Zechariah 6:12

6:9-15 Some Jews from Babylon brought an offering to the house of God. Those who cannot forward a good work by their persons, must, as they are able, forward it by their purses: if some find hands, let others fill them. Crowns are to be made, and put upon the head of Joshua. The sign was used, to make the promise more noticed, that God will, in the fulness of time, raise up a great High Priest, like Joshua, who is but the figure of one that is to come. Christ is not only the Foundation, but the Founder of this temple, by his Spirit and grace. Glory is a burden, but not too heavy for Him to bear who upholds all things. The cross was His glory, and he bore that; so is the crown an exceeding weight of glory, and he bears that. The counsel of peace should be between the priest and the throne, between the priestly and kingly offices of Jesus Christ. The peace and welfare of the gospel church, and of all believers, shall be wrought, though not by two several persons, yet by two several offices meeting in one; Christ, purchasing all peace by his priesthood, maintaining and defending it by his kingdom. The crowns used in this solemnity must be kept in the temple, as evidence of this promise of the Messiah. Let us not think of separating what God has joined in his counsel of peace. We cannot come to God by Christ as our Priest, if we refuse to have him rule over us as our King. We have no real ground to think our peace is made with God, unless we try to keep his commandments.

And speak to him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The {n} BRANCH; and he shall grow {o} up out of his place, and he shall {p} build the temple of the LORD: (n) Meaning Christ, of whom Joshua was the figure: for in Greek they were both called Jesus. (o) That is, of himself without the help of man. (p) Which declares that no one could build this temple of which Haggai speaks, but only Christ: and therefore it was spiritual, and not material; Ha 2:9.

Zechariah 6:12 . And speak unto him, saying — Bishop Chandler justly observes, that the prophet’s speech is directed to Joshua only; the two crowns are put only on the head of Joshua; to him only it is said, Behold the man whose name is The Branch — As much as to say, “Behold the sign of the BRANCH, the person whom I promised to David in Solomon, and by the prophets after David to the Jews, by the name of the BRANCH.” “There cannot be a doubt,” says Blayney, “that the same person is meant by the BRANCH here, who is so called chap. Zechariah 3:8 , and this has been already shown to be, not Zerubbabel, but the Messiah himself; of whom Joshua is made the type, or representative, by the crown placed on his head. For to what end should he have been called in to represent Zerubbabel, who was his cotemporary, and altogether as ready at hand as himself. Nor will the passage, strictly and literally translated, answer to any other but him who was at once both king and priest, and, by uniting both characters in himself, was completely qualified to bring about the counsel of peace, or reconciliation between God and man.” It must be observed, however, that the human nature of our Lord is here chiefly intended by the expression, The man, the BRANCH. For, considered in his divine nature, he is not the branch out of the stem of Jesse, or David, but their root, as he is termed Isaiah 11:10 ; Revelation 5:5 ; Revelation 22:16 .

In this his human nature, he was small in his beginning, even as to his kingdom as well as his person; and mean in his appearance, as a mere bud or sprout, but gradually flourishing and becoming great and fruitful. As a branch, he was to be cut off, but would produce sprouts, branches, and trees of righteousness innumerable. He shall grow up out of his place — Out of the tribe and family, and in the place foretold; as if he had said, Though you may suspect the root to be dry and dead, yet assuredly it is not: the branch will spring up, the Messiah, who shall be both priest and king, will make his appearance in due time. The Hebrew, מתחתיו יצמח , is literally, He shall spring up, or flourish, from under himself; by his own power, or by the power of his own Spirit, he shall be both stock and stem to himself. The words seem evidently to express his miraculous conception. He shall build the temple of the Lord — As the preceding clause speaks of his person, his conception, and birth, so this describes his work; as if he had said, He it is that stands by you, though unseen, and enables you to build this material temple; which neither Zerubbabel, nor Joshua, nor all the Jews uniting with them, would be able to complete without him.

Speak unto him; Joshua, but in hearing of others, and in the name of the Lord. Behold; consider thoroughly the import and meaning of this unusual ceremony. The man; thou, Joshua, art the type or figure, but he that is the man signified by thee, is that great person God hath promised, and you do expect, and who shall come. Whose name is the Branch; whom you know by the name of the Branch, who was called so long since, Messiah Ben David; this wonderful person is the man that is crowned, as King and Priest, by proxy, or in effigy: thou, O Joshua, art the portrait; he is the Branch itself, Zechariah 3:8 . He shall grow up; though you may perhaps suspect the root dry or dead, yet assuredly it is not, the Branch will spring up, Messiah, King and Priest, shall be born in due time. Out of his place; of the same tribe and family, and in the same place, foretold. He shall build the temple; he it is, though unseen, that stands by you, that builds the material temple: neither Zerubbabel nor Joshua, nor all the Jews, could do any thing without Christ in the present building, which is yet far inferior to the spiritual temple, which Christ will build, beautify, and preserve, and dwell in for ever. Speak unto him; Joshua, but in hearing of others, and in the name of the Lord. Behold; consider thoroughly the import and meaning of this unusual ceremony.

