Zechariah 13

 

This fountain is probably the same as the spring of living waters which comes from under the threshold of the temple and forms a river which heals the waters of the Dead Sea (Ezek. 47:1). While not a fountain of youth, it is a fountain of spiritual purity. An apparent allusion to baptism, those who wash in its waters will be cleansed of their sins. This suggests that the ordinance of baptism will continue and be performed in the Millennium in the waters of the fountain of the house of David, for all those Jews who survive the siege to look upon their Messiah at his Second Coming will need to be baptized (1 Ne. 20:1).

 

The next step for them will be baptism for the remission of their sins. They look upon him whom their fathers pierced and they mourn for him as one who mourn for his only son, and, as Zechariah says, they are in bitterness for him. But repentance alone would not be sufficient, they must obey the ordinances of the Gospel; hence there will be a fountain opened at that time on purpose for baptism. Where will it be opened? On the east side of the Temple. A stream will break out from under the threshold of the Temple, says the Prophet, and it will run eastward, and will probably pass directly through the deep valley made by the parting of the Mount of Olives. It will run eastward, and as you go down from the Temple a few thousand cubits it increases so rapidly that it becomes a great river that cannot be forded.

 

This is the fountain that Zechariah says is open to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of David for sin and uncleanness. "How is it that" says one? "Water for sin and uncleanness?" Why yes, baptism for the remission of sins. Then the Jews will receive the Gospel and they will be cleansed from all their sins by being baptized in water for their remission. (Journal of Discourses, 18:66)

 

 

When the Law of Moses was first given, any individual who recommended the worship of other Gods was to be killed.

 

If there arise among you a prophet... saying, Let us go after other gods...

Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet...

that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God. (Deut. 13:1-5)

 

If thy brother... entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods...

Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him...

But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death...

And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die. (Deut. 13:6-10)

 

After the Kingdom of God is set up and established in Jerusalem, the inhabitants will finally keep this judgment. "All Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this among you" (Deut 13:11). Even a man's parents will not spare their son if he prophesies on behalf of the idols. After so many misleading and false prophets, the environment will be such that no man will claim to have a prophecy for fear of being killed.

 

 

Christ is the firstfruits of the Resurrection. All will be resurrected because of the power of the atonement wrought by Him. Yet, while we are resurrected to our perfect and proper frame, the Master was resurrected with 5 marks-wounds of the violence he received in the house of his friends. Why weren't his wounds healed in the Resurrection? Because these marks would be the identifying marks of Him who was lifted up and crucified. As if the nails had just been driven and as if the spear had just passed between his ribs, these marks will remain for all to see. Hence the Nephites went one by one and thrust their hands in his side and felt the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet (3 Ne. 11:14-15). Then they could be sure that he was the promised Redeemer.

 

On the Mount of Olivet, after the triumphal arrival of the Messiah, can we imagine the Master declaring himself as the Son of God? What will be the reaction of the people? In shock and utter astonishment, they will ask "What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet"? The answer will be "These are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends" (D&C 45:51-52). Perhaps then, he will say, as he did to the Nephites:

 

Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world. (1 Ne. 11:14)

 

And then shall they weep because of their iniquities; then shall they lament because they persecuted their king. (D&C 45:53)

 

Zechariah, himself a Jew and writing to the Jews, and speaking of his own nation, said: "They shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." How apt is this language. The only Son of God, the Firstborn of the Father, is the one who was slain. If men mourn over the loss of an only son, who is their heir and firstborn, how much more ought they to mourn for the firstborn and heir of the Father, his Only Son, who, having come to bring salvation, was rejected and crucified by his friends.

 

"In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart." (Zech. 12:10-14.) Then shall be fulfilled that which is written: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." (Rev. 1:7.) (The Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1982], 470)

 

 

The scene is the Last Supper. After singing the paschal hymns associated with Passover, the Master had a warning for the remaining eleven apostles, "All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad" (Matt. 26:31). How was this prophecy of Zechariah fulfilled?

 

The loyalty of the apostles was at stake that fateful night. Iscariot had declared his allegiance already. Peter defiantly declared, "though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended" (Matt. 26:33). Certainly, the same sentiment resonated with the other ten, but what was about to happen was completely unexpected. Human nature is such that our behavior is often unpredictable when the circumstances are unexpected. Jesus had tried to tell them; He had declared that he would be turned over to the Gentiles, mistreated, and killed (Lu. 18:31-34), but the disciples were incapable of comprehending such a terrible thought. So it was, when they were faced with the soldiers of the Sanhedrin, that the incomprehensible circumstances led to reactive fear and self-preservation.

 

Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.

Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?

They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.

As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.

Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:

That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.

Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.

Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him, (John 18:3-12)

 

And they all forsook him, and fled.

And there followed him a certain young man (John), having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:

And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked. (Mark 14:50-52)

 

One cannot help but be struck with the tremendous difference between Christ's behavior during those terrible hours and the actions of those around him. Throughout, it becomes clear that Jesus was the only one who was not thrown off balance by the passions of that night and the following day. Judas betrayed him, then committed suicide, apparently in a great overflowing feeling of guilty remorse. The armed party sent out to arrest him fell back in fright when he told them he was Jesus. Peter vowed perfect support and then failed miserably as fear washed out his determination. The high priest was thrown into a rage by the calm demeanor of the accused. Pilate, symbol and wielder of Roman might, became a frightened vacillating man when faced with the King of the Jews. Even the hardened Roman soldier was awed by Christ's manner of dying. Throughout, it becomes clear that Jesus was not the victim but the Master. (Selected Writings of Gerald N. Lund: Gospel Scholars Series [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1999], 308)

 

In "that night" when "the fierce wind of hell was allowed to sweep unbroken over the Saviour, and even to expend its fury upon those that stood behind in His Shelter" (Edersheim 2:535), we hear him say to his friends, "All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered." "What a dreadful thing it is to call for a sword against God; and yet it is part of the plan. Jesus is to die; the Shepherd is to be slain; the sheep are to be scattered." (Commentary 1:769.) Did not Jehovah by the mouth of Zechariah foretell what was to be in this dark hour? "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts," is the prophetic word; and "smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones." (Zech. 13:7.). (The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary, 4 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979-1981], 4: 122)

 

 

We usually speak of the refiner's fire figuratively, but at the Second Coming, the fulfillment will be all too literal. Are we to understand that two thirds of the population of Jerusalem will be destroyed? The fractions are frightening, "half of the city shall go forth into captivity," a mere one third will survive the desolation, while among the masses "the third part of men" will be killed (Zech. 14:2; Rev. 9:18).

 

"The reason one-third of the people will survive this catastrophic war is that they, having gone through the 'refiner's fire,' turn to the Lord.

 

"Nephi also prophesied of this trying period:

 

And behold, according to the words of the prophet, the Messiah will set himself again the second time to recover them; wherefore, he will manifest himself unto them in power and great glory, unto the destruction of their enemies, when that day cometh when they shall believe in him; and none will he destroy that believe in him.

And they that believe not in him shall be destroyed. . . . And they shall know that the Lord is God, the Holy One of Israel. (2 Ne. 6:14-15)

 

"The Messiah will come just as Judah faces imminent defeat at the hands of her enemies. This time he shall come, as the scriptures record, in power and great glory and save his people from complete annihilation. Zechariah wrote: 'Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle' (Zech. 14:3). Then will the people who survive the refiner's fire believe in the true Messiah, even Jesus Christ." (David B. Galbraith, D. Kelly Ogden, and Andrew C. Skinner, Jerusalem: The Eternal City [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1996], 360-361)