Sermon Series: Becoming Holy
“Hope for What Will Be” – Zechariah 14:16-21; 1 John 3:1-3
Complex Prophetic Lingo
The Book of Zechariah is a book filled with visions and dreams and was written after the Israelites had returned from exile in Babylon.
The challenge has been to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city but things have been found very difficult and the promises of rebuilding have left them wondering if it will ever happen.
They are being reminded of the unfaithfulness to the covenant from generations before them. As their ancestors had rejected, they are being told the reality of their future and their obedience is in their hands.
It’s left to them. Will they stop grieving? Will they embody justice, peace, and be faithful to the covenant? Are they ready to receive?
In chapters 9-12, we learn all about a Messianic Kingdom that is coming with imagery of a figure riding on a donkey and shepherding the people. This person is rejected by the people and leaders.
There is language about the people being confronted by surrounding nations and purging of people and Yahweh will then battle on behalf of them.
A New Jerusalem (14:16-21)
Zechariah declares there will be so many coming into Jerusalem that all people will join this movement. As Yahweh does the purifying work in us, we will come to Yahweh purified and holy before the one true King.
All things ordinary are made suitable for use in the temple because Yahweh makes all things pure and holy for himself.
No one is alien or foreign in this gathering and all will come to worship and commit themselves to the covenant.
The Image of God as Ongoing Purification (3:1-3)
The term telos means the end or goal to which people are heading. Philosophers might use the word telos to describe the purpose for which something was made. So, a lawnmower accomplishes its telos when it manicures a lawn beautifully or a car reaches its telos when it efficiently transports a person from one point to another in comfort and safety. Here is an important question (perhaps the key question for First John). What is the purpose or telos for which humans were created?
For John, humans were created in the image of God to be reflections of his character and nature of love. Living out God’s holy love is the telos for all of humankind.
Right now, however, people do not fully or completely reflect the nature or image of God. People are marred or damaged reflections of God’s love.
Jesus Christ is the full image of the Father, and through the incarnation, he has made it possible for people to be renewed in that same image. Those who believe in him and follow him have begun the process of being restored into the divine image. That process of renewal is not complete, but those who believe in Christ should always be moving toward the completion of his image in them.
John pictures this movement toward holiness or wholeness in the image of God as a process of continued purification. Those who bear the holy name of God (or who claim to be his “imagers”) must bear his holy name rightly in the world.
For John, the more a person comes to know Jesus the more that pattern of life is woven into their habits. One day that process of transformation will be complete, but it is the hope of that full revelation that pushes the believer forward in transformation.
(Resources provided by The Bible Project, Elizabeth Achtemeier, and T. Scott Daniels)
Discussion Questions
Are you someone who clings to hope in the midst of how the world operates? Is the glass half empty or half full for you in your faith journey?
Just as the Israelites were left with a posture to receive what was coming as Yahweh intervenes, do you hold a posture of willingness to receive? Is there space where you can be comfortable in the mystery of God?
Is the purifying work of God alive and well in you? How do you discern that purifying work continues?
All things ordinary are purified and made holy before him. Think about the beauty of this reality.
During the coming weeks, what is one action you could commit to that help you be an image-bearer of Christ in the world?