Zechariah 11:12 Then I said to them, "If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain." So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
“Give me my wages” is speaking of the price for the Messiah.
This is an awesome prophecy. There are those that say that Yeshua and the disciples planned events in His life to appear to fulfill Messianic Prophecy. How do you suppose they managed to get the chief priests, who hated Yeshua and wanted Him to be put to death, to conspire with them to make it look like Yeshua fulfilled prophecy?
Matthew 26:14-16 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him (Yeshua) to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.
Thirty pieces of silver - was the price of a slave.
Zechariah 11:13 And the L-RD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the L-RD for the potter.
On me - The L-rd is saying here “They set the price on me (the L-rd)” This is another hint that the Messiah is the L-rd.
Matthew 27:3-10 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!" Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said; "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood." And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, "and gave them for the potter's field, as the L-RD directed me."
Notice Jeremiah the prophet is mentioned not Zechariah. This is not a mistake in the Brit HaDashah as some suppose. It is credited to Jeremiah because in the day of Yeshua, Jeremiah was the first of the prophetic books of the Tanakh. Some referred to any of the prophetic books as “The Prophets” or “Jeremiah” the first book.
The chief priests would not put the money back into the treasury so they decided to buy a piece of real estate, which belonged to a potter. Here the potter would discard the clay that would not yield to his fingers. That which he could not mold and shape as he wanted he discarded.
This prophecy is also alluded to in Jeremiah 18:1-4The word which came to Jeremiah from the L-RD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Ruach HaKodesh works in our lives and molds us if we will yield to Him; just as the potter molds clay.
So here we see the chief priests, who hated Yeshua, being used by HaShem to fulfill Messianic Prophecy. :o)
Zechariah 11:14 Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
Before being conquered by the Romans, the children of Israel experienced internal dissension too.
Cutting in two “the club” the shepherd used to protect his sheep indicates that G-d would cut off His protection of Israel because of their rejection of Yeshua.
Matthew 27:25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
How sad! How very, very sad!
Zechariah 11:15 And the L-RD said to me, "Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd.
Here Zechariah is going to portray “the foolish shepherd”, the Anti-Messiah (Anti-Christ).
The time period is still in the future.
Zechariah 11:16 For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces.
What a contrast the foolish shepherd, the Anti-Messiah, is to the good shepherd, Yeshua HaMashiach.
The Anti-Messiah will at first appear to be a good guy and bring world peace, later he will turn on the Jewish people, like the foolish shepherd who beat the sheep with a broken club.
Zechariah 11:17 "Woe to the worthless shepherd, who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm and against his right eye; his arm shall completely wither, and his right eye shall be totally blinded."
In John 10 (See John 10:1-21) Yeshua tells the parable of the good shepherd. Then in verse 11 he tell them that He is the good shepherd!
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
This is no coincidence, Yeshua was telling them that He was the good shepherd of Zechariah chapter 11!