MESSAGE STATEMENT:1

Even though Judah's refusal to repent of her evil in the face of the imminent, terrifying judgment of the lord upon the nations will result in her own judgment, she is encouraged to wait for that time when after judgment the Lord will purify his people, save them, protect them, restore them, and bless them

I. Introduction: The Word of the Lord came to the prophet Zephaniah during the reign of Josiah 1:1

II. The Destructive Day of the Lord--Guilt and Judgment of Judah in the Context of Universal Judgment:² Zephaniah proclaims that the Lord is going to imminently intervene in the world with an intense judgment known as the Day of the Lord when He will not only judge all people, but will also judge the evil ones among His people in Judah and Jerusalem 1:2-18

A. The Lord's Intervention: The Lord is going to intervene in the world by bringing sweeping universal judgment as well as judgment upon idolatrous Judah and Jerusalem 1:2-6

1. A Time of General Judgment: A time of sweeping judgment is coming when the Lord will remove all things, animals, and mankind from the face of the earth 1:2-3

a. All Things Removed from the Earth (like the Flood?): 1:2

b. The Destruction of Animals and Mankind (Gen 6:7?): 1:3

2. A Time of Judgment on Judah: Yahweh will judge Judah and Jerusalem to eliminate those engaged in false worship and who have turned their back from Him 1:4-6

a. Yahweh Will Judge Judah and Jerusalem: 1:4a

b. Yahweh Will Cut Off Remembrance from Judah of Baal, Idolatrous Priests, Those Who Worship Astral Bodies, Those Who Worship Milcom, and Those Who Have Turned from Yahweh: 1:4b-6

B. A Vivid Description of the Day of the Lord:³ The imminent Day of the Lord will be a time of intense judgment upon the evil doers of God's people in Jerusalem as well as upon all people 1:7-18

1. A Time to Judge His People in Jerusalem: Zephaniah urges the people to be quiet before the Lord because the Day of judgment is near when He will sacrifice those in Jerusalem do evil, punishing her profane leaders, as well as all in the city of Jerusalem who do evil 1:7-13

a. Exhortation: The people are to be silent before the Lord God because the Day of the Lord is near 1:7a

b. The Lord's Sacrifice: On the Day of the Lord He has prepared a great sacrifice⁴ 1:7b

c. Punishment of the Leaders: On that day of the Lord He will punish the leaders of the nation who adopt foreign religious practices and fill the temple with violence and deceit 1:8-9

d. The Result of the Judgment--Mourning and Wailing: On the day of the Lord all of Jerusalem will be judged and wail out loud as the Lord searches out evil doers 1:10-13

2. A Time of Terrible (Universal) Judgment: Zephaniah proclaims that the day of the Lord is imminent, and a time of intense judgment upon all people 1:14-18

a. The Day of the Lord is Imminent: 1:14

b. The Day of the Lord will be a time of intense Judgment bringing terror, warfare, distress, and death 1:15-17

1) A Time of Terror:⁵ 1:15

2) A Time of Warfare: 1:16

3) A Time of distress and death: 1:17

c. The Day of the Lord is certain upon all 1:18

III. Prophetic Exhortations and Judgment Oracles as Admonitions for Jerusalem to Seek the Lord: Urging Judah to come together and repent in the face of the coming Day of the Lord, and emphasizing world wide judgment through the fall of the nations around Judah, Jerusalem continues in corruption before their upright God, and refuses to be instructed, preferring to rush ahead into evil 2:1--3:7

A. Hinge Verse--Exhortations to God's Shameless People to Seek the Lord in View of the Coming Judgment: In view of the coming Day of the Lord Zephaniah urges the shameless nation of Judah to gather itself together, and to seek Yahweh, righteousness and humility so that Yahweh's anger might pass over them 2:1-3

1. The Shameless Nation Should Gather Itself Together: 2:1-2

2. Seek Yahweh, Righteousness, and Humility 2:3a

3. Possibility of Being Hidden from His Anger: 2:3a

B. Judgment upon all the Earth--Judgment Oracles against the Nations:⁶ Zephaniah proclaims that Yahweh will bring judgment upon all of the earth as he foretells the calamity which will befall Judah's surrounding neighbors to the west (Philistia), east (Moab & Ammon), south (Egypt), and north (Assyria) 2:4-15

1. Philistia Judged--to the West: 2:4-7

a. Cities Destroyed: 2:4

b. People Destroyed: 2:5-6

c. Land Given to Judah: 2:7

2. Moab and Ammon Judged--to the East: 2:8-11

a. Moab and Ammon are Arrogant against Judah: 2:8

b. Destruction for Arrogance: 2:9-10

c. All Will Worship God: 2:11

3. Ethiopia Judged--to the South: 2:12

4. Assyria--to the North: 2:12-15

a. Nineveh and Assyria Destroyed--a Wasteland: 2:13-14

b. Judgment in Spite of Arrogance: 2:15a

c. Contemptuous Response of Others to Judgment of Assyria: 2:15b

C. Woe Oracle Against Judah:⁷ Zephaniah exposes Jerusalem's shameless, abhorrent, spiritual condition along side of Yahweh's righteousness and justice to affirm that even though Yahweh will judge the nations for their evil, Jerusalem will not be taught, but runs to commit her evil 3:1-7

1. Jerusalem's Abhorrent Spiritual Condition: 3:1-4

a. Rebellious: 3:1a

b. Defiled: 3:1b

c. Tyrannical: 3:1c

d. Unlearning: 3:2a

e. Not trusting Yahweh: 3:2b

f. Abusive Political Leaders: 3:3

g. Religious Leaders Astray: 3:4

2. God's Nature: Unlike the unjust who know no shame, Yahweh is righteous and continually just 3:5

3. Judgment is Certain: Even though judgment is seen to be certain for the nations who have done evil, Judah refuses to be instructed and rushes to do evil 3:6-7

a. Judgment is Seen to Be Certain for the Nations: 3:6

b. The Refusal of the City to Change: 3:7

IV. Salvation--Future Restoration--Exhortations to Wait on the Lord in View of Coming Judgment, Salvation, and Restoration: When the Lord gathers all of the nations to receive judgment and the nations come to Him in worship, He will purify His people, save them, protect them, restore them, and bless them 3:8-20

A. Hinge Verse--An Exhortation to Wait on the Lord in View of the Coming Judgment and Salvation: At the time when Yahweh gathers all of the nations to receive His judgment, He will purify His people 3:8-9

1. Call for an Assembly of the Nations for Judgment: 3:8

2. God's People Will Be Purified: 3:9

B. The Restoration of the Remnant in the Context of Universal Salvation: While the nations come to worship Yahweh, He will save His people causing them to rejoice as He protects them, restores them, and blesses them 3:10-20

1. People from Far Away Will Bring Offerings to Yahweh 3:10

2. Yahweh Will Save a Remnant among Judah: 3:11-13

a. Yahweh Will Changed His People's Arrogant Attitude: 3:11

b. A Humble People Will Take Refuge in Yahweh: 3:12

c. Changed Actions of God's People That Result in Safety: 3:13

3. Exhortation to Rejoice in Yahweh's Salvation: 3:14-17

a. Command to Rejoice: 3:14

b. Yahweh in Their Presence: 3:15

c. Yahweh Their Protector: 3:16-17

4. Yahweh will Protect and Prosper His People: 3:18-20

a. Yahweh will Gather Those Who Long for Restoration: 3:18

b. Yahweh Will Deal with their Oppressors: 3:19

c. Yahweh Will Restore the Blessings of the Nation: 3:20

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¹ This outline is adapted through my own study from the analyses of Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 201-15; John D. Hannah, Zephaniah, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty: Old Testament, 1524; Homer Heater, Jr., Notes on the Book of Zephaniah, unpublished class notes in seminar in the exilic Old Testament prophets [Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1990], 158-161; John A Martin, An Outline of Zephaniah, unpublished class notes in 304 preexilic and exilic prophets, (Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1983), 1-4; Ralph L. Smith, Micah-Malachi, Word Biblical Commentary, XXXII:94-117.

This book is often divided into two major units: (1) The Day of Yahweh's Judgment [1:2--3:8], (2) The Day of Yahweh's Restoration [3:9-20] (John A Martin, An Outline of Zephaniah, unpublished class notes in 304 preexilic and exilic prophets, (Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1983), 1534; Larry Lee Walker, Zephaniah, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, VII:541). Nevertheless, this writer is of the opinion that there are actually three major units which in a cyclic fashion expose Judah of coming judgment, speaks of future judgment, and exhorts Judah to wait for future restoration that will occur in a context of universal salvation (see Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 201-203; Homer Heater, Jr., Notes on the Book of Zephaniah, unpublished class notes in seminar in the exilic Old Testament prophets [Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 1990], 158-161).

² Chisholm notes a chiastic structure for this unit:

A Universal Judgment 1:2-3

B Judgment on Judah 1:4-6

B' Judgment on Judah 1:7-13

A' Universal Judgment 1:14-18

Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 203.

