Zachariasza 3:3 Komentarz

The vision in the foregoing chapter gave assurances of the re-establishing of the civil interests of the Jewish nation, the promises of which terminated in Christ. Now the vision in this chapter concerns their church-state, and their ecclesiastical interests, and assures them that they shall be put into a good posture again; and the promises of this also have an eye to Christ, who is not only our prince, but the high priest of our profession, of whom Joshua was a type. Here is, I. A vision relating to Joshua, as the representative of the church in his time, representing the disadvantages he laboured under, and the people in him, with the redress of the grievances of both. 1. He is accused by Satan, but is brought off by Christ (Zac 3:1, Zac 3:2). 2. He appears in filthy garments, but has them changed (Zac 3:3-5). 3. He is assured of being established in his office if he conduct himself well (Zac 3:6, Zac 3:7). II. A sermon relating to Christ, who is here called "The branch," who should be endued with all perfections for his undertaking, should be carried triumphantly through it, and by whom we should have pardon and peace (Zac 3:8-10).

INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH 3 In this chapter, under the type of Joshua the high priest, is showed the state and condition of the priesthood, and of the church of God, in his times; and in it are various promises concerning the true High Priest, Christ, and of the efficacy and permanency of his priesthood. The vision of Joshua is in the form of a judicial process: Joshua is the person accused, and is described by his situation, standing before the Angel of the Lord; and by the filthy garments he had on, which were the ground of the charge against him, Zac 3:1 The accuser of him is Satan, who stood at his right hand; and his Judge is the Angel of the Lord, before whom he was, Zac 3:1. The sentence given against his accuser is by way of rebuke, enforced by the Lord's choice of Jerusalem, and merciful deliverance of this person; and, as given in his favour, is an order to take his filthy garments from him, and clothe him with change of raiment, and to put a fair mitre on his head; which were accordingly done, Zac 3:2 and a promise is made him, by way of protestation, that if he would walk in his ways, and keep his charge, he should judge his house, and keep his courts, and should have a walking place among those that stood by, Zac 3:6 and next Joshua, and those that were with him, are addressed as men wondered at; and are called upon to hearken to a promise of the Messiah, under the character of the Branch, Zac 3:8 and under that of a stone with seven eyes on it, and engravings in it, by whom the iniquity of God's people is removed, Zac 3:9 and the chapter is closed with an account of the prosperity, peace, and safety of the saints under the Gospel dispensation, Zac 3:10.

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments,.... Having fallen into sin. The Jewish writers (z) interpret this of the sin of his children in marrying strange wives, Ezr 10:18 or he had married one himself, as Jerom from the Jews, on the place; or a whore, as Justin Martyr (a) suggests; or had been slothful and sluggish in rebuilding the temple; and, be it what it will, Satan had aggravated it, and represented him as a most filthy creature, covered with sin, and as it were clothed with it: sins may well be called filthy garments, since righteousnesses are as filthy rags, Isa 64:6. It may also denote the imperfection of the Levitical priesthood, and the pollutions in it, at least in those who officiated therein, and especially under the second temple; as well as may represent the defilements of the Lord's people by sins they fall into: and stood before the angel: as an accused person, charged with sin, and waiting the issue of the process against him: he stood under an humble sense of his iniquities, looking to the blood and righteousness of Christ for pardon and justification; praying and entreating that these filthy garments might be took away from him, and he be clothed with fine linen, suitable to his character as a priest. Such a sordid dress was the habit of persons arraigned for crimes. It was usual, especially among the Romans, when a man was accused of, and charged with, capital crimes, and during his arraignment, to let down his hair, suffer his beard to grow long, to wear filthy ragged garments, and appear in a very dirty and sordid habit; hence such were called "sordidati" (b): nay, it was not only customary for the accused person, when he was brought into court before the people to be tried, to be in such a filthy dress; but even his near relations, friends, and acquaintance, before the court went to voting, used to appear in like manner, with their hair dishevelled, and clothed with garments foul and out of fashion, weeping and crying, and deprecating punishment; thinking, by such a filthy and deformed habit, to move the pity of the people (c). It is said of the ambassadors of the Rhodians at Rome, upon a certain victory obtained, that they appeared at first in white garments, suitable to a congratulation; but when they were told that the Rhodians had not so well deserved to be reckoned among the friends and allies of the Romans, they immediately put on sordid garments, and went about to the houses of the principal men, with prayers and tears entreating that cognizance might first be taken of their cause, before they were condemned (d): though, on the contrary, some, when arraigned, as defying their accusers, and as a token of their innocence, and to show the fortitude of their minds, and even, if they could, to terrify the court itself, would dress out in the most splendid manner; or, however, would not follow the above custom. It is reported of Scipio Africanus, that when he was arraigned in court, he would not omit shaving his beard, nor put off his white garments, nor appear in the common dress of arraigned persons (e): and when Manlius Capitolinus was arraigned in court, none of his relations would change their clothes; and Appius Claudius, when he was tried by the tribunes of the common people, behaved with such spirit, and put on such a bold countenance, as thinking that by his ferocity he might strike terror into the tribunes; and so Herod, when he was accused before Hyrcanus, went into the court clothed in purple, and attended with a guard of armed men (f): whether the above custom obtained in Judea, and so early as the times of this prophet, is not so evident; though Josephus ben Gorion says it was a custom for a guilty person to stand before the judges clothed in black, and his head covered with dust (g); however, it is certain that with the Jews a distinction was made in the dress of priests, who, by the sanhedrim, were found guilty or not; such as were, were clothed and veiled in "black"; and such as were not, but were found right and perfect, were clothed in white; and went in, and ministered with their brethren the priests (h). (z) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 93. 1. (a) Dialog. cum Trypho, p. 344. (b) Salmuth. in Paneirol. Memorab. par. 1. tit. 44. p. 187. (c) Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 5. (d) Liv. Hist. l. 45. c. 20. (e) A. Gell. Noct. Attic. l. 3. c. 4. (f) Alex. ab Alex. ut supra. (Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 5) (g) Hist. Heb. c. 44. apud Drusium in Amos ii. 7. (h) Misn. Middot, c. 5. sect. 3. T. Bab. Yoma fol. 19. 1. Maimon. Biath Hamikdash, c. 6. sect. 11.

