If I could convince you, absolutely
convince you, that there is a treasure hidden out there in that field,
somewhere on this ten acres of ground, buried, well worth a
million dollars, not only you but everybody in this town would
be digging up every spot of ground in this field trying to find
that treasure. Well, we ought to be convinced
by the testimony of our Lord that our Lord Jesus Christ is
the pearl of great price hidden in this field. And as we open the scriptures,
we ought always seek grace from God the Holy Spirit that we may
find this pearl of great price in the pages of Holy Scripture. And no preacher ought ever to
open the book of God and fail to show this rich, rich pearl
in its exquisite beauty to eternity bound men and women. When you
see the pearl, you see the riches of scripture. And until you see
the pearl, you see nothing of value in scripture. When the
pearl is held forth, then the beauty and the glory and the
benefit of sacred scripture is held forth. And unless Christ
the pearl is held forth, nothing of benefit is presented to the
souls of men. Would to God I could communicate
that to every man who dares to speak to men in the name of God. Now I want you to open your Bibles
with me this morning to Zechariah chapter 9 and let's look for
the pearl. Most every commentary I've read
on the book of Zechariah In fact, I can't think of an exception.
A search that this first eight verses of chapter nine was given
as a prophecy of the mighty conquest of Alexander the Great, his conquest
over Tyre, that impregnable city, and the chief cities of the Philistines
that fell right after the city of Tyre was taken by Alexander. And the commentators point to
the conquest of Alexander as being specific examples of prophecy
fulfilled by which the validity and the truth and the inspiration
of scripture is proven. Well, if you look for the proof
that this is the Word of God in the conquest of Alexander
or in any other fact of history, I'm afraid the Word of God is
nothing to you. The proof that this is the Word
of God is its verification in our souls by the experience of
grace that only God the Holy Spirit can give. How sad, how
sad. that men would look at the scriptures
and find nothing in the scriptures except prophetic things to be
argued and debated and pointed to as evidences of Christianity. That's sort of like taking the
miracles performed by our Lord Jesus while he walked upon this
earth and using them to display the great power that he possesses
as God over all the elements of nature. My soul, if he's God,
he possesses that power. That's not the point of the miracles. It shows us the great power he
has over disease. If he's God, he has power over
disease, over life, death, and everything in between. But what's
the meaning then? Why did he perform those miracles?
To give us examples of the wonders of his mighty grace. which he
performs in the hearts of chosen redeemed sinners. Zechariah's
message is not about the conquest of Alexander the Great. Zechariah's
message is a prophecy about the conquest of Christ, our great
God and Savior. Now this ought to be obvious
to anyone who simply reads the prophecy and reads this passage
in its context. In chapter 8, the chapter closes
with a description of this gospel day in which God's elect, scattered
among the nations, take hold of the skirt of him that is a
Jew. That is, describing our faith
in Christ. It is taking hold of the righteousness
of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, Emmanuel, saying, we will go
with you because we have heard that God is with you. verses 9, 10, and 11 of chapter
9, those verses immediately following verses 1 through 8, without dispute,
are a prophetic declaration of our Lord Jesus coming into this
world, but not just coming into this world, of Him coming into
His kingdom as He rode into Jerusalem on His way to Calvary, on His
way to His enthronement as our King. You see, our Lord Jesus
died that he might be enthroned. To this end, Christ lived and
died and revived that he might be Lord of the dead and the living. As our Lord was making his final
entry into Jerusalem, he is entering into Jerusalem to die for us
that he might ascend to glory and reign for us as our Savior. Now this is given in the scriptures
as a clear declaration of our Lord's coming into Jerusalem
as it was told us again in the gospel narratives. Look at verse
9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto
thee. He is just, having salvation,
lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a cork the fold of an
ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from
Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall
speak peace to the heathen, and his dominion shall be from sea
even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
Now remember, this is not talking about our Lord's second coming.
No, no, no. No, no. Matthew, Luke, and John
all tell us this is talking about His coming into Jerusalem on
that final occasion when He ascended up to Calvary to die as our substitute. Read on. As for thee also, by
the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out
of the pit wherein is no water." Now we'll come back to that in
a minute. But for now, I think it's safe to assume that if the
passage immediately preceding Zechariah 9 is talking about
Christ and His grace, and this passage immediately following
verses 1-8 is talking about Christ and His grace, it's a pretty
good indication that verses 1 through 8 are talking about the same
thing. Zechariah didn't change subjects right in the middle
of things. He's dealing with the same thing. He's dealing
with God's grace in Jesus Christ, our Savior. Now let's see how.
