Zechariah 11

17 verses

Zechariah records a symbolic action in which he takes up the role of a shepherd, taking two staffs named Favor and Union to pasture a flock marked for slaughter—the flock representing the covenant people exploited by worthless shepherds (corrupt religious and political leaders). The prophet dismisses the three shepherds in a month, representing the removal of corrupt leadership, and the flock abhors the shepherd, who also grows weary of them, setting an end to his shepherding. Zechariah then records a cryptic transaction in which the flock pays him thirty pieces of silver as his wages—a sum the Lord characterizes as paltry, declaring that Zechariah should throw it to the potter, a prophecy that becomes paradigmatic in Matthew's gospel for understanding Judas's betrayal and its connection to Christ's suffering. The prophet breaks both his staffs, Favor and Union, signifying the breaking of the covenant and the dissolution of brotherhood between Judah and Israel, representing the people's rejection of faithful shepherding and the resulting social fragmentation. The chapter concludes with the Lord's announcement that He will raise up a worthless shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, will not seek the lost, will not heal the wounded, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep—a prophecy of false leadership and ultimate abandonment. In redemptive history, Zechariah's shepherd allegory, particularly the thirty pieces of silver, prefigures Christ's passion and the rejection of the true shepherd by His people.

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