Zechariah 11:15Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

However, not comprehending the mystery, failing to grasp the good staff, which is the proclamation of the Gospel, and instead venerating the second staff, identified as the law of Moses, the Jews did not attain faith and did not learn from the law and the prophets what had been foretold. The Savior Himself clearly stated to them: ‘Do not imagine that I will speak to the Father about you: there is Moses, who speaks to you, in whom you trust. If ye would believe Moses, ye would also believe me; for he wrote of me. But if ye do not believe his writings, how can ye believe my words?’ (John 5:45-47). Therefore, it is evident that they did not accept either the Scriptures of Moses or the declarations of the Savior. Because they could not accept the truth, 'For this reason,' declares the wise Paul, 'God will send them the work of deceit, that they may believe a lie' (2 Thess. 2:11). The Antichrist is described as the embodiment of falsehood, and the Jews will be condemned alongside him, while the Savior remains steadfast, addressing those who have fallen into disbelief: ‘I have come in my Father's name, and you will not receive me: but if anyone comes in his own name, you will receive him’ (John 5:43). The Jews will readily accept the son of iniquity when he appears in his appointed time, ‘an adversary exalted above every so-called god or object of worship, as he sits in the temple of God, displaying himself as a god’ (2 Thess. 2:4). This figure is incapable of shepherding effectively; thus God instructed the prophet to prophesy in a manner that typifies this, saying, ‘yet take unto you vessels of shepherding, a shepherd of inexperience.’ For the most esteemed shepherds utilize slender staffs, so that when a need arises to strike, they will not crush what they strike. The unskilled and inexperienced shepherds, however, misuse thick sticks, which leads to the destruction of what they are meant to care for. This, I believe, symbolizes the shepherding vessels of an inexperienced guide. Once the son of iniquity, adorned with royal status, reveals himself to those on earth, he takes on the guise of a shepherd, showing no compassion for the nations under his dominion or beyond it. Therefore, it is proclaimed: ‘Behold, I will raise up a shepherd on earth: he will not seek the lost.’ This indicates that those who have turned away from belief will not acknowledge the mystery of faith. ‘And the wasted shall not be sought.’ He indicates that the one who has strayed from the righteous path and is separated from the flock will not seek to return, that is, will not strive for restoration and righteousness. ‘And He cannot heal the brokenhearted.’ Those who are broken, either ensnared by sinful pleasures and unable to bear the burden of indulgence, or led astray by the deceptions of misguided heretics and lacking the soundness of mind to pursue true faith, are healed by the good shepherd. However, the unskillful one ‘will not direct the sound mind and will destroy the flesh of the elect, and will crush their bones.’ For the son of iniquity will wage war against the saints, unleashing unrestrained wrath upon them, as if tearing their flesh and consuming it like a wild beast. ‘And he will strike down the upright’ so that no one may walk rightly—he will compel them to worship him, performing signs through miracles. His arrival will be accompanied by the power of Satan, and through the influence of Beelzebub, he will perform wonders to mislead even the elect if possible (2 Thess. 2 and Matt. 24:24)—and as the Savior mentions, “all flesh would not be saved” (Matt. 24:22), with his brutal force raging against all. ‘But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened’ (Matt. 24:22); for the Lord will vanquish him by the Spirit and will destroy him through the manifestation of His coming (2 Thess. 2:8).

A sword against his hand and his right eye; his hand will wither completely, and his right eye will become utterly blinded.

When it is said, Gather the tools of the foolish shepherd, it indicates that earlier He had taken two rods for Himself, one signifying beauty and the other a measuring line. However, after rejecting these due to their wickedness and transgressions, and we, having been grafted into the root of the good olive tree following the severance of ties between Judah and Israel, now face partial blindness as a remnant of Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles enters (Romans 11:25). Thus, the prophet is commanded to announce a critical prophecy concerning the unwise shepherd, identified as the Antichrist, who is foretold to appear at the end of the age, revealing what he will become.

The instruments of the shepherd represent his distinction and garments: the bag, the staff, the trumpet, and the whistle. Just as Isaiah, to foretell the captivation of the people, went unclothed (Isaiah 20:2-4), and Jeremiah, when he visited the potter's house, demonstrated both Israel's ruin and God's might by the fragments of clay from the shattered vessel on the potter's wheel, which was reshaped by the potter's hand (Jeremiah 18:2-9), and as Ezekiel, to illustrate Jerusalem's desolation and Zedekiah’s flight as well as the oppressions that awaited the captives, not only spoke but acted by breaching a wall and carrying away the debris on his back (Ezekiel 12:5-7); in a similar manner, Zechariah embodies the image of a foolish shepherd to declare the one who is to come. This shepherd will rise in Israel because the true Shepherd has proclaimed, I will not shepherd you.

This shepherd is also prophesied under other titles in the writings of Daniel (Daniel 9:27) as well as in the Gospel (Mark 13:14) and in Paul’s epistles to the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 2), known as the abomination of desolation who shall seat himself in the temple of God, asserting himself as God; he is referred to as pride in the prophet Isaiah. His arrival is geared not toward healing but toward the ruin of Israel's flock. A good shepherd tends to the sickly sheep, searches for the lost, calls back the strays, and strengthens the weary. In stark contrast, the bad shepherd engages in devouring the fat ones, breaking their feet, and leading them astray.

The Jews have embraced this shepherd, whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and abolish with the manifestation of His coming, so that those who rejected the truth will not be saved but will believe falsehoods and face judgment for clinging to injustice. Following the depiction of the evil, foolish shepherd, the prophetic discourse shifts towards the shepherd himself: O shepherd, O idol! This shepherd is so culpable that he does not merely worship idols but embodies idolatry by declaring himself God, demanding worship from all. He has abandoned the flock he was tasked to tend, letting them fall prey to wild beasts. A sword lies upon his hand and eye, seemingly insightfully grasping divine mysteries, so much so that he claimed the title of the Son of God.

The sword referenced here has been mentioned previously, and we shall further discuss it; Isaiah proclaims, My sword is drunk in heaven (Isaiah 34:5). The Lord’s sword shall rest upon his hand and right eye to exhaust his strength and all his arrogance, shrouding the knowledge he falsely boasted of in eternal darkness.