Zechariah is here describing for us the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ and the gathering of God's elect from among the
nations of the earth by the power of His grace. Let me show you
how. We'll begin in verse 1. the burden of the word of the
Lord in the land of Hadrach. You can look at it later in Genesis
chapter 25 verses 15 and 18. You will find that one of the
sons of Ishmael wore the name Hadar. Hadrach is a city named
after Hadar, one of Ishmael's sons. Zachariah, in other words,
is telling us that the word of the Lord would be published among
the heathen, even among those barbaric sons of Ishmael, such
as we are by nature, the Gentiles. And Damascus shall be the rest
thereof. The prophet here says that the
word of God, the gospel of God's grace would rest in or rest upon
Damascus. Do you remember where the Apostle
Paul was when the Lord God conquered him by his grace? He was on the
road to Damascus. And there in Damascus is the
place where he first preached the gospel of God's free grace.
Read on. When the eyes of man, as of all
the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord. The word man,
translated man in the Old Testament, and specifically here. The word
is the word Adam. Adam. When the eyes of Adam,
as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord. The
promise here given is that the eyes of all Israel Not the physical
nation of Israel. There never was a time, never
has been, is not now, and never shall be a time when every physical
descendant of Abraham has his eyes fixed upon the Lord Jesus
Christ. Nowhere is that found in Scripture.
Oh, but there is an Israel, all of whom shall have their eyes
fixed upon the Lord Jehovah, our great God and Savior, Jesus
Christ, our Redeemer. And here he tells us that even
The sons of Adam scattered among the nations of the earth, scattered
in places like Hadrach and Damascus, among the heathen, the barbaric,
the pagan people, the Gentiles who never knew God. Their eyes
shall be fixed upon the Lord as the gospel is preached in
all nations. Our Lord Jesus said, go ye therefore
into all the world and preach the gospel. And as we preach
the gospel among the nations, and oh what opportunities we
have this day to preach the gospel in all the world. I recall several
months ago when Brother Mahan was first starting having his
messages uploaded on the internet. We were talking a little bit
and I was trying to encourage him a little. He was going through
some difficulties. And he said, you know, I said to Doris just
the other day, Maybe this is the way our Lord will fulfill
His Word when He said, this gospel shall be preached in all the
world. This I know. This gospel must
be preached in all the world, among all nations, among all
people, so that men of all languages may come to our Redeemer. And
as we preach this gospel among the nations, God's elect are
called out by His Spirit and caused by His Spirit to have
their eyes fixed upon Christ. That's what faith is. Our Lord
Jesus said, look unto me and be ye saved. We look to Christ
and looking to Christ alone as all our wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification and redemption. Sinners live before Him. Oh,
God, give us grace ever to have our eyes fixed upon Him, fixed
toward the Lord. Those Israelites in the wilderness,
bitten of fiery serpents, everyone that just looked, lived. Not those who could describe
the serpent, not those who knew a great deal about the serpent,
were not told that they knew anything about the serpent, except
that Moses heard it up and said, look and live. And that's exactly
what we do in the preaching of the gospel. We hold up Jesus
Christ crucified for men and women to look to him. So all
Israel shall be saved, Paul said. And there shall come out of Zion
the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
Now, let's look at verses 2 through 8. When the Lord Jesus comes
in the mighty operations of his grace, this is how he causes
sinners to look to Him. This is how He fixes the eyes
of sinners upon Him. He breaks their pride. He casts them down. He abases
them. He empties them. He devours them. And they are forced by His grace
to look to Him. Verse 2, And Hamath also shall
border thereby, that is by Damascus, Tyrus also inciting, Tyre inciting,
though it be very wise. And Tyrus did build herself a
stronghold, and he took silver as dust, and fine gold as the
mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will cast her
out, and he will smite her power in the sea, and she shall be
devoured with fire. Ascalon shall see it and fear. Gaza also shall see it and be
very sorrowful. And Ekron, for her expectation,
shall be ashamed, for her hope, for her confidence shall be ashamed.
And the king shall perish from Gaza. Gaza never had a king. What's he talking about? Never
was a king in Gaza. Never has been one in Gaza. What's
he talking about? That ought to get your attention
for a minute. Let's read on. I'll tell you in a minute. And Ashkelon shall
not be inhabited, and the bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I
will cut off the pride of the Philistines. And I will take
away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between
his teeth. And he that remaineth, even he
shall be for our God. And he shall be as a governor
in Judah. That is, God shall be as a governor
in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. And I will encamp about mine
house. because of the army, because
of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth, and no
oppressor shall pass through them any more. For now I have
seen with mine eyes, and Hamath, Hamath, Hamath, reckon who that city
was named after? Ham, Hamath. a city of Hamites, the cursed
people. God's elect were to be found.