³ Chisholm sees a chiastic structure in 1:7-18:

A ...the Day of the Lord is near 1:7

B The Lord has prepared a sacrifice ... 1:7b

B' On the Day of the Lord's Sacrifice ... 1:8-13

A' The Great Day of the Lord is Near ... 1:14-18

Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 203-204. Commenting on this structure he writes, Verse 7 provides a summary of the second part, affirming that 'the Day of the Lord is near' (v. 7a) and that the Lord has prepared a special sacrifice involving Judah's wealthy inhabitants (v. 7b). Verses 8-13 then develop the sacrifice motif, while verses 14-18 elaborate on the nearness of the Day of the Lord (Ibid., 203).

⁴ The people become the sacrifice. Their false sacrifices fall back on them in a talionic manner.

⁵ See Deuteronomy 4:11.

⁶ Zephaniah covers the four points of the compus to show that judgment will come upon all of the earth.

⁷ If the unit above was describing the four points of the compass, then this section places Jerusalem at the center point of the earth!

MESSAGE STATEMENT:1

Even through Yahweh warns the postexilic community and recounts their faithlessness, he encourages them through prophetic visions and messages of ultimate victory in order that they might presently trust and obey him who is faithful2

I. Divine Messages and Visions: Through messages and visions the Lord encourages His people to repent of their evil, be faithful and obey Him because He has a certain, restored, central future for Jerusalem among the nations with Him dwelling among her 1:1--8:23

A. Opening Exhortation: Yahweh calls the people in Jerusalem to repent in order that they will not be judged as their ancestors were for disobeying the word which lasts forever 1:1-6

1. Setting: The word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet who was the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo in September/November 520 B.C. (the eighth month of the second year of Darius) 1:1

2. A Call to Repentance: Yahweh urges the postexilic generation not to be like their ancestors, but to return to Him and He will return to them because unlike their ancestors, Yahweh’s just word goes on forever 1:2-6

a. Sin of Their Ancestors: 1:2-3

1) Angry with sin of the Ancestors: 1:2

2) Exhortation to People to Return to Yahweh: Yahweh exhorts the people to return to Him and He will return to them 1:3

b. Truth of Yahweh’s Word: 1:4-6

1) Exhortation--Do Not Emulate Ancestors: 1:4

a) Exhortation: 1:4a

b) Did Not Listen to Prophets: 1:4b

2) Yahweh’s Just Word Outlived Their Ancestors: 1:5-6

B. Night Visions:³ Zechariah recounts a series of eight night visions and the coronation of Joshua in order to encourage the nation that He is not finished with them but--has plans for them and will fight for them, bless them, take away their sins, enable them to build the temple, bring true worship, and unite them, if they will repent and obey Him 1:7--6:15

1. Setting:⁴ The word came to Zechariah on the 15 February 519 B.C. (the 24th day of the 11th month (Shebat) in the 2nd year of Darius) 1:7

2. Vision One--A Horseman Among the Myrtle Trees--God’s Devotion to Jerusalem: The Lord proclaims that His riders are patrolling the earth which is at peace, and that He will restore Jerusalem because He cares deeply for her 1:8-17

a. The Vision Proper: 1:8

1) Setting--A Vision in the Night: 1:8a

2) The Vision: Zechariah saw a man on a red horse among myrtle trees in a ravine with red, sorrel, and white horses behind him 1:8b

b. Dialogue--Explanation of the Vision--Those Who Patrol the Earth: 1:9-10

1) Request for an Explanation: 1:9a

2) Explanation: The angel who was standing among the myrtle trees explained that the three other horses/riders patrol the earth for Yahweh 1:9b-10

c. Expansion of the Vision: The riders affirm that in their patrol the earth is quiet and at rest, and Yahweh comforts Judah and Jerusalem 1:11-13

1) Affirmation of the Riders: The three riders affirmed that they patrol the earth and that it is at rest and quiet 1:11

2) Pleading of the Angel:⁵ The angel plead for compassion upon Judah and Jerusalem 1:12

3) Yahweh Comforts: 1:12

d. Divine Oracle: 1:14-17

1) The Lord Cares for Israel among the Nations: 1:14-15

2) The Lord Will Return Worship to Himself to Jerusalem: 1:16

3) The Lord will Bless and Comfort Jerusalem: 1:17

3. Vision Two--Four Horns & Four Craftsmen--Judgment on Judah’s Oppressors:⁶ Through the vision of the horns and craftsmen, Zechariah proclaims that divine agents are going to overthrow those powers who have overcome Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem 1:18-21 [Hebrew 2:1-4]

a. Vision Proper: Zechariah saw a vision of four horns (powers) 1:18

b. Dialogue--Explanation of the Vision: The angel explains that the horns are the powers⁷ which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem 1:19

c. Expansion of the Vision: Zechariah sees four craftsmen 1:20

d. Dialogue--Explanation of the Expanded Vision: The Lord explains that the craftsmen are going to destroy the horns 1:21

1) Terrify the Horns: 1:21a

2) Throw down the Horns Who Were against Judah: 1:21b

4. Vision Three--A Man with a Measuring Line--Jerusalem’s Future:⁸ Through the vision of the surveyor the Lord proclaimed that a time is coming when Jerusalem will be a secure city with many inhabitants, the Lord will dwell among them, the nations will be judged, and the people should rejoice 2:1-13 [Hebrew 2:5-7]

a. Vision Proper: Zechariah saw a man with a measuring line 2:1

b. Dialogue--Explanation of the Vision: The purpose of the man is to “measure” the width and length of Jerusalem 2:2

c. Expansion of the Vision--Divine Oracle to Surveyor: In some future time Jerusalem will be a secure city with many inhabitants 2:3-5

1) Jerusalem--Secure and Inhabited:⁹ 2:3-4

2) Yahweh--Security and Glory of Jerusalem: 2:5

d. Divine Oracle--Vengeance upon the Nations and Instructions for His People: 2:6-13

1) Escape from Babylon:¹⁰ 2:6-7

2) Vengeance upon the Nations: 2:8-9

3) People Rejoice--Yahweh Will Dwell among Them: 2:10-13

5. Vision Four--Clean Garments for the High Priest--The Cleansing and Restoration of Joshua/Israel: Although Israel is defiled (as is pictured through Joshua), Yahweh will cleanse her, restore the Davidic throne, bring about a time of peace and prosperity 3:1-10

a. Vision Proper--The Clothing of Joshua the High Priest: 3:1-5

1) Joshua and the Accuser (Satan) Standing: 3:1

2) Yahweh Rebukes the Accuser: 3:2

3) Joshua Clothed in Clean Garments:¹¹ 3:3-5

b. Divine Oracle to Joshua: Yahweh will introduce the Branch in a time of blessing 3:6-10

1) Obedience Leads to Continuance as a Priest: 3:6-7

2) Bringing of Yahweh’s Servant--the Branch--Restoration of the Davidic Throne:¹² 3:8

3) Removal of Iniquity:¹³ A stone with seven eyes will have an inscription on it and the iniquity of the land will be removed in one day 3:9

4) A Time of Blessing: 3:10

6. Vision Five--The Golden Lampstand and Two Olive Trees--The Temple, Joshua & Zerubbabel: The Lord proclaimed that His Spirit would empower Joshua and especially Zerubbabel to complete the temple so that the people would know of His presence among them 4:1-14

a. Vision Proper: 4:1-3

1) Zechariah’s Trance State: 4:1

2) The Vision: 4:2-3

a) A Lampstand of Gold: 4:2a

b) A Bowl on Top of the Lampstand 4:2b

c) Seven Lamps with Seven Spouts Each (49 in all) 4:2c

d) On Olive Tree on Each Side of the Bowl¹⁴ 4:3

b. Dialogue: Zechariah requests and interpretation from the angel who is surprised that he does not already know the meaning 4:4-5

c. Divine Oracles: 4:6-10a

1) Zerubbabel Spirit Enabled: Zerubbabel will complete the task before him, but not in his own power, and the people will recognize this 4:6-7

a) The Spirit of Yahweh Will Complete the Task:¹⁵ 4:6

b) People’s Recognition of Zerubbabel’s Ability and Call for Grace: 4:7

2) Task Completed through Zerubbabel: Zerubbabel will complete the temple causing the people to know that the angel of Yahweh is present 4:8-10

d. Resumption of Dialogue--Explanation of Vision: 4:10b-14

1) Request of Interpretation and Surprise of the Angel: 4:10b-13

2) Olive Trees Represent Two anointed ones “Sons of Oil” beside Yahweh:¹⁶ 4:14

7. Vision Six--The Flying Scroll--Purification of the Land:¹⁷ In the vision of the flying scroll Zechariah learned that the Lord will curse those (and the households of those) who disrupt the building of the temple (steal and lie) 5:1-4

a. Vision Proper: Zechariah had a vision of a flying scroll 5:1

b. Dialogue--Explanation of the Vision: 5:2-3

1) Rectangular Scroll--Twenty Cubits by Ten Cubits: 5:2

2) Scroll is a Curse on the Land:¹⁸ The one who steals (from the temple construction site) and swears (to donate) will come under judgment 5:3

c. Divine Oracle: The curse will consume the one who does evil and his household 5:4

