The priests, the elders, and the scribes were all annulled, and Jesus was crucified, rejected to the uttermost. The children of Israel were therefore left to the foolish and worthless shepherds, who would not take care of them (vv. 15-17). This means that after the crucifixion of Christ, there was no proper leadership among them. They fought with one another, devouring one another. The foolish, worthless shepherds who rose up among them caused them further suffering. This kind of situation allowed Titus to come in to devastate the entire country of Judah.
This chapter surely refers to Israel's living under the tyranny of the Roman Empire. The Lord Jesus Himself lived under the reign of the Roman rulers; He lived under the reign of Caesar, the highest ruler, and also under the reign of Herod and Pilate, who were subordinate rulers. Under this reign, He, the real and proper Shepherd, was detested, rejected, attacked, sold, and crucified. Concerning this, Matthew 26:31, a quotation of Zechariah 13:7, says, "I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." When Christ, the Shepherd, was put to the cross, all the sheep of His flock were scattered.
Chapters nine through eleven of Zechariah unveil Christ in a very intimate way. The center of the prophecies in these chapters is Christ as the rejected Messiah. In chapter nine Christ came and entered into Jerusalem as the King in a lowly form. Then chapter ten reveals this kind, intimate, and gentle One as the Shepherd coming in His loving visitation to Israel. When He was thirty years of age, He came forth to shepherd the people. During the three and a half years of His ministry on earth, He ministered the spiritual supply to God's chosen people. The time of His ministry was a time of shepherding, and many were helped by His shepherding. However, because His help became so popular, the elders, scribes, and priests became jealous. In their jealousy they arrested Jesus through Judas's betrayal of Him. Following this, He was judged first by the high priest according to God's law and then by the rulers of the Roman government, Herod and Pilate, according to Roman law. The Lord Jesus was altogether justified. Pilate told the Jews that he could not find anything wrong with Jesus (John 18:38; 19:4), but they would not listen to him, and their voices overcame him. "When therefore the chief priests and the attendants saw Him, they cried out, saying, Crucify! Crucify! Pilate said to them, You take Him and crucify Him, for I do not find fault in Him" (John 19:6). Instead of acting justly, Pilate delivered Jesus into the hands of the Jews. They then took Jesus and led Him away to a place called Golgotha, and there they crucified Him. They rejected their King to the uttermost.
The Messiah came in a gentle, intimate way to visit His people Israel as their King. If they had been ready, they would have welcomed Him. Then the kingdom of the heavens would have been set up on earth, and the time of restoration would have come. It should have happened in this way, but because of Israel's rejection of Christ, it did not. If we realize this, then we will understand what is revealed concerning Christ in Zechariah 9—11.
More details regarding Christ are revealed in Zechariah than in Daniel. Daniel mainly reveals that Christ is the One who has gone to God to receive power, authority, and the kingdom. Having received the kingdom, He will come to earth as the smiting stone to smash the great human image, that is, to crush human government entirely. Zechariah intimately unveils Christ as the coming Savior, the coming Redeemer. At first, He was welcomed by the people, but later, under the influence of the elders, priests, and scribes, they changed their mind and detested Him. The Lord Jesus was sold, judged, sentenced, and put on the cross to die. Thus, the Messiah, who was welcomed temporarily, was utterly rejected. As a result, the people of Israel were divided, persecuted by the Roman Empire, and scattered throughout the earth.