Zechariah 2:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The psalmist David affirms, ‘God will come, our God, and will not be silent’ (Ps. 49:3). He then revealed Himself to the Gentiles, as He did not guide merely the people of Israel through the old covenant; rather, the entire creation was illuminated by the proclamation of the gospel, and His name was magnified in every nation and upon every land. He became ‘the expectation of tongues,’ as prophesied (Gen. 49:10), and ‘every knee shall bow, of heaven, and of earth, and of the underworld; and every tongue shall confess, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the glory of God the Father’ (Phlp. 2:10-11). By believing in Him, those from the farthest corners of the earth recognized that ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16). The Father sent His Son from heaven, our Savior and Redeemer, so that through faith, we might behold the Father in Him and understand Him as the precise likeness of the One who begets us, making known to us the true initial image. Thus, through faith, we become the Lord’s inheritance, which means everyone who confesses and praises Him, for the name Judas signifies confession, as Paul states: ‘He that is in the flesh is not a Jew, nor he that is in the flesh is circumcision: but he that is in secret is a Jew, and the circumcision of the heart is by the spirit, and not by the writing: for to him the praise is not of man, but of God’ (Rom. 2:28-29). Therefore, all of us who have received spiritual circumcision through Christ are now His inheritance in the holy land, aspiring toward the heavenly city, spiritual Jerusalem, ‘to him is God the author and maker’ (Heb. 11:10), who deems him favored and chosen: for it is said, ‘He shall choose Jerusalem again.’ Additionally, it would not be far-fetched to consider that Jerusalem today is synonymous with the Church, which the divine David refers to as the city of God, declaring, ‘As we have heard, so also have we seen in the city of the Lord of Hosts, in the city of our God’ (Ps. 47:9).

He will be present among them, proclaiming to His disciples, "Behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). The Lord will claim Judah as His inheritance, comprising those who trust in Him and have faith in His name. He will possess it not in any other setting but in the sacred land, which symbolizes the Church, and He will once again choose Jerusalem, which has undergone trials of persecution. Some Jews interpret that under Zerubbabel, Jesus, Ezra, and Nehemiah, this was partially fulfilled, especially through the election of Jerusalem and the Lord’s possession of Judah, noting that two tribes returned from Babylonian captivity and are identified as Judah, rather than Israel, which remains distant. Conversely, others look to the future, anticipating that there will come a time when the nations will believe in the one sent by the Lord, and that Jerusalem will be chosen when the nations have already acknowledged the Lord as their Savior; presently, it cannot yet be selected, as it lies in ruins. It is indeed fitting for the daughter of Zion to be called to rejoice following her exile, a sentiment echoed in the Psalms: "When the Lord restores the fortunes of His people, Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be glad" (Psalms 52:7).