Jesus was mourned for being pierced

JESUS WAS MOURNED FOR BEING PIERCED
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
ZECHARIAH 12:10 “And I will pour out on the house
of Davidand the inhabitants of Jerusalema spirit[a]
of grace and supplication. They will lookon[b] me, the
one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as
one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for
him as one grieves for a firstbornson.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Christ Piercedby Us
Gordon Calthrop, M. A.
Zechariah 12:9-11
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations
that come againstJerusalem.…
(to children): — There canbe no doubt about the reference of these words. St.
John quotes them in his Gospel, and refers them to Christ. "They" are the
Jews, andmore particularly the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And the prophet
informs us that a time is coming when the people of Jerusalemshall look upon

Jesus, and bitterly repent of having refused to acceptHim as their Messiah
and their King.
1. The Jews were, and still are, God's people, though now they are God's
people in disgrace. He chose them out of all the nations of the earth, and drew
them close to Himself, and gave them the Scriptures, and the temple, and the
sacrifices,and thus prepared them for the coming of the Messiah, orChrist,
who was promised in the prophets. But when the Messiahdid come they
rejectedHim. Their greatand terrible crime brought down God's wrath upon
them. About forty years after the crucifixion of Jesus the Romans came and
laid siege to Jerusalem, killed many Jews, andburnt the beautiful temple. We
are expresslytold that this destruction of Jerusalemwas a punishment for the
murder of Christ. From that time the Jews have been driven out of their own
land, and scatteredabroadamongst the nations of the earth. There are Jews
almost everywhere. But the Bible says that one day they will be gathered
togetherinto their own land again. But will they be Christians when they
return? I think not. They will still rejectthe Lord Jesus Christ. But I believe
that, when assaultedby enemies, the Lord Jesus Christwill come down from
Heaven, and appear for the rescue of His people, to deliver them. At that
moment they shall look on "Him whom they pierced," and the effectof their
looking will be that they will mourn over their sin, and repent of it, and
become true followers and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then they
will become the most successfulpreachers ofthe Gospelthat the world has
ever seen.
2. Now turn to ourselves. It is possible to look on Jesus, who was pierced, and
to say, "Well, He was pierced, and I am gladof it, for He deserved His fate.
He pretended to be what He was not." That is what the Jews nowadaysthink,
and what many of them do not hesitate to say. And many of us are inclined to
say, "I had nothing to do with the piercing of Jesus. Iwas not there at the
time. It was a fearful deed, and I am sorry for the sufferings of Jesus, but I
really do not think it true in any sense that I pierced Him!" Let us pause a

moment, and think. The Lord Jesus, who was the Son of God and Son of Man,
bore upon the cross the whole dark load of human sin. All the sins of all
mankind were gathered, as it were, into one vast horrible mass, and laid upon
Him, the Sin-bearer; and He could not get rid of it, or "put it away" exceptby
dying. By dying on the cross He took it away from .us, and shook it off
Himself. Now your Sin and mine were in that load, and because oursin
formed part of the burden which was laid upon Christ we had something to
do with His death. We helped to pierce Him. Our sin made it necessarythat
Christ should die, and therefore you and I had something to do really with
"piercing" Christ, and nailing Him to His cross. But unless we have the
teaching of God's Holy Spirit, we shall never think rightly or feelrightly in
this matter. It was when "the Spirit of grace and supplication" was poured
out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalemthat they lookedon Him whom they
pierced, and repented of their sin. What a deep feeling we have when a thing
is brought home to ourselves, andwe are made to feel that we did it. If we feel
that we pierced Christ two things will happen.
(1) We shall have a horror of sin.
(2) We shall come to understand the wonderful love of God.Greaterlove hath
no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Jesus, the Son of
God, gave up His life for us; He died upon the cross for us; for there was no
other way of saving us from our sins. Surely, if we have not gothearts of
stone, we shall feel thankful, most thankful, for what He has done, and love
Him because He first loved us.
(Gordon Calthrop, M. A.)
GospelMourning a Fruit of Saving Faith
D. Wilson, M. A.

Zechariah 12:9-11
Here we have a glorious privilege mentioned, namely, a view or manifestation
of a crucified Redeemer;and the gracious exercisethatis consequentialto this
distinguishing and glorious privilege. "They shall mourn for Him." From the
words we observe that all whose privilege it is to get a supernatural discovery
of a crucified Redeemerwill mourn for Him, as wounded and pierced for
their sins.
I. THE GLORIOUS PRIVILEGE.
1. Though Christ is not now visible to the bodily eyes, yet such a sight of Him
as is necessaryin order to the exercise offaith upon Him, and a real
participation of the benefits of His purchase is attainable by persons in this
world.
2. A spiritual and saving sight of Christ as crucified is what all should be
concernedto obtain when they are attending upon the ordinances of the
Gospel, upon the dispensationof the Word and sacraments.
3. Such a sight of Christ as is necessaryin order to the exercise offaith and
repentance is an effect of the gracious operationof the Holy Spirit upon the
heart of a sinner.
4. A spiritual manifestation of Christ is in a specialmanner necessaryon a day
of fasting and humiliation.

