Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 13:1

(Chapter 13, Verse 1) On that day there will be a flowing fountain for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for cleansing from sin and impurity. LXX: On that day there will be an open fountain for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for transformation and purification. Concerning this fountain, which is said to flow out from the house of David, it is written in the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 47) that the fountain shall burst forth in the house of the Lord and become a river, which is called the water of forgiveness and indulgence; and it shall flow to the desert and the sea, which is now called the Dead Sea, and it shall give life to all kinds of fish, and trees of various kinds shall grow on both banks, bearing abundant fruit every month. And so that we may know that the house, that is, the temple of God, is itself the house of David, which in Ezekiel is called the house of God, and in Zechariah is called the house of David: this fountain, coming forth from the house of God, is brought back to the Church and to the knowledge of the Scriptures, so that we may all be reborn in Christ, and in the water of baptism our sins may be forgiven to us. Nothing is more unclean than a menstruating woman, who makes whatever she touches unclean: and yet these impurities of Christ are washed away by baptism. For the ablution of sins and menstruation, the LXX translated it as transference and sprinkling: that we may go from the Law to the Gospel, from the letter to the spirit, from the shadow to the truth, that the future and eternal may succeed the brief and present. Moreover, sprinkling signifies the blood of the Lord, about which Peter the Apostle also speaks: Grace to you and peace be multiplied, in obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (I Peter 1:2). And again: Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter, 18), with which whoever is sprinkled and redeemed, can say with the prophet: You shall sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: You shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow (Psalm 50, 9).

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 220] Tertullian on Zechariah 13:2

Let us see, then, the necessity of literary erudition; let us reflect that partly it cannot be admitted, partly cannot be avoided. Learning literature is allowable for believers, rather than teaching; for the principle of learning and teaching is different. If a believer teaches literature, while he teaches doubtless he commends, while he delivers he affirms, while he recalls he bears testimony to, the praise of idols interspersed therein. He seals the gods themselves with this name [of gods], whereas the law, as we have said, prohibits “the names of gods to be pronounced” and this name [of God] to be conferred on vanity. Hence the devil gets people’s early faith built up from the beginnings of erudition. Inquire whether he who catechizes about idols commits idolatry. But when a believer learns these things, if he is already capable of understanding what idolatry is, he neither receives nor allows them; much more if he is not yet capable. Or, when he begins to understand, it behooves him first to understand what he has previously learned, that is, touching God and the faith. Therefore he will reject those things and will not receive them; and [the believer] will be as safe as one who knows it not, who knowingly accepts poison but does not drink it. To him necessity is attributed as an excuse, because he has no other way to learn. Moreover, the not teaching literature is as much easier than the not learning, as it is easier too for the pupil not to attend than for the master not to frequent the rest of the defilements incident to the schools from public and scholastic solemnities.

Source: ON IDOLATRY 10

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 13:2

(V2.) And it shall be in that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will destroy the names of the idols from the land, and they shall be remembered no more; and I will also remove the false prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. LXX: And it shall be in that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will destroy the names of the idols from the land, and their memory shall no longer exist; and the false prophets and the unclean spirit I will remove from the land. On that day that is frequently mentioned, all idols will be removed from the land, including those idols of which the Psalmist says: The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands (Ps. 115:4), so that there may be no other religion except the name of the Christians, and concerning which it is written in the prophet: Wail, you sculptures, in Jerusalem and in Samaria. For as I have done to Samaria and its idols, so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols (Jer. XXX). Whether these idols, of which the Apostle speaks: Now the Spirit manifestly saith: That in the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to spirits of error and doctrines of devils, Speaking lies in hypocrisy and having their conscience seared (into idolatry) (I Tim. IV, 1, 2). For just as idols are made by the hand of the craftsman, so the perverse doctrine of heretics, whatever it may simulate, turns into an idol and causes Antichrist to be adored in place of Christ. For pseudo-prophets, in Hebrew the prophets are absolutely called prophets, that is, Nebim, which also means pseudo-prophets; but nevertheless even the priests of idols among the Gentiles are called prophets.

