You can turn with me in your Bibles to the prophet Zechariah. Zechariah chapter 3 will be our focus this morning. Zechariah is the second to the last book of the Old Testament. We are concluding this day our series of sermons on the grace of God in the Old Testament.

We have seen that grace poured out on Rahab the harlot, on Gomer and the nation of Israel, according to the prophet Hosea. Also in the life and ministry of Jonah the prophet, we saw that declaration concerning God's grace back in Exodus chapter 34. And I believe that the prophet Zechariah records for us another display of God's wondrous grace. So I'll just read beginning in Zechariah chapter 3 at verse 1.

Then

The Legal Controversy

he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, The Lord rebuke you, Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel. But he answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes. And I said, Let them put a clean turban on his head.

So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put clothes on him. And the angel of the Lord stood by. Then the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts. If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my command, then you shall also judge my house, and likewise have charge of my courts.

I will give you places to walk among those who stand here. Here, O Joshua, the high priest, you and your companions who sit before you, for they are a wondrous sign. For behold, I am bringing forth my servant, the branch. For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, Upon the stone are seven eyes.

Behold, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day, says the Lord of hosts, everyone will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree. Amen. Well, let us pray and ask the Lord's blessing upon our studies today.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We know that all scripture is given by inspiration of God We acknowledge that it is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for reproof, and for instruction in righteousness. And God, we pray today that you would give us your Holy Spirit, that you would guide us in our study of this particular chapter of Holy Scripture. We pray as well, Father, that you would forgive us for all of our sins and anything that would darken our understanding.

For those, God, who have come here this morning that do not know you, that have not believed the gospel, we pray that today would be the day of salvation. We know what is impossible with men is possible with you. We know that you are sovereign over hearts. We know that you have all power, that you have all glory and majesty, and we pray that today you would be well pleased to bless the proclamation of your word, setting forth the gospel of free and sovereign grace in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

And it's in his name that we pray, amen.

Introduction

Well, just a bit of historical context where we find ourselves as we consider Zechariah chapter 3. It is a record concerning a man by the name of Joshua. This is not Joshua the son of Nun that has a book after his name, the one who led Israel into Canaan. Rather, this is the high priest in the restoration period.

Remember that the nation of Israel, specifically the southern tribes, went in for 70 years to exile. They spent 70 years in Babylon for having rebelled against the God of heaven and earth. And what we find after the exile, we find about 50,000 of these people returned to the land of Judah. The first set of exiles returned about the years 538 and 536 BC.

The prophets, or initially when the people got back to the land, they built an altar so that they could worship the Lord. And then not long after that, they began to build the temple. But because of resistance by inhabitants of the land, they put that building project on hold for about 16 years. So that brings us to about the year 520 BC.

Enter the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. These were men who prophesied to the people concerning the building of the temple. Remember that the great tragedy, with reference to the exile, was not that they had been sent to Babylon, but that their temple was destroyed, their city was destroyed, and the presence of God had been removed from them. So Haggai and Zechariah come along and they say, build the temple, They preach to the people so that they will undertake in that particular venture so that God and sinners can dwell together in that place that he has ordained.

Now part of Zechariah's prophecy concerns visions. The exact date, if the commentators are to be trusted, was on February 15th. Now, it wasn't called February in the Hebrew calendar, but correspondingly, it would have been February 15th, 519 BC. Zechariah receives eight night visions.

He sees eight things that the Lord wants to communicate to him in terms of theology and in terms of redemptive truth. We are picking up the fourth night vision this morning, Zechariah chapter 3, and it deals with themes that are most important for the covenant community, namely cleansing from sin and the encouragement to build that temple structure that God had bid them to do.

Sermon Overview and Structure

So let's look at Zechariah 3 under three considerations. First, the cleansing of Joshua, verses 1 to 5, the charge given to Joshua, verses 6 and 7, and then the promise concerning the branch in verses 8 to 10.

The Cleansing of Joshua

So let's pick up, first of all, verses 1 to 5, the cleansing of Joshua. And under this heading, we have four considerations. The first is that we need to notice that there is a legal controversy going on in the first few verses. He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.

Now there are several characters mentioned. Again, Joshua the high priest. He is not functioning here primarily on his own, but rather Joshua is representative of the nation of Israel. We know that for four reasons.

First, by virtue of his office. The priest went to God on behalf of the people. Secondly, the reference in verse 2 to Jerusalem being chosen by God. Not just Joshua the high priest.

Thirdly, the reference to him having been plucked from the fire does not refer solely and alone to Joshua the High Priest, but to the people of exile, the people who have been restored. They've been plucked as a branch from the fire. And then in verse 9, there is a statement concerning the removal of iniquity from the land in that day. So as we look upon Joshua the High Priest, he's not standing there solely and alone for himself.