5. A saving manifestation of Christ is a rare and distinguishing privilege.
6. A saving manifestation is ever accompaniedwith godly sorrow for sin.
II. THE GRACIOUS EXERCISE.
1. Godly sorrow for sin supposes aninward and thorough change of heart,
and mind, and nature.
2. It is real sorrow.
3. Such a sorrow as flows from a particular convictionof sin.
4. It is great sorrow.
5. It is evangelicalsorrow.Application —
(1) Both faith and repentance are fruits of the Spirit.
(2) True repentance is a fruit of saving faith.
(3) True faith is rare.

(4) Formality in religion easilyexplained.
(D. Wilson, M. A.)
Jesus'PiercedSide
A. Schroter.
Zechariah 12:9-11
Out of the piercedheart of Jesus proceeds a streamof tears, of grace, and of
prayer. For us, also, as we look at the pierced side of the Saviour, there opens
—
I. A FLOOD OF TEARS. The prophet foretells the time when Israel at the
sight of the Man of Sorrows shallbreak forth into deep lamentation, when the
waterwhich flows from the pierced side of the Saviour shall be turned into a
stream of tears, flowing from the hearts of the children of Israel. It is the
simplest but certainly also the most painful truth, that your sins and mine
have brought Jesus to the Cross. Therefore a glance atHim must become a
crystal glass whichreflects our sins more distinctly, and which represents us
in our sins blackerthan the whole law from Sinai, with its thunder and
lightning, its curse and judgment, can do.

II. A STREAM OF GRACE. In ancient Athens, mercy was representedwith
eyes streaming with tears, holding in her hand a torn and bleeding heart. By
God's grace we have free access to the Father. We have a Saviour who opens
the Father's heart for us, and we need no other Mediator.
III. A FOUNT OF PRAYER. In these prophetic words the Lord declares that
He will pour out the Spirit of prayer and of grace. The streamof grace from
the wounds of the Saviour, which He causes to be poured over us, is to become
a fount of prayer, flowing from our heart to God's heart. There has scarcely
ever been a time in which the streams of Divine grace were so abundantly
poured forth in the preachedWord, as well as in works ofmercy, and in zeal
for the Lord's house, as in our days. But how long will it last, if the Spirit of
supplication does not join the spirit of grace?And that is wanting. Ours is a
prayerless time.
(A. Schroter.)
Looking At Him Who was Pierced
W. Thompson.
Zechariah 12:9-11
When the late Dr. Andrew Bonarwas sitting in his study one day, a man and
woman entered, to see him about joining the church. When they had told their
errand the doctor said to them, "Whenany one comes to me and wishes to
join the church, I generallyask them a few questions. Now, first, how did you

come to think of joining the church? Ah! "saidthe woman," it was all through
our little son. One night I was telling him about the Jews killing my Lord
Jesus, and how they nailed Him to the cross onCalvary, and, looking up into
my face, he asked, 'Mother, was it your sins that nailed Him to the cross?'Ah,
sir, I could not answerhim. There was a big lump in my throat; and when he
saw that I did not reply he turned to his father and said, 'Father, was it your
sins that nailed Jesus to the cross?'I stole a look at my husband, and I saw a
tear glistenin his eye — he could not answereither. Then the little boy
claspedhis hands and said, 'O Lord Jesus, it must have been my sins which
nailed Thee to the cross.'From that time, sir, he has been a changedboy, and
it was that which made us think of joining the church."
(W. Thompson.)
Looking to Christ as Pierced, and Mourning for Him
James Henderson, D. D.
Zechariah 12:9-11
May we not reckonthe passagein which our text occurs, as one of those of
which the prophets themselves, by whom they were uttered, did not at first
understand the full import? How should we be affectedby the contemplation
of the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus?
1. We should mourn to think of what He had to endure. A tale of woe may
touch our hearts with sadness although we may have no personalconcern

with the individual of whom it is told. If we saw an innocent man led forth to
execution, our hearts would be greatly moved. We wondernot then that when
Jesus was deliveredup to the will of His enemies, when one so holy, so meek,
so beneficent, was led forth to be crucified, the spectacle couldnot be seen
unmoved.
2. We should mourn to think of the wickednessofthe men by whom He was so
treated. Were the men of that generationwhich lived when Jesus was
crucified, wickedabove all others before them, or after them? No! Though
temptation and opportunity combined to involve them in a crime, probably
the greatesteverperpetratedon earth, they afford but a specimenof that
depravity, it may be less fully developed, which we all have inherited.
3. We should mourn for our own sins, as we see in what was inflicted on our
surety the exceeding sinfulness and deep demerit of sin. How hateful must sin
have been in the sight of a holy God, when for it He hid His face from His Son,
and gave Him up to the pains of an accurseddeath!Notice some of the happy
effects of penitent grief.
(1) To yield to it may give even present relief to the troubled mind.
(2) This sorrow may have a beneficialinfluence on all our tempers and
affections.
(3) This sorrow may give evidence of our interest in the promises of pardon
and of peace with God. Sorrow for sin cannotbe acceptedas a price for
forgiveness;yet we may find in the sense ofit some proof that the change is
begun which must be wrought by the Spirit of Christ in all to whom He
applies the redemption which is through His blood.