8. Vision Seven--A Woman in a Basket--Removal of Evil to Babylon: In the vision of the women in the ephah basket Zechariah learned that the Lord is going to take Israel’s idolatrous evil captive to Babylon where it will be honored 5:5-11

a. Vision Proper: When Zechariah looked up he saw a basket (which measured an ephah)¹⁹ going forth 5:5-6a

b. Explanation of Vision: This Ephah was the appearance of Israel’s sinful condition 5:6b

c. Expansion of Vision: When a led cover was lifted up, Zechariah saw a women sitting inside the ephah basket 5:7

d. Explanation of Expanded Vision: The angel explained that the woman was a symbol of the wicked behavior of the nation whereupon he places the led cover upon her so that none of it can escape 5:8

e. Expansion of Vision: Two women with wings (God’s Messengers) lifted up the ephah basket and flew away with it 5:9

f. Dialogue--Explanation of Expanded Vision: The ephah is being taken to Shinar (Babylon)²⁰ where it will be honored 5:10-11

9. Vision Eight--Four Chariots--God’s Conquest of the Northern Nations: In a vision of the four chariots Zechariah learned that the Lord sends his spirits out to patrol the earth, and that the nations in the north will be destroyed 6:1-8

a. Vision Proper: Zechariah observes four bronze²¹ chariots coming out from between two bronze mountains (the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives), the first with red horses, the second with black horses, the third with white horses, and the fourth with dappled and strong horses 6:1-3

b. Dialogue--Explanation of the Vision: The angel explained that the four chariots are the four spirits who go out from the Lord to patrol the earth--black and white horses to the north, and dappled horses to the south 6:4-6

c. Expansion of the Vision: The Lord sends the strong dappled horses to patrol the earth 6:7

d. Explanation of Expanded Vision: The horses which have gone to the north have appeased His wrath²² 6:8

10. An Historical Appendix--A Symbolic Crown for Joshua:²³ Through placing a crown on the head of Joshua the high priest a symbol was made of the coming Branch who will unite the offices of king and priest 6:9-15

a. Symbolic Act: Zechariah is instructed to make a crown and place it on the head of Joshua the high priest 6:9-11

b. Explanation: The crown symbolized the coronation of the Branch who will build the temple of Yahweh and unite the offices of king and priest 6:12-13

1) Branch Will Branch Out: 6:12a

2) Branch Will Build Temple: 6:12b

3) Branch Will Unite Offices of King and Priest:²⁴ 6:13

c. Conclusion: 6:14-15

1) Visible Memorial: The crown is a visible reminder to the Jews coming from Babylon 6:14

2) Universal Significance: When those from far off come and rebuild the temple, then they will know that the Lord has sent the branch to them 6:15

C. Four Divine Proclamations:²⁵ Even though the nation is unfaithful, Yahweh promises that He will be faithful to them in order to encourage them to trust in Him 7:1--8:23

1. Question by the Delegation of Bethel--Fasting: The leaders of the people of Bethel question the legitimacy of continuing with the regular pattern of fasts 7:1-3

a. Setting: The word of the Lord came to Zechariah on 7 December 518 B.C. (fourth day of the ninth month [Chislev], of the fourth year of Darius)²⁶

b. Questions from Bethel about Fasting:²⁷

2. Message One--The Rebuke of the Lord concerning Fasting and Repentance: The Lord rebuked the people because their motives for the fasts and feasts were for themselves rather than for the Lord as the prophets forewarned the earlier generations 7:4-7

3. Message Two--The Command to Repent concerning Social Justice: Yahweh illustrates that judgment came upon the earlier generation because it refused to hear and repent over the exhortations from the former prophets 7:8-14

a. Commandments by the Former Prophets against Social Evils: 7:8-10

b. Refusal of Ancestors to Hear and Repent: 7:11-12a

c. Refusal of the People Brought Judgment: 7:12b-14

4. Message Three--Restoration of Israel: Because of Yahweh’s jealousy for his people, He promises to certainly restore them by regathering them, dwelling in their midst, and blessing them 8:1-17

a. Reason for Restoration: Restoration will occur because Yahweh is jealous for his people 8:1-2

b. Yahweh in Jerusalem: 8:3

c. Restoration of the People: 8:4

d. Encouragement for the Nation in View of Restoration: 8:5-13

e. Restoration Is as Certain as Judgment Was: 5:14-17

5. Message Four--Exchanging Fasts for Celebrations of Joy: Yahweh promises that a time is coming when the time of fasting will be a time of joy and worship for Israel and the nations who will worship Yahweh through Israel 8:18-23

a. Times of Fasting Will Become Times of Joy: 8:18-19

b. The Peoples Will Worship Yahweh with Israel in Jerusalem: 8:20-22

c. Israel Will Be the Mediator to Yahweh for the Nations: 8:23

II. Two Oracles:²⁸ Two oracles (“burdens”) are given Zechariah to reveal Messiah’s coming to judge the nations and gather His people in spite of their faithlessness in order to demonstrate Yahweh’s faithfulness and encourage the nation in history’s conclusion 9:1--14:21

A. The First Oracle--The Advent and Rejection of the Messianic King: The first burden proclaims the king/shepherd’s coming to defeat the nations and gather His people only to be rejected by His own people and replaced by a false shepherd who will destroy the people and be destroyed 9:1--11:17

1. The Advent of the Messianic King--Judgment on the Nations & Preservation of Zion: 9:1--10:12

a. Judgment on the Hostile Nations surrounding Judah: Yahweh promises to judge the Syria-Palestine Area 9:1-8

1) Burden on the Syria-Palestine Area (Hadrach, Damascus, Hamath, Tyre, Sidon): 9:1-2

2) Tyre: 9:3-4

3) Fear of Other Cities: 9:5

4) Invaders: 9:6

5) Worship of the Remnant: 9:7

6) Protection for Covenant Nation: 9:8

b. Preservation of Zion--The Blessing of Messiah: 9:9--10:12

1) The Advent of Zion’s King--Rejoice: 9:9-10

a) People Are to Rejoice: 9:9a

b) Their Humble King is Coming with Salvation: 9:9b

c) Their King Will Bring Peace: 9:10

2) The Deliverance and Blessing of Zion’s People: 9:11--10:1

a) Deliverance of Yahweh’s People from Exile: 9:11-12

b) The Victory of Yahweh’s People over Their Enemies (Ionia [Greece]): 9:13-16a

c) Yahweh’s Blessing of the Land--A New Order: 9:16b-17

d) Exhortation--Ask for Necessary Sustenance (Rain)--He Will give It: 10:1

3) Warning (of False Shepherds) and Encouragement (by the Good Shepherd): 10:2-4

a) Oppressive Leaders Denounced (False Shepherds): 10:2-3a

b) The Lord--A Concerned Shepherd Angry with False Shepherds: 10:3b

c) The Lord Energizes His People for Battle: 10:3c-4

4) Israel’s Victory over Her Enemies: 10:5-7

5) Israel’s Complete Deliverance and Restoration--Second Exodus: 10:8-12

a) They Will Be Numerous: 10:8

b) They Will Be Regathered: 10:9-10

c) Yahweh is the Means of Regathering: 10:11-12

2. The Rejection of the Messianic King/Shepherd: 11:1-17

a. Prologue: Destruction is Certain upon the Land of Israel 11:1-3

1) Land Destroyed: 11:1-2

2) The Shepherds (Leaders) Destoyred: 11:3

b. Prophecy--Rejection of the Good Shepherd--Zechariah’s First Commission: 11:4-14

1) Zechariah Commissioned as a good shepherd 11:4

2) Denunciation of Bad Shepherds and Judgment Speech--The Flock is Doomed: 11:5-6

3) Zechariah’s Obedience to His Commission: 11:7-8a

a) Zechariah & Two Staffs--God’s Favor and Union (of the Nation): 11:7

b) The Shepherd Destroys Three Shepherds in One Month:²⁹ 11:8a

4) Zechariah’s Rejection of His Commission: 11:8b-14

a) People Reject His Leadership: 11:8b

b) Zechariah Renounces His Commission: 11:9

c) Announcement of Breaking the Covenant³⁰--Breaking of Staff (Favor) and Termination of Employment: 11:10-11

d) Unjust Wages and Breaking of Second Staff (Union): 11:12-14

(1) The Shepherd asks for compensation which completely voluntary 11:12a

(2) The sheep give him 30 shekels of silver³¹ in return for his service 11:12b

(3) Upon instructions from Yahweh the shepherd throws the silver to the potter 11:13

(4) Shepherd Breaks the Second Staff of Union³² 11:14

c. The Worthless Shepherd--Zechariah’s Second Commission: 11:15-17

1) Zechariah Commissioned as a Foolish Shepherd Who is Coming (Anti-Christ): 11:15-16

