Messianic Prophecies

Zechariah 9-14 contains multiple Messianic prophecies. Perhaps the most famous is this one: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:14). This was fulfilled as described by Matthew, who referenced this prophecy in Matthew 21:1-8 where the triumphal entry of the Savior into Jerusalem was described. We find a second prophecy from Zechariah about the Savior in these words: “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord” (Zechariah 11:12-13). Matthew wrote about the fulfillment of this prophecy in the story of Judas who betrayed the Savior: “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.” Matthew then related the event to the prophecy: “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me” (Matthew 27:3-10). Despite the reference to Jeremiah, he likely was referring to the prophecy of Zechariah here. Thus Zechariah seems to have seen at least two of the events of the last week of the Savior’s life over five centuries before they would take place.

               Zechariah also gave us prophecies about the Savior around the time of the Second Coming which are yet to be fulfilled. He gave us these words of the Lord: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and 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” (Zechariah 12:9-10). At some future day the Jews will look upon Him whom they pierced and know that He is the Messiah, and they will mourn because they crucified their king. Zechariah continued, “And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zechariah 13:6). This language is very similar to the words of the Lord in our dispensation as He revealed to the Prophet Joseph: “And then shall the Jews look upon me and say: What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet? Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God. And then shall they weep because of their iniquities; then shall they lament because they persecuted their king” (Doctrine and Covenants 45:51-53). Jesus will some day declare who He is again in Jerusalem and at that day His ancient covenant people will indeed know that He was and is the true Messiah. Zechariah described that future day further in these words: “Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south” (Zechariah 14:3-4). He will come down and stand upon the Mount of Olives, and it will divide in two. The Savior seems to have also referenced this prophecy in the same modern revelation: “Then shall the arm of the Lord fall upon the nations. And then shall the Lord set his foot upon this mount, and it shall cleave in twain, and the earth shall tremble, and reel to and fro, and the heavens also shall shake. And the Lord shall utter his voice, and all the ends of the earth shall hear it; and the nations of the earth shall mourn, and they that have laughed shall see their folly” (Doctrine and Covenants 45:47-49). Zechariah saw both the mortal and millennial Messiah, and we look forward with great anticipation for the fulfillment of what he saw as the Savior returns in power and great glory to the earth.