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Zechariah 13:2

Hermes Trismegistus lamented these vain, deceptive, pernicious, sacrilegious things because he foresaw that the time was coming when they would be abolished. He was impudent in his grief as imprudent in his prophecy, since the Holy Spirit had made no revelation to him as to the holy prophets, who exultantly proclaimed their inspired visions: “Shall a man make gods to himself, and they are no gods?” and again, “And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord of hosts, that I will destroy the names of the idols out of the earth, and they shall be remembered no more.” It is relevant to recall that holy Isaiah uttered a particular prophecy concerning Egypt: “And the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst thereof,” and the rest.

Source: City of God 8.23

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 13:3

(Verse 3) And it will be, when someone prophesies further, his father and mother, who bore him, will say to him: You shall not live, because you have spoken falsehood in the name of the Lord. And his father and mother, who bore him, will pierce him when he prophesies. (Septuagint: If a man prophesies further, his father and mother, who bore him, will say to him: You shall not live, because you have spoken falsehood in the name of the Lord. And his father and mother, who bore him, will bind him when he prophesies.) With the names of the idols removed from the earth, and the false prophets, and the unclean spirit who spoke through them, if anyone should dare to go beyond and prophesy in the name of the Lord, immediately his father and mother will forget their parents, in order to hold onto the service of God, and they will pronounce a sentence of death against their own son. And the minds of all, so devoted to God, will be so pure that there will be no need for a public judgement; rather, let those who are such perish by the judgement of their relatives. Therefore, because we have said this, they will fight against him, which is the same word in Hebrew as above, Dacaru (). So in what way did the seventy interpreters use the word κατωρχήσαντο there, that is, they insulted or mocked him, and to use the word word for word, jumped against him; and here they have translated the word συμποδιοῦσιν, that is, they will hinder: when both Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotius have also translated it there and here in the same way, they have nailed it. But rightly the one who falsely prophesies is called a man, as the Apostle says: For while there are rivalries and contentions among you, are you not carnal and walking according to man (I Cor. III, 3)? And in the Psalms: But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes (Psalm 82:7). And those who are unworthy of the spirit of God shall deserve to hear: My spirit shall not remain in these men, because they are carnal (Genesis 6:3).

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 13:3-6

(Vers. 3 seqq.) And on that day, the prophets will be confused, each one from his own vision, when he prophesies, and they will not cover themselves with a sackcloth to deceive. Instead, they will say, 'I am not a prophet, I am a farmer, for Adam is my example from my youth.' And it will be said to him, 'What are these wounds in the middle of your hands?' And he will say, 'I have been wounded in the house of those who love me.' LXX: And on that day, the prophets will be confused, each one from his own vision, when he prophesies, and they will wear a hairy garment with which they have deceived, and they will say, 'I am not a prophet, because a man has begotten me from my youth,' and I will say to him, 'What are these wounds in the middle of your hands?' And he will say: To whom have I been struck in the house of the one who loves me? Whoever attempts to prophesy and is condemned by the judgment of his parents, and approves the falsehood of his prophecy by contrary outcomes, he will be confounded by his vision, and he will no longer be covered with a hairshirt in order to lie. For this was the attire of the prophets, that when they called the people to repentance, they would be clothed in a hairshirt. Therefore, it is commanded to Isaiah to take the sackcloth from his loins, and to walk naked (Isa. XX): for it is not at all a time of repentance, but of imminent captivity. Therefore, this false prophet will by no means receive the prophet's garb, so as not to deceive the simple under a foreign guise and covering. Rather, he will find delight in tilling the earth and prove himself dedicated to agriculture, subjecting himself to the divine sentence that was spoken to Adam: 'Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread' (Gen. III, 17-18). And when he presents himself as born for this purpose, to eat his bread in the sweat of his face, another will ask him, and say: What do these wounds mean to you, and these wounds which are in the midst of your hands? And there is meaning: Why do you adhere to the gallows? Why are your hands pierced with nails? What have you committed, that you should submit to this punishment and torture? And he will answer, and say: I received these wounds and these lashes, condemned by the judgment of my parents, and of those who did not hate me, but loved me. And in the meantime, with falsehood dispelled, truth will prevail, so that even he who is punished for his own fault admits that he has suffered rightly. The Hebrews have explained this, which is written: 'They will not cover themselves with a sackcloth to lie,' saying that they will not be filled with the demonic spirit, whom we read in Isaiah as 'hairy,' so that by this occasion they may not lie about the deceptive appearance of God's words in themselves, or deny the Lord: For they lie and deny in their external appearance, as they interpret.

