Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Old Testament on how to read this style of literature (page 798)

Apocalyptic literature is defined by its characteristics… Apocalypses feature a narrative framework and often portray an angelic interpreter or guide alongside the prophet. The angel may take the prophet on a tour of heavenly realms to convey certain realities and activities. Alternatively he may unveil a future time of trouble and deliverance. This literature operates by means of a broad spectrum of symbols using significant numbers and mythological images. It draws heavily on both biblical and extrabiblical literature. It tends to schematize. When reading apocalyptic literature, there are a couple of important guidelines to keep in mind. First, each detail does not necessarily carry symbolic significance. Even the details that do carry symbolic significance may not be transparent to us and speculating accomplishes little. Second, it is important to remember that the apocalyptic vision is not the message itself but rather it is the vehicle or occasion for the message. So, for instance, the message of the first vision of Zechariah (1:7-17) is not* that there are going to be four horses of different colors in a myrtle grove. The message is laid our very clearly in verses 14-17. Apocalyptic imagery is simply a medium

2 important characters in Zechariah: Zerubbabel and Joshua

Joshua is featured in Zechariah, chapter 3. This is not he who fit the battle of Jericho, but the high priest in the early postexilic period. Joshua’s grandfather, Seraiah, was the high priest who was executed by Nebuchadnezzar when Jerusalem fell in 586 BC. There was an important shift in Israelite polity after the Exile, Because Israel never truly gained independence (except for a period of decades in the Maccabean period, there was no longer a “king” in Israel, and the Davidic line seems to have fizzled out of existence. The high priest came to posses an increased amount of civil authority, and would become the chief political figure in Israelite society. This shift can be observed in Zechariah 3:6-7.

As mentioned above, Zerubbabel was a Davidic heir to the throne of Judah/Israel. In Zechariah, Zerubbabel is the leader under whom God has chosen to have his temple rebuilt (Chapter 4). there was a significant amount of expectation surrounding him that had a messianic flavor to it. Undoubtedly some expected him to set up the promised kingdom and bring freedom from their subjugation to the Persians. The failure of Israel under Zerubbabel to even attempt independence likely led to the disillusionment that Zechariah addresses in chapters 9-14 and the state of disrepair in Jerusalem that was reported to Nehemiah in 445 BC.

Zechariah Part II: Chapters 9-14

The final 6 chapters of Zechariah are a very forward-looking prophecy to the people of Israel. C. Hasseell Bullock does a fantastic job of summarizing the importance of these chapters in An Introduction to the Old Testament: Prophetic Books, a resource we’ve referred to frequently in these reading notes:

Admittedly there is much in chapters 9-14 that is difficult, if not impossible, to explain. However, certain ideas are rather clear. Yahweh will cut off the implements of war and establish His kingdom of peace through the humble king who makes His royal entry riding on a donkey (9:9-10). Indeed Yahweh Himself will take the task of conquest in His own hands and set the captives free (9:11-15).
The royal person who will dominate the new age will be more than a king - he will be the shepherd of the Lord’s flock (11:4-7) who will be ungratefully detested by the sheep. When he should ask for his wages, they will certify their ungrateful spirit by paying him the price for a slave (11:12; Exodus 21:32). The king and the shepherd of Zechariah are evidently one and the same person, for in 11:6 the two words occur in parallel language. The royal status of the shepherd is further substantiated by the description of him as “My Associate” (13:7). The image of the shepherd-king has already been set forth by Ezekiel (34:23-31, 37:24), and Zechariah mixes the hues of that imagery with those of the Suffering Servant to paint the portrait of the Messiah on His apocalyptic canvas. The gospel writers knew those precious phrases from Zechariah, and in them they heard the traumatic events of the passion of Christ expressed.
The kingdom that Zechariah announces is one in which Israel and Yahweh will come to perfect harmony as the covenant stipulated (Zec. 13:9, Exodus 19:5) In other vivid imagery, the holiness that distinguished the Temple precincts and the sacred vessels would be expanded into the common sphere of life. so thoroughly disseminated would be Temple holiness that nay cooking vessel in Judah could be used for sacrificial purposes (14:20-21).

