Promise in the Prophets 415: Clean Clothing

415. Clean Clothing

Zechariah 3:4, 5 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by.

Joshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) the high priest (Jesus is our High Priest) stood before the angel of the Lord with Satan beside him to resist him. And Joshua was clothed in filthy clothes. This is a court scene, the court of heaven, picturing Jesus as our High Priest standing before the judge with all our sins clothed upon him. He is obviously guilty, and Satan so accuses Him, as He accuses us of sin and filth and guilt. Satan was right, for Joshua wore the filthy clothes of sin. But Satan was wrong, for He was innocent of Sin while He took our sins (filthy cloths) upon Himself.

Joshua, Jesus, stands in our place before the court of heaven with the Judge on the throne. Then the Promise is spoken: “Take away the filthy clothes (Sin), and clothe Him with a change of clothes, and put a crown on His head.” This is spoken about Jesus, who is the substitute for us. We are promised new and clean clothes. God clothes us with garments of righteousness. In these clothes we stand acquitted in the Judgment and we are invited into heaven. This is the promise: new clothes! These new, white and clean clothes are earned for us and given to us by Jesus Christ.

In a parable one man came to the wedding feast in his own clothes, without a wedding garment. He was thrown out of the heavenly feast into the eternal fire. God promises us we may approach the throne of God dressed in righteous clothing, clean and bright. We who have received Jesus Christ are clothed with a change of clothes. We don’t see the righteous clothing that we wear, but God sees it. And so He tells us in the Word what is really going on in our heart. Now we believe it and by faith we see it. We stand before the King every day, and if we could see what God sees we would think differently of ourselves. We would think differently of God’s righteous judgment. We would think differently of Satan’s lying accusations. When we believe we have a righteous, eternal life along with a crown upon the head. Believe and see.