THE WOUNDS OF THE SHEPHERD If God, by His Holy Spirit, pours the spirit of grace and supplications on His believers to draw their hearts by repentance to unite with the Savior, wounded for their sake; while the wicked who hold fast to their evil fall into bitter mourning, and are denied of the eternal glory because of the wounds they gave to the Savior, he talks to us in this chapter about: 1‐ The sanctification of the land and its inhabitants 1 – 6 2‐ The wounded Shepherd 7 – 9 !‐ THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE LAND AND ITS INHABITANTS: He talks about the secret of the sanctification of the land (the body) and its inhabitants (the soul) through the fountain of divine blood which purifies us from every sin and defilement, and cuts off from us every unclean spirit, and everything not from God, saying: “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. It shall be in that day, says the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land” (1, 2) What is this fountain opened for us – the house of David – having become kings in it, and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, namely those who enjoy the vision of peace, that cuts off every sin and defilement, but the wounds of the Lord Jesus?! ………..A fountain of purification for us, and the cause of judgment for the wicked at the same time; A fountain that will never dry up; by which the church will be watered all the days of her life, and will be perpetually sanctified. Commenting on this fountain, St. Dedymus the blind says: [This sprinkling or shedding is realized by the divine blood of the Savior, on which St. Peter says: “ ………for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ; Grace to you and peace be multiplied ………..knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold …… but with precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter 1: 17, 18).. Those who so abide to the shed blood will get a pure heart, saying, as though they are one, in their repeated unceasing prayers: “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51: 7) to get the purity, namely the pure religion. This is our living fountain in which we are washed and purified from every uncleanness, and through which the names of the idols will be cut off, together with everything that belong to the devil on the land of our body. If the law prohibits uttering the names of pagan gods, that is meant to have only God reign on it. Sanctification does not stop at cutting off the names of the idols, but extends to those of the false prophets who work to their account, and to the unclean spirit of vanity and lying. The power of that sanctified life appears in saying that the godly parents, mourning for the sake of their sins, will never let their own son play the role of a false prophet; for they would rather stab him with a spear to die (3). By the sanctified life, evil will be utterly cut off, the false prophets will be exposed, and will not put on the coarse hair robe for deception (4), and will even deny that they are prophets. So will God pour on His people the spirit of grace and sanctification, to keep them from being deceived by the false appearances nor endure vanity. If one of the false prophets is asked about the wounds on his body – for the prophets of the idols used to wound themselves by their own hands while praying to their gods (1 kings 18: 28) ‐‐ he, out of fear and shame, will say that he is no prophet but just a farmer who was wounded in his friends’ house, and not while worshipping (5, 6). It is amazing that while the false prophet hides the cause of his wounds, the Lord Christ, on the other hand, the true Word of God, is actually wounded in His friends’ house, as He is betrayed and delivered to death by His own disciple ……….. Here, God uses even the words of wicked as a prophecy of what was going to happen to the Person of the Messiah. 3‐ THE WOUNDED SHEPHERD: While the false prophet hides the cause of his wounds. The Lord Christ, on the other hand, declares them ahead by the spirit of prophecy, as is said: “Awake, O sword against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My companion, says the Lord of hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Then I will turn My hand against the little ones” (7) According to St. John Chrysostom: [The devil is wildly stirred up against the teachers, for by their perdition, the herd will be scattered. By slaying some of the sheep their number will be decrease; but by striking the shepherd the whole herd will perish. That is what the devil assumed to be able to do by striking the Savior Messiah; he thought that by striking the Shepherd, the sheep[ will be scattered, and he can turn his hand against the little ones]. According to St. Dedymus the blind: [About this prophecy St. Matthew the Evangelist, when the Lord Christ was arrested and His disciples fled: “that it might be fulfilled what was spoken by the prophets” (Matthew 2: 23); “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered” (Matthew 26: 31). By the word “strike” and other words pertaining to death, it is to be understood that the Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep(John 10: 15); “He gave His life a ransom for many” (Matthew v20: 28). Through those wounds the Lord says that two‐thirds of the inhabitants of the land “shall be cut off and die, but one‐third shall be left in it; I will bring the one‐third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’, and each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God’”(8, 9). If because of the rejection of the wounds of the Lord, or the rejection of the wounded Lord for the sake of humanity, two‐third are cut off from the land of the living and eternally die, the onethird will enter into the fire of affliction, to partake of the wounds of the Lord by their wounds; or in other words, they bear their wounds as a sign of the unity with Him. Through affliction, the church enters into the furnace of the cross to have the Word of God proclaimed in her as sevenfold purified silver (Psalm 12: 6); and her life as tested gold, namely as heavenly spiritual life filled with the true riches and the eternal glory. If silver refers to the Word of God, so will be every soul that intends to bear true silver, namely, a testimony to the Word of God, and come to be of heavenly nature (not of dust), spiritual (not carnal); with true riches and authority; it is befitting of her to be tested by the fire of the cross. Such a soul will hear the divine voice saying “This is My people”; namely He will let her join the true membership of His heavenly church; and she in turn will joyfully sing: “The Lord is my God”
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