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 60] Mark on Zechariah 13:7

And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. [Zechariah 13:7] But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.

[AD 60] Matthew on Zechariah 13:7

And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. [Zechariah 13:7] But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.

[AD 165] Justin Martyr on Zechariah 13:7

The same Zechariah foretold that Christ would be struck; after he was crucified, his disciples were dispersed until he rose again from the dead and proved to them that it had been predicted that he would have to suffer. When they were convinced of this, they went out to all the world teaching these things. Thus we are firm in our faith in him and in his doctrine, because our faith is grounded upon both the prophets and those who, openly throughout the world, are worshipers of God in the name of the crucified One. Indeed, Zechariah said, “ ‘Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man of my people,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘Strike the shepherd, and his sheep shall be scattered.’ ”

Source: Dialogue with Trypho 53

[AD 220] Tertullian on Zechariah 13:7

Besides, Christ himself has confirmed this prefigurement of himself when he said that a shepherd who flees when he sees the wolf and leaves the flock to be devoured is wicked. Such a shepherd will be banished from the farm; his separation pay will be kept from him as compensation for his damage; in fact, he will have to pay back something from his former wages to indemnify the losses of the master. “For to him who has shall be given and from him who does not have even that which he seems to have shall be taken away.” Thus Zechariah threatens, “Arise, O sword, against the shepherds, and pluck out the sheep, and I will turn my hand against the shepherds.” And against them Ezekiel and Jeremiah thunder with similar recriminations, in that they have not merely battened upon their sheep and fattened themselves but they have themselves dispersed the flock and, without a leader to guide them, left them as prey to all the beasts of the field. For this is what happens when the church is deserted by the clergy in time of persecution.

Source: ON FLIGHT IN TIME OF PERSECUTION 11:2

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Zechariah 13:7

If there is anyone who, when he reads Moses, murmurs against him, and the law which has been written according to the letter is displeasing to him because it seems incoherent in many things, Moses shows him the rock, which is Christ, and leads him to it that he may drink from it and quench his thirst. But this rock will not give water unless it has been struck; when it has been struck it brings forth streams. For after Christ had been struck and crucified, he brought forth the streams of New Testament. This is why it was said of him, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” He had to be struck, therefore, for unless he had been struck and unless “water and blood had gone out from side,” we all would suffer “thirst for the word of God.” This therefore is what the apostle also understood when he said, “They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of the spiritual rock which followed, but the rock was Christ.” But note that God said to Moses in this place, “Go before the people, and take with you men advanced in years, that is, the elders of the people.” Moses alone does not lead the people to the waters of the rock, but only the elders of the people with him. For the law alone does not announce Christ, but also the prophets and patriarchs and all “those advanced in years.”

Source: HOMILIES ON EXODUS 11:2

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Zechariah 13:7

Christ spoke of the betrayer; he foretold that all would run away; he predicted his own death. “I shall smite the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” He foretold who was going to deny him, when he would do so, and how many times it would happen. He predicted everything accurately. After he had foretold all these things as a sufficient proof that he possessed knowledge of what was going to happen, he went to a certain place to pray. The heretics say that the prayer is the prayer of the divinity; we say it is the prayer of the plan of redemption.