2) Woe Oracle against the Foolish Shepherd (Anti-Christ):³³ 11:17

B. The Second Oracle--The Rejected King Enthroned: The second burden begins with the nation in warfare and mourning over their sin toward the ‘one whom they pierced,’ and ends with God faithfully cleansing His people, going to battle on their behalf, and finally establishing His world-rule from Jerusalem in order that Israel might take courage in God’s faithful plan for them 12:1--14:21

1. The Redemption of Israel--Deliverance and Conversion: 12:1--13:9

a. An Announcement of Jerusalem and Judah’s Future Deliverance and Glory: 12:1-9

1) Siege of Jerusalem: 12:1-3

2) Divine Deliverance: 12:4-9

b. Israel’s Deliverance from Sin: 12:10--13:9

1) The Nation Will Mourn over the “One Whom They Pierced”:³⁴ 12:10-14

a) The Spirit of Grace and Supplication Poured Out on the Nation: 12:10a

b) Mourning of the Nation: 12:10b-14

2) Yahweh Will Cleanse the Nation: 13:1-9

a) A Cleansing Fountain Opened: 13:1

b) Cleansing from False Worship: 13:2-6

c) Smitten Shepherd Leads to Refined People: 13:7-9

(1) Sword Strikes the Shepherd: 13:7a

(2) Sheep Are Scattered:³⁵ 13:7b

(3) Two-Thirds of People Cut Off: 13:8a

(4) One-Third of the People Remain to Be Refined: 13:8b-9

2. Return of the King and His Kingdom: 14:1-21

a. Siege of Jerusalem: 14:1-2

b. Tokens of Messiah’s Return--Defeat of Enemies, A New Created Order: 14:3-8

c. Messiah’s Kingdom Established in Jerusalem: 14:9-11

d. Israel’s Enemies Punished:³⁶ 14:12-15

e. Universal Worship of the King--The Feast of Booths: 14:16-19

1) The Righteous of All Nations Go to Jerusalem to Celebrate the Feast of Booths 14:16

2) No Rain for those Not Celebrating the Feast of Booths--Especially Egypt³⁷

f. No Distinctions Between Holy and Unholy--”Holy to the Lord” 14:20-21

---

¹ This outline is adapted through my own study from the analyses of Kenneth L. Barker, Zechariah, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, VII:603-604; Joyce G. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction & Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, 35; Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 220-227; Charles L. Feinberg, God Remembers: A Study of Zechariah; F. Duanne Lindsey, Zechariah, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty: Old Testament, 1546-47; John A Martin, An Outline of Haggai, unpublished class notes in 305 postexilic prophets and the gospels, (Dallas Theological Seminary, Spring 1984), 1-16; Ralph L. Smith, Micah-Malachi, Word Biblical Commentary, XXXII:181.

² Chisholm summaries the theology of the book as follows: The Lord would completely restore His covenant people, delivering the rest of the exiles and bringing them back to their homeland. He would make the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem the center for His worldwide rule and restore the Davidic throne and the priesthood to their former positions of leadership and prominence. Though the realization of these promises would be delayed and seemingly jeopardized by the postexilic community's rejection of God's leadership, the Lord would eventually deliver His people from renewed Gentile oppression, move them to genuine repentance, and restore them to a vibrant covenant relationship with Himself. In that day He would also bring the nations to His kingdom (Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 273).

³ Baldwin sees a chiastic structure here:

A A patrol of the whole earth reports 1:7-17

B The nations meet retribution 1:18-21

B' Jerusalem has a divine protector 2:1-13

C The high priest reinstated 3:1-10

C' Divine resources for high priest and prince 4:1-14

B''Evil meets retribution 5:1-4

B'''Jerusalem is purified 5:5-11

A' God's patrols compass the earth 6:1-15

Joyce G. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction & Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, 85.

Concerning the themes of these visions Chisholm writes, This series of visions exhibits several recurring themes, including the judgment of the nations, God's election and future blessing of Jerusalem, the purification of the land, the rebuilding of the temple, and the centrality of Joshua and Zerubbabel in God's program. The fourth vision (3:1-10) is thematically pivotal. At its beginning (v. 2) and conclusion (v. 10), themes from visions 1 and 3 appear, namely, God's election of Jerusalem (v. 2; cf. 1:17; 2:12) and the future security and prosperity of the people (v. 10; cf. 1:14, 17; 2:4-5). The themes of verses 3-9 are developed in more detail in the subsequent visions and appendix. The important role of the community's leaders (vv. 3-8) is taken up again in the fifth vision and in the appendix. The cleansing of the land (v. 8) becomes the theme of the sixth and seventh visions.

The concluding statement of this section (6:15b) suggests how the visions relate to the opening call to repentance (cf. 1:1-6). Zion would be restored if the people returned to the Lord (1:3) and diligently obeyed Him (6:15b). Thus the promises and visions appear within a framework that emphasizes the role of human responsibility in the realization of God's purposes (Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 237).

⁴ Since all of these eight visions follow this introduction, it may be reasonable to imagine that they all came on the same night (kind of an extended Christmas Carol!).

⁵ Israel sees themselves as low in their national position, and it looks like they are going to stay that way.

⁶ This vision gives hope as it promises that divine agents will overthrow their enemies.

⁷ Assyrians, Northern King, Edom and Egypt (individuals). Perhaps the horns are the same as in Daniel (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome) and the craftsmen are the same ones who defeat each other.

⁸ This vision gives hope because there will be external blessings on Jerusalem; Yahweh will be the protection of Jerusalem.

⁹ No walls implies a time of ultimate peace!

¹⁰ Literally and spiritually!

¹¹ The priest was to be clothed in clean clothes, but Joshua was filthy (vomit, dung, etc.) symbolizing the standing of the nation before Yahweh (66 years since the day of Atonement had been kept). Joshua was reclothed expressing dedication as holy to Yahweh.

¹² Yahweh will bring someone greater than Joshua--the Branch. Historically, this may have been considered to be Zerubbabel. Priests are a symbol of the branch who will be the top stone of completion--He will forgive their sins! There is a play on the kingly and priestly function of this one who is to come.

¹³ As the temple is finished and the capstone is put on, God is watching--observing their sins for which their will be a one time sacrifice (cf. the American Dollar Bill with the Eye on the building symbolizing a temple building).

¹⁴ These olive trees would have been the source of oil for the lamps.

¹⁵ The Spirit will work through Zerubbabel to accomplish the temple. He will be empowered by the Spirit.

¹⁶ The sons of oil were Joshua and Zerubbabel. They were the two most important men of their time; they were the two men to finish the temple; they were the men to make Israel right with God.

¹⁷ These are messages of judgment rather than blessing. There is going to be a judgment against the temple law breakers who try not to rebuild the temple.

¹⁸ These evils are expressed in the third commandment (not to take the Lord's name in vain) and the eighth commandment (not to steal). The are the middle of each five and thus may represent the whole. These also may have been because the people were stealing from the temple sight and some were vowing to donate to the temple, but were not keeping their vow.

¹⁹ This was the largest dry measure in Israel.

²⁰ See Genesis 10:10; 11:2; 14:1; Isaiah 11:11; Daniel 1:2. Shinar is a nickname for Babylon.

²¹ Bronze speaks of refinement.

²² Babylon and the Persian empire will be destroyed by God.

²³ This is really an account of what happened. It is not a vision. It is probably a symbol of the united offices of priest and king.

²⁴ Chisholm writes, According to many commentators, Joshua is here identified as a type of the messianic Branch (cf. 3:8), who would build the temple and rule as a priest (hence Joshua's symbolic value). In this interpretation the statement 'and there will be harmony between the two' (v. 13b) points to a fusing of the royal and priestly offices in the person of the Messiah.

Others prefer to see this statement as referring to two distinct individuals. In this view verses 12-13a contain a prophecy about the Branch, who would be a royal figure responsible for building the temple. In conjunction with this king's rule the high priest (typified by Joshua) would also exercise a rulership function within the covenant community (v. 13b). In this case the statement 'and there will be harmony between the two' emphasizes the unity of purpose that would exist between the Davidic king and the high priest. In favor of this interpretation one may point to the preceding context which predicts that Zerubbabel would complete the temple (4:9), a task accomplished by the Branch, according to 6:12. At the same time, the completion of the temple allows the priesthood to be fully restored (3:1-10). In this connection Joshua is promised a position of leadership in the temple (3:7) and is pictured as ruling with Zerubbabel over the restored community (4:11-14). Thus, according to this view, verses 12-13 do not directly prophesy the Davidic king's priestly role, though they do indicate that the high priest would lend his full support to the kings rule.

As noted earlier (in conjunction with Hag. 2:23 and Zech 3:8), the ideal expressed in verses 12-13 was probably originally attached to the persons of Zerubbabel and Joshua (cf. 4:9 with 6:12). However, this ideal will be fully realized only in conjunction with the eschatological rule of Jesus the Messiah, who is also the High Priest appointed by God. Thus the royal and priestly ideals represented by Zerubbabel and Joshua are both ultimately fulfilled in Him (Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 253-54).