(James Henderson, D. D.)
Looking to Jesus in Penitential Sorrow
Biblical Illustrator
Zechariah 12:9-11
The legendof Camille, the artist who sold his soul to the devil in order to gain
powerto paint to the life whatever subjecthe chose, is full of suggestion. After
a long life of sin, Camillo painted a picture of the Christ, the Man of Sorrows.
The tender, searching eyes were sucha source of annoyance to him and to his
sinful friends that he veiled the picture and went to a priest with his story.
Following the priest's advice, he unveiled the picture and let the eyes of the
Christ searchhis soul. Then he went out and made such reparation as he was
able to the lives he had wronged. But he had no peace. The priest sent him
back to the unveiled Christ. Again he went out, and ordered a dealerto buy
up and destroy every inch of canvas he had painted that would suggestevil
thoughts. Still he had no peace. Again and yet againhe was led to realise and
to renounce and to undo sin after sin. But the peace he longed for was
withheld. At length, as he knelt in prayer before the Christ, came the
realisationthat he had sinned, not only againsthis fellow men, but against
Christ, and he yielded his life to Him. Then as the eyes of Christ lookedinto
the sorrow and anguish of his soul, there came also joy and peace.

Looking to the Pierced One
Biblical Illustrator
Zechariah 12:9-11
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that
come against Jerusalem.…
Not only an external grace and favour was promised to the Jews, but an internal
light of faith, the author of which is the Spirit; for He it is who illuminates our
minds to see the goodness ofGod, and it is He also who turns our hearts. As
Zechariah declares that the Jews would at length "look to" God, it follows that the
spirit of repentance and the light of faith are promised to them, so that they may
know God as the author of their salvation, and feel so assured that they are already
saved, as in future to devote themselves entirely to Him. "Whom they have
pierced." Here also the prophet indirectly reproves the Jews for their great
obstinacy, for God had restored them, and they had been as untameable as wild
beasts:for this piercing is to be taken metaphorically for continual provocation, as
though he had said that the Jews in their perverseness were prepared as it were for
war, that they goaded and pierced God by their wickedness as by the weapons of
their rebellion. As then they had been such, he says now that such a change would
be wrought by God that they would become quite different, for they would learn to
"look to Him whom" they had previously pierced. John says that this prophecywas
fulfilled in Christ, when His side was pierced with a spear (John 19:37). And this is
most true; for it was necessary that the visible symbol should be exhibited in the
personof Christ, in order that the Jews might know that He was the God who had
spoken by the prophets. The Jews then had crucified their God when they grieved
His Spirit; but Christ also was, as to His flesh, pierced by them. And this is what
John meant — that God by that visible symbolmade it evident that He had not
only been formerly provoked in a disgraceful manner by the Jews, but that at
length, in the personof His only begotten Son, this great sin was added to their
disgraceful impiety, that they pierced even the side of Christ.

( John Calvin.)
Sinners Mourning for Their Pierced Lord
C. Bradley, M. A., Bishop Launcelot Andrewes.
Zechariah 12:9-11
What is true of a converted Jew, is true also of a converted Gentile.
I. THE CHARACTER OF GODLY SORROW.It is like a parent's sorrowfor the
death of a child. This is a real, not a pretended sorrow. If we look into our hearts
many of us will see that our sorrow for sin is all pretence. This is a deep, not a
superficial or slight sorrow. We may really mourn for a friend, and yet mourn for
him very little. Not so when our children die. Our grief then is pungent and bitter.
It is not only in the heart, but do, as very low in it. It is a secret sorrow. Most of us,
when our hearts are full, wish to be alone. Deep emotions of any kind send us to
our chambers.
II. ONCE OF THE CAUSES THAT EXCITE GODLY SORROW."Lookon Me
whom they have pierced." Who is the speaker here? God Himself, but God in
Christ. What is meant by "looking" on Him? Outward bodily actions are made use
of to describe inward operations, the actings of the mind. These penitents look on
Him as "pierced." Some say the reason why the Jews are not converted is that we
do not sufficiently exhibit the Lord Jesus to them in His exaltation and glory.
Others say if we want to prize the Lord Jesus more, we must think of Him more as

enthroned in heaven. We must not suffer men to mislead us. If we want life for our
perishing souls, if we wish to have our hard hearts broken to pieces, it is on His
Cross, noton His throne, that we must contemplate our Lord. And these contrite
sinners look on Jesus as pierced by them. "The chastisement of our peace was on
Him," so we wounded Him.
III. HOW IS IT THAT GODLY SORROW ARISES FROM THIS SOURCE?
Why does looking on the crucified Lord make the believer mourn? How, I would
ask, can it be other wise, as we think of our dying Lord, dying for us? Learn the
high place that we ought to give sorrow for sin among the Christian graces.
(C. Bradley, M. A.)
I. THE OBJECT OR SPECTACLE PROPOUNDED. Certain it is that Christ is
here meant.
1. Specify and particularise the person of Christ, by the kind and most peculiar
circumstances of His death. Not a natural but a violent death. The Psalmist says,
"They pierced my hands and my feet," which is only proper to the death of the
Cross. The prophetintimates that his heart was pierced, and this was peculiar to
Christ.
2. Sever Christ from the rest of His doings and sufferings, to see what that is which
we specially are to look to — Christ pierced. The perfection of our knowledge in
or touching Christ, is the knowledge of Christ pierced. Know this, you know all. In
the object, two things offer themselves.

