Zechariah 13:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

This is further affirmed by the Son, who declared, ‘For I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me, and this is the will of Him who sent me, that all whom He has given me I should not lose, but raise them up on the last day’ (John 6:38-39). As Paul teaches us, ‘For this cause Christ both died and rose, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living’ (Rom. 14:9). Thus, He laid down His life for us (1 John 3:16), as if the Father entrusted Him to His own will to secure the redemption of all through His blood. When Pilate attempted to assert his authority over Him, the Saviour responded, ‘You could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above’ (John 19:11). Through the prophets, it was foretold that a significant change in human destiny would occur through His death in the flesh, and He anticipated this moment while instructing the observance of the sacrament of suffering, revealing that the sword would come against His shepherd: ‘Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered’ (Zechariah 13:7). This sword symbolizes the trials embodied as a sword or perhaps the very suffering inflicted upon Christ through the animosity of the Jewish authorities. The righteous Simeon perceptively remarked when the Virgin Mary presented the infant Jesus, ‘and a sword will pierce through your own soul’ (Luke 2:35), as she would witness her Son being crucified, enduring a fate akin to death by the sword. Therefore, when He says, ‘Strike the shepherd,’ it signifies the culmination of His saving suffering, paving the way for the manifestation of grace; for Christ is our chief shepherd, and all who believe are under His care, while still recognizing the authority of God the Father. God reigns through the Son, in whom we find salvation, and through Him ‘we both have access by one Spirit to the Father’ (Ephesians 2:18). The Saviour proclaimed, ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one’ (John 10:27-30). Thus, the Son serves as the true Shepherd, caring for His own flock rather than others, while the hired hands, who have heartlessly exploited the sheep, declared, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for we have become rich’ (Zechariah 11:5). The true citizens of the flock and those who recognize the Good Shepherd are those under His guidance, especially the divine disciples who scattered and fled at the striking of the Shepherd; as the Gospel recounts, when the Jewish leaders arrived with the betrayer and a band of soldiers, ‘all the disciples forsook Him and fled’ (Matthew 26:56). The Father, in giving His own Son to die for us, might be seen as having struck Him down, allowing Him to experience suffering in every way—as attested by the Son's lament about the Jews who turned against Him, ‘Why have You stricken me? They have oppressed me and placed my given ones with the wounds of my afflictions’ (Psalms 68:27). He voluntarily embraced this suffering to wield redemptive power. The demise of His crucifiers and those responsible for this heinous act is denounced: ‘I will strike the shepherd’ implies God’s intervention, ceasing the violence and inflicting just punishment for wrongdoing—not merely for their actions against Christ but also for leading others astray from Him. The blessed Evangelist Matthew notes how Pilate, when presenting Christ alongside Barabbas to the Jewish people, proclaimed: ‘Whichever one you choose to release, I will free for you,’ yet the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and demand Jesus' crucifixion (Matthew 27:20-23, cf. John 19:6). Thus, the prophet's words ring true: ‘For the shepherds have become foolish, and have not sought the Lord; therefore the whole flock has been scattered’ (Jeremiah 10:21). Just as the attentiveness of good shepherds benefits their flock, the neglect of duty leads to destruction, for the followers inevitably emulate their shepherds’ ways.

The striking commenced with the arrest of our Lord and culminated when they pierced Him with a lance. A flock symbolizes a community of believers enlightened by Him. Thus, God the Father designates His Son as the shepherd and His followers as the flock. ‘And I will place My hand upon the (little) shepherds.’ This refers to the holy Apostles, who are both the sheep of Christ's fold and the shepherds of the entire Church. They were overwhelmed by fear and dread on the night of Christ's betrayal and subsequently became separated from one another, scattering throughout all the earth.

O spear, rise up against My shepherd, against the husbandman, My fellow citizen, says the Lord Almighty. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter, and I will bring My hand upon the shepherds. And it shall come to pass on that day, says the Lord, that two-thirds will be lost, but the one-third will remain: I will bring that one-third through the fire, refining them as silver is refined, and testing them as gold is tested. They will call upon My name, and I will hear them, and say: These are My people; and they will respond: You, Lord, are my God.

