“Then he said to Joshua, ‘See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.’”
Zechariah 3:4b
On June 12, 2009, I walked through a heavy metal door and out past a high brick wall topped with razor wire. I held a bag in one hand and a bus ticket in the other. My only clothes were the ones I wore.
Less than an hour before, I’d changed my prison uniform for “free world” clothes. It felt strange to put aside the white prison clothes I’d worn for over fifteen years. My new garments didn’t fit well. They weren’t quite the style I would’ve chosen for myself. But dressed in that apparel, I finally felt free.
Israel’s high priest wore “holy garments” when he went into the temple to minister in the presence of the Lord (see Exodus 28). Being in that holy place was so fearsome that a priest would die if he entered wearing his own clothes. In Zechariah’s vision, Joshua stands before the Lord in filthy garments—unfit to make atonement for God’s people.
Like Joshua, we need someone who will “trade clothes” with us. Jesus Christ became sin for us on the cross so that we might receive the righteousness of God in Him (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Less than an hour before, I’d changed my prison uniform for “free world” clothes. It felt strange to put aside the white prison clothes I’d worn for over fifteen years. My new garments didn’t fit well. They weren’t quite the style I would’ve chosen for myself. But dressed in that apparel, I finally felt free.
Israel’s high priest wore “holy garments” when he went into the temple to minister in the presence of the Lord (see Exodus 28). Being in that holy place was so fearsome that a priest would die if he entered wearing his own clothes. In Zechariah’s vision, Joshua stands before the Lord in filthy garments—unfit to make atonement for God’s people.
Like Joshua, we need someone who will “trade clothes” with us. Jesus Christ became sin for us on the cross so that we might receive the righteousness of God in Him (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Scripture Focus
Zechariah 3:1-5
Insight
Isaiah 64:6 says that mere human goodness is filthy rags to God. Have you been clothed in the spotless righteousness of Christ?
Bible In A Year
- Leviticus 17-18
- Psalm 55
- Luke 19
