Jesus, our High Priest

Zechariah 3:1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 3:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 3:3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 3:4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. 3:5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. 3:6 And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, 3:7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. 3:8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they [are] men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. 3:9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone [shall be] seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 3:10 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.

In this passage, Joshua, the high priest, was standing before God in filthy clothes. Now this filth was not incidental dirt that gets on you as the day goes by. This filth came from rolling around in filth.

When I was a child, I would visit my mother, stepbrother and stepfather in Greenville, Texas. Greenville has some of the blackest soil you have ever seen. One day, my stepbrother and I decided to soak the back yard with a waterhose and play football in the mud (just like we had just seen the Dallas Cowboys do on TV). By the time we had finished, we were so covered in mud, we were unrecognizeable.

This was the case with Joshua, the high priest. He stood there, as filthy as a man could be, representing the people before God. The filth on his clothing came from the sins of his people.

Like my stepbrother and I willfully decided to play in the mud, the people had willfully rolled around in the filth of sin. Now, here stood Joshua, filthy from the people's sins (and his too), standing before God with Satan accusing him.

God's response? To cleanse Joshua and the people from their sins (verse 3:4) and restore them to their place in God's Kindgom (verse 3:5, setting the fair mitre on his head).

God then made a promise. He would send forth his servant, the BRANCH, and in that day, he would remove the iniquity from the land. (verses 3:8-9). This is a promise that God would send Christ who would take away the sins of the world. He would first pay for them on the cross, then return again to rule His Kingdom on earth. The first part of that last statement has been fulfilled. The second half is coming shortly. Just wait.

I also think it is interesting that the high priest in this passage was named Joshua, which is the Hebrew form of the Greek name "Jesus." Both names mean "The Lord is Salvation," or "YAHWEH saves." The angel told Joseph in Matthrew 1:21 that "thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

We have a High Priest, Jesus Christ. He represents us before God, in spite of the filth of our lifestyles. Despite our sin. Despite our rotten attitudes and tendencies to indulge. He loves us and the Bible says He lives to make intercession for us.

Let's trust Him. Let's worship Him. Let's praise Him, and let's make the decisions that will glorify Him. Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas.