Zechariah 11:17Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Consequently, some would say, “Blessed be the Lord, and be wealthy,” while others, without any sorrow, slaughtered the sheep, showing that their role as shepherds held no significance for them. Such were the leaders among the Jews, who, as Christ indicated, closed off the kingdom of heaven from themselves and others, going to great lengths across sea and land to convert a single outsider and consequently making him a son of Gehenna who was worse than themselves (Matthew 23:14-15). What then awaits shepherds who poorly tend to their flock? “A sword,” says He, “upon his muscle, and upon his eye his gum.” Here, the muscle is symbolically linked to spiritual strength. Given that the part meant for sacrifice and sacred offering on the divine altar in the holy tabernacle was the muscle, it suggests the necessity of dedicating one's complete strength—both physical and spiritual—to God. The muscle signifies strength, as one of the saints attested when calling upon the God of all creation, saying: “By the greatness of thy muscle let them be petrified” (Ex. 15:16). The eye represents the intellect; thus, he who fails to guide rightly will suffer damage to both muscle and eye—he will become devoid of physical and spiritual vigor. Without divine support, he will be incapable of performing any good deeds and will find himself in darkness, both mentally and spiritually alienated from the divine light; for he will lack the confidence to proclaim: “Thou shalt enlighten my lamp, O Lord: my God shalt enlighten my darkness” (Psalm 17:29). The true muscle is that which is severed by the sword, and the true eye is rendered blind: for the Jewish people possess no righteousness, lacking deeds of goodness. As Paul observes, “Even unto this day, when Moses is read, a veil is upon their heart” (2 Cor. 3:15). David also laments their condition, saying, “let their eyes be darkened, and they shall not see” (Psalm 68:24). Thus, everything rests with them, whether it is a thought, a manner of life, or any other certainty they cling to. I believe that the removal of the left would be advantageous to those affected, as rejecting the wrong would liberate them from guilt and folly. Conversely, losing the right would be profoundly detrimental, drawing them into shameful and detestable ways. However, for the Jews, it is fitting to endure loss on the right side; for those of us in Christ, it is appropriate to renounce the left while taking pride in the right.

Since He rejected them due to their wickedness and sin, we, after the severing of ties between Judah and Israel, were grafted into the root of the good olive tree, with partial blindness affecting the house of Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in (Romans 11:25). The prophet is directed to announce the crucial prophecy concerning the unwise or misguided shepherd, who is undoubtedly the Antichrist, foretold to arise at the end of the age, revealing his true nature.

The implements of the shepherd represent his distinguishing features and attire: the bag, the rod, the trumpet, and the whistle. Just as Isaiah, in predicting the people’s captivity, went unclothed (Isaiah 20:2-4), and Jeremiah, when visiting the potter’s house, illustrated both the ruin of Israel and God's power using fragments of a broken vessel from the potter’s wheel (Jeremiah 18:2-9), and as Ezekiel, to signify the fall of Jerusalem and Zedekiah’s escape, not only spoke but also acted by breaking through a wall and carrying the debris on his shoulders (Ezek. 12:5-7), so Zechariah embodies the role of an unwise shepherd to announce the one to come. This shepherd will emerge in Israel because the true Shepherd declared, I will not shepherd you.

This shepherd is also prophesied by other names in the book of Daniel (Dan. 9:27), in the Gospel (Mark 13:14), and in Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians (2 Thess. 2), referred to as the abomination of desolation, who sits in the house of God to proclaim himself as God. In Isaiah, he is characterized as arrogance. He has come not to heal but to devastate the flock of Israel. A true shepherd cares for the afflicted sheep, seeks the lost, gathers those who wander, and supports the weak. In contrast, the bad shepherd does the opposite, consuming the flesh of the strong, breaking their hooves, leading them to stray from the right path. The Jews have received this shepherd, who the Lord will ultimately destroy with the spirit of His mouth and abolish at His appearing, so that those who did not embrace the truth may be turned over to a lie and face judgment because they chose unrighteousness.

Having described the wicked, foolish shepherd, the prophetic message addresses the shepherd himself, saying, O shepherd, O idol! He is so vile that he is not merely labeled as an idolater; he assumes the title of an idol by claiming divinity and demanding worship from all. He forsook the flock that he had tended for so long, wielding a sword in his hand and seeming to see into the mysteries of God with more clarity than all the previous prophets, even declaring himself the Son of God. The sword mentioned is the same as previously discussed, and it is also referenced by Isaiah: My sword is drunk with blood in heaven (Isaiah 34:5). The Lord's sword will be upon his hand and right eye, ultimately extinguishing his strength and emptying the arrogance of his might, with the false knowledge he flaunted being shrouded in eternal darkness.

Similarly, the Apostle states: "Whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the spirit of His mouth, and shall bring to nothing by the manifestation of His coming: his coming is according to the working of Satan in all power and signs and lying wonders" (2 Thess. 2:8, 9). Some interpreters of this prophecy have applied it to Antiochus Epiphanes, referring to him as "an unlearned shepherd." Thus, it is even more fitting to apply it to the Antichrist, as Antiochus serves as his precursor. Just as Antiochus waged war against God, erecting a demonic altar in the temple and compelling the faithful to offer sacrifices to false gods, so the Antichrist will demand the faithful to renounce the Lordship of Christ, and will hand over those who disobey him to various forms of execution. If the prophecy pertains to Antiochus, it certainly applies to the Antichrist as well, for he will go further than Antiochus, engaging in battle with the mightiest. Therefore, since the Jews will place their faith in him and turn away from the Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit clearly warns through the Prophet of the grave consequences that will come upon them due to their disbelief.