The man; thou, Joshua, art the type or figure, but he that is the man signified by thee, is that great person God hath promised, and you do expect, and who shall come. Whose name is the Branch; whom you know by the name of the Branch, who was called so long since, Messiah Ben David; this wonderful person is the man that is crowned, as King and Priest, by proxy, or in effigy: thou, O Joshua, art the portrait; he is the Branch itself, Zechariah 3:8 . He shall grow up; though you may perhaps suspect the root dry or dead, yet assuredly it is not, the Branch will spring up, Messiah, King and Priest, shall be born in due time. Out of his place; of the same tribe and family, and in the same place, foretold. He shall build the temple; he it is, though unseen, that stands by you, that builds the material temple: neither Zerubbabel nor Joshua, nor all the Jews, could do any thing without Christ in the present building, which is yet far inferior to the spiritual temple, which Christ will build, beautify, and preserve, and dwell in for ever.

12 . the Branch ] See chap. Zechariah 3:8 and note. out of his place ] Lit. from under him. Comp. for the expression Exodus 10:23 ; and for the meaning Isaiah 11:1 ; Isaiah 53:2 . Other less satisfactory renderings are, it shall grow up under Him , i.e. all things fair and good shall spring up and flourish under Him. Cf. Pers. Sat . 2, 38: “quidquid calcaverit hic, rosa fiat” (Maurer); or, “ He shall sprout forth from under Himself , i.e. send forth shoots as from a parent stem.” ( Speaker’s Comment .)

12. Behold, the man—namely, shall arise. Pilate unconsciously spake God's will concerning Him, "Behold the man" (Joh 19:5). The sense here is, "Behold in Joshua a remarkable shadowing forth of Messiah." It is not for his own sake that the crown is placed on him, but as type of Messiah about to be at once king and priest. Joshua could not individually be crowned king, not being of the royal line of David, but only in his representative character. Branch—(See on [1180]Zec 3:8; Isa 4:2; Jer 23:5; 33:15). he shall grow up out of his place—retaining the image of a "Branch"; "He shall sprout up from His place," that is, the place peculiar to Him: not merely from Beth-lehem or Nazareth, but by His own power, without man's aid, in His miraculous conception [Henderson]; a sense brought out in the original, "from under Himself," or "from (of) Himself" [Calvin]. Moore makes it refer to His growing lowly in His place of obscurity, "as a tender plant and a root out of a dry ground" (Isa 53:2), for thirty years unknown except as the son of a carpenter. Maurer translates, "Under Him there shall be growth (in the Church)." English Version accords better with the Hebrew (compare Ex 10:23). The idea in a Branch is that Christ's glory is growing, not yet fully manifested as a full-grown tree.

Therefore men reject Him now. build the temple—The promise of the future true building of the spiritual temple by Messiah (Mt 16:18; 1Co 3:17; 2Co 6:16; Eph 2:20-22; Heb 3:3) is an earnest to assure the Jews, that the material temple will be built by Joshua and Zerubbabel, in spite of all seeming obstacles. It also raises their thoughts beyond the material to the spiritual temple, and also to the future glorious temple, to be reared in Israel under Messiah's superintendence (Eze 40:1-43:27). The repetition of the same clause (Zec 6:13) gives emphasis to the statement as to Messiah's work.

Verse 12. - Speak unto him, saying. The prophet is to explain to Joshua the meaning of this public act. Behold the Man whose name is The BRANCH ; literally, behold the man, BRANCH is his name (see note on Zechariah 3:8). The Targum has, "Behold the Man, Messiah is his name." It is plain that the term "Branch" or "Shoot" (LXX., Ἀνατολή : Vulgate, Oriens ) could not be addressed to Joshua; indeed, the very form of the sentence, "his name," not "thy name," shows this. All who saw the transaction and heard the words must have understood that they had reference to the "Shoot" of David, the Messiah that was to come, to whom was committed the regal and priestly dignity. And he shall grow up out of his place; Septuagint, Καὶ ὑποκάτωθεν αὐτοῦ ἀνατελεῖ , "And item beneath him he shall spring up;" Vulgate, Et subter eum orietur ; Drake, "He shall sprout forth from under himself;" Revised Version margin, "And it (or they) shall bud forth under him;" Hitzig, Ewald, "From under him there shall be sprouting." But them is no need to alter the rendering of the Authorized Version, which indicates that the shoot shall grow from its own soil, that Messiah shall arise in his own country and nation, and shall spring from a lowly origin to the highest glory (see Isaiah 11:1 ; Isaiah 53:2 ). He shall build the temple of the Lord.

He should build, not the material temple whose foundations Zerubbabel had laid, but the spiritual temple of which the tabernacle and the temple of Jerusalem were only the type and shadow - that new sanctuary which Ezekiel beheld (41), a house not made with hands, the Church of the living God ( Ephesians 2:20 , etc.; 1 Peter 2:5 ). Zechariah 6:12