“Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Jeshua. And the Lord said to Satan, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire.” Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel. So the angel said to the others standing there, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And turning to Jeshua he said, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.” Then I said, “They should also place a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean priestly turban on his head and dressed him in new clothes while the angel of the Lord stood by. Then the angel of the Lord spoke very solemnly to Jeshua and said, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: If you follow my ways and carefully serve me, then you will be given authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing here. “Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave an inscription on it, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day. “And on that day, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, each of you will invite your neighbor to sit with you peacefully under your own grapevine and fig tree.””
Zechariah 3:1-10 NLT
God is very profound in his story telling. Here we see this profundity on full display. The prediction being made of Jeshua, the high priest, is of particular note in the hindsight of history. He was a man who was responsible for the sacrifices of Israel and its ritual purity, but he was also a part of it and made dirty in the fire of judgement. Satan was accusing him because of it. Nonetheless, the Angel of the Lord showed affinity for him and snatched him from the fire and made him clean. He then predicted that God would send his own branch that would make a complete sacrifice and stand against the accusations. The interesting thing is that Jeshua is synonymous with joshua is ancient Hebrew. And this name would also be called Yeshua as there is no “J.” Yeshua was transliterated by the Greeks to Iesous, which was transliterated to English as Jesus. When the angel of the Lord became flesh, the name it assumed was Jeshua, or Jesus (to modern audiences) the same name of the high priest from generations before. He would stand against our accuser as the final branch and sacrifice predicted so long ago.
JOSH McGARY. COM 