²⁵ Baldwin sees the following chiastic structure for this unit:

A The Question 7:1-3

B The first sermon 7:4-14

C Relevant sayings 8:1-8

B' The second sermon 8:9-17

A' The Answer 8:18-19

Joyce G. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction & Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, 85; Chisholm sees the following chiastic structure for this unit:

A Messengers from Bethel entreat the Lord 7:1-3

B The Lord denounces ineffective fasts 7:4-7

C An earlier generation rejected social justice 7:8-12

D The Lord sent his people into exile 7:13-14

The Lord promises restoration 8:1-6

D' The Lord will deliver his people from exile 8:7-8

Exhortation to build the Temple for blessing 8:9-15

C' The Lord exhorts social justice 8:16-17

B' Meaningful fasts will be restored 8:18-19

A' All peoples will come to Jerusalem to entreat the Lord 8:20-23

Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 255.

²⁶ This was mid-way in the process of rebuilding the temple. The date commemorates a time of fasting which was done because it coincided with the burning of the temple by Babylon.

²⁷ This city that was in the South of the Northern Kingdom of Israel were calf-worship occurred in history does not want to fast since the Lord is blessing them.

²⁸ Chisholm argues that the two oracles are thematically and structurally related in the following ways:

A1 The Lord's intervention: Deliverance from Exile 9:1-17

B Oppressive leaders (shepherds) denounced 10:1-3a

A1 The Lord's intervention: Deliverance from exile 10:3b--11:3

B The good shepherd rejected 11:5-17

A2 The Lord's intervention: Jerusalem delivered 12:1-9

B People mourn their rejection of the good shepherd and are cleansed 12:10--13:9

A2 The Lord's intervention: Jerusalem delivered 14:1-21

Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 260; Joyce G. Baldwin, offers another chiastic structure:

A The Lord triumphs from the north 9:1-8

B Arrival of the king 9:9-10

C Jubilation and prosperity 9:11--10:1

D Rebuke for sham leaders 10:2-3a

C' Jubilation and restoration 10:3b--11:3

B' The fate of the good shepherd 11:4-11

C''Jubilation in Jerusalem 12:1-9

B''Mourning for the pierced one 12:10--13:1

C'''Cataclysm in Jerusalem 14:1-15

A' The Lord worshipped as King over all 14:16-21

Joyce G. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction & Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, 85-86; cf. pp. 78-79 for P. Lamarche's structure).

²⁹ Perhaps this was those shepherds mentioned in verse 5. Could this be the Lord's rejection of the religious leaders in Matthew 23--Woes!

³⁰ Perhaps this was the Abrahamic covenant--The Lord would not fulfill all his promises through this rebellious people.

³¹ A price for a dead slave.

³² In 70 A.D. the genealogical records were lost.

³³ Here the defeat of the enemy is described in semitic terms--he will not even have an eye to aim with. This ultimately offers hope to the nation.

³⁴ This will be during the Tribulation.

³⁵ All of the Tribulation will occur because of their not accepting Messiah.

³⁶ Judgment precedes the Kingdom.

³⁷ Egypt's evils were the reason for the first booths.

Introduction

One of the most beloved passages in the New Testament is Matthew 11:28-30. In it the Lord summarizes the invitation to discipleship that characterized His earthly ministry, but to understand the invitation of this passage, we need to understand the background.

In this passage the Lord was addressing the people of Israel who were burdened and weighed down with the externalism and the legal do’s and don’ts of the Pharisees, and with the consequences—the guilt, frustration, and dissatisfaction that always goes along with legalism.

For instance, in Matthew 23:2, Christ referred to the Scribes and the Pharisees as men who “sit in Moses’ seat.” What was His point? The Pharisees claimed the authority of Moses as interpreters and teachers of the Law which meant they also demanded that all in Israel who submitted to Moses should also submit to them.

Then, in Matthew 23:4, the Lord warned the people of the oppressive and legalistic ways of the Pharisees. He said, “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders.” He was speaking about the way they had hidden the true meaning of the Old Testament Law with all the religious rules and regulations that these religious externalists had instituted as the way to God, to true spirituality, and as a way to receive God’s blessing in life. They had codified the Mosaic law into 365 prohibitions and 250 commandments.

But even though the Old Testament Law was good, holy, and righteous, it did not bring liberty because it was weak in that it depended on man. It did not provide the means of fulfilling the law and thus it left man under the guilt and load of sin. Rather than freedom, it brought oppression. Paul called it an administration of death. Instead of a sense of release, it brought a sense of guilt and failure.

Those who were under the Mosaic Law were said to be yoked to Moses. Those who were under the authority of the Pharisees were said to be yoked to the Pharisees. As an illustration, see Acts 15:7-11.

It is in the midst of this religious setting that the Lord makes a very gracious invitation to all who would want to experience the relief, joy, and the blessings of His life through a grace/faith relationship with Him. This is an invitation aimed at all, at the curious and at the convinced to bring them to a place of a deeper level of commitment in which they are to take His yoke and learn from Him as committed disciples.

But what does all this mean?

The Invitation

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden”
(11:28a)

“Come” is deute, an imperative particle of exhortation and incitement with the force of an imperative, a strong appeal on the will of another. It expresses the desire and compassionate heart of the Savior and is His appeal for people to come to Him as a relief from their oppression. It is a call to turn from whatever they are presently depending on to Him.

For those without the Savior, it is equivalent to a call to believe in Him. Compare the context of the preceding unbelief in the cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida (Matt. 11:20-24).

For those who are already believers, it is a call to follow him as a committed disciple; it is a call to completely turn their lives over to Him.

“To” is the preposition pros, a preposition expressing close proximity and intimate fellowship. It is used of the fellowship of the Son with the Father. We have here a call to an intimacy of fellowship.

“Me” is a personal pronoun, me. Note that the Pharisees basically said, “do as we say, obey our system,” but the Lord Jesus said, “come to me.” What’s His Point?

Application: This drives home one of the great concepts of Christianity that must be taught and grasped. Christianity is a relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. This is not a call to a program, nor a system of religion, nor to a church, and certainly not to the discipler, or some human leader.

Too often disciple makers end up cloning subordinates rather than developing Christlike people. They draw people to themselves and reproduce graven images. In essence, they say, “agree with me, think like me, dress like me, teach like I do, act like me, and you will have success, or have a successful ministry.”

While God uses churches, people, and theological systems, Christianity is an intimate, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.

“All” points to the universal significance of this offer. We are never to be partial to one group, or class, or nationality. In Christ, God reaches out to the whole world.

“Who are weary and heavy laden” points us to the objects of the appeal. Let’s note several things here:

Please bear with me while I get a little bit technical and grammatical. We have two adjectival participles here which are very descriptive. Though aimed at those under the Pharisaic system, they really describe the condition of all that are either without Christ as their Savior, or who, as believers, are not submitted to Him in intimate fellowship as learning disciples. Such are “the weary and heavy laden ones.” These participles are grammatically closely connected together (one article with both participles connected by kai) as cause and effect. The first word, “weary,” is the effect, and the other word, “heavy-laden,” gives us the cause. Let’s take the cause first.

“Heavy-laden” is phortizo, “to place a burden upon; to load as when placing a load upon the back of an ox.” Then, it came to means “oppress by legal burdens.” Compare the following verse from Luke.

Luke 11:46 But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.”

The tense is perfect which draws our attention to the abiding results, the overbearing burden on the backs of men. The Savior obviously has in mind the Pharisees, but it would include the burden of sin as demonstrated so clearly by the Old Testament Law which shows us all under sin, its guilt, and its death, and thus also, the burden and frustration of any solution by which men seek to deal with their sin and emptiness without Jesus Christ.

“Weary” is kopiao, “to labor, toil, expend great effort in hard and disagreeable work,” “to grow weary, tired; labor to the point of exhaustion.” It is in the present continuous tense, and undoubtedly describes man’s fruitless efforts to deal with sin, its guilt, and personal misery whether by some form of religious legalism, or by whatever method or human strategy he seeks to deal with the emptiness and frustrations of his soul (cf. Col. 2:16-23).

The Insurance and Pledge

“And I will give you rest”
(11:28b)

“I” is the first person singular personal pronoun which again reminds us that our need is the person of Christ, and a personal relationship with Him.

“Rest” is anapauo which means “to refresh, rest up,” but also “to cease from labor.” But how could Christ give rest? His solution seems no solution at all. After all, a yoke is a yoke. Right? No!

The Injunction

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me”
(11:29a)

This is a call to discipleship and the means by which men find rest.

“Take” is airo and means “to take up, lift up.” Here it is used in the sense of “to take on oneself what has been lifted in order to carry it.” It is an aorist imperative and represents a decision, sometimes in a crisis, to submit to the Lord. It is undoubtedly equivalent to “take up one’s cross.”

“My yoke” is of course the key phrase. The Lord did not say, “come to me and I will remove all yokes.” So what does this mean? How is this not just another yoke and not a contradiction?

“And learn.” This verb is in the continuous present tense and describes a process of discipleship, of the journey in growth and Christlike change.

