The Justifying Grace of God

Jim ButlerZechariah 3

Zechariah 3 presents a divine courtroom scene in which Joshua the high priest stands before the angel of the Lord clothed in filthy garments — the most vile expression of defilement in the Hebrew language — while Satan stands ready to accuse. God silences the accuser not on the basis of Joshua's merit but on the grounds of sovereign election and justifying grace, stripping away the filthy garments and clothing Joshua in rich robes. This double transaction — the removal of guilt and the imputation of righteousness — is the Old Testament portrait of justification by faith alone, anticipating the work of the Branch, the Lord Jesus Christ, who bears the sin of his people so that they might bear his righteousness. The sermon calls believers to combat accusation, whether from Satan or from their own hearts, not by appealing to their performance but by resting in the finished work of Christ and the electing grace of God.