Prophecies
Zechariah 9:9; Rejoice, O people of Zion![a]
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,[b]
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.
The Gospels explicitly apply this to Jesus’ triumphal entry (Matthew 21; John 12).
Matthew 21:1-5; As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”
This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,
“Tell the people of Jerusalem,
‘Look, your King is coming to you.
He is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.’”
John 12:12-16; The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted,
“Praise God![f]
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hail to the King of Israel!”[g]
Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:
“Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem.[h]
Look, your King is coming,
riding on a donkey’s colt.”[i]
His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.
Zechariah 11:12-13; And I said to them, “If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to.” So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter[a]”—this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the Lord.
The prophet speaks of being valued at 30 pieces of silver, which is then thrown into the house of the Lord.
The New Testament directly connects this to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus (Matthew 26–27).
Matthew 26:14-16; Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
Matthew 27:3-5; When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.”
“What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.”
Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.
Zechariah 12:10; “Then I will pour out a spirit[a] of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.
God says, “They will look on me, the one they have pierced.”
This was fulfilled in Jesus’ crucifixion (John 19:37).
John 19:36-37; These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and “They will look on the one they pierced.”[
Zechariah 13:1;“On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity.
Speaks of a future day when a “fountain will be opened… to cleanse from sin and impurity.”
Interpreted as pointing to the atoning work of the Messiah.
Zechariah 6:12–13; Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Here is the man called the Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of the Lord. 13 Yes, he will build the Temple of the Lord. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne,[a] and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles.’
“The Branch” will build the temple of the Lord and sit as both king and priest.
This dual role is unique and is interpreted as pointing to Jesus’ combined offices of priest and king (Hebrews 7).
Hebrew 7:16-18; Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied,
“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
Zechariah 9:10; I will remove the battle chariots from Israel[a]
and the warhorses from Jerusalem.
I will destroy all the weapons used in battle,
and your king will bring peace to the nations.
His realm will stretch from sea to sea
and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
The king’s rule will extend “from sea to sea,” implying a universal reign.
This points to the Messiah’s ultimate kingdom.
Zechariah 14:1-4; Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming when your possessions will be plundered right in front of you! 2 I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city. Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south.
Describes the LORD standing on the Mount of Olives in the last days.
This is revealed as a prophecy of the Messiah’s return.