Chapter 11 of Zechariah is about Jesus. He says he will cut off three shepherds; they didn’t believe in Jesus and were supposed to lead the people: prophets, priests, and kings, or it could indicate Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians. Whoever they are, they have led the people away from Jesus. One thing I found very significant was the picture of his two staff, one called Beauty and one called Bands. In Zechariah 11:10, he broke the staff called Beauty into pieces, breaking the covenant with all people, rejecting them because they rejected him, making way for those who are Gentiles to come under Jesus’s sheepfold if they believe in him.
And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD. Zechariah 11:11
Further down in the scripture, it shows that Jesus also broke the staff of Bands, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. I suppose that’s why today we only hear about Judah. Sadly, they didn’t open their eyes to see they had the Messiah among them because their hearts were hardened. They gave him up for silver, the price of a servant. You’ve got to wonder if Judas was named given that on purpose to represent Judah. They would be given over to a leader, either Rome or the antichrist, who only cared about himself. I’m grateful that a road was paved for us as Gentiles to be saved, but my heart breaks for Judah because they are lost. The lesson is to continue standing firmly in your faith; the rewards belong to us as long as we hold our ground.