"But to give you the account of the revelation of the holy Jesus Christ, I take up again my discourse, and I assert that even that revelation was made for us who believe on Christ the High Priest, namely this crucified One; and though we lived in fornication and all kinds of filthy conversation, we have by the grace of our Jesus, according to His Father's will, stripped ourselves of all those filthy wickednesses with which we were imbued. And though the devil is ever at hand to resist us, and anxious to seduce all to himself, yet the Angel of God, i.e., the Power of God sent to us through Jesus Christ, rebukes him, and he departs from us. And we are just as if drawn out from the fire, when purified from our former sins, and [rescued] from the affliction and the fiery trial by which the devil and all his coadjutors try us; out of which Jesus the Son of God has promised again to deliver us, and invest us with prepared garments, if we do His commandments; and has undertaken to provide an eternal kingdom [for us]. For just as that Jesus (Joshua), called by the prophet a priest, evidently had on filthy garments because he is said to have taken a harlot for a wife, and is called a brand plucked out of the fire, because he had received remission of sins when the devil that resisted him was rebuked; even so we, who through the name of Jesus have believed as one man in God the Maker of all, have been stripped, through the name of His first-begotten Son, of the filthy garments, i.e., of our sins; and being vehemently inflamed by the word of His calling, we are the true high priestly race of God, as even God Himself bears witness, saying that in every place among the Gentiles sacrifices are presented to Him well-pleasing and pure. Now God receives sacrifices from no one, except through His priests."

Every soul that has been clothed with a human body has its own stain. But Jesus was stained through his own will, because he had taken on a human body for our salvation. Listen to the prophet Zechariah. He says, “Jesus was clothed with stained garments.” Zechariah says this to refute those who deny that our Lord had a human body but say that his body was made of heavenly and spiritual substance. They say this body was made of heavenly matter or, they falsely assert, of sidereal matter, or of some other more sublime and spiritual nature. Let them explain how a spiritual body could be stained, or how they interpret the passage we quoted: “Jesus was clothed with stained garments.” If this difficulty drives them to assume that the “stained garment” means the spiritual body, then they should be consistent and say this, that what is said in the prophecies has been fulfilled, that is, “an animal body is sown, a spiritual body rises.” Do we thus rise soiled and stained? It is an impiety even to think this, especially when one knows what Scripture says: “The body is sown in corruption but will rise in incorruption; it is sown in weakness but will rise in strength; our animal body is sown, but a spiritual body will rise.”Thus it was fitting that those offerings that, according to the law, customarily cleanse stain should be made. They were made for our Lord and Savior, who had been “clothed with stained garments” and had taken on an earthly body. Christian brothers often ask a question. The passage from Scripture read today encourages me to treat it again. Little children are baptized “for the remission of sins.” Whose sins are they? When did they sin? Or how can this explanation of the baptismal washing be maintained in the case of small children, except according to the interpretation we spoke of a little earlier? “No man is clean of stain, not even if his life upon the earth had lasted but a single day.” Through the mystery of baptism, the stains of birth are put aside. For this reason, even small children are baptized. For “unless a man be born again of water and spirit, he will not be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