Even in Tyre and Sidon, those proud, idolatrous, Gentile cities,
as they're described in Acts chapter 21 and 27, we see that
God's elect were found there. Tyre was a famous, rich, powerful
city, priding itself in wisdom, in wealth, and in power. But
when God sent his word to Tyre, he turned their wisdom to foolishness
by the preaching of the gospel. And the wise became fools in
their own eyes that they might be made wise in Jesus Christ. The city of Tyre was a mighty
fortress. It was built upon a rock. It was surrounded, the entire
city. And try to picture this. In those
days, this is many years before the coming of our Redeemer, before
he ever came into this world. The tire was built with a wall
surrounding it 150 feet high. 150 feet thick. That's a wall. That's a wall. And nobody could topple a tire. Nobody could tear down this city. But it came falling down. But
it's not talking here so much about Alexander toppling the
city, though he finally did topple the city. But that's nothing
compared to what Christ did when he came with his gospel against
that impregnable city, against those whose hearts were as a
mighty fortress against God. Those who thought they were wise
and rich, He calls their fortresses and their strongholds to be pulled
down by the hand of His grace. And those who thought they were
rich, He made poor in spirit, that He might give them all the
fullness of His grace. Now look at verse 4. Behold,
the Lord will cast her out. Will cast who out? his own. Before he gathers in, he casts
out. John Gill suggests the sentence
might be translated this way. Behold, the Lord will inherit
her. I like that. Surely we are his heritage, as
the prophet Micah tells us. God declares that we are his
heritage. We are his portion. And he will
inherit his own, no matter where they are. And he will smite her
in the sea. When the Lord stretches over
us the scepter of His righteousness and the scepter of His grace,
He causes our strength to wither before Him. He casts out and
He withers, and she shall be devoured with fire. Our Lord,
we're told by the prophet Isaiah, purges the daughters of Zion
by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning. He
says in Jeremiah 23, is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord? A fire to devour, a fire to devour
our pride and to melt our hearts before Him. That's what God does
in His grace. Read again the 103rd Psalm, or
the 107th Psalm, and see how he brings down his own. The inhabitants of Asculon, seeing
the same thing that God revealed in Tyre, compelled by his grace,
were humbled. Gaza was broken, and the Lord's
remnant in Ekron were made ashamed of their idolatrous hopes. When
the gospel comes to Gaza, The prophet says, the king. The king? The king shall perish? What's
he talking about? Gaza's king, that one they look
to as the lord of man, was a pagan god of war by the name of Marnes. And clearly this is what he's
talking about if you read the context. He talks about taking
away their abominations out of their teeth. This God mourns
the King, the Lord of man in Gaza, when Christ comes by his
grace is made to perish before them. And the place long inhabited
by idolaters becomes the habitation of grace. Then, now watch this,
a bastard is found among them. Bastards. Boy, I don't ever want to be
called that. Believe I'll take it. Until you find yourself a bastard,
you will never find yourself a son. What Paul tells us in
Ephesians chapter 2, you were at that time aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel. strangers from the covenants
of promise, without hope, without God, without Christ in this world. Oh no, never, never was there
a time when we were not God's sons by adoption. Never. But
in the experience of things we were. We had no claim to sonship. No knowledge of sonship, but
rather we were cast off and cast out. And bastards now, those
who were not numbered among the people of God, are made His people. And that's exactly what the book
describes. Turn to Romans chapter 9, I'll
show you. While you're turning to Romans 9, let me read you
what the prophet Hosea says. The number of the children of
Israel shall be as the sand of the sea. which cannot be measured
nor numbered. What's he talking about? The
number of those people who are the sons of Abraham by nature
shall be like the sands of the sea, incalculable. No, no, no. He's talking about something
else. And it shall come to pass that in that place where it was
said unto them, you are not my people. There it shall be said
unto them, You are the sons of the living God. Now this is what
Paul speaks of, referring back here to Hosea chapter 1, verse
10, in Romans 9.25, as he speaks of the Gentiles who are made
to be the heirs of God's grace as vessels of mercy. Romans 9.25,
as he saith also in Hosea, I will call them my people, which were
not my people, and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it
shall come to pass that in the place where it was sent unto
them, you are not my people. There shall they be called the
children of the living God." Now you might think, well, Brother
Don, you stretched the meaning of verse 6. You might think that. And I would agree with your thinking. until you read verse 7. The bastard
dwelling in Ashdod by nature is a Philistine. But by grace,
the Philistine's pride has been broken. His abominations have
been taken away from between his teeth. The blood of the sacrifice
that he offered and ate before his pagan god, Marnes, is taken
away. And he that remaineth, even he
shall be for our God. Now, look at verse 8. The Lord God our Savior encamps
around about his house, his church, and he declares no oppressor
shall pass through them anymore. Now Rex, I don't know about you.