Source: AGAINST THE ANOMOEANS, HOMILY 7:38

[AD 420] Jerome on Zechariah 13:7-9

(Verse 7 and following) "I will raise up a spear against my shepherd, and against the man who is my associate," says the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. And they shall be in all the land, says the Lord, two parts in it shall be cut off and perish, and the third part shall be left. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them as gold is tested. He will call my name, and I will answer him: I will say, 'You are my people,' and he will say, 'The Lord is my God.' Zechariah: Sword, rise against my shepherd, and against the man who is my associate, says the Lord Almighty. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will raise my hand against the shepherds. On that day, says the Lord, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, and one-third will be left. I will bring the one-third through the fire, and I will refine them as one refines silver, and I will test them as one tests gold. He himself will call upon my name, and I will answer him; I will say, 'This is my people,' and he will say, 'The Lord is my God.' Regarding the sword that the LXX translated as 'ῥομφαία' in Hebrew as 'Areb,' we found that Aquila and Symmachus translated it as 'μάχαιρα,' meaning sword or blade. And as for the phrase we translated as 'cohaerent mihi,' which means 'adhering to me,' Aquila interpreted it as 'contribulem meum,' meaning 'my fellow countryman,' and Symmachus translated it as 'populi mei,' meaning 'my people' in Hebrew 'Amithi.' The LXX translated it as 'civem ejus,' which means 'his fellow citizen,' and Theodotio translated it as 'proximum ejus,' meaning 'his neighbor.' At the end of the sentence, they read 'Jod' instead of 'Vau,' which are only different in size. If 'Jod' is read, it signifies 'my.' If 'Vau' is read, it signifies 'his.' But I marvel at certain individuals who wish to diminish this prophecy (which the evangelist Matthew related to the Lord and Savior after his disciples fled during his passion, and then he said it was fulfilled) with allegorical interpretations, and while they desire to appear to know more than others, they do not hold to the rule of truth. For the evangelist Matthew reports: Then Jesus said to them: all of you will be offended because of me this night. For it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. And again: All this has happened so that the Scriptures of the Prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples, leaving him, fled (Matt. XXVI, 31 et seq.). Nor should it be thought that this testimony is taken from another place, because in the Gospel God says of himself that he is the shepherd who is struck, and in the present place, we read that it is commanded with sword and spear: Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. This is a sword and this is a spear, and a javelin, from which in the twenty-first Psalm the Lord speaks to the Father: Deliver my soul from the sword; and my only one from the hand of the dog (Psalm 21:12). Of this javelin it is also written in the prophet Amos: They shall all die by the sword, the sinners of the land (Amos 9:10). Which cannot be taken literally: for many sinners perish in shipwreck, others by poison, these are suffocated by water, those consumed by fire. But with this sword and this spear, all sinners perish (or are punished), and the dark-skinned Ethiopians, of whom Zephaniah testifies with sacred mouth, saying: But you also, Ethiopians, will be killed by my sword (Zeph. 1:12). After the good shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep (John 10:15), who spoke to the Father: Those whom you struck, they pursued, and they added to the pain of my wounds (Ps. 68:27), he was struck by the will of the Father, and the man who is united with God who said: I am in the Father, and the Father is in me (John 13:10), hung on the gibbet, and said: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit (Luke 23:46): immediately the sheep were scattered, the whole multitude of believers in Christ. And the Lord stretched out his hand, as we read in the Septuagint, to the shepherds, whom many of the Jewish rulers interpret as evil. But as it is written in Hebrew, to the children, to whom the Lord said in the Gospel: Do not be afraid, little flock (Luke, XII). And in Isaiah: Behold, I and the children, or little ones, whom God has given me (Isaiah VIII, 18). And there were two parts in all the land of the Jews and the Gentiles, who perished and failed together: for in his suffering, the voice of the Psalmist is fulfilled, saying: Save me, O Lord, for the godly one is gone (Psalm XI, 1). And: All have turned aside; they have together become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one (Ps. XIII, 3). As the nations and the Jews were perishing, the third part of the world, that is, the third people of the Christians, suddenly increased. And it says beautifully: A third part shall be left in it, that is, on the earth: because among the Jews and the nations, those who have confessed the Lord are alone reserved for the life and habitation of the earth. Moreover, the third part, so as not to be delicate and secure in confession, is tested as silver and gold are tested by fire, which the Lord desires to burn in believers (Luke 12), and which Paul desires to fervently burn (Romans 12). And so the apostles, baptized in the fire of the Spirit of the Lord (Acts 2), speak in the psalm: For you have tested us, O God, you have tried us as silver is tried (Psalm 65:10, 11). And after a little while: We passed through fire and water, and you led us into refreshment. And in another place it is said to the believer: If you pass through fire, the flame will not burn you: because I am with you (Isaiah 43:2). But the fire does not consume, and the flame does not devour, because it is the voice of the Lord who cuts off the flame of fire (Psalm 29:7). When these little ones have been tested in this way, upon whom the Lord has turned his hand, and through their calling the whole multitude of nations has believed, then the people of believers will call Christ by his name, and with him saying: You are my people, the people will respond: You are the Lord my God. The Jews refer these things to Christ: and they contend that they will happen in the last time; but the difference between us and them is that we say that they have already been fulfilled, while they mention things that are still to be fulfilled.

