Not only that, but in the prediction, God was
consistent about who Jesus is: the ARM OF GOD.
But to see the match, you have to go back to
the original Hebrew.
In Zec 11, God describes major destruction and then
a major error concerning the "shepherds" (or priests)
and the people. Notice that God wants the shepherds
to feed the flock, but they aren't:
Zec 11:4 - Thus sayth Yahweh, my God, feed the flock of the
slaughter.
5 - Whose possessors kill them, and hold themselves not
guilty. And they that give them to die say blessed
be God for I am rich, and their own shepherds pity.
6 - For I will have no more pity on the inhabitants of
the land sayth God, but lo I will deliver the men
every one into his neighbors hand and into the hand
of his king, and they shall destroy the land and
out of their hand, I will not deliver.
(God knows the shepherds are not effective, they do not judge
according to what God wants, but according to their own
well being. Therefore, he's going to give them up to be
destroyed.)
7 - I will feed the flock of slaughter therefore poor
of the flock. So I took (in the hand), two staffs,
the first called "delightfulness", the other I called
"offensive", and I tended the flock.
(So God now decides >>> HE <<< will feed the flock, he
will shepherd them. This statement is a major turning
point, one where God previously had set up priests and
such, now he's going to shepherd the people HIMSELF.
Further, this verse is key since the efforts of God to
save are based on HIS OWN ARM saving. The one time God
saved the Hebrews out of Egypt, HIS OWN ARM was the
"Beauty" or "delightfulness" saving them and easily
accepted.
And as the verse says, there'd be another instance that
would be seen as "offensive" and because of it, would be
rejected. Notice also, God is talking to the POOR of
the flock, the others he soon say's will die.)
8 - Three of the shepherds I cut down in one month
and my heart grieved, their desires I loathed.
9 - Then I said, I will not feed you that dies, let it
die. And what is to be cut off, let it be made
desolate, and the rest, devour every one of the
family of an another.
10 - And I took my staff "delightfulness" and cut
it asunder that I might make void my covenant
which I had made with all the people.
(Right here, the ARM OF GOD's use of MIGHT and POWER to
save was ENDED, the covenant to be tossed. God would not
be using MIGHT and POWER to save the people, since
basically, that's what the priests were using as a measure
of whether or not they were right.
If the priests saw MIGHT and POWER, they felt God was happy
with their efforts, and from above, God did NOT accept
the shepherds (priests) efforts. MIGHT and POWER was not
helping the poor, it was helping the rich. Because of this,
God decided he wanted to end the covenant.)
11 - And it was broken in that day and so the poor of
the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the
word of God.
(God clearly states that the POOR would understand.
The poor were looking for the messiah to save them,
they would accept the saviour's true intent, that
NO MIGHT and NO POWER would be used to save, the
"delightfulness" would not be there. Instead, God
would save using his SPIRIT, the poor would know
God had set it up.)
12 - And I said unto them, If you think it agreeable,
give me my wages, and if not, cease. So they paid
for my price, thirty pieces of silver.
(Here the high priests have all the information,
they were told to help the poor, not look at being
rich as an indicator of having done what God wanted.
The option was, cease and return to doing as God
commanded (helping the poor), or pay him wages and
he'll end the covenant. They of course had no
intention of ceasing so they paid the price:
thirty pieces of silver.
When?
They had Jesus and the prophecies showing Jesus
to be who he said he is: the ARM OF GOD. Jesus
basically said the same message above, and of
course, his price for being taken and killed
was 30 pieces of silver. By paying the price,
the covenant became void.)
13 - And God said, cast it unto the potter, a good
price that I was appraised of them. And I took
the thirty pieces of silver and cast them to the
potter, in the temple of God.
(And this is exactly what occurred, Judas was paid
30 pieces of silver by the high priests to help
the soldiers find and take in Jesus. Notice too,
God himself is being appraised, his value set, of
which God then agrees that he's been paid a GOOD
price and from that, would void the covenant.
Why was it a GOOD price? Because for only 30 peices
of silver, they were paying to have God end a
priceless covenant.
So here are the details CONFIRMING how to spot
the 2nd "staff" God used to shepherd his flock.)
14 - Then I cut my other staff "offensive" that I might
break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
(Jesus was considered offensive to the high priests.
What he was telling them was regarded as blasphemy
and foolishness. After being delivered into the high
priests hands, he was soon after crucified.)
15 - And God said unto me, take unto thee the stuff
of a foolish shepherd.
(This of course is what Jesus seemed to be to those
he was sent to.)
16 - For I will establish a shepherd amoung the nations
which shall not seek out that which is to be
destroyed, neither shall seek the scattered,
nor heal the shattered, nor feed what is established,
but he shall destroy the kindred of the plenteous
and tear their claws in pieces.
(This is what God said at the start of the verse set,
that God would let the ones previously discussed, die
{and obviously would not repair them when they became
shattered}. And the poor of the flock, he would feed.
Jesus went to the poor and meek, the rich had no idea
what he was talking about... "easier for a camel to fit through
the eye of a needle than for a rich man...".
Upon Jesus dying, the sheep were scattered.
Jesus (the messiah who the Jews were looking for) did
not heal the shattered nation. Most of the Jews were
looking for a messiah to make them a strong nation
again, instead the nation was shattered and dispersed
over the world.
Jesus was not accepted by the established high priests.
But how to recognize the shepherd, the "offensive"
staff that God would tend the sheep with? Simple,
God made BARE the ARM OF GOD for all the nations
to recognize him... as the next verse indicates.)
17 - Alas! The image of the shepherd that leaves behind
the flock, the tools shall be upon his arm and
upon the right side of his face! His arm shall
be utterly confounded, his right side of the face,
utterly failed.
This last verse is classic and point blank describes
Jesus as shown on the Shroud of Turin.
In the original Hebrew, God has described the shepherd
(Jesus) having departed or left the flock and further,
major attributes of how you could recognize him on that
shroud:
* The right arm is longer, or confused.
* The right side of the face shows signs of being
beaten or hit, where the eye is forced up (due to
swelling) and the eye probably forced shut
or failed. There is a distinct and large mark
from the nose to the right side cheek. The
New Testament account says Jesus was hit in
the face with a staff.
* There are blood marks all up his arms where he
was severely beaten, the Zec 11 verse indicates
he was beaten on the arms, possibly with the
same staff used to hit him in the face.
Another confirming verse as to predicting Jesus
leaving or departing the flock (from the original
Hebrew):
Zec 13:7 Raise the tools against my shepherd, and
against every one that is my associate,
saith God of hosts. Slay the shepherd
and the sheep shall be scattered and I
will return my hand to the insignificant
ones.
See?
Jesus and his apostles were looked upon as foolish
and to be destroyed. So first the shepherd was beaten
and killed, and his associates (apostles) soon
recieved similar treatment. All the while the sheep
were scattered... and the nation shattered.
The HAND of God was then returned to the insignificant
ones... the poor.
In Zec 11 God absolutely predicted why Jesus was
sent, how he'd appear on the shroud, and of
course, it was said >>> 520 YEARS BEFORE <<<
Jesus showed up.
God made it all, Jesus died for our sins.
Note: The above information was written by John P. Boatwright and is freely given. The information is simply my opinion based on how I perceive the content discussed. Anyone reading such should use their own judgement as to whether or not the information has any value to them. You may copy portions of the above opinions as long as a reference to this page is included and no text within said portion is altered. If copied to another medium other than the internet, include the entire text. The above content may change over time.
Best wishes.