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MARTYR OF MATTHEW 23:35? |
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by
Doug Ward |
The biblical books of the twelve Minor Prophets convey the
words of these prophets, but the Bible does not tend to give much direct information
about their lives. The book of Obadiah, for example, mentions Obadiah's name
but says nothing else about him. Nahum is identified as an
"Elkoshite," but that is all the Bible says about him. Similarly, all
that we are given about Joel is that he is a "son of Pethuel."
In
the case of the prophet Zechariah, more background is available. He was
"the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo" (Zech 1:1,7), and he came from a
priestly family. His grandfather Iddo was a priest (Neh 12:4,16), and they were
part of the first wave of exiles to return to Judea from captivity in Babylon
in 538-536 B.C.
Along
with his fellow prophet Haggai, Zechariah encouraged his countrymen in the
project of rebuilding the temple of God in Jerusalem (Ezra 5:1). His prophetic
ministry began in 520 B.C. during the second year of the reign of King Darius
of Persia (Zech 1:1). The dedication of the new temple came less than five
years later (Ezra 6:14-16). A brief reference in Zech 2:4 suggests that in this
early part of his ministry, Zechariah was still a "young man."
We
do not know how long Zechariah lived. The first eight chapters of his prophecy
come from the period of temple construction, but the last six chapters may have
been written some years later. However, there are two verses in the
Gospels--Matt 23:35 and its parallel in Luke 11:51--that may reveal the manner
in which Zechariah died. In Matt 23:35, Jesus refers to the blood of martyrs
"from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of
Barachiah." Jesus goes on to say that this Zechariah was "murdered
between the sanctuary and the altar."
Did
Zechariah the prophet die a martyr's death? Let's investigate this question
more closely. In doing so, we will expand our knowledge of the Zechariahs of
the Bible. More importantly, we will consider Jesus' role as a prophet and the
meaning of Matt 23:35.
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Two
Leading Candidates |
The name Zechariah means "Yahweh remembers." This name,
which points to God's faithfulness to his covenant, was popular in ancient Israel.
The Bible mentions over two dozen Zechariahs. A number of them-including
Zechariah the prophet and Zechariah the father of John the Baptist (Luke
1)-were priests or Levites, men who would have spent significant time near the
temple. One of them, a contemporary of Isaiah in the eighth century B.C., is
identified as "the son of Jeberechiah" (Isa 8:2).
Out
of all the known Zechariahs, two stand out as leading candidates for the
Zechariah of Matt 23:35 and Luke 11:51. One of them is Zechariah the prophet,
the only one of the Bible's Zechariahs who is explicitly called a "son of
Berechiah." As a true prophet of God, he was sometimes inspired to give
correction along with encouragement (e.g., Zech 1:2-6; 7:4-14), and corrective
messages can be unpopular (I Kings 19:1-2; Jer 26:1-11). Prophets sometimes
risk their lives for the sake of truth.
There
is, in fact, some evidence of a tradition that Zechariah the prophet suffered
martyrdom at the temple, from the Targum to Lam 2:20.1
Lamentations 2:20 ends with the question, "Should priest and prophet be
killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?" After translating these words, the
Targum adds, "As you killed Zechariah the son of Iddo, the High Priest and
faithful prophet in the sanctuary of the Lord on the Day of Atonement because
he admonished them not to do what was displeasing to the Lord."2
I
know of no historical evidence that Zechariah ever served as high priest. It is
possible, though, that Zechariah held the position for a time. (Perhaps it was during this time that he
carried out the instructions to serve as a "shepherd" that God gave
to him in Zechariah 11.)
Another
thing that makes Zechariah the prophet a good fit for Matt 23:35 is the fact
that he was one of the last prophets sent to ancient Israel. Matthew 23:35
would then refer to the martyred prophets across time, from earliest to latest.
A
second leading candidate for the Zechariah of Matt 23:35 prophesied in around
800 B.C., near the end of the reign of King Joash of Judah. When the leaders of
Judah turned to idolatry, this Zechariah rebuked them, and Joash had him put to
death in the temple area (2 Chron 24:17-22).
If
the Zechariah of 2 Chron 24 is the one to whom Jesus is referring, then Matt 23:35
may be looking at martyrs canonically rather than strictly chronologically,
since 2 Chronicles is traditionally the final book in the canon of the Hebrew
scriptures. Martyrs from Abel to Zechariah would go from Genesis to 2
Chronicles, from the first book in the canon to the last.
