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Zechariah 3:1–2. And the Lord showed Jesus the great priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and the devil standing at his right hand to resist him. And he spoke 19 to the devil: May the Lord rebuke 20 you, the devil, and may he who has chosen Jerusalem 21 rebuke you 22: is not this the chief thing torn out of the fire? Although this story is a vision; but it also has a historical meaning, introduced here covertly and depicted as if under the image of Jesus. You need to know that the Prophet does not pronounce his speeches after the content of his visions has come true, he is by no means idle talk, does not deviate from conformity with the law and does not pile up many stories that are not necessary for us: but as I said, he contemplates these events even before they occur and, wanting to make Israel wise and unshakable, tries to announce them, so that, having fallen into the same sins, he would not be subjected to the same sins another time. captivity, knowing that he was saved with difficulty and that his release and favor towards him served as a matter of concern for the heavenly angels. Therefore, he said that he saw an Angel standing and in his face Jesus, the son of Josedek, “the great priest.” The angel served as the image and type of Christ; and the high priest served as the representative of all the people; for this is how it is understood in divine Scripture. Therefore, God nowhere said to Moses: and “I took everything. The Levites were given to me instead of all the sons of Israel” (Numbers 3:9, 12). So, it is not without reason that we can understand by the high priest the whole people. After Israel withdrew from the presence of God, serving idols and neglecting the very law of Moses, then when the righteous wrath of God was accomplished over them, God had mercy on them and was again called before His presence. This, I think, is precisely what the priest’s hidden standing in front of the Angel of the Lord indicates; for in anger He turns His eyes away from those who are accustomed to despise Him; but out of His mercy He turns to them and looks upon them. For this reason, the divine Psalmist prayed, saying: “Do not turn your face away from me, and do not turn away in anger from your servant” (Ps. 26:9), and again: “Look upon me and have mercy on me” (Ps. 24:16). But being by nature good and merciful, God forgave Israel's sin. And Satan, having drawn Israel into sin, again resisted and contradicted Him and still accused Him and, as far as one can say this about his will, did not allow mercy to be shown to Israel, as being in sins and abiding in the vices of wickedness and not having anything pleasant in himself: “standing,” he says, at his right hand, “in some way weakening the pleasant; for he is not at enmity against our foolish deeds, but against those that are right and praiseworthy. Blessed David also introduced something similar to those who experienced something similar to Christ, saying: “And let the devil stand at his right hand” (Ps. 109:6). So the devil resisted, but was rebuked by the mouth of an angel, for he heard the following words: “May the Lord rebuke you, devil, and may the Lord rebuke you who has chosen Jerusalem.” Look how he immediately showed himself to be an opponent of God and wickedly opposed to the highest definitions: while God shows mercy to Israel and already forgives their sin, accepts and makes Jerusalem chosen, he does not cease to accuse it and dares to condemn those who had mercy. Therefore, he reproaches him for the insatiability of his anger, saying: “Isn’t this the main thing that was plucked out of the fire?” As if he were saying this: undoubtedly, Israel has sinned and is subject to your censure; but he was punished a lot and suffered disasters and was barely pulled out, like a half-burnt brand from the fire; (this is how he depicted the suffering of captivity); only now, and with difficulty, did he get rid of the unbearable flame of disaster: stop blaming those who were pardoned; for “God justifies, who condemns?” (Rom.8:33) Zechariah 3:3–5. And Jesus 23 was clothed in vile garments and stood before the angel of the Lord 24 . And he answered and spoke to those standing before him, saying: Take away the abominable garments from him. And he said to him: Behold, 25 you have taken away your iniquity, 26 and clothe him with a garment, and put a clean turban on his head. If the high priest is already recognized as the representative of the whole people; then, as I think, it should also be said that vile clothes were an obvious symbol of the uncleanness of the people; for, as if clothed in their own sins and bearing on themselves the filth of wickedness that was difficult to cleanse, they lived in captivity, suffering disasters and being punished for their wicked crimes. When God took pity on them, he decided to deliver them from sin and free them from impurities and, as it were, to clothe them with justifying grace. He promises them the end of the disaster and the resolution of their sins; for where there is remission of sin, there must be liberation from punishment for it. Therefore, the blessed Angel commands those standing before the face of God and serving Him to take off their vile clothes and says: “Behold, your iniquity has been taken away.” Then he said that he should be clothed in a podir and a clean turban should be placed on his head, so that through this in a lawful manner the glory of the priesthood would always be in accordance with the state of the people: for the glory of the priests is the purity of those under them, and among the praiseworthy advantages for those who have the glory of the priesthood is considered that when the people are known for good behavior, walk blamelessly in doing the will of God and obediently