On Whom They Have Pierced

Zechariah 12:10 ~ "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."

Look, dear Christian, upon whom you have pierced. He is the LORD of glory, the Son of God and the Righteous One. He bore such love for His people that He would come and pay the ultimate price to redeem us. Are you an inhabitant of the heavenly Jerusalem? Then you must have looked upon Him whom they pierced.

There is a direct correlation between Divine grace and a disposition in the heart that mourns, even weeps over the LORD who shed His blood. God Almighty has poured out on the house of David and inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy. It is in that grace of God that the heart is overwhelmed by its own sinful guilt, so much so that there is a desperate desire to find mercy. But where should we look when our guilt rises up in our hearts and we are inwardly condemned by our own sinfulness? Let us look to the LORD. Let us plead with Him for mercy. Cast your eyes upon Him who was pierced. Consider the words of Isaiah 53:5, "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed." 

Perhaps the better question will be: what is your response when you understand the sacrifice of Christ? Does your heart grieve over the cost of your own sin? Do you look at the cross and the Savior who died and do you mourn and weep with a bitterness of soul that the punishment for your sin was upon Him? Oh, let us hear the words of James as he writes, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you" (James 4:8-10). When you consider the LORD upon the cross do you know your own wretched state and then mourn and weep, knowing that your King did all that to redeem you? 

Gather around the cross and hear the mocking voices of the passers-by. Listen to the ridicule of the watching crowd and the vile hatred of those who despised the LORD. They witnessed His suffering. They beheld His wounds. Yet they had no desire to see Him wept over or to mourn for their sins that hung Him there. The chief priest tormented the LORD with their derisive words, "So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 'He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him'" (Matthew 27:41-42). 

And, today, there are so many who look to Jesus and see in the LORD of Glory an opportunity to better themselves. They consider the cross a mere tool used of God to bring a better life, a fuller purpose, a more uplifted state of being to the wicked souls that meander this earth. Even Paul warned Timothy (and us) that there are those who consider godliness as a means of personal gain (see 1 Timothy 6:3-5). How dreadful it is to think that Jesus Christ died and rose again merely to pave the way to a more profitable future for an unrepentant sinner. You must look at the One who died on the cross and know that He died there in your place.

If you can look to the cross and not weep and mourn, you have not looked at the cross. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." There is enough folly in this world to pollute the universe. Let us not be as those who look to the LORD and miss the cross, turning the sacrifice of Christ into a means of personal self-indulgence. Look and see the Savior bleed. Look and see the Son of God pierced and crushed. Look and mourn and weep in bitterness over your own sin that cost Jesus His life. Let the spirit of grace fill your heart and let the plea for mercy be heard from you.

And then, beloved, hear the LORD Jesus say, "Your sins are forgiven." 

In His Grace,
​Pastor Michael

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