God Was Pierced

How blessed are the children of Israel, the people God covenanted with on Sinai!  God brought the Hebrews out of Egypt with a mighty hand, revealed Himself in power, destroyed their enemies and spoke to them.  God chose Moses to lead His people out of Egypt as they followed the visible presence of God through the wilderness to the promised land.  After Moses God raised up many judges and priests who upheld God's laws and sent prophets to speak to His people.  Idols and graven images have mouths yet cannot speak, and the God of Israel stands alone as the Supreme Being who speaks.

God has spoken through the Bible, and He still speaks to this day.  Words spoken through prophets who spoke for God are still being fulfilled and provide innumerable insights for how to live today.  I wonder what people thought when the prophet spoke the words recorded concerning what God would do in Zechariah 12:10:  "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."  I am certain this prophetic utterance prompted many questions:  how could God be pierced?  What this piercing literal or figurative?  Who is this son God referred to, an only son whose loss would be grieved?

Looking to events already taken place, the questions are easily answered.  Jesus was the Christ, the Son of David.  Even a blind man addressed Jesus by "Son of David" so great was His fame, wisdom and grace.  Jesus was the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  Immanuel, God with us, was pierced on Calvary with thorns on His brow, nails through hands and feet, and a spear in His side.  When Moses asked God to show him His glory, God told him no one could look upon His face and live.  Yet God chose to put on human flesh when the Holy Spirit sired the Son of God in the virgin Mary, and thus God's face could be seen; the Lamb of God could be looked upon and all can live by faith in Him.  This is no new revelation, but I pray God would open the eyes of people to see Jesus lifted up and pierced as Saviour so they can mourn their sin and celebrate their LORD and Saviour.

The apostle John mentioned the prophecy in Zechariah in John 19:32-37:  "Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. ³⁵ And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. ³⁶ For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken."³⁷ And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."  When we look upon Jesus Christ who was crucified, died, buried and rose from the dead, we look upon God who was pierced.  Paul says God has purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28).  God is a Spirit, and the only way He could be pierced or shed His blood was to become a man:  Jesus Christ the Son of God who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

If you will take the words of the prophet of God Zechariah to heart, won't you trust Jesus who is God in the flesh and pierced, the Saviour and Messiah of all who trust in Him?