Who Will Save Us

Who will save us? Zechariah 8-14 

• Review
  • Ezra 1-4 they were tasked to restore the temple, 
    • They started building, faced some opposition, stopped for 10 years and they all but lost the purpose that God called them to do. 
  • Ezra 5:1- Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Ezra 5:1
  • So we put a pin in Ezra and have been looking at what these 2 prophets said and seeing if they 
    • Haggai asked us to “Consider our ways, repent, and build” 
    • The first part of Zechariah asks us to “Return to God because of who He is… and through some crazy visions we saw He is Sovereign & Just, Protects and Provides and that he saves” 
  • Haggai seems to focus on outward actions and Zechariah seems to focus on the inward motivation of those actions but both are saying this- You have lost your purpose. 
• Coastline Chapel / Meta-narrative of scripture / big idea of the Bible 
  • What’s the big idea of the bible? Jesus is the Hero
  • Of Creation, Fall, Redemption, & Restoration  
  • How is Jesus the Hero of Creation? We find our purpose in him!  
  • So what happened?  We got really lost and need help! 
  • Who will save us?

This seems to summarize the prophets. 

• You are lost and need help. Do you know that? 
• Are you looking to be saved? If so, who are you looking to save you??? It also our main point …
• We got really lost and need help. Who will save us? 

Chapter 7:1-4

• Vs- 1-4, The question. 
  • A remembrance of the destruction of the temple. Fair enough? 
• vs. 4-7, God returns with a question 
• vs. 5 & 6 Guilty
• vs. 7, compares their sin to the those who were exiled. 
  • They wanted to check a box, but God checked their heart. 
• Read vs. 8-12, hardened their hearts
  • “I just wanted to know the vibe of our prayers next month”
  • Nope, straight for the heart. Calls them out. 
• FCF – Fallen Condition Focus
  • What’s the sin? Where are they missing the mark? 
  • Didn’t want to hear the word, so they wouldn’t have to obey. Their hearts became hard. 
  • Good bible reading identifies the sin and asks, “Am I doing the same? Lord, search me.” 

“Juan Carlos Ortiz led the largest evangelical church in Beunos Aires, Argentina.. At one point, he realized his church was educated beyond their experience. They knew a lot more than they were putting into practice. Many of them were getting 2 or 3 sermons a week, plus Bible studies in homes. Before they had time to digest and apply one message, they were getting another. He decided it was time for a change.

So one Sunday, he stood up to preach, opened his Bible and read these words of Jesus: “Love one another.” Then he sat down—he didn’t say anything else, just sat down. The congregation sat there, waiting. So Ortiz got up and said again, “Love one another,” and sat down. Now the congregation began to stir nervously—when was the pastor going to preach? So Ortiz got up a third time and said, “Love one another,” and sat down again.

Finally, a man on the first row leaned over to the man next to him and said, “I think the pastor wants us to love one another.” Then he asked him, “Is there anything I can do for you?”. When his neighbor admitted he was having some financial difficulty, the first man opened his wallet and said, “Let me help you.” Soon, all across the auditorium, people were talking and laughing and praying and crying and giving. They were loving one another.”

How many sermons do you need to hear before you obey? When did we lose the simplicity of hearing from God, believing him and then walking in trust and obedience?  I think we got really lost, and need help. 

• Vs. 13 “I called, they would not hear so they called, and I would not hear”
• vs. 14 Exiled
  • Who will save us? 
• At this point the guys in Bethel are like, “so I guess we are weeping & fasting?” God’s like, I’m not done… and I am so glad he’s not done. 

Chapter 8 God begins to give a vision for their future and then refers to that promise we see all throughout Scripture. 

• Vs. 8 – Indicative  
• Vs. 9 – Imperative 
  • Good bible reading identifies the truths about God. And then looks to the commands that are motivated by those truths and then obeys them. 
• Vs. 14-17 Do this. And here is your answer to your original question… 
• Vs. 18-19   But, they don’t walk in faithfulness. Time and time again we will see moments of “almost obedience” but they keep getting lost again and again and need help.    Who will save us? 
  • Zechariah now looks to this question, Who will save us? 

In Chapters 9-12 He begins to prophesy of a future and some of them to a future king that will save us. He will take what is lost, and give it back it’s purpose! Someone will come to Restore US! 

• Read Zech 9:9-12 
  • In Matthew 21, Jesus tells his disciples to go get a donkey and he quotes vs. 9 saying “This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet”, they get the donkey, Jesus gets on it, spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 
  • And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” Matthew 21:1–11
• Hosanna means SAVE US! 

Who will save us? Jesus will!  

• Here he is! But, they ones who knew these scriptures the best, completely missed the one who came to save! 
  • Good bible reading remembers the Bible is about JESUS! 
  • In Luke’s account of the story it says,  And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” Luke 19:39–40
  • The same hardened heart… “You did not listen to me so I did not listen to you” 
• Zech goes on to say in chapter 10 that he will restore the people and bless them but they need a good shepherd. In Chapter 11, it speaks to a rejected shepherd, in Chapter 12 God will save, but how? 

Read 12:10    Who will save us? Jesus will!  

• GOSPEL- For all our hardness of heart, he was pierced. Every time we chose to not obey, he was pierced. 
  • Even when God says you did not listen to me so I did not listen to you, Jesus experiences that for you when he cries out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”, even for that, he was pierced. 
• Zech 13:1, We have been cleansed. We have been forgiven. It’s Jesus who saves. He is our Hero… 
  • Good bible reading identifies the sin in the text and asks, “Am I doing the same? Lord, search me.”
  • Good bible reading identifies the truths about God. And then looks to the commands that are motivated by those truths and then obeys 
  • Good bible reading remembers the Bible is about JESUS!
• What’s the big idea of the bible? Jesus is the Hero
  • Of Creation, Fall, Redemption, & Restoration  
• How is Jesus the Hero of Creation? We find our purpose in him!  
• So what happened?  We got really lost and need help! 
• Who will save us? Jesus will! He died and rose again to save us. 
• You know what that means? I found my purpose again! 
• What is it? to follow Jesus because he is my hero