“Learn” is manthano, the verb form from which mathetes, “disciple,” comes from. It means “to learn by inquiry, but also by use and practice, to acquire the habit of, be accustomed to.”¹ It means “to learn, appropriate to oneself less through instruction than through experience or practice.”² (See also Heb. 5:8; 1 Tim. 5:4, 13; Tit. 3:14.)

The key idea is to acquire a custom or habit through practice. Do you get it? The Lord is talking about more than the simple acquisition of information. He has in mind a change of life, a transformed life-style through intimate relationship with Him. Let’s compare a number of passages—Deut. 17:19; Ezra 7:10; Ps. 119:11; Jam. 1:22; Luke 6:47-49; 8:21; 11:28. We are talking about having the attitude of a learner, someone who takes in and seeks to apply the information that comes from God.

The Incentives

“For I am gentle … you shall find rest … and My load is light”
(11:29b-30)

This, as far as I know, is the only place where the Lord tells us what His person is really like, but this description tells us why taking His yoke is not just taking up another yoke. What is His point? “For I am gentle … Do not fear my yoke for I am not like your previous masters. I am gentle and humble. You suffer now because your present masters (the world system, Satan, and your own sinful nature) are haughty, proud, and dominating.”

“Easy” is chrestos. It is from a verb which means “useful, manageable, serviceable, that which fills a need and is well fitting.” In other words, it is designed to fit our needs; it is tailor-made.

“Light” is elaphros, “light in weight, agile, not burdensome, or overbearing.”

So what does it mean to take Christ’s yoke? To take Christ’s yoke means to submit to His person as the one who is gentle and meek, as one who is gentle and caring and concerned for us. It means to put yourself under His leading, to join yourself together with Him, but the difference is, He is the yoke mate and this is how He can give rest.

Note the following illustration of two oxen, one huge, and one very small.

There was an old farmer plowing with a team of oxen. As I saw this team I was somewhat amazed, for one was a huge ox and the other a very small bullock. That ox towered over the little bullock that was sharing the work with him. I was amazed and perplexed to see a farmer trying to plow with two such unequal animals in the yoke and commented on the inequality to the man with whom I was riding. He stopped his car and said, ‘I want you to notice something. See the way those traces are hooked to the yoke? You will observe that the large ox is pulling all the weight. That little bullock is being broken into the yoke but he is not actually pulling any weight.’ My mind instinctively came to this passage of Scripture where our Lord said, “Take my yoke upon you, learn of me; for I am …” In the normal yoking the load is equally distributed between the two that are yoked together, but when we are yoked with Jesus Christ, He bears the load and we who are yoked to Him share in the joy and the accomplishment of the labor but without the burden of the yoke.³

Conclusion

How can we submit to the Savior’s yoke? The answer is found in the command “to learn from me.”

He is calling us to serve, but we work and serve in the strength which He gives. He is always there beside us pulling the weight for us, if we will only yield our lives to Him. The only time the load becomes overbearing is when we try to take over and do the pulling, or handle the load ourselves.

Many of us call ourselves “disciples” but do we have the right? We have responded to Him as our Savior, we have come to Him, but when He seeks to slip the yoke around our necks to join Him, well, we resist, we back off, we refuse to truly listen and submit to His Word and acknowledge His authority.

We really refuse to trust in His gentleness and goodness. We look at the yoke and think it does not fit when in reality, it is designed perfectly for us in that it is designed to make us like Him, but also because it is tailor made for us.

Back on the ranch where I grew up, my Dad and I used to break horses to ride and then we would train them for various tasks according to their abilities and breeding. Always, the first thing we did was to get their trust. We then trained them to reign, to turn and stop on a dime, back up, follow a calf, and stand quietly and poised in a shoot ready to launch after a calf, etc. Some we trained as cutting horses, and some as roping horses. But first there was the process of gently caring for them. We brushed them, trimmed their hoofs, fed them, and halter broke them so we could lead them from one place to another. We would often tie the younger horse to an older and stronger horse and lead it around the corral. Then, when large enough to carry a rider, we would step up and into the saddle while the young horse was tied close to the saddle horn of the larger horse. Sometimes, because the young horse so trusted us, this last step was not even necessary. Then came the process or teaching the horse to respond to the reigns and other cues.

These young horses didn’t like the new conditions at first. It scared them and they liked their freedom, but in time, through the gentleness of the trainer who loved the horse and through the example of the older horse, they became trained and learned to love what they did. It was not burdensome. They often had to work hard and would work up a sweat, but they loved it. It was a yoke fitted for their abilities and their natural instincts.

So the Savior promised, “For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” It is tailor made for each of us and furthermore, He is always there with us to bear the burden.

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1 G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 3rd edition, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1937, p. 277.

2 Walter Bauer, Wilbur F. Gingrich, and Frederick W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1979.

3 Dwight Pentecost, Design for Discipleship, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1971, pp. 27-28.

Introduction

In the parable of the marriage feast in Matthew 22:13, Jesus tells the story of one who came to a marriage feast but was not dressed properly, so the King had him thrown into the outer darkness where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth. The question is: where is the outer darkness? Most teach that the “outer darkness” is hell. But some teach that this is just the darkness outside the banquet hall in heaven, or as I have named it—heaven’s suburb.

For example, Zane Hodges in his book, Grace in Eclipse, says that those who show up at the banquet are all Christians who made it into heaven (p. 87), but participating in the banquet is only the privilege of those who have faithfully carried out their obligations as Christians while on earth. He says the wedding clothes are something believers bring with them to the banquet.(p. 88) He equates the King’s observation of the guests at the banquet to the Bema seat where Christ judges the believers for their good works. (p. 88) In short, the guy made it to heaven but can’t partake of the banquet because he wasn’t a faithful Christian. For Hodges, the passage refers to loss of eternal rewards and not one’s eternal destiny.

The purpose of this paper is to examine this view and the theological presuppositions that drive it. It is this author’s contention that those who hold to this view have a certain agenda that distorts their exegesis.

Understanding What is at Stake

Lordship Salvation versus Free Grace

Before we can even study the passage, we must first understand some of the theological presuppositions that people bring to the passage. Central to this is the Lordship Salvation / Free Grace debate. I’m not going to attempt to solve this debate in this paper, but you must recognize that when one lays either one of those theological grids over our passage, different interpretations result.

Lordship Salvation proponents will automatically assume that the man at the wedding feast thought he was saved because he thought he believed, but since he didn’t have any good works, he didn’t really believe, and so was kicked out of heaven and into hell. Some people use this passage to teach that you can lose your salvation.

Free Grace proponents see this as a rewards passage and redefine the meaning of outer darkness because they mistakenly accept the assumption of their opponents that this is the millennial banquet and consequently accept the wrong conclusion that the man who shows up without the proper wedding garments is saved.

Sapaugh says “the prevailing interpretation of the passage is that it concerns the loss of salvation.”¹ Whether that is true or not is unimportant. What is important is what he and those who hold to his view of the “outer darkness” believe.

What I believe has happened is that Hodges and his followers are engaged in “arguegesis” (I made that up) and not “exegesis.” They have come to the passage with a goal of proving the others wrong and have not been able to see the forest for the trees. They are trying to argue against those who would use this verse to support Lordship Salvation, or that one can lose his salvation. I think that arguing against those groups is definitely worthwhile. But I’m convinced that the proper argument against those views is that the man was not saved in the first place. And he wasn’t saved because he didn’t believe, not because he didn’t have good works.

Eschatological Issues

Part of the problem is that most come to this passage with a very well-developed eschatology. They have the tribulation, bema seat, millennium, etc. all in their minds as they try to understand the parable. They lay the details of the parable on their theological / eschatalogical grid and try to make all the pieces fit.

Most commentators see this marriage feast in the context of the millenium and equate the marriage feast in the parable to the marriage feast of Christ and the church which would also require that all attendees be saved.

The first thing to understand about parables is that you can’t make them ‘walk on all fours.’ Every detail doesn’t necessarily correspond to some eschatalogical event. Parables typically have one main idea that answers some question or problem given in the preceding context. So, little details like the one where the guy is at the banquet don’t necessarily mean that he made it into heaven and then was removed. This is just rejection imagery.

The second thing to understand is that Matthew’s eschatology was not as well developed as ours or even as well developed as Paul’s or John’s. Matthew is writing about the events of a Jewish audience who is looking for the Messiah who will set up the kingdom told about in the Old Testament. They have no concept of a millenium or church age. So as we study the passages in question, remember who was hearing these parables and witnessing the miracles and what they would have understood Jesus to be saying.

Rejection Imagery

Related to this under-developed eschatology is a third thing that we have to keep in mind. Matthew often mixes the giving of rewards with rejection imagery to describe the judgment to be carried out at the end of the age. “The giving of rewards is usually employed as a dramatic foil to highlight what is missed by those who are rejected.”² The idea is not only did they not get into heaven, they didn’t get rewards either. Not understanding this, causes people to jump to the conclusion that the bema seat and millenial kingdom are in view, when in fact it is just his style.

The Argument

There are several things we must consider:

• The use of the terms elsewhere in scripture and especially Matthew’s use
• The meaning of banquet imagery elsewhere in Scripture
• The context of the parable

Only then can we come to the correct conclusions as to the meaning of the parable.

