Zechariah 11 Explained Verses 12-17 | We’ll be considering Zechariah 11 today. Now, last time we studied up to verse 11 of this chapter and so today we’ll continue in verse 12 and study to the end of the chapter.

So, what we saw in those first 11 verses was the Lord putting Zechariah into another vision setting in which he is a shepherd who basically symbolizes God’s dealing with his sheep – the people of Israel. And so that vision continues to the end of this chapter.

So, let’s read Zechariah 11.

{Read Zec. 11}

Zechariah 11 Explained Verse 12

Now, verse 12 seems to have Zechariah speaking to that flock

that was doomed to be slaughtered that we heard about in the first 11 verses of

this chapter. And so, the prophet tells those sheep to pay him for his services

to them as a shepherd.

12 And I said unto them, If {ye think good/it is good in your sight/it seems good to you/you think it best}, {give/pay} me my {price/wages/pay}; {and/but} if not, {forbear/never mind!/forget it/keep it}.

There’s an interesting level of disinterest from the

shepherd in this verse. Notice how he expresses a “who cares” kind of

mentality. If the sheep want to pay him for his services, that’s fine. But if

they don’t then, “never mind” or “forget it” or “keep your money.” It’s almost

as if he really doesn’t care. He’s leaving the decision to these sheep that he

has stopped shepherding.

And the reason that this seems so strange is because as we

know throughout Scripture the laborer – the worker – is worthy of his wages.

This shepherd worked – for at least a month in this vision. And therefore, he

ought to be paid.

But the shepherd is going to allow the sheep to do what they

think is right. Normally the shepherd would impose his will on the sheep. But

in this case, the shepherd is allowing the sheep to choose what to do.

And in some ways this is how Jesus Christ was in his first

coming. He wasn’t forcing anyone to accept him. In a way, he put the kind of

question that we see here to the people of his day. He said, “Whosoever will

may come.” It’s their choice.

And it still is today. It’s still the decision of each

individual to receive Jesus Christ or to reject him. And if you want to reject

him, he will allow you to do so. But there are consequences for both obedience

and for disobedience.

Well, sure enough – the flock seems to make the right

decision and it does indeed end up paying Zechariah for his shepherding of

them.

So they {weighed for my price/weighed out as my wages/weighed out my payment/paid me} thirty pieces of silver.

So, my question as I arrive at this last part of verse 12 is

– is that a lot of money? Thirty pieces of silver – is that an insult or is

that a decent wage for a month’s work?

Well, Exodus 21:32 speaks of this amount of money being the

amount to be paid to the owner of a slave from the owner of the ox that gores that

slave to death. The slave’s owner loses the life of his slave and so he should

be recompensed 30 pieces of silver.

And that’s actually all we have in terms of biblical data

regarding this unit of money. It’s basically the cost of the life of a slave.

And we remember that Jesus Christ came to be a slave to all

in his first coming. He came not to be served but rather to serve and to give

his life a ransom for many. This is how the Son of Man came the first time – as

a slave – taking on himself the form of a slave and being made in the likeness

of man.

Zechariah 11 Explained Verse 13

Well, next in verse 13 the Lord gives Zechariah a command

concerning that money that he was paid by the flock. He needs to throw that

money to the potter in the Temple of the Lord.

13 {And/Then} the LORD said unto me, {Cast it unto/Throw it to} the potter:

So, the Lord wants Zechariah to throw the thirty pieces of silver

to this previously-unknown potter. Again, this is one more reason to think of

this as a vision – that all of a sudden there’s this potter that is ment