He is standing there as a representative of the covenant community of Israel. He is standing as a public person. Notice, secondly, the angel of the Lord is mentioned. I take this as a reference to the pre-incarnate Christ.

We see his mediation operative even in this setting, even prior to his coming into this earth. And then thirdly, we see the adversary, the devil himself, notice, and he says that Satan is standing at his right hand to oppose him. That is the function of the devil, to accuse the people of God. You ever read the book of Job?

What do you see the devil doing? He is accusing Job. He is saying before the Lord God that Job only serves you because of the benefits and the good things that you give to him. In the book of Revelation, in chapter 12, the devil is referred to as the accuser of the brethren.

John Gill says concerning this adversary, he says the business of Satan there or here was to accuse. to bring charges, to plead for condemnation, and endeavor to get the sentence of it passed against Joshua, for he was at his right hand to be an adversary to him. As his name, Satan signifies, he says, being an enemy to mankind in general, and especially to the people of God, and more especially to persons in sacred public offices. So you see, that's the cast of characters. We have God the Lord, we have the angel of the Lord, we have Joshua the high priest, and we have Satan standing at his right hand to bring accusation and to level charge against Joshua and by virtue of his representative character, the nation of Israel itself.

The High Priest's Filthy Appearance

Now let us notice the high priest's appearance. Let us observe how he looks. I would imagine that if you got summoned to court, you'd probably put on your best clothes, wouldn't you? You'd put on your nicest suit, or if you were a lady, you'd put on your nicest dress.

You'd make sure that you didn't have any blemishes or visible challenges to your appearance. Well, Joshua, the high priest, we expect him to be beautiful. We expect him to be glorious. If you go back to the Book of Exodus, you'll see that the high priest's garments are there and explained and described. wore it all.

He was decked out when he went into the temple, into the tabernacle, to engage in his priestly activities. We expect to see glory, we expect to see majesty, we expect to see excellence, and yet what is it that we see when Joshua, the representative, stands before the living and true God? We see him filthy. We see Him vile.

We see Him wretched. We see Him undone. This is a genuine and an accurate depiction of how God the Lord sees us. I oftentimes wonder when people visit churches, they might get the wrong impression because in a very real sense, we're a sanitized community when we come together here.

Certainly, we've been sanitized by the blood of Christ, but we put on the nice clothes, we get ready, we prepare ourselves, and we can sort of send off this image that we've got it all in order. Everything is A-OK. Everything is good and upright. Whereas when God the Lord sees us, or when we look at ourselves biblically, we understand the filthy character that we represent.

And the word filth here doesn't just mean a little less than noble, a little disheveled, a little unkempt. Joshua didn't spill a bit of cream cheese on his outfit on that morning. The word filth used in this particular passage is used elsewhere in the Old Testament in connection with human feces. It is used in connection with vomit.

What we have right before our eyes with Joshua the high priest standing before the Lord God Almighty, representing Israel as a public person, we see him undone, we see him filthy, we see him grimy, we see him sinful, we see him utterly wretched before the Lord God Almighty. And the devil is right there at his right hand to level these accusations, to bring this to bear upon this man Joshua. If you ever wonder what we really are, this is your passage. If you ever wonder what you really look like before the Lord God of Israel, this is your passage.

We can sanitize, we can take showers, we can buy nice shirts, we can put on ties, we can put on nice trousers, but before the God of heaven and earth who sees us as we are, it's filth. Not just some of us, but each and every one of us. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no, not one.

There is none who seeks after God. There is no fear of God before our eyes. And if you say, well, I'm a Christian, I'm a believer, what does the prophet Isaiah say concerning our Righteousness says, they are like filthy rags in your sight. So I don't think we fully appreciate the chasm between the Holy God and sinful man.

Even Christian man, with his remaining corruptions, has enough to damn him for a million eternities. And this is what we see presented before us in this fourth night vision of Zechariah the Prophet. McCombsky says, feelings of revulsion turn to wonder. Must not God turn his back on this repulsive sight and vent his anger at this affront to his holiness?

It seems that the accuser is justified in calling for God's judgment on the sin this filth represents. Feinberg says, the strongest expression in the Hebrew language for filth of the most vile and loathsome character is used by the prophet here. You've got to get the scene in your heads. You've got to enter in.

You've got to appreciate the reality of what God sees when He looks upon man or a covenant community in sin. It is filthy. It is wretched. You see, it's not just Calvinists or Reformed people that pile up those adjectives, that pile up those descriptors about being wretched or about being vile.

It is biblical. It is God's indictment. It is God's expression. It is God's telling us how He sees man in sin.

God's Sovereign Initiative

Now notice, thirdly, you've seen the legal controversy, the appearance of the high priest. Notice the response of God. Notice that the Lord takes initiative. Notice that the devil doesn't even have to voice an accusation.

