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Today we will read from Zechariah chapter 11. The passage is about the foolish and worthless shepherd. Chapter 11, verse 16 says: “For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.” Next, verse 17 says, “Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock!” I’m sure this has come to mind for some of you: that our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the Good Shepherd. He is the one who seeks out the lost, searches for the ones who were scattered, heals the injured, and feeds the hungry. And lays down His own life for the flock. This is who our Savior, Jesus Christ, is. Now, about the worthless shepherd—which is our topic for today—I’d like to look at some characteristics of that shepherd in Zechariah 11. The chapter seems to describe the leaders as well as the people of that time.
Looking back at Israel’s history: Israel split into two kingdoms, its people were taken into exile, and while in exile, they began to study the words of the Old Testament again. Then Israel was liberated, and the people returned to Jerusalem. This was the work of God’s great mercy. And now, they are seeking to rebuild the Temple and their nation. By rebuilding the Temple, they are responding to God’s great call to become His people. Why did they lose their nation in the first place? They lost their kingdom because the kings became foolish, turned away from God’s grace, fell into idolatry, and ceased to obey God’s Word. The ruler of the northern kingdom of Israel led their people into idol worship, while in the southern kingdom of Judah, wicked ruler such as King Manasseh arose. These leaders turned the people’s hearts away from God’s Word. They persecuted God’s prophets and led the people away from the grace found in Scripture. So I believe today’s reading on the worthless shepherd is a warning from God. There will always be foolish shepherds in every age. We should each take heed of God’s Word in such times. We must learn from history. Foolish and incompetent shepherds bring harm to their own people. One day, they will face God’s judgment. That is Israel learned from its history. And so should we.
Chapter 11 describes how God’s righteous judgment is coming, and how judgment will fall especially on those who rebel against Him. This is a major theme in the book of Zechariah. Let’s take a closer look. Verse 1 says, “Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire may devour your cedars!” Lebanon is a region famous for its abundant cedar forests. God’s judgment will extend even to this nation. Next, verse 3 says, “Listen to the wail of the shepherds . . . the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!” These shepherds refer to the false leaders of Israel. This is a message of God’s judgment: though the nation may prosper for a time, it will fall like the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan. Because the leaders have fallen into corruption, their people also fall into depravity and will face God’s judgment.
In verse 7, the words “favor” and “union” appear. Verse 8 says, “In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.” “Got rid” here means “dismissed.” God dismissed the leaders one after another.
When those in positions of leadership stray from God’s grace and become dictators, their people truly suffer. It is like the two shepherd’s staves in verse 7, one called “favor” and the other called “union”. As verse 10 says, “Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations.” Both the leaders and the people were cut off from God’s grace. Verse 14 then says, “Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.” The path of blessing that Israel should have walked as one united people was broken in two. Because of the folly of these shepherds. Zechariah prophesies that there are such leaders yet to come. But we believe that Jesus Christ hung on the cross for us, and saved us through his atonement. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus restored the staff of Favor and the staff of Union.
In Zechariah 11:12, there is a prophetic word about the wages of a shepherd being thirty shekels of silver. This was the price of a single slave, and interestingly, it is the same amount Judas was paid for betraying Jesus. Let’s look at Matthew 26:14–15 and Matthew 27:3–10. The first passage says: “Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?’ So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver” (Matthew 26:14-15). The second passage, Matthew 27:3 describes how Judas, after learning how Jesus had been condemned, was seized with remorse and threw the thirty pieces of silver into the temple and left. This money was later used to buy a potter’s field, which became a burial ground for foreigners. Going back to Zechariah 11: in verse 13, it says, “And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.” To them, Jesus’ life was the value of a shepherd’s wages. He was only worth a single slave.
In the next chapter, Zechariah 12:10 goes on to say, “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” In my opinion, the worthless shepherds of Zechariah 11 do not point to the leaders who crucified Jesus, nor do I think that “foolish” describes the people who shouted for Jesus to be crucified even after seeing him do great miracles of healing.
I don’t want to spend too much time speculating about who are foolish shepherds as shown in Zechariah. The world today has many leaders who seem foolish. For example, I can’t help but think of the leader of a certain country who provokes war and, even though many of his own people suffer and die, he closes his eyes to reality and acts like the naked king in the story “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” But let us be praying for leaders to arise who are taught by God’s Word, whose lives have been changed, and who love both God and the people.
Recently, there has been news about an emerging political candidate in Texas. Mr. Talarico is a rising star in the Democratic Party who talks about love. He calls for love rather than conflict. It remains to be seen whether he will win this year’s election, but meanwhile he has been talking publicly about the importance of loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself. I am keen to see what happens and I want to pray for biblical values to return to the US. The Word of God has power. Just as there are foolish shepherds, there are also many wise ones. So I want to continue praying for new leaders in this world who truly worship God and who are taught by his Word.
Speaking of God’s Word, let me end with this: Jewish people share a mutual understanding with us Christians about the values found in the Old Testament. Every time Jewish people gather for worship at the synagogue, they read and listen to the Torah, taking those words to heart. The Torah, which means “Law,” is the first five books of the Old Testament, said to be written by Moses. I would like to end today’s message by reflecting on another passage from the Old Testament. Let us be people who listen and respond to God’s Word.
Leviticus 19:9-16:
“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.
“Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord. Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.”
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