David Bahn – Reflections

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Today’s readings: Zechariah 2-4, Psalm 103

Zechariah 3:1-5

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. ² And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. ⁴ And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” ⁵ And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by.

“Rags! New rags for old! I take your tired rags! Rags!” This is a line from a powerful parable by Walt Wangerin. It’s a story of a man going through the streets taking soiled rags from various people: a little girl with a blood-soaked rag tied around her head. A man with his jacket sleeve tucked into his jacket pocket because he has lost an arm. A mom crying into her hanky over a terrible loss. And as he takes each rag, the injury comes with it and becomes the Ragman’s own. Each person is left healed and whole. It’s a wonderful metaphor of Christ taking our sins upon himself and our being clothed in his righteousness.

This is also the image Zechariah offers here in these verses. Joshua is clothed with filthy rags. But what makes it worse is that he is not only poorly clothed, or even injured like the people in the Ragman story, he is being accused by Satan himself. The name Satan means “accuser,” and the Accuser is doing his best to clothe Joshua with shame and condemnation.

If you’ve ever felt shame, you know how terrible it can be. Guilt can be almost as bad — though there is a distinction. Guilt is the condition of having done wrong. Shame is the painful sense that there is something wrong with me. Both can be spiritually debilitating, and together they can be deadly.

This is where the grace of God is so rich and such a blessing. For the angel commands that Joshua’s filthy garments be taken off and promises that he will be clothed with pure vestments. What’s more, he will have a clean turban put on his head. This points back to the high priest’s turban bearing a gold plate engraved: “Holy to the LORD.” This is an extraordinary reversal.

Notice, also, who it is that makes this happen. It’s the angel of the LORD. Christians have long understood the angel of the LORD as a manifestation of the preincarnate Christ. Seen in that light, this becomes a picture of exactly what Jesus does for us by taking our sin, guilt, and shame and giving us his righteousness — all by his grace.

The Ragman in Wangerin’s parable is clearly a Christ figure. For he takes all the people’s rags, and dies — only to rise three days later. Wangerin ends his story with, “The Ragman, the Ragman, the Christ!”

What a glorious exchange — new clothes of righteousness for the filthy rags of our sin. We are now holy to the LORD – thanks be to God.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.