You see that? The devil doesn't say, hey, have you considered your servant Joshua the high priest? He doesn't need to do that because he's appearing there filthy before the Lord. Joshua can't make a defense.

Joshua can't open his mouth and say, you know, a funny thing happened to me on the way to this appearance. I fell in the mud and human feces and vomit connected them. No, he doesn't say that. He has nothing to say before the bar of God.

The devil doesn't even have to proffer an accusation against him. It is evident. It is obvious. It is crystal clear.

This is the point for all of us. It is evident, it is obvious, it is crystal clear what we are before our God. And it is absolutely crucial that we find refuge, we find protection, we find hiding, and we find it in the person and in the work of the Lord Jesus. That's the point of Zechariah chapter 3.

God sees us as we are. In order to be cleansed, the Lord God must take the initiative. And that is precisely what He does in this instance. Notice Joshua doesn't seek forgiveness.

Joshua doesn't plead his case. Joshua is undone. And it is God the Lord who comes. It is God the Lord who initiates.

It is monergism. God saves sinners, not man. God delivers from sin. God provides the remedy.

God provides forgiveness. God rips the filthy garments off and puts on the clean garments. It is all of God. Salvation, to quote Jonah the prophet, is of the Lord.

And that is precisely what is in view here. Notice in verse 2, the Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you, Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?

And so what we see in terms of God's response in this section to shut or keep the mouth of the devil shut and to deal with his servant Joshua, God speaks of two blessed realities. First, sovereign election. It wasn't Joshua that chose God. It wasn't the community that chose God.

In fact, I mentioned Ezekiel 16 last week. God comes upon them. God sees them in their blood. God sees them undone.

God sees them in all of the wretchedness that defines man. And it is God who raises them up and speaks to them and says, live, live. God says, I chose this people. I chose this community.

Shut your mouth, devil. But it's not only the Lord's sovereign election. It's not only His sovereign grace. It's not only predestination and the eternal decree, but it's His justifying grace.

It's what He does in terms of Joshua the high priest in verses 4 and 5. This fleshes out for us. This displays for us. This illustrates for us, in a living sense, what the Westminster Shorter Catechism says.

It says, what is justification? You don't know the answer. May I commend it to you? Westminster Shorter Catechism, number 33.

Justification is an act of God's free grace. wherein He pardons all of our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. Or, sing 440 again. That top lady hymn we just sang before we looked at Zechariah 3 vocalizes and expresses in beautiful hymnody The reality of justification by faith alone. That Protestant doctrine, that blessed truth, the reality that it's God's grace who pardons our sins and gives us the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

And as I said, you see that fleshed out in the following verses.

The Exchange of Garments

Notice the exchange of garments in verses 4 and 5. Now, Joshua was clothed, verse 3, with filthy garments and was standing before the Lord. or before the angel of the Lord. Then he, this is God, then God answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him." Isn't that beautiful? It's the removal of iniquity.

It's the removal of sin. You see, if you're here this morning and you've not believed the gospel, you're in your sin. There's no worse place to be. I said, name the top 10 worst places in this world that you could think of.

You might say Death Valley, California. It's about a million degrees there. You might say school. Is that starting this week?

You might say at the dinner table when there's a pile of broccoli sitting on my plate. You might say with my mother-in-law, though you wouldn't admit that, what is the worst possible place you could be? It is to be in your sin. It is to be under the wrath and fury of God Most High.

He that believeth the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Even while you're at work, even while you're at school, even while you're with your mother-in-law, while you're at the best places on the face of the earth, The wrath of God right now, currently and always, abides on you. You see, when God says, remove those garments from him, it's done.

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. You see, there's an exchange going on here.

God strips the filthy garments off of him. He says and explains it. Verse 4, And to him he said, See, I have removed your iniquity from you. I have taken the filth from you.

I have taken the sin from you. all the lawless deeds, all of the violation of God's law, all of the breach of the commandments. You just run through that. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol.

You shall not blaspheme the name of God. You shall not break the Sabbath. You'll honor your father and your mother. You will not commit murder.

You will not commit adultery. You will not steal. You will not lie. And you will not covet.

God says, I have taken those from you. You see, if you're not a Christian here this morning, you've got to ask yourself, why wouldn't I want that? Why wouldn't I want that? Why wouldn't I flee to Jesus?

Why wouldn't I run to Calvary? Why wouldn't I embrace the Savior by faith? Why wouldn't I lay hold of Him? Why wouldn't I know the blessing of having those filthy garments ripped from me?

There's nothing worse. You know what that guilt is like, don't you? You know that guilt paralyzes? You know that guilt affects you in your life?