Well, I do too. You and I know a little something
about oppression, don't we? We've been oppressed. I've been
a believer for 40 years, and I've known some oppression. But
that's not what this passage is talking about. Not the kind
of oppression that we normally speak of. This word oppressor
is exact. And if you're like I am, I had
to look that word up. I had an idea as to what it meant,
but I wasn't sure. An exactor. An exactor is a fellow who demands
payment. One who exacts satisfaction. One who comes with a deal and
your signature is on it. A debt that you owe. And he says,
pay! And pay now! And the Lord God
says, I will encamp about my house. And there shall never
be anyone to pass among my people to exact anything from them." He camps around us so that the
law can never exact satisfaction. Justice can never exact satisfaction. God Almighty demanded satisfaction
one time from Christ our surety, our substitute and redeemer,
and He is fully satisfied so that no exacting is required
of us. Not even Satan himself, though
he roar against us and accuses us continually, can require exacting
from us. Turn to Isaiah 59. You're familiar
with Paul's statements in Romans 8. There is therefore now no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies.
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather that's risen again, who is even at the right hand of
God, who also maketh intercession for us. Look here in Isaiah 59. This might not be quite as familiar
to you. Verse 19. So they shall fear the name of
the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the
sun from the east. When the enemy shall come in
like a flood, when the law would condemn, when Satan would accuse,
even when your own unbelieving flesh would damn you, when the
enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall
lift up a standard against them. He'll lift up a banner, and the
redeemed shall come to Zion. And unto them that turn from
transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for me, this is
my covenant with them, saith the Lord. My spirit that is upon
thee and my words which I put in thy mouth shall not depart
out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out
of the mouth of thy seed seed, saith the Lord from henceforth
and forever." What is the standard? What is the banner, the spirit
of the Lord that is up continually before us? It is Christ the God! Nothing else can be demanded.
In the light of all these things, it's obvious that Zachariah is
not giving us a prophecy that's to be literally understood. After
all, after the delivery of this prophecy, the Jews were oppressed
by a lot. And they had many exactors to
come among them. Antiochus and others oppressed
them before the coming of Christ. They paid tribute to the Romans
during our Savior's time. Our Lord Jesus was born during
the time when Caesar sent out a decree that they should be
taxed. And after his death, Titus came into the city, and man did
he exact from them. So this is not talking about
something literal. Rather, it's talking about the
work of God's grace in us. Now look at the last line of
verse 8. The Lord says, There shall be
no exacter. looking with pleasure upon His people, His church,
about whom He encamps, looking with satisfaction upon His Son
as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and looking upon
us with satisfaction in His Son from everlasting. The Lord God
declares this to be the reason why no exacter shall ever be
found among His people, for now have I seen with mine eye. Well, what has He seen? Read
the next line. Behold, thy King cometh. He's seen from eternity that
which we must see now if we would live with Him to eternity. He has seen His Son crucified,
risen, exalted, enthroned as our Redeemer and our surety. Now we'll come back to this another
time. Let me just give you the highlights here. The Lord here
describes 550 years before the Incarnation. 550 years before the Incarnation. That which Matthew, in Matthew
chapter 21, verses 1 through 11, gives out in exactly the
same detail. He tells us about the coming
of Christ as our King, going up to Jerusalem, that he might
go up to Calvary, that he might go up to glory as our King. And he describes not only the
circumstances, he describes his person and his work in great
detail. Here he gives us seven specific
things. First, he says, Jesus Christ
is our King. Behold thy King cometh unto thee."
The Lord Jesus does not come to be King. He comes as King. When He was born in Bethlehem,
He was born the King. When He went up to Jerusalem,
He went up to Jerusalem as the King. And when He went to Calvary,
He went to Calvary as the King. And when He comes to sinners
in grace, He comes as the king, demanding surrender. You see,
the gospel of God's grace is never presented to men as something
that they have an option in. It's never presented as a choice. Not in this book. God's servants
do not preach the gospel as if they were on an ambassadorship
for some little peanut nobody begging for some recognition.