(1) The passion, or suffering itself. Consider the degree; for transfixerunt is a word
of gradation; expressing the piercing, not of whips and scourges, or of nails and
thorns, but of the spear point, which went through the very heart itself. May a soul
be pierced? It is not a spear head of iron that entereth the soul, but a metal of
another temper, the dint whereof no less goreth and woundeth the soul in
proportion than those do the body. Soul-piercing includes sorrow and reproach.
II. THE PERSONS. When one is found slain, it is usual to inquire by whom he
came by his death. We incline to lay the sin of Christ's death on the soldiers, the
executioners; on Pilate the judge; on the people who urged Pilate; or on the elders
of the Jews who animated the people. The prophet here says that they who are
willed to "look upon Him," are they who "pierced Him." In every case of
condemnation to death, sin, and sin only is the murderer. It was not Christ's own
sin that He died for. It must have been for the sin of others that Christ Jesus was
pierced. God laid on Him the "transgressions of us all." It was the sin of our
polluted hands that pierced His hands; the swiftness of our feet to do evil that
nailed His feet; the wicked devices of our heads that gored His head; and the
wretched desires of our hearts that pierced His heart. If we feel that we were the
cause of this His piercing, we ought to have remorse, to be pierced with it.
III. THE ACT OR DUTY ENJOINED. To look upon Him. A request most natural
and reasonable. To this look Christ invites us. "Upon Me." Our own profit inviteth
us. Our danger may move us to look. In the act itself are three things.
1. That we do it with attention.
2. That we do it oft, again and again; with iteration.

3. That we cause our nature to do it, as it were, by virtue of an injunction.In the
original it is a commanding injunction. Look upon Him, and be pierced. Look upon
Him, and pierce that in thee that was the cause of Christ's piercing, sin and the lusts
thereof. As it was sin that gave Christ these wounds, so it was love to us that made
Him receive them, being otherwise liable enough to have avoided them all. So that
He was pierced with love, no less than with grid. And it was that wound of love
made Him so constantly endure all the other. Which sight ought to pierce us with
love too, no less than before it did with sorrow. We should join looking with
believing. And believing, what is there that the eye of our hope shall not look for
from Him? What would He not do for us, that for us would suffer all this? Our
expectation may be reduced to these two things, — the deliverance from the evil of
our present misery; and the restoring to the good of our primitive felicity Shall we
always receive grace, even streams of grace, issuing from Him that is pierced, and
shall there not from us issue something back again, that He may look for and
receive from us, that from Him have and do daily receive so many good things? No
doubtthere shall; if love which pierced Him, have pierced us aright.
(Bishop Launcelot Andrewes.)
True Mourning for Christ
M. H. Ricketts.
Zechariah 12:9-11
Though this prophecy is fulfilling there is not complete fulfilment. There was,
among the Jews, no such general grief as Zechariah pictures. They showed no

signs of heart-broken sorrow. We must seek further for the mourners looking on
the pierced One. There is no doubtwhere they are to be found. Christians have
succeeded to the place, and occupymore than the place, of the Jews; it is ourselves
who are to be "looking upon Him whom we have pierced." Some great divines
hold that Zechariah's words describe the special mourning of Lent and Holy Week
and Good Friday. In any case we have a picture of the effect which a real spiritual
view of the cross must produceupon faithful Christians, and one which supplies us
with a test of our Good Friday reality and sincerity. It is a hard test, but we must
not flinch from it. It is of God's ownproposing; nay, rather, it occurs in the
announcement of His most gracious purpose. Compare our recollections of earthly
bereavements with our memory of Christ's death. Can we say that we feel for
Christ at all as we feel at the death of husband or wife, father or mother? Yet God
expects us to feel very deeply. We know that Christ's passion ought to excite in us
the deepest imaginable sorrow. As there was never sorrow like unto His sorrow; as
there was never death like unto His death; as there was never love like unto His
love, so we cannot wonder if we are expected to feel a grief for Him as great as
that which springs from the severest trial of our human affections. Yet it may
safely be said that, generally, it is not so. We fall far short of that which is to be the
state of the citizens of the true city of David, and of the inhabitants of Christian
Jerusalem.
(M. H. Ricketts.)
Penitential Sorrow
Zechariah 12:10-14
D. Thomas
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they
have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and

shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn, etc. To
whatever particular event this passage refers, the subject is obvious and most
important, viz. that of penitential sorrow. And five things in connection with it are
noteworthy.
I. THE SUBJECTS OF THIS PENITENTIAL SORROW. Theyare Jews, and not
Gentiles. "The house of David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem" - expressions
which designate the whole Israelitish people. The Jewish people had often been
reduced to this state of sorrow. When in Babylonian captivity they wept when they
"remembered Zion." "The scene," says Dr. Wardlaw, "depicted bears a very close
resemblance to those recorded to have taken place on the restoration from Babylon,
when Jehovah, having influenced them individually to return to himself, and to set
their faces, with longing desire, to the land of their fathers, inclined their hearts,
when thus gathered home, to social and collective acts of humiliation and prayer.
The prayers of Ezra and Nehemiah on those occasions might be taken as models, in
the 'spirit and even the matter' of them, for the supplications of Judah and Israel
when brought back from their wider and more lasting dispersions."
II. THE CAUSE OF THIS PENITENTIAL SORROW. "Iwill pour." The Prophet
Joel (Joel 2:28) refers to this outpouring of Divine influence. "And it shall come to
pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh." All genuine
repentance for sin originates with God. He sends down into human souls the spirit
of grace and of supplications. The spirit of grace is the spirit that produces in the
mind of man the experience of the grace of God;and this experience works
repentance and inspires prayer.
III. THE OCCASIONOF THIS PENITENTIAL SORROW,"And they shall look
upon me whom they have pierced." "The expression, 'uponme,'" says
Hengstenberg, "is very remarkable. According to ver. 1, the Speaker is the Lord,
the Creator of heaven stud earth. But it is evident from what follows that we are
not to confine our thoughts exclusively to an invisible God who is beyond the
reach of suffering, for the same Jehovah presently represents himself as pierced by
the Israelites, and afterwards lamented by them with bitter remorse. The enigma is

solved by the Old Testament doctrine of the Angel and Revealer of the Most High
God, to whom the prophetattributes even the most exalted names of God, on
account of his participation in the Divine nature, who is described in ch. 11. as
undertaking the office of Shepherd over his people, and who had been
recompensed by them with base ingratitude." "They shall look upon me whom they
have pierced, and they shall mourn for him." The "me" and the "him" are the same
Person, and that Person he who says, in ver. 10, "I will pour upon the house of
David." In the first clause he is speaking of himself; in the second clause the
prophet is speaking of him. The Messiah was pierced, and pierced by the Jews:
"They pierced my hands and my feet." A believing sight of Christ produces this
penitential sorrow.
"Alas! and did my Saviour bleed,
And my Redeemer die?
Did he devote his sacred head
For such a worm as I?"
IV. THE POIGNANCY OF THIS PENITENTIAL SORROW. "And they shall
mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him,
as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." "There are few states of deeper and
acuter sorrow than this - that which is felt by affectionate parents when bereft of
those objects of their fondestaffections; the one solitary object of their
concentrated parental love; or the firstborn and rising supportand hope of their
household." As to the poignancy of this grief, it is further said, "In that day shall
there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the
valley of Megiddon," etc. Perhaps the greatest sorrow ever known amongst the
Jews was the sorrow in the valley of Megiddon, occasioned by the death of King
Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:24). Jeremiah composed a funeral dirge on the occasion,
and other odes and lamentations were composed, and were sung by males and
females. But true penitential sorrow is far more poignant than that occasioned by
the death of an only son or a noble king. It is tinctured with moral remorse.

V. THE UNIVERSALITY OF THIS POIGNANT SORROW. "And the land shall
mourn, every family apart," etc. All the families of the land shall mourn, and all
shall mourn "apart." Deep sorrow craves loneliness.
CONCLUSION. There is one event in history - whether such an event is referred
to here or not - that answers better to the description here of penitential sorrow than
any other in the chronicles of the world; it is the Day of Pentecost. Thousands of
Jews assembled together on that day from all parts of the known world. Peter
preached to the vast assembly and charged them with having crucified the Son of
God. The Holy Spirit came down upon the vast congregation, and the result was
that, "When they heard this, they were pricked in their heart" (Acts 2:37). Far on in
the future, it may be, a period will dawn in Jewish history when such penitential
sorrow as is here described will be experienced by all the descendants of Abraham.
- D.T.
COMMENTARIES
BensonCommentary
Zechariah 12:10. And I will pour, &c. — God’s signalinterposition in behalf
of Judah and Jerusalem, aftertheir future restoration, having been foretold,
the prophet proceeds to foreteltheir conversionto Christianity. But though
the prophet speaksofthis after he has foretold their restoration, it does not
follow that it shall take place after that event. It is certainly much more
probable that they will first be brought to repentance for the sin of rejecting
and crucifying their Messiah, and to believe in him with their heart unto
righteousness, andthen that God will bestow upon them that greatmercy of

re-establishing them in the possessionof Canaan:see note on Zechariah12:2.
“The Jews had stumbled and fallen at the stone of stumbling and rock of
offence, the Messiah, in his humble appearance, as Isaiahforetold. That no
one might be surprised at this sudden change oftheir affairs, [namely, their
restorationto their own land, and their prosperity therein,] Zechariahtells us,
they should themselves be first changed, and repent heartily of that sin which
had been the cause of their fall, for God should pour out on them the spirit of
grace and supplication, that they might look with compunction of heart on
him whom they had pierced; and he should, by his Spirit, improve those good
dispositions into a thorough conviction of his being the Messiah, whom they
had rejected:for this they should weepbitterly, Zechariah 12:11, and make
earnestsupplications till receivedagaininto his grace and favour. This done,
it follows, Zechariah13:1, In that day shall a fountain be opened, &c. Now
who were they whose sin and uncleanness were washedaway, but the house of
David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem;the same who had sinned, and
mourned, and repented, and were therefore pardoned? What did they mourn
for, but for him whom they had pierced, and whose deaththey had bewailed
with all the solemnities of true mourners? It was then the act and sin of the
house of David, and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that they pierced and
slew him whom they now lookedupon; for which their land was treatedas
polluted, and removed out of God’s sight into captivity, not to be restoredto
them till their sin was remitted upon their true repentance. Thus much is
evident from the context:” see Chandler’s Defence, andDodd.
But though this passagemay chiefly relate to the future and general
conversionof the Jews to the Christian faith, Which St. Paul calls life from the
dead, and therefore will not receive its full accomplishmenttill that event
takes place;yet it may also be understood of some other prior conversions of
the Jewishpeople, and particularly of those of the many thousands brought to
repentance by the preaching of John the Baptist, of Christ, and his apostles.
For it appears from the accounts we have in the New Testament, that though
the rulers and leading men among the Jews were notconverted in that age of
the Christian Church, yet a vast number of the people were. So that this
prophecy has, in some degree at least, been alreadyfulfilled, and the spirit of