submit to His decrees, for which they have merciful and merciful God in God. loving father. On the contrary, the negligence of their subordinates and their reckless desire for sin serve as a shame and dishonor for them; for just as at a time when the people indulge in sins, the priest’s clothes seem to be dirty; so when he (the people) acquires the habit of a good life, the ministry of the priest becomes pure and bright and acquires great boldness before God. Therefore, the divine Paul, who preached the Gospel of Christ to the pagans, seeing their significant successes in virtue and their firm faith in him, writes, saying: I confirm with our praise, 27 brethren, which we have in the Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 15:31) and again: “Ye are my joy and crown” (Phil. 4:1). Zechariah 3:6–7. And the Angel 28 stood and testified The Angel of the Lord to Jesus, saying: Here saith the Lord Almighty: If thou shalt walk in my ways, 29 thou shalt keep my commandments, and thou shalt judge my church 30: and thou shalt preserve 31 my court, and give unto thee those who are in the midst of them that stand. Although we accepted that Jesus the great priest was a prototype of the Savior of all Christ; for for this purpose Aaron was appointed in the beginning, but in the words explained to the son of Josedek the following is said: “To this the Lord Almighty says: If you walk in my ways, you will keep my commandments, and you will judge my house” and the following after this, which cannot be said to Christ; since He Himself is the way, He Himself is the justification of God and the Father, He Himself judged His house, ruling over it as the Son; and since the divine Moses was a faithful servant in all the house of God, Christ is like a Son in His house (Heb. 3:5-6); and we make up His house. So this can be said to the son of Josedek, but not to Christ. God declared that the priesthood would continue to function after the time of captivity, so that the priesthood would rule over Israel and govern that holy city. since the times of captivity had come and the church was set on fire and no sacrifices were made; then some thought that the institutions of Moses would now come to complete destruction, and the law would have no meaning, although the time had not yet arrived at which the Only Begotten became man. Therefore God, in convincing Israel that they will again submit to the ancient customs and act under the direction of the priests, necessarily says that if Jesus will be a sincere keeper of the law; then he will again judge His house and will be in its former glory, with the assistance of the holy angels. After all, we do not at all claim that the ancient law was devoid of wise goals. Although the institutions of the law were in types and shadows, yet it existed for the glory of God. This, I think, is indicated by the words: “I will give you converts among those who stand,” that is, the angels who offer sacrifices and perform sacred services with him. Pay attention to how the Holy Scripture says everywhere that the holy Angels stand, in a word standing, indicating that they do not fall into negligence, but have a mind that is always straight and not subject to weakness, but (firmly) standing with God. So it is written in Ezekiel about the Cherubim that their legs are straight (Ezekiel 1:7). But a person’s mind weakens very quickly and easily falls into the disease of negligence. But a holy multitude of higher spirits stood. Therefore, God said to Zion: “Set up for yourself, O Zion” (Jer. 31:21). And blessed David offered songs of thanksgiving to God, saying: “Set my nose on stones” (Ps. 39:3); The divinely inspired Psalmist, under the name of standing here, indicates steadfastness and strength of mind. Zechariah 3:8–9. Hear now, Jesus the great priest, you 32 and your sincere ones and 33 who sit before you are men of wonder: for behold, I have led my servant, His name is East: for I have given a stone, which I have given before the face of Jesus; on one stone there are seven combs. Through what we have just said, it was announced to Jesus, or better, and this will be more correct, to the priesthood established by the law, that it would judge in its own house and rule over the people and complete the forms of statutory worship. Pay attention to the economy and the great art of divine providence. In a short time, service according to the law had to be transformed into true service and the coarseness of images had to change into a life worthy of love and spiritual life; the farmers who killed the Lord were to be expelled from the vineyard and the field was to be given to others, obviously the Holy Apostles and Evangelists, who would make it fruitful and flourishing, paying the most careful attention to it; “A righteous king will reign and princes will rule with judgment” according to the word of the Prophet (Is. 32:1); another priest will arise not according to the order of Aaron, but according to the order of Melchizedek, “a servant of the saints and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord, and not man, set up” (Heb. 8:2); for our Lord Jesus Christ entered into the Holy of Holies “not by the blood of a goat, nor by the blood of a calf, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption” (Heb.9:12) and “by one offering he has finished eating forever in the conscience of those who are sanctified” (Heb.10:14; cf. Heb.9:14). Therefore, so that God, giving the promise to the legal priesthood that it would always and constantly oversee and judge in its house, would not appear to speak lies and vain words, He had to foretell the mystery of Christ, making it known that legal institutions would cease and that He would judge in His house through His generation, that is, through the Son. Therefore, He, as it were, certifies Jesus