The Use of the Terms:
How “outer darkness” and “gnashing of teeth” are used elsewhere

It is important to examine how these figures of speech are used elsewhere to see if they have a consistent meaning that will help us understand their use in the passage in question. If they mean the same thing in all other passages, but we interpret the meaning of the imagery differently in our passage, then our interpretation is suspect.

Hodges says,

Most Christian readers identify the “outer darkness” as a description of hell. They would be surprised to learn that the Greek phrase employed here is used only three times, all in Matthew (8:12; 22:13; 25:30) and nowhere else in the New Testament.³

Hodges never explains this statement, but this is no argument against “outer darkness” being a reference to hell in our passage. The question is how does Matthew use the phrase “outer darkness” in these three passages.

When studying these three passages, we notice that the phrase “gnashing of teeth” is linked to the “outer darkness” in all three passages. Therefore, we should also consider Matthew’s usage and meaning of the phrase “gnashing of teeth” which is also used in Matthew 13:42 and 50, where it is linked to being cast into the “furnace of fire,” and in Matthew 24:51, where the individual is cut up and assigned a place with the hypocrites. And although it is less relevant to Matthew’s use of the term, we should consider other authors’ use of the terms. Luke uses the term “gnashing of teeth” in Luke 13:28.

The Outer Darkness Passages

Matthew 8:12

The context of this passage is the healing of the centurion’s servant. The humble centurion recognized that Jesus was from God, or at the very least that He could heal. Hoping not to impose too much on Jesus, he asked Him to heal his slave from long distance. Jesus marveled at the centurion’s faith and contrasted it with Israel’s unbelief. Because Israel did not believe Jesus was the Messiah, they were not going to be at the banquet with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were not going to be in the kingdom as they thought.

10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled, and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11 “And I say to you, that many shall come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Here we see that being at the banquet equals being in the kingdom / heaven. Not being at the banquet means one is not in the kingdom / heaven. This is undoubtedly a reference to hell. The phrase “sons of the kingdom” is a reference to ethnic Israel who considered themselves sons of God destined for the kingdom because of their physical relationship to Abraham. They were going to be surprised when they didn’t make it into the kingdom because they didn’t accept Jesus as their Messiah.

Some argue that the phrase “sons of the kingdom” is a technical term for believers.⁴ But that is incorrect.

A technical term is one the author uses a number of times, and so consistently that it always means the same thing in all passages. If something is a technical term, we don’t really need to pay much attention to the context because the meaning of the word or phrase is certain. The danger is in jumping to conclusions about a word or phrase and labeling it as a technical term. The problem is, when a phrase is only used twice (as is the case with “sons of the kingdom”), there is not sufficient justification to label it a technical term. Therefore we have to look at the context. In Matthew 13:38, the sons of the kingdom are defined for us as the good seed, and contrasted with the tares which are the sons of the evil one. There it does refer to believers.

But in the context of Matthew 8:12, there is a Gentile with faith that is contrasted with Israel who is without faith (they don’t accept Jesus as the Messiah). Then in the next verse we see that many will come from the east and the west and make it into the kingdom. In keeping with the contrast that is just made, those from the east and the west must be Gentiles, but the “sons of the kingdom” won’t be at the table (in the kingdom). Again, in keeping with the contrast in the context, this has to refer to ethnic Israel. They considered themselves to be sons of the kingdom because of their physical relationship to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The contrasts can perhaps be seen easier in the following table:

Gentile with faith	Israel without faith
Those from the east and the west (Gentiles)	son’s of the kingdom (Israel)
In the kingdom	out of the kingdom—“outer darkness”
reason for being in the kingdom—faith	reason for being excluded—lack of faith

So, to try to say that “sons of the kingdom” are believers makes no sense. These “sons” have no faith. This reference to “outer darkness” must be hell.

Matthew 22:13

11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw there a man not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And he was speechless. 13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

This is the passage in question and we will discuss its meaning later.

Matthew 25:30

29 “For to everyone who has shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 “And cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This passage is the conclusion of the parable about the talents. The master gives three slaves money and goes on a trip. Two slaves use the money wisely. The third slave buries his money and is thrown into the outer darkness.

The first thing to recognize is that being a “slave” does not necessarily equal being “saved.” Some try to argue that since the word doulos (slave) is used of all three individuals, they must all be saved.⁵ If we use this logic, we must also conclude that the prodigal son and the older son were both saved because they were both sons. And we must conclude that the son who said he wouldn’t go to work but changed his mind, and the one who said he would work but didn’t were both saved since they were both sons.

To argue that way shows a misunderstanding of parables. It wouldn’t be much of a parable if Jesus said there once was a son and a donkey … the son ran off and squandered the father’s money but the donkey stayed home and worked hard. Where’s the tension? How else is he going to tell the story? He’s talking about human beings who all have an equal opportunity to receive Him as their Messiah. The contrast has to be between two equal characters. So, in the parable of the two sons: The son who said he would obey but didn’t represents the Pharisees who thought they obeyed but rejected Jesus. And the other son who said he wasn’t going to obey but did represents the sinners and tax gatherers who believed in Jesus and changed their lifestyle. The same is true in the parable of the prodigal son. Both were sons, but the older one, representing the Pharisees, was self-righteous and claimed to have always obeyed but wouldn’t “come in” to the party. The younger son, representing the sinners, repented of his evil ways and returned to the father and enjoyed the father’s blessing.

In Matthew 25:30, even though all three were slaves, the first two slaves knew the Master, took what He had given them and used it to the best of their ability, and they were rewarded for their efforts. Therefore, the parable does teach us something about eternal rewards. (But remember Matthew’s rejection imagery) However, the third slave did not know the Master. He thought the Master was a hard man. He was afraid of him. The Master holds him accountable for what he believes, and he is punished for doing nothing with what he was given. This is more than “loss of rewards.”

If you ask most people if they think they are going to heaven, they will say they think so because they think God will judge them on whether they were mostly bad or mostly good. Most have tried to live a good life and they think their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds. Passages like this lead me to believe that God is going to judge them by their own standards. I’m sure that even what they considered good deeds are going to be exposed as being the result of evil motives.

Because of the context, it makes more sense to understand this last slave as representing Israel who was given the revelation of God but turned it into a legalistic code (believing God to be “hard”) and missed the Messiah because of her legalism and tradition. They thought they would get into the kingdom because of their relationship to Abraham and because of their observance of the law, which Jesus exposed as non-existent in the Sermon on the Mount.

The parables of the Ten Virgins and the Talents in Matthew 25 are both about the judgment of Israelites who were not ready for the Messiah. The following context (Matt 25:31-46) is about the judgment of the Gentiles. The salvation context of this use of the terms “outer darkness” and “weeping and gnashing of teeth” make it clear that this is not merely about loss of rewards.

Gnashing of Teeth Passages

These next two passages come from Matthew 13 where Jesus is telling several salvation parables. I haven’t done an exhaustive study on this, but I notice that Jesus introduces at least eleven of his parables with the phrase “the kingdom of heaven is like” or “the kingdom of heaven may be compared to.” The number may be higher, because Matthew 25:14 follows a similar parable and just starts off with “it is like,” so I may have missed others. In all of the other ten parables the subject is how one enters the kingdom. Therefore, we have another clue that our passage (Matt 22:1-14) is also about entering the kingdom.

Matthew 13:42

41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Matthew 13:50

49 “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Concerning our passage in Matthew 22, Hodges says, “We do not need to embellish the parable with the lurid colors of eternal damnation. There is no fire and brimstone on the King’s handsome estate…”⁶

First we have to ask if Hodges’ assumption that they are still on the “King’s handsome estate” is a correct assumption. If they are cast out, are they not “off the estate” or out of the kingdom?

Second, we notice from these two passages that it is not out of character with Matthew’s use of the term “gnashing of teeth” to include fire and brimstone as the setting. In fact, it seems that if Matthew uses “outer darkness” with “gnashing of teeth” in three passages and fire and brimstone with “gnashing of teeth” in two passages, perhaps the “outer darkness” is the same place that is characterized by fire and brimstone.

Matthew 24:51

48 “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and shall begin to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, 51 and shall cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; weeping shall be there and the gnashing of teeth.

This parable is included in a string of parables which refer to being ready for the Messiah and His kingdom when it arrives. It will be unexpected and those who are not ready will be left out. In this passage wisdom and faithfulness are the demonstration of one’s faith. The return of Christ will involve a judgment in which those who have demonstrated such faith will enter and assume greater responsibilities in the kingdom, while those who do not have faith will be excluded from the kingdom to experience the wrath of God along with the hypocrites. There is salvation and rewards for some and lack of salvation for others. (Note that I do not say loss of salvation. I will come back to this point later.)

Also, although there is no “outer darkness” nor “fire and brimstone” in this passage, the context argues for eternal damnation.

