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Zechariah was one of the prophets who participated in rebuilding the City of Jerusalem and the Temple
He saw eight visions pointing to the cleansing of Jerusalem to become a center of worship for all nations.
In his fourth vision, Zechariah saw Joshua the high priest standing in a heavenly court scene being accused by Satan
The Lord rebuked Satan.
Lord took away Joshua’s sins and replaced his filthy garment with a holy one
The cleansing of Joshua the high priest was strategic because he was responsible for ensuring the purity of God’s people through temple sacrifice
Now, If Joshua follows God’s way and carefully serve, God will give him authority over the temple and admit him into his presence
The service of this cleansed high priest and that of his associates serves as a sign that God would bring the Branch (Messiah) who would remove the sin of the land in a single day.
Paul in the New Testament explains that God’s way of putting people right with himself has nothing to do with the law of Moses or the attestation by the prophets
Rather, righteousness is given through faith in Jesus to all who believe.
Both Jews and Gentiles have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, but now all are justified through Jesus’ death
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement so that by his blood he should become the means by which people’s sins are forgiven through faith in him
Christ's sacrificial death enables God to justify sinful people and the same time demonstrates his righteousness
More so, the Law of Moses calls for works but righteousness through Christ requires that we believe
Hence no man should boast because God’s verdict of “righteous” cannot come through the human activity of any kind, but only by faith/P>