himself and those close to him and those sitting before his face, we mean the Levites and priests; for the class of Levites stood before the high priest to serve him: the oldest of them, the priests, as the highest and most sacred of those by law, were even awarded the honor of belonging to the Sanhedrin: he calls them divinators because they always sought to see signs and were partial to miracles; This was always the nature of the Jewish people. So, when Christ, having made a kind of scourge from the ropes, drove everyone out of the church, saying: “Take this from here: and do not make My Father’s house a purchased house”; Then they approached Him saying: “What sign are you showing us that you have done this?” (John 2:16, 18) and who gave you this power? We know that others also came to Him and said: “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you” (Matthew 12:38). So, he says, since they are men of wonder: then let them recognize with you the future and the almighty performer of the signs that they always ask. So who is He? “Behold, I bring in My servant; his name is east.” As God by nature and from God the Father, the Only Begotten appeared, and as such He is free: but “humbled Himself,” according to Scripture, condescending to what He was not, and received the name of a servant, for the sake of human nature, although as God He is the Lord of all. But He was also the East, that is, the sun of truth; It rose and shone upon us who lived as if in darkness and were immersed as a result of worldly pleasures as if in the darkness of the night and sleep, and who had a darkened spiritual eye. It awakened us to wakefulness and shone us with its grace. Therefore, the wise Paul writes to us, pointing us to the same thing: “The night is past, and the day is drawing near: let us therefore put aside the works of darkness and put on the works of light. As in the days, let us walk gracefully” (Rom. 13:12–13): and again: “Arise from sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Eph. 5:14). So, it foretells the glorious deeds of our Savior, accomplished by Him during His coming to earth. He calls Him a servant because He came in the form of a slave, and the East because He is the true light, and the day and the brilliant day, rising in souls and enlightening hearts. Moreover, he calls Him a stone and says that it was given before the face of Jesus, and claims that He has seven eyes; for the legal priesthood, of which we consider Jesus to be the image, was to constantly have before its face and eyes “a chosen stone, a cornerstone, an honorable stone laid for the foundation of Zion” (Is. 28:16), with many eyes overseeing everything, for the number seven always serves as a sign of perfection; therefore it is said that “unfruits brought forth seven” (1 Samuel 2:5) And that the divine and ineffable nature of the Son with thousands of eyes oversees everything and watches over us - who can doubt this? “For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, members and marrow, and judging by the mind and thought of the heart, and there is no creation that is not manifested before Him, but all naked and declared before his eyes,” according to what is written (Heb. 4:12-13). Zechariah 3:9. “I will dig a ditch,” says the Lord Almighty, and I will wipe away all the insults of this land in one day. He showed that our Lord Jesus Christ is truly both the light and the East, and that He shone forth like the East to those who are in darkness and the shadow of death, that is, to those who are lost. But it was also necessary to foretell the purpose of the economy, that is, death for all of us, which He suffered voluntarily, giving His body up to be crucified on the cross, which is why the Jewish people became hostile towards Him and were deprived of communication with Him: therefore they, miserable ones, did not understand this and were rightly deprived of hope and the evil ones perished and were subjected to terrible and inevitable disasters. So, the Savior’s cross is likened to a ditch; for having shed the blood of the Lord and daring to crucify the Author of life, they seemed to fall into a ditch. But if these words also contained the idea that the Father Himself dug the ditch, then let no one be tempted by this; but let him think about how the word economy is filled with deep meaning. This is almost the same as what Christ wisely and truly said: “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see will be blind” (John 9:39). Although there is no doubt that He did not come for the purpose of making some blind, but the worthlessness of those who did not understand the purpose of the economy seemed to cast a certain shadow on the image of the excellent economy: for they did not want to see, although the divine light shone for them. This is what needs to be understood here too. The Father sent the Son to save the world through Him; but due to the madness of those who did not understand, the Sent became a ditch and a net for crucifiers, and thus the idea can be admitted that the Sender dug up the ditch. So, he says, “I will dig a ditch and wipe out all the insults of this land in one day.” He says: “I will search” instead of: I will carefully search and examine: for they killed the holy prophets and the servants sent from time to time: for they dishonored some, stoned others, and killed others. But God was still long-suffering: for those who suffered were servants and slaves just like those who killed them. But when they reached such unbridledness and such wickedness that they cruelly raged against the Son himself and fell through the cross into the ditch; and He did not leave this sin of theirs unexamined; for He sought out and punished those who dishonored, determining the destruction of the entire land of Judea on one day, on which those who brought