Now who this one would be to whom God promised an eternal priesthood Zechariah has taught, even giving his name most clearly. For thus he spoke: “And the Lord God showed me Jesus the high priest standing before the face of the angel of the Lord, and the devil stood at his right hand to be his adversary. And the Lord said to the devil, ‘May the Lord that chose Jerusalem rule over you, and behold the brand plucked out of the fire!’ And Jesus was clothed with filthy garments, and he stood before the face of the angel. And he answered and said to them that stood around before his face, saying, ‘Take away the filthy garments from him, and put on him a tunic and sandals, and put a clean miter upon his head.’ And they clothed him with garments and put a clean miter upon his head. And the angel of the Lord stood and testified before Jesus, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord almighty: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charges, you shall judge my house. And I will give you some of them that are now present to walk with you.’ Hear, then, O Jesus, the high priest.”

Now in this, by that wondrous sacrifice, Elijah clearly proclaimed to us the sacramental rite of baptism that should afterwards be instituted. For the fire was kindled by water thrice poured upon it, so that it is clearly shown that where the mystic water is, there is the kindling, warm and fiery spirit that burns up the ungodly and illuminates the faithful. Yes, and yet again his disciple Elisha, when Naaman the Syrian, who was diseased with leprosy, had come to him as a suppliant, cleanses the sick man by washing him in the Jordan, clearly indicating what should come, both by the use of water generally and by dipping in the river in particular. For the Jordan alone of rivers, receiving in itself the firstfruits of sanctification and benediction, conveyed in its channel to the whole world, as it were from some fount in the type afforded by itself, the grace of baptism. These then are indications in deed and act of regeneration in baptism. Let us for the rest consider the prophecies of it in words and language. Isaiah cried, saying, “Wash you, make you clean, put away evil from your souls,” and David, “Draw nigh to him and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be ashamed.” And Ezekiel, writing more clearly and plainly than them both, says, “And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be cleansed; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I give you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh, and my spirit will I put within you.” Most manifestly also does Zechariah prophesy of Joshua, who was clothed with filthy garments (to wit, the flesh of a servant, even ours), and stripping him of his ill-favored raiment, adorns him with the clean and fair apparel, teaching us by the figurative illustration that truly in the baptism of Jesus all we, putting off our sins like some poor and patched garment, are clothed in the holy and most fair garment of regeneration.