I'm not talking about loneliness. I'm not talking about a friendless existence. I'm not talking about the discouragement of your heart. I'm talking about the guilt that you know you sustain before the Holy God of heaven and earth.

Owen made a statement like this. His is a lot more beautiful. But he says, when men hear thunder, and they see lightning, and they're confronted with tempests, they fear. Not so much through the created order, but they know that God is nigh and that He's a consuming fire.

There's nothing worse than having guilt. Nothing worse than being this filthy man before the Holy God. Nothing worse than being covered in vomit and covered in feces and standing before the judge with nothing to say, no defense to render, no reason for explanation. God takes the garments.

He takes them away from the high priest. But then notice what else he does. You see, he pardons all of our sins. And he accepts us as righteous in his sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone.

That's the next section. He says, and I will clothe you with rich robes. I will deck you out. I will make you beautiful.

I will adorn you. I will cleanse you. I will purify you. I'll give you this garment so that you can stand in that wedding feast.

I will give you the righteousness of another, the alien righteousness of Christ. I will give it to you and to you freely. Now, just a quick bit of theology, just a quick bit of observation, just a quick observation about something that is going on in our generation. There are those who deny this aspect of justification.

There are those who teach that justification consists only in the forgiveness of sins. But this concept of the imputation of righteousness, that just simply is not biblical. In fact, one of the proponents of this is named N.T. Wright.

And N.T. Wright has this to say concerning the imputation of righteousness or God's clothing Joshua, the high priest with these clothes. Wright says this, if we use the language of the law court, it makes no sense whatever to say that the judge imputes imparts, bequeaths, conveys, or otherwise transfers his righteousness to either the plaintiff or defendant. Righteousness is not an object, a substance, or a gas that can be passed across the courtroom.

You can almost see him cover his mouth and chuckle a little bit, can't you? You can almost hear him mockingly suggest that this idea of the imputation of Christ's righteousness, are you kidding me? It's not an object, it's not a gas, it's not some transferable thing that happens in the courtroom. Ian DeGee makes this statement.

Here in Zechariah, precisely in a courtroom setting, we have the defendant's defilement removed at the order of the judge and replaced by an alien righteousness. You see, Joshua didn't do better. Joshua didn't do well. Joshua didn't engage in covenantal faithfulness, so God then clothes him in this righteousness.

No, it's imputed. It's given to him. It is transferred. It is reckoned.

It is accounted. It is all the language of the Apostle Paul in Romans 5, in 2 Corinthians 5, throughout the Pauline epistles where he makes reference to this great exchange Our sin, heaped upon the Savior. His righteousness, heaped upon us. The Gede makes this final statement.

If that is not forensic imputation, then I do not know what would qualify as such. This is a doctrine under attack. This is a doctrine rejected. This is a doctrine that is being made fun of.

This is a doctrine that without which there's no hope. You see, it's not just the removal of our sin. It's not just cleansing. That puts us back to the tree, puts us back to a probationary period.

We need to be confirmed in righteousness, and that's the beauty of the Christian message, where Christ has satisfied the demands of justice. Christ has died as a sacrifice, as an atonement. Christ has taken the wrath and fury of God, and Christ has risen again. As Paul says, He's delivered up because of our offenses, and He has raised up for our justification.

It is the blessed reality that in Jesus Christ, what happens here in Zechariah chapter 3, verses 3 to 5, is true of all of God's people. And then Zechariah speaks up. Verse 5, Zacharias says, Lord, put a clean turban on his head. I don't think this is the priest's turban, the priest's mitre, but rather it is a symbol of glory.

God adorned Israel. He made them beautiful. They displayed vividly His glory. And so here the prophet, to encourage the people in building this temple, says, God, put a clean turban on his head.

And what does the Lord do? The Lord undertakes. The Lord blesses. The Lord answers His servant, Zechariah.

The Charge Given to Joshua

Now notice in the second place. The charge given to Joshua, verses 6 and 7. He is to be faithful and he is going to receive blessing. Verse 6, then the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua saying, thus says the Lord of hosts, if you will walk in my ways and if you will keep my command.

That is a distinctly theological order. You're thinking systematic theology, you think of the doctrine of justification, which is always and inevitably followed by the doctrine of sanctification. In other words, when God removes our sin and God imputes the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we've entered into this blessed relationship with Him, and it is then incumbent upon us to obey God. Now, this obedience to God isn't that which saves us.

It is what God does in justification. Sanctification follows of necessity. It ebbs, it flows. It's not always as good as it ought to be, but ultimately we enter into heaven based on the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But in this context, this is what Joshua is told. The Lord admonished, or the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua saying, thus says the Lord of hosts, if you will walk in my ways, personal faithfulness, a righteous attitude toward the Lord, you say you believe the gospel, you say you've come to Jesus, you say that he's forgiven you, you say that you've received the new, or the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to you and received by faith alone, then walk in his ways. Do what He says. Jesus speaks this way in John 14, 15.

