The One-Day Revolution
Introduction: The Futility of Gradualism
We live in an age that worships gradual, incremental change. Our political and social gurus tell us that progress is a long, slow slog. We are to trust the process, manage the decline, and hope that our great-grandchildren might see a slightly less chaotic world than our own. We try to fix our souls with self-help programs, our families with therapy, and our nations with endless legislation. We are constantly tinkering, adjusting, and reforming, but we never seem to arrive. The reason for this is simple: we are trying to renovate a building that has been condemned. We are applying paint to rotten wood.
The Bible, in stark contrast, reveals a God who specializes in revolution, not just renovation. He is a God of the sudden turn, the decisive act, the clean break. The central message of Scripture is not about mankind’s slow crawl out of the muck, but about God’s gracious and catastrophic invasion into it. This is what we see here in the second half of Zechariah’s fourth vision. In the first part of the chapter, we saw Joshua the high priest standing before God, clothed in filthy garments, with Satan at his right hand to accuse him. We saw God rebuke the devil, strip Joshua of his filth, and clothe him in clean robes and a pure turban. That was the revolution in the man. Now, God explains the revolution in history that makes such a personal transformation possible.
What God promises here is not a slow, meandering path to a slightly better future. He promises a one-day revolution that will fundamentally alter the course of human history and deal with the root of our problem, the problem of iniquity, once and for all. This is not a political program; it is a divine promise. And it is the only hope for a world that is very good at making filth, and utterly incapable of cleaning it up.
The Text
And the angel of Yahweh testified to Joshua, saying, “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will keep the responsibility given by Me, then you will also render justice in My house and also keep My courts, and I will grant you access to walk among these who are standing here. Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you, indeed they are men who are a wondrous sign, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. For behold, the stone that I have put before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘every one of you will call for his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”
(Zechariah 3:6-10 LSB)
The Covenantal Charge (v. 6-7)
The vision continues with a charge given to the newly cleansed high priest.
"And the angel of Yahweh testified to Joshua, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will keep the responsibility given by Me, then you will also render justice in My house and also keep My courts, and I will grant you access to walk among these who are standing here.'" (Zechariah 3:6-7 LSB)
Notice the structure. It is a classic covenantal formula: if you do this, then I will do that. This is not the gospel of cheap grace. This is not God saying, "Because I have cleaned you up, you can now live however you please." No, the grace that cleanses is also the grace that commissions. Justification is always and immediately followed by the task of sanctification. God’s grace is not a hammock; it is a pair of work boots.
The condition is twofold: "walk in My ways" and "keep the responsibility given by Me." This is a call to personal piety and public faithfulness. It is a call to live according to God’s law, not as a means of earning salvation, but as the fruit of having received it. The man who has been given clean robes must now walk in a way that keeps them clean.
And what is the promise for such faithfulness? It is not retirement and a life of ease. The reward for faithfulness is greater responsibility and deeper intimacy. "Then you will also render justice in My house and also keep My courts." God promises Joshua authority and stewardship over His own house, the Temple. The reward for good work is more work. And beyond that, He promises an astounding level of fellowship: "I will grant you access to walk among these who are standing here." Who are "these"? They are the members of God's heavenly council, the angels. God is promising this human high priest access to the very throne room of heaven. This is the destiny of all who are in Christ. Through Him, our great High Priest, we have boldness and access with confidence (Ephesians 3:12).
Men as Living Signposts (v. 8)
The focus now expands from Joshua to his companions, and they are all given a peculiar identity.
"Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you, indeed they are men who are a wondrous sign, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch." (Zechariah 3:8 LSB)
Joshua and his fellow priests are a "wondrous sign." The Hebrew word means a sign, a portent, a miracle. They are living, breathing object lessons. They are walking movie trailers for a coming attraction. Their own story, a story of a restored priesthood for a restored people, was a foreshadowing of a much greater restoration. Their cleansing pointed to a greater cleansing. Their service pointed to a greater service.