(Chapter III - Verse 1 and following) And he showed me Jesus, the great high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord: and Satan was standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan: May the Lord rebuke you, Satan, may the Lord rebuke you who has chosen Jerusalem. Is this not a brand plucked out of the fire? And Jesus was clothed in filthy garments, and he stood before the face of the angel who responded and said to those who stood before him, saying: Take away the filthy garments from him. And he said to him, 'Behold, I have taken away your iniquity, and I will clothe you with rich garments.' And they put a clean turban on his head, and they put clean clothes on him. LXX: And the Lord showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan stood at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, 'The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!' Is not this man like a brand plucked from the fire? And Jesus was clothed with dirty clothes, and he stood before the face of the angel, and he answered and said to those standing before his face, saying: Take off the dirty clothes from him. And he said to him: Behold, I have wiped away your iniquities from you; and dress him in fine clothing, and put a clean turban on his head, and they put a clean turban on his head, and they surrounded him with garments. Before we come to the understanding of the spiritual intelligence, it must be said strictly and briefly how the Hebrews explained this passage. They want Jesus the great priest, whom the Greeks call ἀρχιερέα and the Latins call pontifex, to be understood as the son of Josedec, who presided over the people with Zorobabel. The adversary (for this is what Satan means) stood at his right hand to oppose him. And he rightly stood at his right hand, not at his left, because the accusation was true, since he himself had taken a foreign wife, as is written in Ezra and in Malachi, who follows this prophet, (1 Esdras 12 and Mal. 2). And the Lord said to Satan, the accuser and adversary, for he is the enemy and avenger, and the accuser of his brothers: Let the Lord rebuke you, Satan: for it is raining from the Lord: and let the Lord rebuke you, who chose Jerusalem. Therefore, since Jerusalem has now been chosen from among all the cities of Judah, with the Lord not imputing to her the sins she has committed, why do you attempt to bury Jesus, who escaped from the captivity of Babylon as if half burnt, like a tower which is commonly called a torch? But what follows, 'Jesus was clothed in dirty clothes,' is interpreted in three ways. Either because of illicit union, or because of the sins of the people, or because of the squalor of captivity. But the angel, before whose face Jesus stood, commanded the other angels on behalf of the Lord to take away from him the dirty clothes of which we have spoken above. When they had fulfilled the command, the same angel spoke again to Jesus: 'Behold, I have taken away your iniquity; these are the dirty clothes, and I have clothed you with new garments.' This refers to the joining of an Israelite wife to you, which the Seventy interpreted as 'ποδήρη,' which we can call a long tunic, because it flows down to the ankles and feet. And what follows: Place a clean headband over his head, because we read in Hebrew Saniph (), which is called by many a headdress, and in this they want the dignity of the priest to be understood, that he, having removed the filth of sins, may have a clean priesthood. This is how the Jews interpret it. But our argument is that the priest is great, to whom it is said: You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek (Ps. CIX, 4). But since he (the angel) cannot be seen by himself, he is shown to the prophet by the Lord standing before the angel of the Lord, whom they wish to be the angel of great counsel, not because one and another are, or that we should accept two persons in the Son; but that he is shown to be the same and as one, and is said to appear as if in the form of a defiled man and as if an angel, mediating between God and men. However, they attempt to show that he is not Jesus son of Josedech, because it is not appropriate in the present place for him to be called the son of Josedech, who in other places, and where Jesus is truly called the son of Josedech, is always considered under the name of the Father. Therefore, Jesus is seen standing and standing firmly; and Satan stood at his right hand to oppose him. For he was tempted in every way without sin. And in the Gospel, the tempter approaches him, always seeking to oppose him with his right hand and his powers. And that which follows: The Lord rebuke you, Satan, and the Lord rebuke you, who choose Jerusalem, they have said, because the Father and the Son are Lord, and in the 109th psalm we read: The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand. The Lord speaks to another Lord, not because the Lord who speaks cannot rebuke, but because out of the unity of nature, when the other rebukes, he himself who speaks rebukes. For he who sees the Son, sees also the Father (John 14:9); and this is he who chose Jerusalem, the Church which contemplates the peace of the Lord. But the tower taken out of the fire can rightly be understood as one who, while he is in Babylon, is not consumed by the fire of Babylon, nor touched by the flame of this world. Therefore Moses also sees a great vision in the desert, in which the bush was burning, but was not consumed (Exodus 3). This Jesus was clothed in filthy garments; although he had not committed any sin, he was made sin for us, and he himself carries our infirmities, and suffers for us, and we thought of him as being in sorrow, and in wounds, and in anguish. But he was wounded for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:4). And in the Apostle we read: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). Here in the twenty-first psalm it says: Far from my salvation are the words of my offenses (Psalm 22:1). And in the sixty-eighth psalm: O God, you know my foolishness, and my sins are not hidden from you (Psalm 69:6). All the garments that are called dirty will be taken away from him when he has washed away our sins, so that because he was clothed in dirty garments, we may hear after baptism: May your garments always be white (Eccl. IX, 8): and the whole Church of believers hears through Isaiah: Wash, be clean (Isa. I, 16). And she is prophesied about in the Song of Songs: Who is this that ascends, white (Cant. III, 6)? But take the incarnation of Him, which is from the earth, and is signified in the feet. Understand the clean robe over His head, understand the splendor of divine majesty, so that he may seem to be adorned as one and the same according to man, and according to God.

There is much to be said on this subject. In the case of sinners, the devil is standing at the right side, but that is another matter for discussion. Whoever is a sinner has the devil standing at his right hand. Someone is raising the objection: How, then, in Zechariah is the devil said to stand on the right of Jesus [Joshua], the son of Jehozadak? “And Satan stood at his right hand.” How in Zechariah is it written that the devil stands at the right hand of the Savior? You appreciate that this is a problem. At the time that the devil stood at the right hand of the Savior, “Jesus,” holy Writ says, “was clad in filthy garments.” He was wearing our sins; he was wrapped up in the folds of our vices; that is why the devil was standing at his right side.

