“Thus says the Lord of hosts, peoples shall yet come. Even the inhabitants of many cities. The inhabitants of one city shall go to another saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts. I myself am going, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord”, thus says the Lord of hosts. In those days, ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew saying, “Let us go with you.” For we have heard that God is with you.”
– Zechariah 8:20–23
Did you hear that? You see it. This picture God’s saying, “I’m going to bring the peoples, the nations.”
Zechariah 8:20–23 Tells of God’s Desire to Draw the Nations to Himself
He uses that, those words, multiple times. Peoples nations, from every tongue. God says, “I’m going to bring them.” The picture here is to seek me in Jerusalem where my glory dwells. They will come with Jewish people, with my people saying, “Let’s go with you. For we have heard that God is with you.” So this is the picture in the Old Testament. God desiring to draw the nations to himself through his people. Drawing the nations to see his glory, by his presence and his people. Which meant they needed to come to Jerusalem where the temple was to behold the glory of God.
So that’s the picture in Zechariah 8. Now make the connection with Jesus’ words and Matthew 28, when instead of Jesus saying to his disciples, “Just stay here in Jerusalem and bring the nations here”, he says, “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them, the name of the Father of the Son and the Holy Spirit, baptizing them in my name. Go and proclaim my glory to them.”
Zechariah 8:20–23 Reminds Us God wants to Use His People to Reach the Nations
Acts 1:8, “You’ll receive power from the Holy Spirit and you’ll be my witnesses from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth, to all the nations of every tongue.” So it’s not come and see, it’s go and tell God today, right now, is drawing the nations from every tongue, the peoples of the world to himself. And you know how he’s doing it? He’s doing it through his people going out in the power of his spirit.
That’s the way this passage ends. “Let’s go with you. For we have heard that God is with you.” Well, what does Jesus say at the very end of the Great Commission of Matthew 28? “Behold I am with you always.” We go. Go to our neighbors right around us. We go to people in the city right around us. Even as God’s brought the nations to us, the globalization of the world.
We go to the nations right outside our doorsteps and we go to the nations far from us. And Jesus is with us as we go. And people will see, behold the glory of God as they hear the good news of his grace, as we proclaim his gospel and we make disciples of all the nations. This is why we pray most every day on this podcast for the spread of the gospel to the nations, to the peoples, the tongues of the earth, because this has been the purpose of our God from the beginning.
It’s the purpose of our God today, for our lives. Just as he’s saying in Zechariah 8, “God is inviting, calling, commanding, has designed you and me as his people, to be a part of the spread of the gospel to all peoples.” So we say, “Yes, God. Yes, yes, yes.” Use our lives to do what you have purposed from the beginning of creation, to do what you have told us will be the culmination of creation. Every nation and tribe and tongue and people gathered around your throne, singing your praises.
Praying for the Yemeni Arabs
Use our lives, each of our lives, wherever we live today to bring that about. Use our prayers right now. We pray. We pray for Yemeni Arabs, eight million of them. So few followers of Jesus. So think about the small numbers of followers of Jesus among Yemeni Arabs and the massive numbers of Yemeni Arabs who have never heard the gospel and are living in a massive humanitarian crisis amidst civil war and suffering and starvation, and so many different challenges. God, we pray that the Yemeni Arab people would be drawn to you. Pray that you would bless our brothers and sisters there and you would raise up more brothers and sisters to go there and to work on behalf of Yemeni Arabs.
We pray that you would use our lives, our giving. God, I pray for giving through Urgent and Radical. I know that’s part of what’s happening in Yemen right now. And God, I pray that you bless that which is being given through Urgent right now for the spread of the gospel, and Yemen for the fulfillment of Zechariah 8, in Yemen. God, we pray this over Yemeni Arabs and over all the nations from every tongue. That they might encounter you, your grace and your love and the gospel. God, help us each to live, to give, to pray, and to spend our lives however you desire, for the spread of your glory among the nations right outside our doorsteps, near to us, and far from us. We pray according to your word in Zechariah 8. In Jesus name, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
