A garment, and what it covers
The Filthy Garments
The prophet Zechariah saw Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord in filthy garments, with Satan at his right hand to accuse him. Before that court, the Lord silenced the accuser and had the filthy clothes taken away.
“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.”Zechariah 3:4
The garment in Scripture
The garment in Scripture. 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 (Zechariah 3:1). The Lord rebuked the accuser, saying, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, is not this a brand plucked out of the fire (Zechariah 3:2). Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel (Zechariah 3:3). The one who stood there did not command Joshua to clean himself. Instead the word went out to 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 (Zechariah 3:4). The prophet then 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 3:5). This was the high priest, the man appointed to stand for the people, and even he stood defiled until the Lord clothed him anew.
What it means
What it means. The filthy garments are a plain picture of sin and guilt, and they hung upon the very man who was meant to represent the people before God. The accuser had a case to make, for the garments were truly filthy. Yet the answer to the accusation was not for Joshua to defend himself or to scrub his own clothes. The Lord Himself rebuked the accuser and Himself provided the cleansing, saying, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. This is imputed righteousness in vivid form. The filthy is removed and the clean is given, and both are the work of God. Joshua contributed nothing but his need. The brand plucked from the fire is a soul rescued that had every reason to burn. Where the enemy accuses truly, God does not deny the guilt but takes it away and covers the guilty with garments they did not earn. This is the ground on which any sinner may stand before God.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. This is one of the clearest pictures in all the Old Testament of being clothed in a righteousness not our own. The filthy garments are removed, iniquity is caused to pass away, and change of raiment is put on, all by the hand of God. This is exactly the exchange the gospel proclaims, that Christ was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Isaiah gave voice to it: he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). Paul completes the picture, for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27), and he urges, put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14). When the accuser stands at our right hand, our defense is not our own record but the clean garments God has given, Christ Himself, in whom the filthy is taken away and the guilty are welcomed.
Questions people ask
What do the filthy garments represent?
They represent sin and guilt. Joshua, the high priest who stood for the people, was himself defiled, showing that even the best of men cannot stand before God in their own righteousness. The garments were truly filthy, which is why the vision is such good news when God takes them away.
How is this passage about imputed righteousness?
Joshua does nothing to clean himself. The Lord removes the filthy garments, declares his iniquity taken away, and clothes him in clean raiment. The righteousness he stands in is given, not earned, which is the heart of what the New Testament means when it says Christ is made unto us righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30).