grace and supplication hath been poured out in a measure, if not upon the
house of David, yet upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In the expression, They
shall look upon me whom they have pierced, (the words being spokenby
God,) is implied, that in the piercing of Christ, Godhimself, figuratively
speaking, was piercedthrough the wounds of his beloved Son, he being
infinitely dear to his heavenly Father, and his cause the cause ofGod. This
passageis undoubtedly cited in St. John’s gospel, John19:37. Οψονται εις ον
εξεκεντησαν, They shall look on him whom they have pierced. Foralthough
the presentHebrew text is, ‫יבה‬ ‫ו‬ ‫,ילה‬ They shall look unto me, betweenforty
and fifty MSS. are produced which read ‫,וובי‬ unto him, with the concurrence
of other authorities. They shall mourn for him — They shall heartily lament
the crucifying of the Lord Jesus, not only as the sinful, cruel act of their
fathers, but as that in which their sins had a great share. As one mourneth for
his only son — With an unfeigned and real, a greatand long-continued, a
deep and lasting sorrow, such as is the sorrow of a father on the death of an
only son: they shall retain it inwardly, and express it outwardly, as in the
funeral mournings on such occasions.And shall be in bitterness for him —
True repentance will bitterly lament the sins that brought sorrows and pain
upon the Son of God.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
12:9-14 The day here spokenof, is the day of Jerusalem's defence and
deliverance, that glorious day when God will appear for the salvationof his
people. In Christ's first coming he bruised the serpent's head, and broke all
the powers of darkness that fought againstGod's kingdom among men. In his
secondcoming he will complete their destruction, when he shall put down all
opposing rule, principality, and power; and death itself shall be swallowedup
in that victory. The Holy Spirit is gracious and merciful, and is the Author of
all grace or holiness. He, also, is the Spirit of supplications, and shows men
their ignorance, want, guilt, misery, and danger. At the time here foretold, the
Jews will know who the crucified Jesus was;then they shall look by faith to
him, and mourn with the deepestsorrow, not only in public, but in private,
even eachone separately. There is a holy mourning, the effectof the pouring
out of the Spirit; a mourning for sin, which quickens faith in Christ, and
qualifies for joy in God. This mourning is a fruit of the Spirit of grace, a proof

of a work of grace in the soul, and of the Spirit of supplications. It is fulfilled
in all who sorrow for sin after a godly sort; they look to Christ crucified, and
mourn for him. Looking by faith upon the cross ofChrist will cause us to
mourn for sin after a godly sort.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
And I will pour - As He promised by Joel, "I will pour out My Spirit upon all
flesh" (Joel2:28. See vol. i. pp. 193, 194), largely, abundantly, "upon the
house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,"all, highest and lowest,
from first to last, the "Spirit of grace and supplication," that is, the "Holy
Spirit" which conveyeth "grace," as "the Spirit of wisdom and
understanding" Isaiah 11:2 is "the Spirit" infusing "wisdom and
understanding," and the "Spirit of counseland might" is that same Spirit,
imparting the gift "ofcounsel" to see whatis to be done and "of might" to do
it, and the Spirit "of the knowledge andof the fear of the Lord" is that same
"Spirit," infusing loving acquaintance with God, with awe at His infinite
Majesty. So "the Spirit of grace and supplication," is that same Spirit,
infusing grace and bringing into a state of favor with God, and a "Spirit of
supplication" is that Spirit, calling out of the inmost soul the cry for a yet
largermeasure of the grace alreadygiven. Paul speaks of"the love of God
poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" Romans
5:5; and of "insulting the Spirit of grace" , rudely repulsing the Spirit, who
giveth grace. Osorius:"When God Himself says, 'I will pour out,' He sets
forth the greatnessofHis bountifulness whereby He bestowethall things."
And they shall look - with trustful hope and longing. Cyril: "When they had
nailed the Divine Shrine to the Wood, they who had crucified Him, stood
around, impiously mocking. But when He had laid down His life for us, "the
centurion and they that were with him, watching Jesus, seeing the earthquake
and those things which were done, fearedgreatly, saying, Truly this was the
Son of God" Matthew 27:54. As it ever is with sin, compunction did not come
till the sin was over:till then, it was overlaid; else the sin could not be done. At
the first conversion, the three thousand "were pricked'in the heart.' "when
told that He "whom they had takenand with wickedhands had crucified and
slain, is Lord and Christ" Acts 2:23, Acts 2:36. This awokethe first penitence