Some attempt to weaken this prophecy through allegorical interpretations, yet this promise was fulfilled, as noted by the Evangelist Matthew, after His disciples fled during His trials. Indeed, Matthew recounts: Then said Jesus unto them, In this night shall ye all be tempted concerning me: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered (Matt. 26:31). Further, he states: And all these things were, that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples, leaving Him, fled (Matt. 26:56).

It should not be presumed that this testimony originates elsewhere, for the Gospel declares that the shepherd is struck by God, while here we read the command regarding the spear: Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. This spear is the one referred to by the Lord in Psalm 21, where He says to the Father: You shall deliver my soul from the spear, and my only one from the hand of the dog (Psalm 21:21). The prophet Amos also speaks of this spear, stating: All the sinners of the earth shall perish by the sword (Am. 9:10). This cannot be taken literally, as many sinners meet their end in various ways; nonetheless, by this sword and by this spear, all sinners face destruction or correction, including those black Ethiopians, as pointed out by Sophonias, saying: And ye Ethiopians shall be beaten with my sword (Soph. 2:12).

After the good Shepherd, who laid down His life for His sheep (Jn. 10:11) and said to the Father, He that was struck by You, they pursued, adding affliction to My wounds (Ps. 68:27), was crucified and declared, Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit (Luke 23:46), the sheep scattered—meaning the entire community of believers in Christ. The Lord then turned His hand, as stated in the LXX, upon the shepherds, often misinterpreted as the leaders of the Jewish people. However, a better understanding aligns with the Hebrew text: on the little ones, to whom the Lord addresses in the Gospel: Do not fear, little flock (Luke 12:32) and in Isaiah: Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me (Isaiah 8:18).

In the land of both Jews and Gentiles, two-thirds perished; indeed, during His suffering, the Psalmist's words were fulfilled: Save me, O Lord, for there is no more holy one (Ps. 11:2) and: All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one (Ps. 13:3). Amid the ruin of both Gentiles and Jews, a third part, a new nation of Christians, emerged. Remarkably, it is said: the one-third shall remain on the earth, as only those who recognized the Lord were preserved from among Jews and Gentiles.

To ensure that this one-third does not grow weak in confession, they are led and tested like silver and gold through the fire kindled by the Lord (Luke 12:49) and the trials desired by the Apostle (Romans 8:35). Thus, the Apostles, baptized with Spirit and fire (Acts 2:3-4), exclaimed in the Psalm: For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined (Psalm 65:10-11). Later, they declare: We went through fire and through water, but You brought us out to abundance (Psalm 65:12).

Moreover, believers are assured: If you pass through the fire, you shall not be burned, for I am with you (Isaiah 43:2). The flames will not consume you, for the Lord's word quells the fire (Ps. 28:7). As the little ones endure testing, leading to belief among the nations, they will call upon Christ by His name. In response to His declaration, You are My people, the people will affirm: You, Lord, are my God. While the Jews interpret this as a future event with Christ, we see it as fulfilled.

When He mentioned, “You will be tempted to bewail Me in this night,” He also stated, “It is written, I will smite the Shepherd,” and “the sheep of the flock will be scattered” (Matthew 26:31). Additionally, the prophetic word affirms: “And I will bring My hand upon the little shepherds,” referring to the priests and teachers who claim the title of shepherds but do not truly fulfill that role.

I contend that the faith of this thief was profound and could stand alongside that of the holy apostles, if not even surpass it. A person who excels in devotion receives a greater recompense, for it was the thief who entered heaven before the apostles. While Peter followed the Lord and remained close to Him, the Lord rewards humility in accordance with one's faith and deeds. As recorded, all the disciples were struck with fear at the Saviour's suffering and forsook Him when He was apprehended. Everything transpired according to the prophecy: “I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered” (Zechariah 13:7).