Zechariah 13:1 “On
that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness”
I want to share a lesson that I just read "the fountain of cleansing".I hope that it blesses you as much as it did me. The
prophet Zechariah seems to teach that before the final defeat of God’s enemies,
a large number of ethnic Jews will turn to the Messiah whom they have long
rejected. The heartfelt mourning of repentance over the God-man pierced for
their sins, however, is not where the Lord’s work will end. As we see in
today’s passage, many other benefits will follow. First, there will be a grand
cleansing of sin and corruption; a fountain
that will open for “the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” The Lord is lavishly merciful when He forgives
His people. He does not provide a trickle of water but a river that restores
life to all those whom it cleanses. God holds nothing back when He shows mercy
to sinners and redeems them from guilt and shame. This is true no matter whom
the Lord forgives.
John
7:37-39 On the last and
greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let
anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as
Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By
this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to
receive.
As
Matthew Henry comments, “There is mercy enough
in God, and merit enough in Christ, for the forgiving of the greatest sins and
sinners.” We who trust in Jesus today already experience this life-giving
water, the Holy Spirit Himself who cleanses us from all transgression. But we
will enjoy it even more fully when the full company of God’s elect, Jew and
Gentile, finally receive His grace. The fountain of cleansing removes from
creation even the slightest hint of sin. God’s cleansing of His people would
know no boundaries. Even the worst sins and sinners would enjoy it.
Verses
7–9 of Zechariah 13 point to the striking of “the shepherd” that is somehow
tied
to these other events. Since there is no time reference such as “on that day”
given, it seems that Zechariah does not see this striking happening alongside
the final restoration. It will be necessary to the restoration, but it will not
happen at the time of the full renewal of all things. A true shepherd
associated with God Himself will suffer, and His sheep will scatter, but the
Lord will use that event to purify His remnant, the third of His flock that is
left alive when its leader endures pain and agony.
In
light of the incarnation and the cross, we know that the true shepherd to whom
Zechariah refers is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Struck for the sins
of His people, Jesus is tied inseparably to the final restoration, for without
His ministry there can be no renewal of creation. In Him there is preserved a
remnant that is being tested and purified. We are a part of that remnant by
faith alone, and we look forward to our full and final refinement. Jesus is the Fountain of Cleansing.
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