Zechariah 11:16Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

However, failing to grasp the depth of this mystery and not acknowledging the good staff—the proclamation of the Gospel—and instead venerating the second staff, referred to as the law of Moses, the Jews did not come to believe; they did not learn from the law and the prophets regarding what had been foretold. The Savior clearly revealed this to them, saying: “Do not imagine that I will speak to the Father about you; there is Moses, who speaks to you, in whom you trust. If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how can you believe My words?” (John 5:45-47). Thus, it is evident that they did not accept either the Scriptures of Moses or the words of the Savior. Since they did not embrace the truth, Paul, the wisest of them, states, “For this reason God will send them a strong delusion so that they should believe the lie” (2 Thess. 2:11). The Antichrist is called the embodiment of deception, to which the Jews will be condemned, and the Savior will remain steadfast, declaring to 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, him you will receive” (John 5:43). The Jews will readily accept the son of wickedness when he appears, “an adversary who will exalt himself above all that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself as God” (2 Thess. 2:4). He cannot shepherd competently, and God instructs the prophet to prophesy this in a figurative manner, stating, “yet take for yourself the vessels of a shepherd, a shepherd of folly.” For the most honorable and experienced shepherds wield slender staffs, ensuring that if they must strike, they do not devastate what they strike. Conversely, those who lack understanding and are inexperienced in pastoral care crush with heavy clubs. This, I believe, represents the pastoral instruments of an unskilled shepherd. Once the son of iniquity, adorned with royal splendor, reveals himself to those on earth, he seems to take on the guise of a shepherd, providing no mercy to either the nations under his dominion or those outside it. Thus, it is said: “Behold, I will raise up a shepherd on earth; he will not seek the lost.” This suggests that “he who has fallen into unbelief will not establish the mystery of faith. ‘And the wounded shall not be recovered.’” He who has deviated from the right path and is typically separated from the flock will not seek restoration, that is, will not turn to the better and correct way. “And He cannot heal the brokenhearted.” Some among them are broken, either ensnared by sinful pleasures, unable to withstand the burden of indulgence, or misled by the delusions of heretical teachings, lacking the sound judgment to follow the true faith. This condition is remedied by the good Shepherd. However, the unskilled one “will not be able to direct sound judgment and will tear the flesh of the elect and bruise their bones,” for the son of iniquity will wage war against the saints, unleashing fierce wrath upon them, as if he were tearing apart their very flesh. “And he will damage the righteous,” preventing them from walking uprightly; he will compel them to worship him, battering them with wonders, for his arrival will be by the working of Satan, and through the power of Beelzebub, he will perform signs, attempting to mislead even the elect (2 Thess. 2 and Matt. 24:24) as the Savior proclaims, “all flesh would not be saved” (Matt. 24:22), with his brutal power ravaging all. “But for the elect’s sake, the days will be shortened” (Matt. 24:22), for the Lord will destroy him by the Spirit and abolish him through the manifestation of His coming (2 Thess. 2:8).

A sword is upon his hand and his right eye; his hand will be withered completely, and his right eye will be entirely blinded.

When He commands, ‘Gather the tools of the foolhardy shepherd,’ He indicates that previously He had taken for Himself two staffs, one named Favor and the other Unity. Having rejected them because of their wickedness and sin, we—after the severing of relationships between Judah and Israel—were grafted into the root of the good olive tree, with blindness having partially overtaken the house of Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in (Romans 11:25). The prophet is thus instructed to declare the significant prophecy concerning the foolish shepherd. Without doubt, this foolish shepherd represents Antichrist; it is foretold that he will emerge in the end times, revealing his true nature.

The instruments of the shepherd symbolize his distinctive attributes and attire: the pouch, the staff, the trumpet, and the whistle. Just as Isaiah, to foretell the people's captivity, went about naked (Isaiah 20:2-4), and Jeremiah, visiting the potter’s house, illustrated both the ruin of Israel and the power of God through fragments of clay from a broken vessel upon the potter's wheel (Jeremiah 18:2-9); and as Ezekiel, to depict the destruction of Jerusalem and Zedekiah's flight, not only spoke but acted by breaking through a wall and carrying the debris on his shoulders (Ezek. 12:5-7), so now Zechariah embodies the role of a foolish shepherd to announce the one to come.

This shepherd will rise in Israel, for the true Shepherd declared, I will not shepherd you. This same shepherd is also foretold under different titles in the Book of Daniel (Dan. 9:27), in the Gospel (Mark 13:14), and in Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians (2 Thess. 2)—described as the abomination of desolation, seated in the house of God, proclaiming himself to be God; in Isaiah he is referred to as prideful. His purpose is not to heal but to destroy the flock of Israel. A true shepherd tends to the sick sheep, searches for those who have wandered off, gathers the stragglers, and supports the weary. In contrast, the wicked shepherd acts contrary, consuming the flesh of the fat ones, breaking the hooves of the sheep and lambs, preventing them from walking properly.

The Jews have been given this shepherd—whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth, and bring to nothing by His glorious coming—such that those who did not embrace the truth will not be saved, but will adhere to a lie and face judgment for clinging to wickedness. After describing the sinful, foolish shepherd, the prophetic utterance shifts to address the shepherd himself: ‘O shepherd, O idol!’ This shepherd is so vile that he is not merely labeled an idolater, but he himself assumes the title of an idol when he claims divinity and desires to be worshiped. He has abandoned the flock he once guarded to wild beasts. A sword is designated for his hand and strength, and for his right eye, which he believed allowed him to discern the mysteries of God more clearly than any prophet before him, claiming to be the Son of God. The sword referred to here aligns with what we have previously discussed, with Isaiah also stating, My sword is drunk in heaven (Isaiah 34:5). The sword of the Lord shall be upon his hand and his right eye, ensuring that his strength and audacity will be utterly depleted and the knowledge he falsely claimed will be enveloped in eternal darkness.