Source: Commentary on Zechariah

[AD 465] Maximus of Turin on Zechariah 13:7

There was, therefore, a great and excellent faith in that thief. Clearly it is great and admirable faith which believed that the crucified Christ was being glorified more than punished. For this is the shape that all salvation takes—that the Savior should be recognized as the Lord of majesty when he is seen to be crucified and subject to humiliation. Hence the apostle says, “If they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of majesty.” This, I say, is an excellent faith, to believe that Christ on the cross is God and not a wrongdoer. Therefore that thief was justified while the Jews insulted the Savior on the gibbet and said to him as if he were a criminal, “Free yourself if you are able.” But [the thief], certain of Christ’s divinity and sure of his good will, asks instead to be freed himself. There was a great faith in that thief, I say, and one which was comparable to that of the holy apostles; indeed, it preceded theirs. For he who preceded with respect to devotion preceded with respect to the prize, for the thief came to paradise before the apostles did. Peter follows the Lord, and this man accompanies him. But the Lord gives him a reward according to faith and merit, for, as we read, all the disciples were afraid during the Savior’s suffering, and all left him just when he was betrayed. It happened as it was written: “I shall strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”

Source: SERMON 75:2

[AD 220] Tertullian on Zechariah 13:9

These cases occur in persecutions more than at other times (for it is then that we are approved or condemned, humbled or corrected). Their general occurrence is permitted or commanded by him at whose will they happen even partially; by him, I mean, who says, “I am he who makes peace and creates evil”—that is, war, for that is the antithesis of peace. But what other war has our peace than persecution? If in its issues persecution emphatically brings either life or death, either wounds or healing, you have the author too of this. “I will smite and heal, I will make alive and put to death.” “I will burn them,” he says, “as gold is burned; and I will try them,” he says, “as silver is tried,” for when the flame of persecution is consuming us, then the steadfastness of our faith is proved. These will be the fiery darts of the devil, by which faith gets a ministry of burning and kindling; yet by the will of God. As to this I do not know who can doubt, unless it be persons with frivolous and frigid faith, which seizes upon those who with trembling assemble together in the church. For you say, seeing we assemble without order, and assemble at the same time, and flock in large numbers to the church, the heathen are led to make inquiry about us, and we are alarmed lest we awaken their anxieties. Do you not know that God is Lord of all? And if it is God’s will, then you shall suffer persecution; but if it is not, the heathen will be still. Believe it most surely, if indeed you believe in that God without whose will not even the sparrow, which a penny can buy, falls to the ground. But we, I think, are better than many sparrows.

Source: ON FLIGHT IN TIME OF PERSECUTION 3