“And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of Hosts. Behold the man whose name is the Branch for he shall branch out from his place and he shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on this throne and the council of peace shall be between them both.'”
– Zechariah 6:12–13
Yes, I love these minor prophets. There’s nothing minor about them. These are glorious books and pictures in the Old Testament, one of God’s love for His people in that time and that place, God speaking to His people, calling them back to Himself and giving them promises to hold onto for the future.
Zechariah 6:12–13 Gives Us a Picture of Jesus Centuries Before He Came
This is one of those promises talking about the man whose name is the Branch. The Branch there, since you’re listening to this, just so you know it’s capitalized B, capital B, Branch which is a picture we see all throughout the Old Testament to refer to the kingly line of David. So this is talking about one who will come from the line of King David who will build the temple of the Lord and bear royal honor. This picture of a king to come who will rule on His throne and yet right after that in Verse 13, second part of Verse 13, it says, “And there shall be a priest on his throne and the council of peace be between them both.”
So basically the picture here in Zechariah 6:12–13 is the uniting of king and priest in one, the priest on the throne and the council of peace being between them both. The picture is a perfect priest and king in one person. This is giving us a picture of Zechariah 6 centuries before Jesus came. Zechariah 6 is telling us about the perfect priest king and Jesus is the fulfillment of this picture, of this promise. Jesus is the perfect high priest who makes atonement for sin. He brings peace with God to sinners. Just soak that in.
You and I in our sin having rebelled against God, being separated from God, enemies of God, are brought to peace with God. How? By Jesus, our perfect high priest paying the price, Himself, not another sacrifice. He gives His life as a sacrifice for our sin. He’s the perfect high priest and the perfect king who rules and reigns over God’s people, bringing peace with him, the council of peace between them both. Zechariah 6:13 says there is no one like Jesus.
Zechariah 6:12–13 Fortells Jesus’ Status as Our Perfect Priest and King
Can we just pause then right now in our hearts and pray that? Just pray this word. Jesus, you are the perfect priest and king to whom all history before you pointed and after whom all history has pointed back toward and is still pointing us forward toward. We cannot wait to see your face. We cannot wait for our faith to be sight. All of our trust is in you. You’re the perfect high priest. We praise you for making atonement for our sin, for offering your life as a sacrifice for our sin, for our rebellion.
We praise you that we now have peace with God through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we praise you, God, for peace with you through Jesus, the perfect high priest, and we are so thankful, Jesus, that you are on the throne with all authority in heaven and on earth at the Father’s right hand ruling and reigning. We say we long for your rule and reign to be over all the earth.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. We want your kingdom to come and your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. We want all the earth to be filled with your glory, with your perfect peace, with your righteous rule and reign. You’re the perfect king. Come, Lord Jesus. Oh! Come, King Jesus. Come quickly as we live in this fallen world where there is not peace. In so many different ways, there’s not peace.
We long for your peace and we praise you for the taste we have of that right now in our lives, your promise to give us peace that passes all understanding, that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus from worry and anxiety. I pray that over people right now even including myself who are so prone to be anxious or worried about so many things. We pray for your perfect peace as our perfect king and perfect high priest.
Praying for the Muong People
We pray that all the nations would know you in this way. We want all the nations, we want the Muong people of Vietnam, all 1.5 million of them, most of whom have never even heard who you are in remote areas of Vietnam. God, we pray that you would cause the gospel, the good news of the perfect priest and king, Jesus, to go to the Muong people of Vietnam. Please, God. Bless our Vietnamese brothers and sisters for the spread of the gospel to this people group. Raise up more people from outside Vietnam to go to Vietnam.
God, we pray that they would hear and believe and see and enjoy you, Jesus, as the perfect priest and king with the peace you give now and everlasting peace that is to come when you return. All glory be to your name, Lord Jesus. Our perfect priest and king anticipated in Zechariah 6. Who came in Matthew 2 and Luke 2 and for your promise to come back. Come, Lord Jesus. Come, our perfect priest and king, and cause your peace to rule and reign over all the earth. We pray this 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.