Although
this second Zechariah is introduced as "the son of Jehoiada the
priest" (2 Chron 24:20) rather than the son of Berechiah, he is not
automatically ruled out as a candidate. Some commentators speculate that
Jehoiada could have been Zechariah's grandfather, and that this Zechariah was
“son of Jehoiada” in the same sense that Zechariah the prophet was
“son of Iddo.” Since
Jehoiada lived to the age of 130, he could have outlived a son named Berechiah
and still have been succeeded as priest by Zechariah.3
In such a scenario, this Zechariah would be a son of Berechiah after all.
More
importantly, there is some uncertainty about the phrase "son of
Berachiah" in Matt 23:35. As a footnote in the ESV points out, some New
Testament manuscripts (e.g., Codex Sinaiticus) do not include this phrase. It
also does not appear in Luke 11:51, the parallel verse in Luke. Moreover, the
Church Father Jerome (337-420 A.D.) reported in his Commentary on Matthew
that in the Gospel of the Nazarenes, a Hebrew gospel used by Jewish Christians,
"son of Jehoiada" appeared in Matt 23:35 instead of "son of
Barachiah."
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Jesus
the Prophet |
A reasonable case can be made for either candidate as the Zechariah
of Matt 23:35. It is also interesting to see how both of these Zechariahs fit
into the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 23.4
In
Matthew 23 Jesus delivers a scathing rebuke to religious leaders of his society
and, by extension, to his society as a whole (see v. 36). Since his words sound
very harsh to our ears, it is important to realize that Jesus is not speaking
as an outsider denouncing an enemy. The scribes and Pharisees who are the
subject of his rebuke are not arch villains. Instead, Jesus follows in the
tradition of the Hebrew prophets, passionately correcting brethren whom he
loves (v. 37). The prophets pull no punches-think, for instance, of Micah
comparing the leaders of Judah to cannibals in Micah 3:1-4-and neither does
Jesus. Like the prophets, Jesus uses vivid, direct language and rhetorical
techniques like irony and hyperbole to make his points.
As a
prophet, Jesus speaks in the tradition of both Zechariahs.
Zechariah
the prophet addresses those who have begun to rebuild the Jerusalem temple in
520 B.C., urging them to learn from the experiences of their ancestors (Zech
1:2-6; 7:4-14). A number of prophets had admonished earlier generations of
Israelites to repent, but the nation as a whole had not heeded their message.
Eventually the words of the prophets "overtook" Israel (1:6), and
many were taken into captivity in Assyria and Babylon. In exile the Israelites
came to understand that they should have listened to the prophets. Zechariah
rehearses and reinforces the message of his predecessors, so that a new
generation would not relive the errors of the past.
In
Matt 23:29-36, Jesus confronts religious teachers who honor the memory of the
prophets and are confident that they would not have persecuted men like Elijah,
Jeremiah, and Zechariah. However, some of these teachers have already sought to
have Jesus arrested (Matt 21:46), an indication that they are destined to
follow in the footsteps of their ancestors. (Since the prophets spoke of Jesus,
those who heed the prophets will heed Jesus also-see John 5:45-47.) Jesus
predicts that they will persecute the apostles that he is sending out. Like
Zechariah, Jesus longs for his generation to learn from Israel's past
experience rather than repeat it.
When
Zechariah son of Jehoiada lies dying at the temple, he asks God to hold King
Joash accountable for his treacherous and ungrateful actions (2 Chron 24:22).
Similarly, Jesus warns in Matt 23:29-36 that Israel's persecution of the
prophets finally has reached a sort of critical mass, so that his generation
would be held accountable for martyrs from Abel to Zechariah.
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Conclusion |
Both Zechariahs fit well into the context of Matt 23:35, and there
is no real necessity for us to choose between them. Having more than one
candidate for the Zechariah of Matt 23:35 has led us to search the scriptures
and investigate the words of the prophets, words that culminate in the powerful
message of Jesus of Nazareth. In the end, it is this message that matters most.
All of the prophets from Abel to Jesus-including both Zechariahs-call upon us
to heed it, and we are accountable for our response to it.
1The Targumim
are expanded Aramaic paraphrases of the Hebrew scriptures. They contain
valuable information about how the scriptures were interpreted in the
synagogue.
2See "The Death of
Zechariah in Rabbinic Literature" by Sheldon H. Blank, Hebrew Union
College Annual, Vol. 12-13 (1938), pp. 327-346.
3The Scofield Reference
Bible is one source that suggests this possibility.
4This
is discussed by Charlene McAfee Moss in The Zechariah Tradition and the
Gospel of Matthew, Walter deGruyter, Berlin, 2008.
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