Don’t miss these really sharp instances of messianic imagery / prophecy in this section

Zechariah 9:9 is connected to the triumphal entry of Jesus on Palm Sunday
Zechariah 11:12-13 is connected to Judas’s betrayal of Jesus and the money paid to him by the Jewish officials in Matthew 27.
Zechariah 12:10 “they will look on me, the one they have pierced”

Timeline of John

If you remember our other three gospel readings well, then you’ll recall that they all depict the majority of Jesus ministry as occurring in Galilee. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, & Luke) all follow this same timeline where Jesus’ ministry begins or quickly moves to Galilee and remains there until He makes this dramatic, final approach to Jerusalem where he knows that he will face his Death. John, however, records Jesus frequently traveling back and forth from Judea (Jerusalem and the surrounding region) to Galilee during his ministry. How do we reconcile this difference in the accounts of Jesus? Most consider the gospel of John to better reflect a “modern-historical” timeline of Jesus ministry, while we allow for the other gospel writers to have arranged the events in their accounts to all dramatically lead up to Jesus final ascent to Jerusalem where He would perform His salvific work. This was the reading of the earliest Church as evidenced by a 2nd century document called the Diatessaron written by Tatian (a disciple of my favorite Early Church father, Justin Martyr). This document is a harmony of the Gospels in which the parts (teachings and stories) of each one are separated into individual parts and organized chronologically. When Tatian rearranged all the individual pieces of the four gospels to tell one story, he used the timeline of John’s gospel to put the pieces of the other three all into place.

You may notice this distinctly different timeline early in this week’s reading. In the three previous Gospels that we’ve read, Jesus clears the temple of money-changers right after the triumphal entry very near the end of his ministry (less than a week before his crucifixion - Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19). However, this week, you’ll read of Jesus clearing the temple very early in his ministry, right after the calling of the disciples (John 2:13-17). a few have tried to explain that Jesus must have cleared the temple twice (I think they are wrong). Things fall right into place when you consider the rearrangement that Matthew, Mark, and Luke needed to do in order for Jesus to visit Jerusalem only once in their account. Because Jesus only visits Jerusalem at the end of their account, they (Matthew, Mark, & Luke) have to save this story - which occurs in the Jerusalem temple - until he arrives to that location in their retelling. John, is not editing his account of Jesus in this manner, thus his chronology is to be preferred over the other three.

The fact that John’s Gospel is told so differently than the other three is actually really helpful to our understanding of Jesus’ life. As Carson and Moon explain:

More impressive yet are the many places where John and the Synoptics represent and interlocking tradition, that is, where they mutually reinforce or explain each other, without betraying overt literary dependence. A very incomplete list includes the following items:
- John’s report of an extensive Judean ministry helps to explain the assumption in Mark 14:49 that Jesus had constantly taught in the temple precincts, the trepidation with which the final trip southward was viewed (Mark 10:32), and Jesus’ ability to round up a colt (Mark 11:1-7) and secure a furnished upper room (Mark 14:12-16).
-the charge reported in the Synoptics that Jesus had threatened the destruction of the temple (Mark 14:58, 15:29) finds its only adequate explanation in John 2:19.
-Mark gives no reason as to why the Jewish authorities should bother bringing Jesus to Pilate; John provides the reason (John 18:31). Only John provides the reason (John 18:15-18) why peter can be placed within the high priest’s courtyard (Mark 14:54, 66-72).
-Even the call of the disciples in the Synoptics is made easier to understand (Matthew 4:18-22) if we presuppose with John 1, that Jesus had already had contact with them and that their fundamental shift in allegiance had already occurred

John 8: The Woman caught in Adultery

The words of 7:53-8:11 appear in many ancient manuscripts of John, but not the oldest manuscripts of this Gospel. You should not regard the words of this story as ‘scriptural’ but it is fine and good to read them as a traditional story about Jesus that the church has celebrated for centuries.

John 10, the Good Shepherd

I am so excited that we get to read this chapter where Jesus explains His role as the Good Shepherd in the same week that we also read an Old Testament prophecy to on which this imagery is built. God told Zechariah that he was angry about the bad shepherds (bad leaders and kings) of Israel (Zech. 10 & 11), but he had made them a promise about sending a victorious shepherd-king to Zion:

The Lord their God will save his people on that day
as a shepherd saves his flock (Zechariah 9:16)

If you have time, Go back and read all of Zechariah 9 before you read John 10.

Joel NielsenDecember 7, 2018Madison Church of Christ