of him who became Paul. "Saul, Saul, why persecutestthou Me?" This has
been the centerof Christian devotion ever since, the security againstpassion,
the impulse to self-denial, the parent of zeal for souls, the incentive to love;
this has struck the rock, that it gushed forth in tears of penitence: this is the
strength and vigor of hatred of sin, to look to Him whom our sins pierced,
"who" Paul says, "lovedme and gave Himself for me." Osorius:"We all lifted
Him up upon the Cross;we transfixed with the nails His hands and feet; we
pierced His Side with the spear. Forif man had not sinned, the Sonof God
would have endured no torment."
And they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for an only son, and shall be
in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for a first-born - We feel
most sensibly the sorrows ofthis life, passing as they are; and of these, the loss
of an only sonis a proverbial sorrow. "O daughter of My people, gird thee
with sackclothand wallow thyself in ashes,"Godsays;"make thee the
mourning of an only son, Most bitter lamentation" Jeremiah 6:26. "I will
make it as the mourning of an only son" Amos 8:10. The dead man carried
out, "the only son of his mother and she was a widow," is recordedas having
touched the heart of Jesus. Alb.: "And our Lord, to the letter, was the Only-
BegottenofHis Father and His mother." He was "the first-begotten of every
creature" Colossians1:15, and "we saw His glory, the glory as of the Only-
Begottenofthe Father, full of grace and truth" John 1:14. This mourning for
Him whom our sins pierced and nailed to the tree, is continued, week by week,
by the pious, on the day of the week, whenHe suffered for us, or in the
perpetual memorial of His Precious Deathin the Holy Eucharist, and
especiallyin Passion-Tide. Godsends forth anew "the Spirit of grace and
supplication," and the faithful mourn, because of their share in His Death.
The prophecy had a rich and copious fulfillment in that first conversionin the
first Pentecost;a larger fulfillment awaits it in the end, when, after the
destruction of antichrist, "all Israelshall" be converted and "be saved."
Romans 11:26.

There is yet a more awful fulfillment; when "He cometh with clouds, and
every eye shall see Him, and they which pierced Him, and all kindreds of the
earth shall wail because ofHim" Revelation1:7. But meanwhile it is fulfilled
in every solid conversionof Jew paganor carelessChristian, as well as in the
devotion of the pious. Zechariahhas concentratedin few words the tenderest
devotion of the Gospel, "Theyshall look on Me whom they pierced." Lap.:
"Zechariahteaches that among the various feelings which we can elicit from
the meditation on the PassionofChrist, as admiration, love, gratitude,
compunction, fear, penitence, imitation, patience, joy, hope, the feeling of
compassionstands eminent, and that it is this, which we especially owe to
Christ suffering for us. For who would not in his inmost self grieve with
Christ, innocent and holy, yea the Only BegottenSonof God, when he sees
Him nailed to the Cross and enduring so lovingly for him sufferings so
manifold and so great? Who would not groanout commiseration, and melt
into tears? Truly says Bonaventure in his 'goadof divine love:' 'What can be
more fruitful, what sweeterthan, with the whole heart, to suffer with that
most bitter suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ? '"
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
10. Future conversionof the Jews is to flow from an extraordinary outpouring
of the Holy Spirit (Jer 31:9, 31-34;Eze 39:29).
spirit of grace … supplications—"spirit" is here not the spirit produced, but
THE Holy Spirit producing a "gracious"disposition, and inclination for
"supplications." Calvin explains "spirit of grace" as the grace ofGod itself
(whereby He "pours" out His bowels of mercy), "conjoinedwith the sense of
it in man's heart." The "spirit of supplications" is the mercury whose rise or
fall is an unerring test of the state of the Church [Moore]. In Hebrew, "grace"
and "supplications" are kindred terms; translate, therefore, "gracious
supplications." The plural implies suppliant prayers "without ceasing."
Herein not merely external help againstthe foe, as before, but internal grace
is promised subsequently.

look upon me—with profoundly earnestregard, as the Messiahwhom they so
long denied.
pierced—implying Messiah's humanity: as "I will pour … spirit" implies His
divinity.
look … mourn—True repentance arises from the sight by faith of the
crucified Saviour. It is the tearthat drops from the eye of faith looking on
Him. Terroronly produces remorse. The true penitent weeps overhis sins in
love to Him who in love has suffered for them.
me … him—The change of person is due to Jehovah-Messiahspeaking in His
own person first, then the prophet speaking ofHim. The Jews, to avoid the
conclusionthat He whom they have "pierced" is Jehovah-Messiah, who says,
"I will pour out … spirit," altered "me" into "him," and representthe
"pierced" one to be MessiahBen(sonof) Joseph, who was to suffer in the
battle with Cog, before MessiahBenDavid should come to reign. But Hebrew,
Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic oppose this; and the ancient Jews interpreted it
of Messiah. Ps 22:16 also refers to His being "pierced." So Joh19:37; Re 1:7.
The actualpiercing of His side was the culminating point of all their insulting
treatment of Him. The act of the Roman soldier who piercedHim was their
act (Mt 27:25), and is so accountedhere in Zechariah. The Hebrew word is
always used of a literal piercing (so Zec 13:3); not of a metaphoricalpiercing,
"insulted," as Maurer and other Rationalists (from the Septuagint) represent.
as one mourneth for … son—(Jer6:26; Am 8:10). A proverbial phrase
peculiarly forcible among the Jews, who felt childlessnessas a curse and
dishonor. Applied with peculiar propriety to mourning for Messiah, "the
first-born among many brethren" (Ro 8:29).