Him to Pilate said: “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25); for even if the consequences of divine wrath did not immediately befall them, if they were not punished without delay, then God pronounced a righteous sentence on them, destruction, as I said, poured out on the land of Judea. And when Christ was led to the crucifixion and women followed him, weeping and sobbing: then He, turning to them, said: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, weep both for yourself and your children” (Luke 23:28); for they were given over to destruction and beating, and what was said through the mouth of Isaiah happened to them: “Your land is desolate, your land is burned with fire, strangers devour your country before you, and it is desolate from strange people” (Is. 1:7). Zechariah 3:10. On that day, says the Lord Almighty, you will call each of your sincere ones under the vine and under his fig tree 34 . He clearly indicated that after examining their sin, they would be subjected to every kind of suffering, as if they would be thrown into a pit for the crucifixion of Christ. But he also considers it necessary to foretell that for believers and those who love Him, this event will not only not be useless, but, on the contrary, will serve as a source of joy and joy. Righteous Simeon will testify to this. When he saw the divine Child and took Him into his arms, he prophesied, saying: “This is destined for the fall and rising of many, and can be reconciled as a sign” (Luke 2:34). So those who called righteous blood on their own heads fell, were, as it were, overthrown, lay and were under the feet of the devil, and the pagan peoples rebelled. And Christ Himself nowhere predicted to the holy disciples about His suffering on the Cross. When He saw that they were despondent from this, He consoled them, saying: “When a woman gives birth, she has sorrow, because her year has come; but when she gives birth, she rejoices with joy, because a man has been born into the world. And now you have sorrow, but follow me and your heart will rejoice” (John 16:21-22). So, having risen from the dead, He said to the women weeping in the garden: Rejoice: so should each of those who love Him be said after the cross and resurrection: “Thou hast turned my mourning into joy for me, thou hast torn my sackcloth in pieces, and thou hast girded me with gladness” (Ps. 29:12). After all, after Christ arose and destroyed the power of death, does not crying immediately disappear and every tear is not taken away from the face, according to the word of the prophet? (Isa.25:8) For as God He is by nature life, although He appeared in the flesh. So, on “that day,” he says, that is, at the time in which He rose from the dead and His crucifiers fell, “call each of your sincere ones under the vine and under the fig tree.” And if anyone wanted to accept such a simple and literal meaning here; he will have to claim that the above words indicate spiritual pleasures. In addition, it is not unreasonable, I think, to point out that the church seems to be called a fig tree and a grape, which the divine Psalmist recalls when he speaks in secret to the high and heavenly bridegroom, that is, Christ: “your wife is like a fruitful vine in the lands of your house” (Ps. 127:3). And the God of all things himself said nowhere: “The ripening grapes give off a stink, the figs bear their blossom” (Song. 2:13): for He said that the vineyards are fragrant and bloom and show fruit, as if about the time when the churches received their beginning through faith in Him: by these (vineyards) one can understand the multitude of those who have just believed, still immature now, but in a short time having to become achieving this with sweetness and striving for perfection; for having matured and grown “into a man of the perfect fulfillment of Christ” (Eph. 4:13), we became as if fruits sweet to God, becoming akin to the church, as if to matter. So, if by the fig tree and the vine we mean churches: then we will be under their control and find peace among them, speaking to each other the following prophetic words: “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will tell us his way, and we will walk in it” (Is. 2:3). And if we achieve this: then he will give all praise to those who called us to this, saying again the following: “we rejoiced at those who said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Ps. 121:1): for by fruit we can rightly understand our highest joy: why again let us say with the Psalmist: “I have asked one thing of the Lord, this I will require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, behold the beauty of the Lord and visit his holy church” (Ps. 26:4). Slav. and other approx.: The Lord is Κύριος, St. Cyril does not. In Greek letters resp. Heb.: ᾿εν σοι. In glory etc. again read here: Κύριος. Again: ᾿εν σοι. At St. Kirill cheat. κυριου, as in some. few, but famous. like Sin. Wat. Al. and almost everyone doesn’t read. In Slav. approx.: from you - απο σου, as in many later copies and translations, but in the most ancient codices (Vat. Sin., etc.) these words are not present. Slav. approx.: and I will cleanse your sins, as in some time. late, but in Vat. Alex. Syn. etc. no, as in Heb. St. Cyril reads: ἠμετέραν, like a code. Alex. and some others (also Theodorite), - instead of υμετέραν - Sin. Wat. and the majority, Vulg. Italian Damascene, Zlat., Ambrose, etc. In everyone. read: The Lord's - κυριου. At St. Cyrus. as in the ancients. εν τοις προσταγμασι, but many. late and Complete: τα προσταγματα. Και φυλαξεις, as some. Συ δε και, as something, but Slav. and author. without δε. και cheat. and Al. and many more others, but Slav. no cheat as well as Vat., Sin. and the majority. αυτοι like many: but in glory. no, like Vat., Sin., Al. etc. You might be interested in: