Versions of Zechariah 12:10
AMP: 10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace (unmerited favor) and supplication. And they will look at Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him as one who weeps bitterly over a firstborn.
RSV 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication, so that, when they look on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first-born.
ESV 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
NASV 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem [h]the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
1. This scripture reference in various versions made me think of the way in which BOTH God and Jesus were pierced by the crucifixion of the Son of God.
2. Many kinds of body piercings today and throughout history
a. When my daughter was five, one Friday she announced to her preschool class that she was going to get her ears pierced that weekend. When she came home, she told my wife and me that she wanted to have her ears pierced that weekend and was very insistent in her demand. After a while, my wife decided to go ahead and “get ‘er done.” So, she took our daughter to the store where she could have her ears pierced and buy some earrings for her. My wife later told me that our daughter did fine for the first ear, but then decided that she didn’t want the second one done, she did not realize pain would be involved. She convinced our daughter to continue and she came home with two pierced ears and wearing two earrings (plus she had had a special treat afterwards as part of being convinced to continue).
b. Many civilizations throughout history have engaged in body piercings such as the “Nez Perce” Indians of the NW USA. Their name means, “Pierced Nose.”
c. The O-Kee-Pa suspension, named after the Native American rite, is a vertical suspension hooked from the upper chest — many people have seen this ritual done in the movie "A Man Called Horse." It was intended to put the participant into a transcendental meditative state. (O-Kee-Pa - BME Encyclopedia)
3. Biblical piercing – Slave with awl – Exodus 21:1-6
4. Jesus’ Piercing – Revelation 1:7; John 19:34-37 (No broken bones – Exodus 12:46)
5. As mentioned above, Zechariah can read “Him” or “Me.” Let’s consider the piercings of Jesus from both angles:
I. We Pierced Jesus (“Him)” – Isaiah 53:5
A. Jews AND Gentiles Were Complicit in the Crucifixion
1. Demands of the Jews – Luke 23:20-21 20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!”
2. Carried out by Pilate and the Romans – His fear of Caesar and insurrection
B. OUR Involvement in His Literal Piercings – Romans 3:23
1. His Crown of Thorns – Mocking Him as King; Deals with our thoughts
2. Striking Him and Demanding Prophesying – Matthew 26:68 “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?” – Mocking Him as Messiah – Our speech and faith
3. His Scourging – unlimited; saltwater to revive – Psalm 22:17 17 I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; – Our Burdens
4. His Nails [Museum in Jerusalem has a heel with a nail in it] – Our hands and what we do; Our feet and where we go;
5. His Side Cut with the Spear – to the Heart John 19:31-37; Revelation 1:7 – Our Emotions, Who and what we love
6. This is all about At-one-ment and Redemption (paying the price of a slave) – Leviticus 17:11 1 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.
Ephesians 1:7 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
1 John 1:7 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
C. OUR Involvement in His Figurative Piercings – Our Issues Have Cut Him to the Heart
1. We are Sheep without a Shepherd (Mark 6:34) – fearful and lost
[I heard about a Pastor and his wife who went to Canada to see her uncle and aunt. The uncle was a sheep farmer. The uncle asked the Pastor to help him with the sheep that morning and told him to stand outside of the barn for a few minutes while he went in to talk to the sheep. He soon allowed the Pastor to come in. The sheep were all hopping around and happy until they saw the Pastor. Then, they jumped behind the uncle in fear. He made the Pastor sit on a bucket and not look up for as long as it took for the “bell sheep” (the most social one) to accept him. Once she accepted him, the rest started to. But, he wouldn’t have had a chance without the uncle/shepherd there. The funny part was that the uncle had named them all the names of the women in the family and the bell sheep was the pastor’s mother in law’s name.
2. Our lack of knowledge of God (Hosea 4:6)
3. Our lack of faith (Matthew 8:26) – is there a connection to our knowledge of Him?
4. Our lack of love (Revelation 2:4; John 13:35) – orthodoxy is good but without love is lacking
5. Our lack of Thanksgiving (Psalm 100:4; Colossians 3:25)
II. We Pierced the Father (“Me)
A. The Closeness of the Father and the Son – John 14:9 Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
B. Piercing God’s Soul by Rejecting His Son
1. Parents may feel the rejection of the children and take it to heart
2. Even Mary felt a piercing – Luke 2:35 (Simeon’s prophecy) 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also),
C. Piercing God’s Heart with Our Sins
1. Our sins grieve God – Genesis 6:6 6 And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
2. Tearing of veil in temple – a sign of grief and mourning
3. Sin can anger God but He is longsuffering with us – Joel 2:12-13
12 “Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
1. We pierce the Son and the Father by our sins
2. We can bring joy instead by faithfully following
a. “Hearing” His word (Romans 10:17; Exodus 19:8 – All the LORD has spoken we will do; literally, do and hear)
b. Holy Spirit works in harmony with the Word – Acts 2:37
c. Moves us to repentance (Don’t pass over repentance) – it is more than just being sorry, it is returning to God; Revelation 2:5 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
2 Corinthians 7:10-11 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.
d. Identification with Jesus
• His baptism – was to “fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15)
• Our baptism is an identification with Him – Romans 6:1-4
• Our baptism is the new start – Acts 2:38; Colossians 3:1-4
3. Just as we put Jesus to death by our sins, we can put sin to death by Jesus
• We pierced Him (and the Father)
• He pierces us – Acts 2:37
Hebrews 4:12 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
1 Timothy 1:5 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