No, no. God's servants come as ambassadors
of the King of Glory, and they have terms and conditions of
grace. And the terms and condition of
grace is absolute surrender. It's surrender to the king or
be damned forever. Just that simple. It's just that
simple. Bow to Christ or perish. Just that simple. See, the gospel
is always confrontational. It's good news, but it always
confronts men. It confronts rebels as rebels
and demands surrender. Second, he is just. in everything
about his character, in everything about his being, in every aspect
of his work, in all that he is and in all that he does, he is
just. He is just himself. He is just
in all his works of providence. Somebody says, how can a just
God do something? If God does it, it's just. And
God does everything. He is just in judgment. And he
is just in grace. He is just and the justifier
of him that believeth. And then thirdly, the Lord Jesus
Christ, our King, the just one, and he alone has salvation. Behold, thy King cometh unto
thee. He is just and having salvation. He is salvation. He possesses
salvation and he dispenses salvation as he will. He's the King. The
Lord Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem in great lowliness and humiliation,
lowly and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of
an ass. He stooped to come into the world. He stooped
to be made a man. to be a servant. He stooped to
die, being made sin for us. He came in lowliness and emptied
Himself. Emptied Himself. How come? That He might lift us high. He came down here where we were,
that He might carry us up where He is forever. Not just physically
carry our bodies up to glory, but elevate us from the dumb
heap of humanity to be princes with God. And then when the Lord
Jesus comes to save, Zechariah here tells us that he comes conquering. That's the only way he saves. That's the only way he saves.
You see, we are by nature rebels. Ever fighting against God and
enmity with God, He comes to conquer. Look at this, verse
10. And I will cut off the chariot
from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow
shall be cut off. We got in the mess we're in because our father Adam took
up arms against God. And every son of Adam's comes
forth from his mother's womb with a little pop gun to fight
against God. A little pop gun called his free
will. A little pop gun called his nature.
A little pop gun by which he would dare assault God Almighty
and kill him if he can. That's the nature of man. Christ
the King comes and he takes your little pop gun and breaks it
over his knee and makes you glad he did. He breaks the enmity. And then
seventh, our Lord Jesus, our Savior, our great King, is He
who has universal dominion. His dominion from sea even to
sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. He's the King
of kings and the Lord of lords. He has power over all flesh. He has power over all flesh,
so that we are now assured that He who is our King, He who has
promised salvation, He who came here in loneliness, is exalted
with power, that He may give eternal life to every sinner
the Father gave Him to redeem from eternity. Now, look at verse
11. The Lord God is still talking.
And He's still talking to the daughter of Zion. Begin in verse
9, Behold, thy king cometh, behold, rejoice, O daughter of Zion,
behold, thy king cometh. He's still talking to the daughter
of Zion. I know that's who he's talking to, because when he uses
the word thee, as for thee also, the word is feminine. Now when
I first read this, I thought, yeah, he's shifting gears, he's
talking to Christ, no. No, he's talking to the daughter
of Zion. As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have
sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. Now wait just a minute. He's
telling us that we are a people by the blood of whose covenant
we go free? That's what he's telling us.
That's what he's telling us. We were prisoners shut up under
the law, shut up in a pit where there is no water, no prospect
of life. But we were prisoners with whom
and for whom the triune God made a covenant, a covenant made with
us and for us in another person, in Jesus Christ our surety. And
it's a blood covenant. You hear from the news, they
talk about these Mormons, the true Mormons, who take multiple
wives and they have difficulties with a neighbor and they have
a blood covenant. That means, buddy, I get my shotgun
and you're a dead man. And the news media is just horrified
at this thought of a religious blood covenant. Well, their blood
covenant is the dreams of a crazy man. This blood covenant is the
purpose of the eternal God. It is by the blood of this covenant
that our Lord Jesus Christ came forth from the dead. You see,
God made a covenant of grace and salvation. A covenant in
which He bestowed upon us all the blessings of grace and eternal
life. A covenant in which He declared
Himself our Savior and us His people. But a covenant that had
one ultimate condition. And that one ultimate condition
is blood that will satisfy justice for our sin. He exacted from
Christ the payment of our sins. And the Lord Jesus, when the
exaction had been made, what do my people owe? Infinite
satisfaction. What will it take? Infinite sufferings
of an infinite sacrifice in their own nature. The sufferings of
man who is himself God. The Lord Jesus said, I'll do
it. I'll do it. And now the God of peace that
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great
shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working
in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever. By the blood of the covenant,
by the blood of Christ, the blood that satisfied the debt of his
people, the Lord Jesus came forth from the grave. By that same
blood, by the virtue and the power of that same blood, through
the merit of that same blood, the God of peace works in you
according to His good pleasure. By that blood, He makes us perfect
in Jesus Christ. And by that blood, Jesus Christ,
as you read just a little while ago, shall have the glory forever. And we say with God, Amen. Amen.