And what was the main feature they were pointing to? "Behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch." This is messianic language, straight up. The Branch (Tzemach) is a recurring title for the Messiah, the righteous shoot who would spring from the line of David (Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5). He is the servant of Yahweh, the one who comes not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. God is telling Joshua, "Your story is important, but it is not the ultimate story. You are the signpost, but He is the destination. You are the type; He is the reality."
The All-Seeing Stone of Atonement (v. 9)
The prophecy now introduces another profound image: a single, unique stone.
"For behold, the stone that I have put before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day." (Zechariah 3:9 LSB)
This stone is Christ. He is the foundation stone, the cornerstone that the builders rejected, which has become the head of the corner (Psalm 118:22; 1 Peter 2:6-7). Upon this one stone are "seven eyes." In Scripture, seven is the number of perfection and completeness. Eyes represent sight, knowledge, and vigilance. This is a picture of divine omniscience and the fullness of the Spirit. The seven eyes are later identified as "the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth" (Revelation 5:6). This is no blind foundation; this is a living, seeing, all-knowing foundation for God's house.
And then comes the most startling part. Yahweh of hosts declares, "I will engrave an inscription on it." God the Father takes up the engraving tool. What inscription does He carve into this living stone, His own Son? He engraves upon Him the wounds of the cross. As Isaiah prophesied, "it was the will of Yahweh to crush Him" (Isaiah 53:10). The Father is the engraver; the Son is the stone; the engraving is the crucifixion.
And what is the result of this divine, bloody engraving? "I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day." Here is the one-day revolution. The entire sacrificial system, with its endless cycle of animal sacrifices, could only cover sin temporarily. But this act, this engraving, would remove iniquity. Not manage it. Not suppress it. Not sweep it under the rug. Remove it. And it would be accomplished in a singular, 24-hour period. This is Good Friday. On that day, God dealt with the sin of His people, past, present, and future, in one decisive, history-altering blow. The cross was not part of a process; it was the event that turned the ages.
The Great Barbecue Invitation (v. 10)
The chapter concludes with a beautiful picture of the results of this one-day revolution.
"In that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘every one of you will call for his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’" (Zechariah 3:10 LSB)
What happens when iniquity is removed? Peace breaks out. The image of every man sitting under his own vine and fig tree is the Old Testament shorthand for shalom, a time of unparalleled peace, security, and prosperity (1 Kings 4:25). It is a picture of a world set right. This is the fruit of the atonement. The gospel is not simply a fire escape plan from hell. It is the power of God to restore creation, to bring peace on earth and goodwill to men.
But notice the posture. This peace is not a private, individualistic experience. It is profoundly communal and evangelistic. "Every one of you will call for his neighbor." The peace Christ purchased is a peace that must be shared. The security He provides is a table to which others must be invited. This is the Great Commission in a nutshell. It is not a grim duty; it is a joyous invitation. It is not a sales pitch for a product, but an invitation to a feast. "Come and sit with me. Come and enjoy the rest, the security, the prosperity that my King has purchased. The war is over. The iniquity has been removed. Come and sit down."
This is the vision of Christendom. It is the picture of a world where the gospel has so saturated the culture that peace and hospitality become the defining characteristics of society. This is not a utopian dream; it is a divine promise, the guaranteed outcome of the one-day revolution accomplished by the Branch, the engraved Stone, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
The story of Joshua the high priest is our story. We stand before God, filthy in our sin, with the Accuser rightly pointing out our guilt. But God, in His mercy, rebukes the Accuser, not because we are innocent, but because Christ is righteous. He strips us of our filthy rags and clothes us in the perfect righteousness of His Son.
He then gives us a job to do. We are to walk in His ways and keep His charge. And as we do, He points us away from ourselves to the one who makes it all possible. He points us to the Branch, the Servant King. He points us to the Stone, engraved by the Father on a dark Friday afternoon. That one-day revolution is the center of all history. Because of that day, our iniquity is removed.
And because our iniquity is removed, we now have a new vocation. We are to be those who sit in the peace of God, and who spend our lives calling out to our neighbors, inviting them to come and sit with us. Come out of the chaos. Come out of the fear. Come and sit under the vine and fig tree that Jesus planted on Calvary. There is room enough for all.