He who loves me keeps my commandments. John the Apostle in 1 John highlights this reality, that we obey God, that we follow the Lord as those who've been justified freely by His grace. But remember, we enter in because we've been justified freely by His grace. The degree of our faithfulness or not the degree of our ability or the degree of our obedience.

Because certainly we'd all be damned to hell forever. Because God doesn't judge us on that curve. But you see, there is an order here. Joshua is called to be faithful.

If you will walk in my ways and if you will keep my command, probably in his official capacity as a high priest in Israel. You need to engage the way that God the Lord has spoken. You need to carry out your functions accordingly. You need to do what you are called to do as a public person, as a servant of the Lord.

And then he appends to this blessings. He speaks of three things that will be theirs when they engage in this. Now notice, this is their position in the covenant. It is blessing.

It is fullness, it is gift, it is good things. God is relentless. He will bring his people ultimately to fruition because of his justifying grace. But what is in view here?

If you will walk in my ways and if you will keep my command, then you shall also judge my house. The Israel of God will judge the house of God. 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Timothy 3. What is the house of God? It is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth.

See, within this vision there is prophesying concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus and the initiation or inauguration, rather, of the new covenant. Notice, secondly, Israel will have charge of God's courts. Reminded me of 1 Peter 2. Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.

You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." And then note the third thing that he says. There will be special access to the presence of God. Look at what he says at the end of verse 6. I'm sorry, the end of verse 7.

I will give you places to walk among these who stand here. I take among these who stand here as the angels of verse four who were dispatched to pull those wretched, filthy garments off of Joshua and to put those clean and glorious garments on Joshua. You see what God says, I will give you places to walk among these who stand here. There will be intimacy, there will be communion, there will be that blessedness of fellowship with God that Adam had in the garden but he forfeited.

The second Adam comes and he secures that for his people and he will bring it to fruition and to pass and they will enjoy the glory of God, world without end. Amen. So he says to justify Joshua, Do what I say. Live in the manner that is consistent with your calling.

So much of the New Testament tells us as Christians and as churches to do that very thing. Let your conduct be worthy of the gospel. Pursue holiness without which no man will see the Lord. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.

You're a justified believer? You are one who God has saved? Then live in light of that reality. Do not let sin reign in your members.

If you, by the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, you will live. You see, it's very easy for us to reduce the bar, to lower the bar. We have a high and a robust and, I think, an accurate understanding of justification by faith alone. And at times, we can grow a little bit cold and a little bit sully to the reality that I need to cut off right hands.

I need to gouge out right eyes. I need to pursue those things which are pleasing to the Lord, not so that I can be saved, but because I am saved. That's the point in Romans 6. How can you, who died to sin, continue in it?

It just doesn't make sense. You've believed the gospel. You've, by grace, been justified freely. You are in Him.

Don't pursue those things which are of the devil. Don't pursue those things which transgress God's law. Don't lack conformity unto His blessed law, but rather pursue. Get up in the morning, run the race, fight the fight, win the battle.

Serve and magnify and glorify your Lord. Those who have been justified freely by His grace ought to be the most zealous pursuers of righteousness and holiness. You know, the proponents say, if you teach justification by faith alone, then people will grow lazy. People will be lethargic.

People will begin to conclude, well, if we sin, then God's grace will abound. Paul says, may it never be. We are not to continue in sin that God's grace may abound. We are to pursue those things which are pleasing to him.

So we see the cleansing of Joshua, the charge given to Joshua.

The Promise Concerning the Branch

Notice thirdly and finally, the promise concerning the branch. Three things come out in verses 8 to 10. We'll just kind of run through it a bit quickly. Verses 8 to 10.

Notice verse 8. Hear, O Joshua. Behold, Joshua. Listen, Joshua.

Pay attention, Joshua. Dealt with your sin. Dealt with the nation. I've given you your mandate.

Given you your marching orders. Now I want you to understand something. All of this promise, all of this blessing, all of this benefit, all of this good stuff is connected to my son. It's all about Christ.

It's all about Jesus. It's all about the second person of the Trinity. Sinners do not stand accepted by God because of their own strength, because of their own lawful law keeping. They do not stand in their own merit or in their own power.

They stand because of my servant, the branch. That's what he's saying here. Notice in verse 8, "'Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, you and your companions who sit before you.'" Probably his associates, probably his fellow priests. Notice, "'For they are a wondrous sign.'" They are a wondrous sign.

You see, after the exile, when Judah is restored to her land, The temple is rebuilt. That's the point. The temple, incidentally, was rebuilt by 516. They undertook in 520.

Zechariah gets his night visions in 519. It only took four years to build the temple, and it's standing in 516. And when it stands, and there's a priesthood functioning, they are a type. They are a sign.