Now when he speaks of “uncleanness” here, the mere perusal of the passage is enough to show that he meant “sin” to be understood. It is plain from the words, of what he is speaking. The same phrase and sense occur in the prophet Zechariah, in the place where “the filthy garments” are removed from off the high priest, and it is said to him, “I have taken away your sins.” Well now, I rather think that all these passages, and others of like import, which point to the fact that humanity is born in sin and under the curse, are not to be read among the dark recesses of the Manichaeans but in the sunshine of Catholic truth.

While the Jews were rebuilding their temple, their adversaries endeavored to stop the work, Ezra 5. This vision is therefore calculated to give them the strongest encouragement that God, after plucking them as brands out of the fire (or captivity of Babylon), would not now give them up, but would continue to prosper and favor them; and that notwithstanding the interruptions they should meet with, the work should be finished under the gracious superintendence of Providence; and their high priest, clothed in his pontifical robes, would soon officiate in the holy of holies, Zac 3:1-7. The subject is then, by an easy transition, applied to a much greater future deliverance and restoration, of which Joshua and his companions, delivered now, are declared to be figures or types; for that the Messiah or Branch, the great high priest typified by Joshua, would be manifested; and, like the principal stone represented in the vision, become the chief corner stone of his Church; that the all-seeing eye of God would constantly guard it; and that by his atonement he would procure for it peace and pardon, Zac 3:8-10.

Joshua was clothed with filthy garments - The Jewish people were in a most forlorn, destitute, and to all human appearance despicable, condition; and besides all, they were sinful, and the priesthood defiled by idolatry; and nothing but the mercy of God could save them.

FOURTH VISION. Joshua the high priest before the angel of Jehovah; accused by Satan, but justified by Jehovah through Messiah the coming Branch. (Zac 3:1-10) Joshua as high priest (Hag 1:1) represents "Jerusalem" (Zac 3:2), or the elect people, put on its trial, and "plucked" narrowly "out of the fire." His attitude, "standing before the Lord," is that of a high priest ministering before the altar erected previously to the building of the temple (Ezr 3:2-3, Ezr 3:6; Psa 135:2). Yet, in this position, by reason of his own and his people's sins, he is represented as on his and their trial (Num 35:12). he showed me--"He" is the interpreting angel. Jerusalem's (Joshua's) "filthy garments" (Zac 3:3) are its sins which had hitherto brought down God's judgments. The "change of raiment" implies its restoration to God's favor. Satan suggested to the Jews that so consciously polluted a priesthood and people could offer no acceptable sacrifice to God, and therefore they might as well desist from the building of the temple. Zechariah encourages them by showing that their demerit does not disqualify them for the work, as they are accepted in the righteousness of another, their great High Priest, the Branch (Zac 3:8), a scion of their own royal line of David (Isa 11:1). The full accomplishment of Israel's justification and of Satan the accuser's being "rebuked" finally, is yet future (Rev 12:10). Compare Rev 11:8, wherein "Jerusalem," as here, is shown to be meant primarily, though including the whole Church in general (compare Job 1:9). Satan--the Hebrew term meaning "adversary" in a law court: as devil is the Greek term, meaning accuser. Messiah, on the other hand, is "advocate" for His people in the court of heaven's justice (Jo1 2:1). standing at his right hand--the usual position of a prosecutor or accuser in court, as the left hand was the position of the defendant (Psa 109:6). The "angel of the Lord" took the same position just before another high priest was about to beget the forerunner of Messiah (Luk 1:11), who supplants Satan from his place as accuser. Some hence explain Jde 1:9 as referring to this passage: "the body of Moses" being thus the Jewish Church, for which Satan contended as his by reason of its sins; just as the "body of Christ" is the Christian Church. However, Jde 1:9 plainly speaks of the literal body of Moses, the resurrection of which at the transfiguration Satan seems to have opposed on the ground of Moses' error at Meribah; the same divine rebuke, "the Lord rebuke thee," checked Satan in contending for judgment against Moses' body, as checked him when demanding judgment against the Jewish Church, to which Moses' body corresponds.

filthy garments--symbol of sin (Pro 30:12; Isa 4:4; Isa 64:6); proving that it is not on the ground of His people's righteousness that He accepts them. Here primarily the "filthy garments" represent the abject state temporally of the priesthood and people at the return from Babylon. Yet he "stood before the angel." Abject as he was, he was before Jehovah's eye, who graciously accepts His people's services, though mixed with sin and infirmity.