Because of the numerous places “gnashing of teeth” is used, perhaps it would be accurate to say that “gnashing of teeth” is the central phrase because of its emphasis on the effect of separation from God, and the other phrases, “outer darkness,” “fire and brimestone” and the “place with the hypocrites” are descriptive of the location.

Luke 13:28

28 “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being cast out. 29 “And they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.

This passage is obviously about salvation because it is part of the answer to the question asked in Luke 13:23, “Lord are there just a few who are being saved?” Those who enter by the narrow gate are saved and are pictured eating at the banquet with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Those who are not saved will be weeping and gnashing their teeth at being “cast out.”

Here we have a direct parallel with the imagery of Matthew 8:12 and the Matthew 22 passage. Although the term “outer darkness” is not used, the phrase “cast out” carries the same connotation.

Conclusion

In all of the passages in Matthew and Luke where “outer darkness” and “gnashing of teeth” are used, the meaning from the context is clearly a reference to hell. To take the “outer darkness” phrase in the marriage feast passage of Matthew 22 as being a reference to something other than hell requires a strong argument from the context of Matthew 22 that rewards are the topic, and the meaning of the parable must be clearly about rewards. If the meaning of the phrase is debated, we should not take a meaning for “outer darkness” that has no support elsewhere.

The Meaning of the Parable of the Marriage Feast

The Context

The context of our passage is a salvation context. The parable of the two sons in Matthew 21:28-32 is about the sinners who repented and got into the kingdom while the self-righteous religious leaders are left out. The parable of the landowner in Matthew 21:33-44 is about Israel killing the landowner’s son (Jesus) and being replaced by the Gentiles. The issue in the context is being in or out of the kingdom, not about receiving special privileges in the kingdom.

The Culture

Hodges says, providing wedding garments for guests “seems not to have been the custom in those days,” But, unless Gower, who has no axe to grind, is just plain wrong, wedding clothes were often provided by wealthy hosts.⁷ If this is true, then it may be that the man who showed up at the marriage feast without the proper attire refused to wear those provided. He thought his own clothes (i.e. deeds) were good enough. This fits the preceding context of the parable of the two sons. The son who said he would work and didn’t was symbolic of the Pharisees who thought they were doing enough already. Therefore, the wedding clothes provided by host symbolize the righteousness of Christ provided by God for entrance to heaven—as opposed to our garments / merit which are not good enough to get us into heaven / banquet.

Another question is the meaning of the banquet imagery. Banquet imagery almost always refers to the kingdom / heaven (cf. Isa 62:4-5, Jer 2:2, 31:2, Eze 16:32 and Hos 2:2, Isa 25:6; 65:8-16 and Ps 22:26-29). Especially compare Isaiah 25:6-9 where it talks about God preparing a lavish banquet for all peoples and “wiping tears away from all faces.”

Therefore, partaking of the banquet is equal to being in the kingdom, and being kicked out of the banquet means being kicked out of the kingdom. In Luke 14:15 a man says, “Blessed is everyone who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.” Then Jesus tells a parable about a great banquet which explains who would be in the kingdom eating at that banquet. To be consistent with the banquet imagery in the rest of Scripture, our parable must be about getting into the kingdom / heaven— not about attending special events in the kingdom.

I must also point out that the fact that this is a marriage feast does not mean that it is The Marriage Feast of Christ and His bride the Church. This is a passage dealing with Israel’s rejection of her Messiah and God’s consequent rejection of Israel. The generic banquet imagery of the kingdom / heaven is what is in view here. We can’t force our eschatology on Matthew.

Other Points to Consider

The King called the man “friend.” This is never a good term in Matthew. It is a term of distancing. Therefore the man is not a friend (cf. Matt 20:13, and 26:50).

If the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:23-25 is any indication of the lighting conditions in the kingdom, then we can probably conclude that there is no darkness in heaven. In fact the whole concept of heaven precludes there being any darkness anywhere. Therefore, the outer darkness is not the suburbs of the kingdom.

Concerning the phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth” Hodges says, the words are “Solemn, yes! But not so grim as they are made out to be.”⁸ And Michael Huber, in an article called, “The Outer Darkness in Matthew and its Relationship to Grace” says, that commentators “… simply can’t envision this happening to a true believer. It is simply too emotionally disturbing and doesn’t fit our own stereotypical view of heaven.”⁹ He is saying we are just being selfish and emotional if we don’t want to accept the idea that some will be weeping and gnashing their teeth in heaven.

These are not just solemn words. Moreover, they contradict the very nature of the joy we are to experience in heaven. In fact, how do we reconcile the fact that God will “wipe away every tear” (Rev 21:4; Isa 25:6) with the idea that there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” in heaven. In fact, if Hodges and Huber are correct, then we need to change all our sermons which hold out hope for the chronically depressed person that their condition is not going to last forever. I seriously doubt that either of them would teach that a person better get with it, stop being depressed and start trusting God and walking by the power of the Holy Spirit or they are going to be stuck in that depression for eternity.

No other Scripture teaches that any member of the Church won’t take part in the marriage feast. Perhaps this evaluation by the King in the parable is more like the great white throne judgment which purpose is to determine eternal destiny—not eternal privilege. If the timetable doesn’t quite fit with our systematic theology / eschatology, perhaps it is because Matthew’s eschatology was not as developed as Paul’s or John’s. For Matthew, the issue was that God would judge, and everyone who passed, ate, and everyone who failed, went to hell. Also, we have to remember that this is a parable and parables do not ‘walk on all fours.’ A parable is a story that tells a general point. The point being who gets in and who doesn’t.

Also, in the parable the host is the King, and he is the one doing the judging. If we want to make this a bema seat judgment evaluating Christian works, then it is the Bridegroom (Christ) who should be doing the judging. The imagery of the marriage feast does not fit.

The Meaning

This is a banquet (representing heaven or the kingdom) to which everyone was invited. Some were not interested. These are the Pharisees, who like in the previous parable, were more interested in preserving their position as leaders in their society than in accepting the Messiah. Others were interested. From the latter group both “evil” and “good” people showed up.¹⁰ Some refused to wear the provided wedding garments (righteousness of Christ) thinking that their own garments (merit) were enough. But they were wrong and were excluded from the feast (heaven). The point of the parable is to shock the hearers of the parable. They think they are destined to be in the kingdom, but they are not. Verse 14 shows that the parable is about getting into the kingdom. This is a salvation parable, and the guy who is kicked out, is not saved.

Conclusion

For this man to be saved and simply losing out on rewards, this has to be the only non-salvation parable among eleven parables which Jesus introduces with the phrase “the kingdom of heaven is like.”

We have to force our advanced eschatological scheme to fit the details (and they don’t fit because the evaluation of Christians is being done by the king—not the son as Scripture teaches).

The banquet has to represent something it doesn’t normally represent and which the audience would never have understood.

Outer darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth have to represent something they don’t represent anywhere else in scripture.

And the wedding clothes must be our own which is against the cultural norm where the host provides them.

Therefore, we can conclude that this man is not saved. And, if this man is not saved, then this parable is correctly identified as a salvation parable—about getting into the kingdom—not about the works one does as a Christian. This parable cannot be used to teach perseverance of the saints or loss of salvation.

Because this is such a hot topic with those from the Grace Evangelical Society, I want to emphasize that I’m not saying this man thought he was saved because he thought he believed, but was rejected because his works proved he had not. I’m saying that the man never made any pretense of believing. He just showed up depending on his own merit (wearing his own clothes) and was rejected from heaven for not believing (accepting the wedding garments / righteousness of Christ).

Understanding the parable this way is much more consistent with the context and the rest of Scripture.

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1 Gregory P. Sapaugh, “A Call to the Wedding Celebration,” JGES. Vol 5:1, p. 11. He also wrote his masters thesis on this.

2 Karl Pagenkemper, BibSac. Vol. 153, Apr-Jun 1996, p. 180.

3 Zane Hodges, Grace in Eclipse, p. 89.

4 Huber criticizes scholars for claiming that “outer darkness” is a stock phrase or technical term for hell (p. 12). But then he goes on to say that a problem with this view (that the outer darkness is hell) arises when one looks at the use of “outer darkness” in Matthew 8:12. He says that scholars must abandon their stock phrase hermeneutic because “the sons of the kingdom” are clearly believers in Matthew 13:38, but they say that the “sons of the kingdom” in Matthew 8:12 are Israelites. It is not clear exactly what Huber is trying to say, but it seems that Huber considers “sons of the kingdom” to be a stock phrase for believers. If so, then he has double standards and I find it ironic that he would consider a phrase used only twice to be a stock phrase, but attempt special pleading in the case of “outer darkness.” Michael G. Huber, “The Outer Darkness in Matthew and its Relationship to Grace,” Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society. 1992, Vol. 5:2.

5 Huber, p. 13-14.

6 Hodges, p. 90.

7 Gower, New Manners and Customs of the Bible, p. 69.

8 Hodges, p. 89.

9 Huber, p. 14.

10 I suggest that the evil get in and the good don’t, because in many of Jesus’ parables, those that think they are good are not and those that are thought to be evil (by the “good” people) actually repent of their evil and turn to God.