The Appointed Sword, The Scattered Sheep Text: Zechariah 13:7
Introduction: The Logic of the Covenant
We live in an age that is allergic to sharp edges. Our culture desires a God who is soft, a gospel that is sentimental, and a salvation that is entirely therapeutic. The modern mind wants a shepherd who only cuddles, never corrects; a god who is a celestial guidance counselor, not a sovereign King. But the God of Scripture is not a tame God, and the plan of salvation is not a gentle suggestion. It is a bloody, violent, covenantal transaction, orchestrated from eternity by the Triune God for His own glory.
Nowhere is this stark reality more apparent than in the prophetic literature, and Zechariah 13:7 is a particularly sharp and jagged peak in that mountain range. This verse is not some obscure, dusty prophecy. It is a verse that Jesus Himself took upon His own lips on the night He was betrayed. In the flickering torchlight of the Mount of Olives, with the shadow of the cross looming, Jesus quoted this very text to His disciples: "You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered'" (Matt. 26:31). He tells them that their imminent failure, their scattering like frightened birds, is not an accident. It is part of the script. It is according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.
This is a hard word. It cuts against our therapeutic grain. It tells us that the central event in human history, the crucifixion of the Son of God, was a divine striking. It was not merely the result of Roman political expediency or Jewish religious jealousy. At the ultimate level, it was Yahweh of hosts commanding a sword to awake against His own Shepherd. If we are to understand the cross, if we are to understand our own salvation, we must grapple with the terrible and glorious logic of this verse. This is not a bug in the system; it is the central feature of our redemption.
The Text
"Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate," Declares Yahweh of hosts. "Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones."
(Zechariah 13:7 LSB)
The Divine Summons (v. 7a)
The verse opens with a shocking command, a divine personification. God is speaking to a weapon.
"Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd And against the man, My Associate," Declares Yahweh of hosts. (Zechariah 13:7a)
This is the language of holy war, of divine judgment. But the target is utterly unexpected. The sword is not summoned against the enemies of God, against Babylon or Egypt. It is summoned against "My Shepherd." This is God's own Shepherd, the one appointed to care for His flock. This is the Messiah, the promised King. And lest we miss the gravity of this, He is further identified as "the man, My Associate." The Hebrew here is potent. "Associate" speaks of a peer, a neighbor, one who is on equal footing. This is a staggering claim of divinity. Yahweh of hosts, the Lord of all the armies of heaven, declares this Shepherd to be His equal, His close companion. This is the Son, co-eternal with the Father.
This is the intra-Trinitarian counsel of redemption laid bare. The Father is commanding that the instrument of judgment, the sword of divine wrath against sin, be awakened and directed at His own Son. This is not a negotiation between rival powers. This is the unified will of the Godhead. The Father wills it, and the Son, His Associate, willingly steps into the path of the sword. The cross was not a tragedy that God had to make the best of. It was an appointment. The sword did not slip; it was sent. This demolishes any sentimental view of the atonement that pictures a loving Jesus placating an angry, vindictive Father. The Father, Son, and Spirit are one in this. The Father gives the Son, the Son gives Himself, and the Spirit applies the benefits of that sacrifice. The love of God is not found in shielding us from the sword, but in the Father sending it upon His own Son in our place.
The Appointed Strike (v. 7b)
The summons is followed by the explicit command, and the immediate consequence.
"Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered;" (Zechariah 13:7b)
Here is the purpose clause. The striking of the Shepherd is the necessary precondition for the scattering of the sheep. Why? Because the disciples' faith was, at this point, in a man they could see. Their hopes were tied to a political, earthly kingdom that they thought He was about to establish. They were following the Shepherd, but their understanding was still clouded. God's plan required a deeper kind of faith, a faith that could endure the apparent absence of the Shepherd. It required their false confidence to be shattered so that a true, resurrection faith could be built on the rubble.
And so, God ordained the strike. The Shepherd was struck by the sword of Roman nails, by the spear, by the thorns, but ultimately, by the full, undiluted wrath of God against sin. He who knew no sin was made sin for us. He was struck, and the immediate result was exactly as prophesied. The disciples fled. Peter denied Him. They were scattered, leaderless, terrified. The center had not held. From a human perspective, it was an unmitigated disaster. The whole enterprise had collapsed. But from a divine perspective, everything was going exactly according to plan. The scattering was not a sign of failure but a necessary stage in God's redemptive process. The sheep had to be scattered from their reliance on the visible Shepherd so they could later be gathered by the invisible Spirit to the resurrected and ascended Lord.
The Refining Hand (v. 7c)
The verse concludes with a phrase that sounds ominous but is, in fact, filled with covenantal mercy.
"And I will turn My hand against the little ones." (Zechariah 13:7c)
At first glance, this sounds like judgment. God has struck the Shepherd, and now He is going to turn on the "little ones," the scattered sheep. But the phrase "turn My hand" is not always negative in Scripture. It can mean judgment, but it can also mean a turning for the purpose of refinement, purification, and restoration. In Isaiah 1:25, God says, "I will also turn My hand upon you, And will thoroughly purge away your dross." This is the sense here. The scattering is not the final word. God's hand is turned toward His scattered, frightened disciples not to destroy them, but to regather and refine them.
This is precisely what we see after the crucifixion. The disciples are in a crucible of fear and doubt. But then the resurrected Christ appears to them. He turns His hand to them. He restores Peter. He commissions them. He breathes the Holy Spirit on them. The scattering in the garden gives way to the gathering in the upper room. The fear of the crucifixion gives way to the boldness of Pentecost. God's hand upon them was a refining fire. He burned away their carnal expectations, their self-reliance, and their cowardice, and He forged them into the apostles who would turn the world upside down. The strike on the Shepherd was for their sin; the turning of the hand on the sheep was for their sanctification.
Conclusion: The Gathered Flock
So what does this mean for us? It means everything. The logic of Zechariah 13:7 is the logic of our salvation. The sword of God's justice for our sin had to fall. It was not ignored or waved away. It had to be satisfied. And in the infinite love of the Trinity, that sword fell upon God's own Shepherd, His own Associate, Jesus Christ.
Because He was struck, we who are the sheep are not condemned. But we are scattered. We are scattered from our idols, from our self-righteousness, from our trust in the flesh. The Christian life begins with a scattering, a disorientation where we realize we cannot save ourselves. We are the "little ones," helpless and lost.
And then, God turns His hand to us. Not in wrath, for that was exhausted on the Shepherd, but in grace. He turns His hand to gather us in. He gathers us to Christ. He refines us by His Spirit. He disciplines us as sons. He turns our scattering into a gathering, our fear into faith, our failure into a testimony of His grace.
The cross was a divine conspiracy of love. The Father aimed the sword, the Son received the blow, and the Spirit now gathers the scattered sheep. Our shepherd was struck so that we, the sheep, might be sought, found, and brought safely into the fold, never to be scattered again.