Jesus, hidden in the promise of the branch and the stone
“‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.” (Zechariah 3:8, NKJV)
In Zechariah 3 we read about Joshua as a high priest, whose priesthood is a shadow of the priesthood of Christ. The same way that Joshua was a high priest for sinners and sufferers and who mediated for those that have been under guilt and wrath, so is Christ Jesus our high priest who became the ultimate offering and mediator for our sins.
The promise that Joseph received is a picture of Christ …”I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH…” The One who has been hidden for a long time will be brought forth, because the time for His fullness and glory to be revealed to the world was at hand. The servant was God’s servant, He was employed to do God’s work, He was obedient to God’s will and He was entirely devoted to honor God and to bring Him glory. This servant was called the Branch…
Isaiah 4:2: “In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing For those of Israel who have escaped.” (NKJV)
Jeremiah 23:5: ““Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.” (NKJV)
The beginning of Jesus was small like a tender branch as He came in the likeness of man but in time He became a strong tree that filled the earth as He walked in His fullness. (Isaiah 53:2)
Jesus is the branch from which we are brought forth. He is the branch from which our fruit must grow and be gathered. Jesus is not only a branch, which is the beginning of a tree, but also the foundation, which is the beginning of a building.
Zecharaiah 3:9: “For behold, the stone That I have laid before Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’ Says the LORD of hosts, ‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.” (NKJV)
Jesus is the stone that was laid down before Joshua, which refers to the foundation or chief cornerstone upon which our temples are built. Many eyes will be upon Him as He will be brought forth.
God will also be the One who clothes Jesus with His glory, “I will engrave its inscription“. The stone that people refused as being rough and not worthy of their sight and attention, God had great plans for. He undertook to polish and make smooth the stone, to carve it to be the authority of God as the chief cornerstone.
Christ was God’s workmanship and God’s mark is engraved through our redemption in Christ. Christ is the precious stone that bore the engraving of God and by Him sin shall be taken away, “I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.”
Joshua bore the iniquity of the land as the high priest, as a type of Christ, but he could not remove the iniquity from the people. The removal was reserved for Christ, who is the Lamb of God that would in one day remove our iniquities as He suffered and died for our sin. The one sacrifice that was like no other one before. The blood of the lamb shed by the high priest was a shadow of the blood of Jesus that was shed for our iniquities.
Daniel 9:24: “…To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.” (NKJV)
Behold Jesus, our High Priest, who became the offering for all our iniquities. He is the branch which we are grafted into and the foundation which we are built on. Take heart as you are destined to stand strong and not fail in Him.
Maretha Retief
Illustration by Jeanne de Villiers