They are a symbol that something else is on the horizon. That there's a greater priest. There is the high priest, there is the final priest, the priest who comes from the order of Melchizedek according to Psalm 110. The priest who is identified in Zechariah 6, 12 and 13.

He's called branch there, he's called priest, he's called king again. So while the temple is standing, while the priesthood is functioning, every sacrifice that they make, every calf that they gut, every throat that they cut, every single instance stands as a typical indication that God is sending His Son. And that Son is identified here in verse 8b. For they are a wondrous sign, for behold, I am bringing forth my servant the branch." It's kind of an interesting term, isn't it?

We see that this branch will come from the root of David or the root of Jesse even. We could also read that as this branch comes from the stump of David. You see, Israel as a people, Judah as a people had gotten to the point of being a stump When you looked at that once great tree, it was gone, save for the stump. When you looked at this once great people after the restoration, there's only 50,000.

Their temple, this one they built and completed in 516, lacks the glory of Solomon's temple. In fact, there's people weeping. The old timers are crying when they see this second temple, not because it's completed, but because the glory associated with Solomon's is gone. They're a stump.

They're reduced to this stubble. They're at a place where it would look like no greatness or no prestige will ever come from them.

The Branch from David's Stump

My servant, the branch. It's interesting. One commentator suggests that the idea, branch or sprout, connects with David's statement in 2 Samuel 23.5. where David speaks of the eternal covenant that God has made with him, the covenant of kingship. And he uses this language.

God will cause it to sprout. The New King James doesn't render it that way. I don't know about your other Bible versions, but if you didn't know the Hebrew that was behind the scene, not that I'm some scholar, one of these good brothers pointed me to this reality, you'd miss the symbol. This branch is the prophesied king coming from David's wine that would save his people from their sins, that would usher in the new age, that would reign forever and ever, world without end.

Christ is the branch herein prophesied. Look over at chapter 6 at verse 12. Thus says the Lord of Hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch. From his place he shall branch out, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.

You see, Zechariah is telling us there's something more noble, something more glorious, and something more excellent than this structure that was completed in 516. He is pointing forward to the messianic era. He is pointing forward to the first coming of the Lord Jesus. Notice, he shall build the temple of the Lord.

Verse 13, yes, he shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory. He shall sit and rule on his throne. And he shall be a priest on his throne.

And the counsel of peace shall be between them both. It is because of this branch. It is because of God's servant. That term, that phrase, or that statement is applied to Jesus throughout the prophet Isaiah.

Jeremiah picks up the branch language in chapter 23 and again in chapter 33. The prophet Isaiah does as well. He refers to the branch or the root in chapter 11 verse 1. Different word, but same concept.

Chapter 4 verse 2 in Isaiah the prophet, he refers to Jesus as the branch. The point is, listen, you may miss everything I've said about the Davidic kingdom. You may miss everything I've said about 2 Samuel 23 5. You may miss everything I've said about the branch in terms of its etymology or the word, the definition and all that sort of thing.

But this you cannot miss. Joshua has his filthy garments removed from him and clean garments placed on him because of this branch. Everyone in here who has had their filthy garments removed Everyone in here who has had their sin forgiven, everyone in here who has been given the righteousness of Christ, it is not because they're better, it is not because they've reformed in some areas, it's not because they go to church or read the Bible or pray or listen to sermons, it's because the branch came, the branch obeyed, the branch died, and the branch rose again. And everyone who, by God's grace, looks to the branch, shall be saved." Zechariah is preaching the gospel.

Zechariah is preaching grace. Zechariah is testifying concerning the graciousness of God. You see, there is nothing in this people that commends them to God. God doesn't say to Satan, the Lord rebuked you because they're pretty good.

The Lord rebuked you because they've chosen for me. The Lord rebuked you because, you know, they try hard. The Lord rebuked you, Satan, because I have chosen them, I have plucked them as a brand from the fire, and I have ripped off their sin, and I have put on these righteous, festal garments. Shut up, Satan.

You have no place whatsoever to level accusation against my people. And it is connected to my son, the son of my love, the one I call my servant, the one I call my branch, the one who comes from the stump of David, the stump of Jesse, who will reign and have dominion forever and ever, world without end. Amen.

The Stone and Removal of Iniquity

Verse 9 probably refers to the stone that was set with reference to the temple which does typify and point forward to Jesus as the chief cornerstone. And then notice in verse 9 what he says at the end. And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. He doesn't amplify on that.

He doesn't expound on that. He doesn't explain that. He doesn't open it up. But as New Covenant members, I hope we understand what he's speaking about.

