September 14, 2025 - Zechariah 13:7 - "Scattered But Not Lost"

Zechariah 13:7

“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.”

Christ our LORD reigns in absolute sovereignty, even over His own suffering and death. Nothing came upon Him by chance; no event diverted Him from His Father’s will. The cross was not an accident of history, but the eternal purpose of God. In Zechariah 13:7, we hear the voice of the LORD of hosts commanding the very sword of justice to awaken against His Shepherd—His Fellow, His own Son. Here shines the glory of Christ’s sovereignty: He is the Shepherd chosen from eternity, the God-Man Who willingly submits to the Father’s decree, the One Who governs even the scattering and the gathering of His sheep. Though He was smitten, it was by His own design; though the disciples were scattered (Mark 14:50), it was under His Hand; and though they were weak, not one was lost. Christ stands sovereign over the sword, sovereign over His people, sovereign in redemption, and sovereign in keeping His little ones forever.

The Commission of the Sword

God Himself gives the order: “Awake, O sword.” The sword of Divine justice had long been sheathed, restrained by the patience of God. For centuries, He passed over the sin of His elect ones in His forbearance (Romans 3:25). But here the sword is summoned—not against His elect sinners, but against the Shepherd Who stood in their place. It is God the Father Who strikes His very own eternal Son. Isaiah 53:10 declares, “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief.” This teaches us that the cross was no accident of history, no tragic turn of events. It was the determinate counsel of God (Acts 2:23). Christ’s sufferings were not merely the cruelty of men, but the righteous judgment of God poured out upon His own Son, that chosen sinners might be spared. The Shepherd bore the sword so that the sheep would live.

The Person Smitten

Who is this Shepherd? God calls Him “my Shepherd, the man that is my fellow.” He is both near and dear to God—His chosen Shepherd, the One Who feeds, protects, and lays down His life for the flock (John 10:11). But He is also called “my fellow”—the One equal with God, the eternal Son. No angel, no prophet, no mere man could bear this title. Only the God-Man, Jesus Christ, could be both Shepherd of the sheep and Fellow of the LORD of hosts. When we see Christ on the cross, smitten and stricken, we are seeing more than a man suffering unjustly. We are beholding the eternal Son, God’s Fellow, enduring the sword of justice for His people. Such a Sacrifice reveals the depth of God’s love and the infinite worth of Christ’s obedience.

The Consequence of His Smiting

The verse continues: “Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.” When Jesus was arrested, the disciples fled in fear. Peter denied Him with cursing. They who had walked with Him, seen His power, and confessed Him as LORD, yet abandoned Him in His hour of trial. This scattering shows us the weakness of sinful men, in need of His redeeming grace. Left to ourselves, we cannot stand. Even Spirit-indwelt disciples falter when the Shepherd is struck. This scattering also magnifies the solitary nature of Christ’s work. Redemption is His work alone. No disciple could help Him in Gethsemane. None could bear with Him the wrath of God. None could share His cross. He trod the winepress alone (Isaiah 63:3). Salvation is not a joint effort between Christ and the sinner—it is CHRIST ALONE, smitten in the place of those sinners, chosen out of fallen humanity by God the Father's electing grace, accomplishing everything necessary for their redemption and justification before Him.

The Gracious Effect

The Good News is that this verse does not end with scattering. God promises: “I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.” The same hand that wielded the sword against the Shepherd now turned in mercy upon the sheep. This is a Hand of Grace, not wrath; a Hand of gathering, not scattering. The disciples were not lost. Though they fled, the risen Christ restored them. His Hand gathered the weak and trembling into a bold company of witnesses filled with the Spirit. And what was true of them is true of all believers. We are little ones—weak, frail, often faltering. Yet the LORD’s Hand is upon us. He keeps us, gathers us, restores us. We are scattered at times by fear, by sin, by trial—but never lost.

Christ the Foundation

This verse unfolds this two-fold perspective of the Gospel: Christ crucified and His people saved, justified and preserved. We are reminded that salvation is not in us, not in our devotion, not in our strength. It is in CHRIST ALONE—the Shepherd smitten, the Fellow of God forsaken, that the sheep might be saved. If anything depended on us, we would be lost. But the Hand of God is upon His little ones. Though we stumble, though we scatter, His Grace keeps us. As Jesus promised in John 10:28, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

May this verse comfort and humble those of us who are Christ's redeemed sheep. May He Who is our Comfort and Strength uphold and keep us. For though we are weak, He is strong. We add nothing to His saving work. ALL is of Christ. The sword was awakened against Him so that Mercy might be turned toward us. Scattered, but not lost—this is the believer’s story. The Shepherd was smitten, the sheep were scattered, but His Hand is upon us still. In life, in death, in eternity, our Hope is Christ alone!