The Cleansing Fountain

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This message was given for a worship service that included the sacrament of communion. It is based on the prophecy of Zech. 13:1 and it relates the wording of the prophet to the sacrifice of redemption provided by Jesus Christ.

Written Excerpts:
Zechariah 13:1 ^(NKJV) In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. 

Introduction:

The hymn writer, Robert Lowry, asks, 

What can wash away my sin? 

Nothing but the blood of Jesus; 

What can make me whole again? 

Nothing but the blood of Jesus. 

For my pardon this I see, 

Nothing but the blood of Jesus; 

for my cleansing, this my plea, 

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Ever since Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, men have sought for adequate covering or cleansing for the sins that separate them from God. Long ago God defined a system of sacrifices that He communicated to Moses for the people of Israel so they could begin to comprehend the cost for covering of their sins. The animals that were required for all the various sacrifices were precious. They were valuable portions of their herds; their family’s livelihood. In addition to the sacrificial death of lambs, goats, and heifers, God also required the priests to wash in the laver that stood outside of the tabernacle or temple. The required washing with water from the laver was a symbol for the necessary cleansing we all need from God. 

Many centuries after Moses, God was communicating again through His prophets and providing special messages of warning as well as encouragement for His people. Zechariah was one such prophet and in his prophecy we find the words we’re using for our text today.

Zechariah 13:1 ^(NKJV) In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. 

Let us take a look at this passage to see what God wants to communicate to us today.

I.    The Prophet and His time.

The people of Judah had been in captivity for many years in Babylon, which was conquered during that time by the Medes and Persians. Following a decree by Cyrus, king of Persia, some of the exiles had been returning to the homeland in relatively small numbers compared to the number who were taken captive.

You might remember references in Ezra and Nehemiah about rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem and getting started on the rebuilding of the temple. The people had been discouraged and the work on rebuilding the temple had stalled. God raised up two different prophets about that time, some twenty years after the temple was started, to stimulate the people into finishing the temple and to kindle a revival of righteous living among the people of God. One of those prophets was Haggai, and the other one was Zechariah.

Zechariah – (Keil and Delitzsch Commentary) – “He whom God remembers.” …was of priestly descent, — a son of Berechiah, and grandson of Iddo (Zechariah 1:1, 7), the chief of one of the priestly families, that returned from exile along with Zerubbabel and Joshua (Nehemiah 12:4). He followed his grandfather in that office under the high priest Jehoiakim (Nehemiah 12:16), from which it has been justly concluded that he returned from Babylon while still a youth, and that his father died young. …He commenced his prophetic labours in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, only two months later than his contemporary Haggai, in common with whom he sought to stimulate the building of the temple… 

(Andrew Hill, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) – Haggai and Zechariah were also complementary prophets, in that Haggai exhorted the people to rebuild the Jerusalem temple and… Zechariah’s … message extends beyond the material reconstruction of the Jerusalem temple to the moral and spiritual rebuilding of the Hebrew people, so that they might be holy unto the Lord and offer appropriate worship in the Second Temple (7:8-10; 8:14-17, 19; cf. 8:3). 

This same author writes that Zechariah is often referred to as “little Isaiah” because this prophecy has more to say about the messianic shepherd-king than any other book except Isaiah. In the chapter immediately before our text (chap. 12) there are statements provided that were applied to Jesus by the NT writers.

II.  The Promised Fountain

A.  It is living and flowing.

(Tyndale OT Commentaries) – The word fountain refers to a spring or flowing water source that is tapped or unleashed. The metaphor signifies an ‘artesian well’ that gushes forth pure water to provide cleansing and purification.

The use of the word “fountain” provides a different image altogether than the word “pond” or “lake” etc. It would be similar to the image of a river or stream in the sense that it is moving, living, fresh, and vibrant.

Jesus claimed to be the source of a “fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (Jn. 4:14)

B.  It is accessible.

(Tyndale OT Commentaries) – The verb “be opened” suggests that the “fountain” or spring is readily available; it only needs to be tapped. The participial form of the verb ‘implies that the fountain is to be opened continuously’…

This prophecy was originally given specifically to the house of David (Jews) because of God’s word of encouragement He offered to a people beaten down by bondage and the judgment of God for the sins of their fathers. But we may apply it to any of us today by the fact that this fountain is “opened” and it has been “tapped into” so “whosoever will may come and take of the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22:17)

C.  It provides cleansing.

The specific purpose of this fountain, the prophet said, is “for sin and uncleanness.”

It is a cleansing fountain. The imagery is of a fountain of water, but Jesus and the NT writers applied the message to the fountain of His blood. Going back to the question I began the message with that was posed by the hymn-writer – “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!”

You may have heard me tell the story of another hymn-writer (William Cowper) who struggled for years with bouts of depression and along with that, he struggled of the assurance of salvation and knowing he was forgiven. In faith and trust in the Word of God, he penned these words:

There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Immanuel’s veins

And sinners plunged beneath that flood 

Lose all their guilty stains.

I’m eternally grateful this morning for the fountain that has been opened for sin and uncleanness! By faith I can truly say with another hymn-writer (Rev. F. L. Snyder):

Hallelujah! ‘tis His blood that cleanseth me,

‘Tis His grace that makes me free,

And, my brother, ‘tis for thee.

Oh, hallelujah! ‘tis salvation full and free; 

And it cleanseth, yes, it cleanseth me.

Let’s sing together the hymn listed in your bulletin:

There Is a Fountain (vv. 1-3)       # 336