While the prophecy in Zechariah 11 has been connected to Jesus and there have been interpretations about who the worthless shepherd is, I would like to pose an interpretation that I have not seen yet. The interpretation explains who the three shepherds and the worthless shepherd are.
My Interpretation Up Front: The three shepherds are the rebel factions during the First Jewish War against Rome and the Worthless Shepherd is Caiaphas, the high priest that conspired against Jesus.
Chapter 11 starts with foretelling destruction coming from the North, then prophecies about shepherds. I find that verses 1-3 are the result and everything afterward in the chapter walks back to the root cause. The root cause for the temple's destruction is the worthless shepherd.
The root cause analysis goes like this:
1) Why does the temple get destroyed? Because the LORD no longer had pity on the people and marked them for slaughter.
2) Why were they marked for slaughter? Because three shepherds were oppressed them.
3) Why did they lose God's favor and protection? Because the flock rejected the good shepherd and valued him like a slave.
4) Why did they reject the good shepherd? Because they were no longer unified as a people.
5) Why were they no longer unified? Because the worthless shepherd neglected and abused them.
The interpretation, then, goes like this:
1) Caiaphas, a puppet high priest appointed by the Roman Empire, angered the Jews by accommodating the Romans and not representing the views of the Jewish people.
2) Caiaphas rejected Jesus to protect his estate and status with the Romans. He could have easily leant his support behind Jesus and unified the Jews against Rome. He wasn't worried about the Jews though. He was only worried about himself and his posterity.
3) The Jewish people lost God's favor and protection because they persecuted Jesus and His followers.
4) The three rebel factions oppressed the Jews in their pursuit for supremacy over Jerusalem.
5) The Romans slaughtered so many Jews when they broke through the city walls that Josephus recounted that there was not a space on the ground that was not covered by a corpse.
Thoughts?
My Interpretation Up Front: The three shepherds are the rebel factions during the First Jewish War against Rome and the Worthless Shepherd is Caiaphas, the high priest that conspired against Jesus.
Chapter 11 starts with foretelling destruction coming from the North, then prophecies about shepherds. I find that verses 1-3 are the result and everything afterward in the chapter walks back to the root cause. The root cause for the temple's destruction is the worthless shepherd.
The root cause analysis goes like this:
1) Why does the temple get destroyed? Because the LORD no longer had pity on the people and marked them for slaughter.
2) Why were they marked for slaughter? Because three shepherds were oppressed them.
3) Why did they lose God's favor and protection? Because the flock rejected the good shepherd and valued him like a slave.
4) Why did they reject the good shepherd? Because they were no longer unified as a people.
5) Why were they no longer unified? Because the worthless shepherd neglected and abused them.
The interpretation, then, goes like this:
1) Caiaphas, a puppet high priest appointed by the Roman Empire, angered the Jews by accommodating the Romans and not representing the views of the Jewish people.
2) Caiaphas rejected Jesus to protect his estate and status with the Romans. He could have easily leant his support behind Jesus and unified the Jews against Rome. He wasn't worried about the Jews though. He was only worried about himself and his posterity.
3) The Jewish people lost God's favor and protection because they persecuted Jesus and His followers.
4) The three rebel factions oppressed the Jews in their pursuit for supremacy over Jerusalem.
5) The Romans slaughtered so many Jews when they broke through the city walls that Josephus recounted that there was not a space on the ground that was not covered by a corpse.
Thoughts?