I hope we understand that he's speaking about that once-for-all sacrifice that was offered by Jesus. That day when our Lord Jesus marched to Calvary, that day when our Lord Jesus stood as a representative, that day when everything that happened to Joshua the high priest happens the opposite direction to our Lord, You ever consider that? Joshua, in and of himself, is full of sin. Joshua, in and of himself, is clothed in filthy garments.

Not so our Lord. In and of himself, he is holy, harmless, and undefiled. As the second person of the triune God, he is without sin. And then what do we find?

We find righteousness being heaped upon Joshua the high priest. He didn't earn it. He didn't buy it. He didn't accomplish it.

He didn't secure it. It is given to him freely. Go the opposite direction. What happens to our Lord? 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21.

God, the Father, made him Christ who knew no sin, to be sin for us. You see, everything that happens to Joshua the High Priest happens the opposite direction in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have God the Father say of Joshua the High Priest, I have cleansed you. The Father delivers him.

Go the opposite way. Who delivers the Lord Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ is delivered by lawless hands. Jesus Christ is delivered by a God-hating mom.

Jesus Christ hears, away with him, away with him, crucify him. What has Joshua the high priest promised here? He has promised access to God. He has promised streets or paths where the angels trod.

He has promised communion and fellowship and intimacy with the Lord Most High. Go the opposite direction. What does Jesus say when he's on the cross? Why hast thou forsaken me?

It is in that day that God removes the iniquity of that land. Prophet Zechariah does speak of this again in chapter 13 at verse 1. Notice, for sin and for uncleanness. God willing, tonight, to round off our studies of the grace of God in the Old Testament, will consider Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Leviticus 16.

We will sing again, number 188. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose what? They lose all their guilty stains. They lose every single one They are cleansed.

They are washed. They are purified. They are clothed in a righteousness not their own. That's why we sing 188 as much as we do.

I'm sorry if it gets repetitive. Please focus on those blessed words and rejoice in the Savior who came as the branch to do what God purposed for him. The final blessing envisioned or envisaged Verse 10, in that day, says the Lord of hosts, everyone will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree. This is Old Testament language for peace.

Old Testament language for prosperity. You see it in 1 Kings chapter 4. You see it in Micah chapter 4. It is God's statement concerning the peace and security and the protection that he will afford to his beloved Zion.

Thanks be to God for the blessed branch who he sent, born of a virgin, born under the law to redeem those under the law.

Application

Three thoughts and then we end. First, this is by way of conclusion. First thing we need to understand is the assault of the adversary. The devil is real.

He is an accuser of the brethren, Revelation 12. He's standing there nipping at the heels of the people of God. There's a statement or a story about the most famous ink spot in the world. Maybe you know this story.

That most famous ink spot in the world, you know what an ink spot is, right? This isn't theological jargon. It's a spot of ink. This isn't theological ease.

It's a spot of ink. is in the castle in Wartburg, Germany. Luther had a dream. Not Martin Luther King's famous, I had a dream, but Martin Luther had a dream that the devil came to him. And the devil began to upbraid Luther for all of his sins from his birth.

One man said concerning this, Luther dreamed that Satan appeared to him reading a long scroll with all his many sins from his birth on. It's enough to bury any of us, isn't it? The sins of yesterday is enough to bury any of us. You say, I'm not that sinful.

What are the two great commandments? Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. You're guilty of that in the course of this sermon. The second is like unto it, love your neighbor as yourself.

Oh, I do that, brother. Okay. Sure you do. Satan appeared to him reading a long scroll with all his many sins from his birth on.

As the reading of the list proceeded, Luther's terrors grew until finally he jumped up and cried. It is all true, Satan, and many more sins I have committed in my life which are known to God only. But right at the bottom of your list, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. Luther took the inkwell sitting on his table and threw it at the devil.

And he fled. There's an ink spot on the wall. in the castle at Wartburg, Germany. Write it at the bottom of your list. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin.

Isn't it intriguing that when the Apostle Paul wants to silence those who condemn, what does he say? Who is he who condemns? It is God who justified. Believer, shut the mouth of the devil, not because of your good deeds or because of your law-keeping, but because at the bottom of his list you can write, the blood of his Son, Jesus Christ, cleanses us from all sin.

The Basis of Christian Assurance

A second observation. What is the basis for Christian assurance? I hope you see it in the text. "'Tis not that I did choose thee, for, Lord, that could not be." It is God's sovereign election.

You know, when people say, oh, why do you believe that dour, old, hard creed that God chooses? Because without it, we're damned. It is the foundation upon which believers have their safety and their comfort. Two things jump out of this text with reference to the assurance of the believer.

It is God's sovereign grace. It is electing purposes. It is the reality that before the foundation of the world, He chose us in Christ. And it is His justifying grace.

Again, Paul, Romans chapter 8. Who is he who condemns? Who shall bring a charge against who? God's elect sovereign grace.

