Easter Message: The Resurrection and the Unity
Zechariah 4:9 NLT
“Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.
I. Background (9a)
Zechariah 4:9 is the message that came to the Prophet Zechariah from the Lord (Zechariah 4:8). Zechariah wrote this around 519 BC. See verse 9a.
“Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple,“
Solomon began the construction of the First Temple, approximately in 966 BC, and it took seven years to complete (see 1 Kings 6). The First Temple was destroyed in 587 or 586 BC by the Babylonian forces under King Nebuchadnezzar II (see 2 Kings 25:8-9, 2 Chronicles 36:19-20, Jeremiah 52:12-14). After conquering Babylon in 539 BC, Cyrus, the founder of the first Persian Empire, issued a proclamation permitting Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple (538 BC). Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, laid the foundation of the Second Temple in 536 BC (9a).
II. The Resurrection of Jesus and the Unity of the Church (9b)
See v9b.
“and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent Me.”
God revealed that the Second Temple would be completed (9b). This completion is expressed as “setting the final stone of the Temple in place” (Zechariah 4:7), which represents the resurrection of Christ Jesus and the resulting birth of the Church. This event will show us that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent the Lord speaking in verse 9—who came as Christ Jesus.
In John 2:19, when Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,” He was referring to His own body as the temple.
Therefore, the completion of the temple mentioned in Zechariah 4:7, 9 can be understood as the resurrection of His body. And this resurrection will make it known to the world that God the Father has sent Him.
Christ Jesus is the Head of the Church, and the Church is His body (Ephesians 1:22-23 NLT, Ephesians 4:15-16 NLT, Ephesians 5:23 NLT, Colossians 1:18 NLT, Romans 12:4-5 NLT). When He was raised—when the ‘temple’ was completed—His Church was born, where all believers are united as one. This unity of believers is clearly expressed in John 17:20-26.
John 17:20-26 is Jesus’ prayer for His disciples and all who will ever believe in Him through His disciples’ message (John 7:20 NLT).
See John 17:20-26 NLT.
20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!
25 “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26 I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
Through the unity of believers, the world will know the Father has sent Jesus.
We learned Jesus’ resurrection gave birth to His Church, which means the unity of believers. Both Jesus’ resurrection and the unity of believers show the world that the Father sent Him (Zechariah 4:9 NLT, John 17:20-26 NLT).
Happy Easter!
