Zechariah 3:1

 Zechariah 3:1 says, And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.  Joshua had been the deliverer of Israel, but as Matthew Henry points out, it is also the same name as Jesus, and I believe this would be an accurate description of Who Zechariah saw.  Zechariah was familiar with the angel of the LORD by now, but he had to see him spiritually in order to receive God's vision.  Zechariah saw Satan attempting to argue with Joshua the high priest.  Satan is still attempting to resist Jesus Christ, our High Priest today.  Verse two declares,  And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?  Zechariah said he heard the LORD rebuke Satan.  Satan was attempting to discredit those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, but Jesus Christ Himself told Satan that they were already plucked out of the fire.  Satan will do all that he can to discredit Christians today and to hinder the spreading of the gospel, but if we are followers of Christ, we are forever plucked out of the fire.  Verse three adds, Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.  I believe that Joshua being clothed in filthy garments represents Jesus as He took on our sins so that He could redeem us.  Verse four continues, 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.  Joshua, the High Priest, as I stated I believe was Jesus, had His filthy garments removed, which represents the removal of our sins by His sacrifice, and had them replaced with clean clothes.  Jesus takes on our sins, and when we accept Him as our Savior and Lord, He replaces our filthy clothes of sin with His clean clothes of righteousness.  This is something that Jesus Christ alone can do.  Verse five states, 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.  Zechariah said that the miter was set on the head of Joshua, or Jesus.  Then, the angel of the LORD stood by waiting for his next task.  Jesus Christ is our High Priest, and all the angels stand by to do His bidding.  Verse six says, And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying,  Verse seven adds, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.  Zechariah said the angel of the LORD called on him to walk in God's ways, and if he did that God would give him the responsibility of judging the obedience of those around him had with walking in the ways of God.   As Christians, we are not called to judge others, but we do have a responsibility to make sure that those who profess to be Christians are walking on the path of God.  Verse eight declares, Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.  Those priests of God who had come before were to see the true High Priest, called the BRANCH here, to come forth.  This is Jesus Christ, Who at that time had not been born and lived and died for all our sins, but He, the BRACNCH of God, was promised to come.  We today can look back on the fact that this promise of God was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ.  Verse nine adds, For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.  God said when Jesus Christ came as the Savior of mankind, He came as the eternal Savior, and He will always be exalted by the heavenly Father.  God also said that Jesus Christ would accomplish this in one day, and that was the day that He died on the cross as a sacrifice for all sins.  Verse ten concludes, In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.  Through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, we as His followers are free to enjoy the truly good things in life.