Zechariah 13:7-9--The Shepherd Struck

Zechariah 13:7-9
English Standard Version

The Shepherd Struck
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
    against the man who stands next to me,”
declares the LORD of hosts.

“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
    I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land, declares the LORD,
    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
    and one third shall be left alive.
9 And I will put this third into the fire,
    and refine them as one refines silver,
    and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
    and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

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This passage is quoted to in the New Testament to show how all of Jesus' disciples fled in the Garden when He was arrested.  John and Peter returned to watch the trial from a distance, but then Peter fled and only John remained at the foot of the cross.  By the time the women went to the tomb, all the disciples were hiding in the Upper Room for fear of the Jews (that is the Jewish leaders).

The LORD tells us here that the wrath intended for the nation of Israel (and all those who were grafted into the nation of Israel to be one with Christ) would be poured out on the Shepherd, that is Jesus.  I've embedded two videos that speak of this penal substitutionary atonement where Jesus took the judgment and wrath meant for us so that we might receive the blessings that were meant for Him.

For the rest of  the passage, is the LORD saying that two-thirds of the Jews are going to die in a time of judgment or that He knows that 2/3 of them are going to reject Him and never return to Him?  I don't know.  But for the 1/3 that are saved (if saved physically, I think he also means spiritually as well), they will be tried and refined.  The persecution and trials will make their faith even more pure and they will be certain that they belong to the LORD and He belongs to them.