It is God who justifies. Believer, when you're assaulted by the devil, or when you're assaulted by your own remaining corruption, or you're assaulted by your own doubts and fears, come take a view at Joshua the High Priest. Come see grace, come see mercy, come see the power of the Christian message. You don't stand based on your own strength.

I love that stanza in 582, his oath, his covenant, his blood, support me in the whelming flood. Notice what Moat does not say, my power, my ability, my goodness, my law keeping, my attendance, my... No, his oath, his blood. His oath, his covenant, his blood.

Support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and stay. Brethren, find your assurance, not in you. Certainly, when you look at you, there's nothing to be assured about, is there?

Is there? You ever look in the mirror and say, I'm doing pretty good as a Christian. I always get a little bit freaked out when people say, he's a really good Christian. What does that mean?

He's a really good Christian. We usually mean he reads his Bible, he prays, he goes to church. Do you know what a really good Christian is? Someone covered in blood.

Someone given an alien righteousness. Somebody washed, sanctified, justified. Somebody cleansed in that fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness. I get it.

I understand the parlance. He's a really good Christian. He reads his Bible. He prays.

I'm not suggesting don't read your Bible and don't pray. I'm not saying that. But a really good Christian, there's no such thing. He's a really good Christ.

He's a really good Savior. A really good champion. a really good Redeemer, a really good bleeding substitute, a really good sacrifice, a really good Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Sinners who take refuge under the shadow of His wings are called Christians. That's what we need to understand.

God's Grace: the Sermon's Purpose

And then finally, we must not miss God's grace in this passage. That's our study. That's our point. That's the purpose of this series, Studies in the Old Testament Concerning God's Grace.

Did you see it there? Did you view it? Did you understand it? Joshua's not going to heaven because of Joshua.

Joshua's not going to heaven because he's a high priest. Joshua's not going to heaven because he has fulfilled all of his covenantal obligations. Joshua's going to heaven because of this great exchange. because God pulled his sin away and God put new garments on him. Luther, again, says it this way, the rich, noble, pious, bridegroom Christ takes this poor, despised, wicked little poor in marriage, redeems her of all evil, and adorns her with all his goods.

The great exchange. If you have not come to Christ, if you have not believed the gospel, I invite you today I call upon you as a minister of the gospel to believe, to look, and to live. You say, but pastor, you just talked about election. You talked about predestination.

You talked about the eternal decree. I affirm all those things 110%. You need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You need to look and live.

You need to come to the Savior who offers himself through calls, rather, to sinners, to belief, to look to Him and to have everlasting life. Don't continue in your sins. Don't continue in rebellion. Don't continue in rejection.

Don't continue to despise. I don't understand that. I meet people in this town that have been brought up in churches. that have heard gospel preaching all their lives, and yet continue to resist. They continue to stiff-arm.

They continue to stay away. They continue to say no. Lay down your arms. Wave the white flag.

Forget it. Your ways are destitute. You're not going to make it. There is a day coming wherein the full wrath and fury of God is going to be poured out upon sinners.

The only way of escape, the only way of refuge, the only way to find help is through Jesus Christ the Lord. Believe on him and you will be saved. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank you so much for your word and we thank you for the Old Testament and what it teaches us concerning a very gracious and a very merciful God. We thank you for that recurring message in the New Testament as well. We thank you for the consistent testimony concerning the Lord Jesus Christ as that one who came to save his people from their sins. I pray, God most high, that you take the word, that your spirit would apply it.

I pray that today would indeed be the day of salvation for sinners. And for your people, God, I pray that you would inoculate us against the attacks and the assaults of the devil. May we find joy in your sovereign grace. May we find joy in your justifying grace.

May we find the basis of our assurance in his oath, in his covenant. and ultimately in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do protect us when these whelming floods come. Cause us to always find our refuge in Jesus Christ and in him alone. We just pray now that you would go with us.

We pray that you'd watch over us. We pray that you'd bring us together tonight and where we celebrate in a special way our Lord's death on behalf of his people. And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.

Scripture References

• Leviticus 16
• 2 Samuel 23:5
• 1 Kings 4
• Psalm 110
• Isaiah 4:2; 11:1; 64:6
• Jeremiah 23; 33
• Ezekiel 16
• Jonah 2:9
• Micah 4
• Zechariah 3:1-10; 6:12-13; 13:1
• Matthew 27:46
• John 3:36; 14:15
• Romans 3:10-11; 3:18; 3:23; 4:25; 5; 6:2; 8:13; 8:33-34; 13:14
• 1 Corinthians 6
• 2 Corinthians 5:21
• Galatians 4:4
• Philippians 1:27
• Hebrews 12:14
• 1 Timothy 3
• 1 Peter 2:4-5
• 1 John 1:7
• Revelation 12