The Open Fountain Text: Zechariah 13:1
Introduction: The Logic of Grace
The prophet Zechariah, like many of the prophets, is a man who deals in jarring transitions. One moment he is speaking of cataclysmic battles, of nations gathered against Jerusalem, of a Shepherd struck and sheep scattered. The next moment, immediately following the profound mourning of the people for the one they pierced, he speaks of a fountain. After the bitter grief comes the cleansing grace. This is not a contradiction; it is the logic of the gospel. God wounds in order to heal. He brings us to the end of ourselves, to a place of utter contrition, so that we might be ready to receive a cleansing we could never provide for ourselves.
We are in the second great oracle of Zechariah, which began in chapter 12. The historical context is the post-exilic community, a people who have returned to a ruined city and are trying to rebuild. But the prophecy soars far beyond their immediate circumstances. It is looking down the corridors of time to a definitive moment, what the prophet repeatedly calls "in that day." This is not just any day. It is the day of the Lord, the dawning of the Messianic age. It is the hinge of history.
In the previous chapter, God poured out a spirit of grace and supplication upon His people, causing them to look upon Him whom they had pierced and to mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son. This is a prophecy of the great repentance that would seize Jerusalem at Pentecost, when Peter preached Christ crucified and risen, and the people were cut to the heart. But what follows such deep, national conviction of sin? What is the divine response to a people who finally see the enormity of their transgression? It is not wrath, but washing. It is not condemnation, but cleansing. God's answer to their sin-sickness is to open a fountain.
This verse is one of the clearest expressions of the gospel in the Old Testament. It shows us that God's plan was never simply to point out our filth, but to provide the means for its removal. He does not leave us in our mourning, but provides the very thing that makes mourning turn to joy. And He does it with an image of lavish, abundant, and permanent supply. He does not open a cistern, which can be emptied. He opens a fountain, which flows perpetually.
The Text
"In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity."
(Zechariah 13:1 LSB)
The Appointed Time (In that day)
The verse begins with a crucial, recurring phrase:
"In that day..." (Zechariah 13:1a)
This phrase, "in that day," anchors the promise to a specific, though future, moment in God's redemptive calendar. Zechariah has been using it repeatedly to describe the time when God will decisively intervene on behalf of His people. This is the day of Christ's appearing, the day of His great work. It encompasses His death, resurrection, and the outpouring of the Spirit. It is the inauguration of the New Covenant.
This is not some vague, ethereal "someday." It is a fixed point. It is the day when the Shepherd would be struck (Zech. 13:7). It is the day when the people would look on the one they pierced (Zech. 12:10). It is the day when salvation would be accomplished. The opening of this fountain is not an afterthought; it is the central event of "that day." All of history was leaning forward to this moment. All the sacrifices, all the ceremonies, all the washings of the Old Covenant were pointing to the day when the true and final fountain would be opened once and for all.
The Divine Provision (a fountain will be opened)
The heart of the promise is this magnificent provision:
"...a fountain will be opened..." (Zechariah 13:1b)
The imagery here is potent. In a dry and arid land, a fountain is a source of life, refreshment, and cleansing. It is not a stagnant pool or a man-made reservoir that can be depleted. A fountain speaks of a living, inexhaustible source. The verb "opened" implies that the source was always there, but is now being made accessible. It is being unstopped, revealed, and made available for all.
What is this fountain? The New Testament leaves no room for doubt. It is the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. The apostle John tells us that "the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). The author of Hebrews speaks of Christ's blood cleansing our consciences from dead works (Heb. 9:14). This fountain was opened, quite literally, on the cross when the soldier's spear pierced the side of our Lord, and "at once there came out blood and water" (John 19:34). That was the moment the fountain was opened to the world.
This is a direct polemic against the temporary and repetitive nature of the Old Covenant's ceremonial cleansings. The blood of bulls and goats could never truly take away sin (Heb. 10:4). The various washings and sprinklings were types and shadows. They were like pictures of water, but this fountain is the reality. It is a fountain, not a basin. It is permanently open, not just on the Day of Atonement. It is an infinite supply for an infinite need.
The Designated Beneficiaries (for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem)
The prophecy specifies who this fountain is for:
"...for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem..." (Zechariah 13:1c)
This designation is both specific and representative. The "house of David" refers to the royal line, the leadership. The "inhabitants of Jerusalem" refers to the common people. Together, they represent the entire covenant community, from the highest to the lowest. No one is excluded. The king in his palace and the beggar at the gate have the same need for cleansing and have access to the same fountain. Grace is the great leveler.
But in the New Covenant, this promise explodes beyond the geographical confines of Jerusalem. Jerusalem becomes the mother church, the launching point for the gospel. Jesus Himself commanded that "repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47). The "house of David" finds its fulfillment in the great Son of David, Jesus Christ, and all who are united to Him by faith. The "inhabitants of Jerusalem" now refers to all who belong to the heavenly Jerusalem, the church of the firstborn (Heb. 12:22-23). This fountain is opened for the entire elect of God, Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female.
The Stated Purpose (for sin and for impurity)
Finally, the verse tells us the precise purpose of this fountain:
"...for sin and for impurity." (Zechariah 13:1d)
The two words used here cover the total problem of our fallen condition. "Sin" (Hebrew: chaṭṭā't) refers to our guilt, our missing of the mark, our transgression against God's holy law. It is a legal problem. We have broken the law and stand condemned. The fountain is for our justification. The blood of Christ pays our legal debt in full, satisfying the justice of God. It removes the guilt of sin.
"Impurity" (Hebrew: niddāh) refers to our defilement, our moral and ceremonial uncleanness. It is a pollution problem. Sin makes us filthy and unfit for the presence of a holy God. The fountain is for our sanctification. The blood of Christ washes away the stain of sin, cleansing our hearts and consciences. As the old hymn, written with this very verse in mind, says, it is "of sin the double cure," saving us from both its guilt and power.
This is crucial. The gospel does not offer a partial solution. It does not merely pardon us and leave us in our filth. Nor does it merely clean us up without dealing with our legal standing before God. The work of Christ is total. The fountain opened at Calvary deals with both our objective guilt before God and our subjective defilement within. It provides both forgiveness and cleansing, both pardon and purity.
Conclusion: Come to the Fountain
This prophecy is a glorious, open invitation. The fountain is not sealed. It is not guarded. It is opened. It is opened for sinners, for the unclean, for those who have pierced the Lord and now mourn their sin. The only qualification for coming to this fountain is to know that you are dirty.
The gospel is the announcement that this prophecy has been fulfilled. "In that day" has come. The fountain was opened two thousand years ago on a hill outside Jerusalem, and its cleansing stream has been flowing through the world ever since. It is the source of the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1).
Our task is simple. It is to believe this promise and to avail ourselves of this provision. It is to stop trying to wash ourselves with our own filthy rags of self-righteousness. It is to abandon the broken cisterns of this world that can hold no water. It is to come, by faith, to the fountain. It is to confess our sin and our impurity and to plunge ourselves into the endless, flowing grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. For all who do, the promise is absolute: "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool" (Isaiah 1:18). The fountain is open. Come and be clean.