Matthew Poole's Commentary
And I; God the Father, so Acts 2:17,18 Isa 44:3.
Will pour, in plentiful measures, as a plentiful rain is poured forth on a thirsty
ground: this was fulfilled on Christ’s exaltation, when he receivedgifts for
men, and, being glorified, gave the Spirit, sentthe Comforter to his disciples
and believers;this is daily performed to the children of God, and will be
continually performed till we all are made perfect, and are brought to be with
Christ for ever.
Upon the house of David; on some of that royal family; or, typically
considered, it is the whole family of Christ, his house, who was the seedof
David, and who is calledDavid their king, Ezekiel37:24 Hosea 3:5. Upon the
inhabitants of Jerusalem;literally understood it was fulfilled extraordinarily,
Acts 2:4,5; and, no doubt, in the ordinary manner to many of whom no
mention is made: mystically, the inhabitants of Jerusalemare all the members
of Christ, all believers of all ages.
The Spirit of grace;which is the fountain of all gracesin us, and which makes
us lovely in the eye of our God; grace to purify us and to beautify us, that God
may delight in us.
And of supplications, or prayer, which is an early, inseparable fruit of the
Spirit of grace:by the Spirit we cry, Abba, Father, and are helped to perform
this duty, Romans 8:26.
They, all those who have receivedthis Spirit, shall look upon me, with an eye
of faith, and turn to Christ, love, obey, and wait for him.

Whom they have pierced: every one of us by our sins pierced him, but many
of the Jews nailedhim to the cross, andactually murdered the Lord of life.
This, as foretold, so was very punctually fulfilled, and recordedin the account
of his death given by John, John 19:34,35,37;this hath then a particular
respectto the Jews, though not confined to them.
They shall mourn for him; grieve, and heartily lament the crucifying the Lord
Jesus Christ, not only as the sinful, cruel actof their fathers, but as that in
which their sins had a greatshare.
As one mourneth for his only son;with a very greatand deep, with a long and
continued sorrow, with an unfeigned and realsorrow, such as is the sorrow of
a father in the death of an only son; they shall retain it inwardly, and express
it outwardly, as in the funeral mournings on such occasions.
Shall be in bitterness for him: this speaks the inwardestaffectionof the
mourner; there may be tears in some cases withoutgrief or bitterness in the
spirit, but here both are joined; true repentance will bitterly lament the sins
which brought sorrows and shame upon our Lord.
As one that is in bitterness for his first-born: this bitterness is comparedto the
grief of one who losethhis first-born, to confirm and illustrate what he had
just before spokenof Christians mourning for Christ.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem,....The Jews that belong to the family of Christ, and to the heavenly
Jerusalem, the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven:

the Spirit of grace and of supplications; by which is meant the Holy Spirit of
God, who is calledthe "Spirit of grace";not merely because he is goodand
gracious, and loving to his people, and is of grace given unto them; but
because he is the author of all grace in them; of gracious convictions, and
spiritual illuminations; of quickening, regenerating, converting, and
sanctifying grace;and of all particular graces, as faith, hope, love, fear,
repentance, humility, joy, peace, meekness, patience, longsuffering, self-
denial, &c.; as well as because he is the revealer, applier, and witnesserofall
the blessings ofgrace unto them: and he is calledthe "Spirit of supplications";
because he indites the prayers of his people, shows them their wants, and stirs
them up to pray; enlarges their hearts, supplies them with arguments, and
puts words into their mouths; gives faith, fervency, and freedom, and
encouragesto come to God as their Father, and makes intercessionfor them,
according to the will of God: pouring it upon them denotes the abundance and
freeness ofhis grace;see Isaiah44:3,
and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced; by nailing him to the
tree at his crucifixion; and especiallyby piercing his side with a spear; which,
though not personally done by them, yet by their ancestors, atleastthrough
their instigation and request; and besides, as he was pierced and wounded for
their sins, so by them: and now, being enlightened and convictedby the Spirit
of God, they shall look to him by faith for the pardon of their sins, through his
blood; for the justification of their persons by his righteousness;and for
eternal life and salvationthrough him. We Christians can have no doubt upon
us that this passagebelongs to Christ, when it is observed, upon one of the
soldiers piercing the side of Jesus with a spear, it is said, "these things were
done that the Scripture should be fulfilled; they shall look on him whom they
have pierced";and it seems also to be referred to in Revelation1:7 yea, the
Jews themselves, some ofthem, acknowledgeit is to be understood of the
Messiah. In the Talmud (f), mention being made of the mourning after spoken
of, it is asked, whatthis mourning was made for? and it is replied, R. Dusa
and the Rabbins are divided about it: one says, for Messiahben Joseph, who
shall be slain; and another says, for the evil imagination, that shall be slain; it
must be granted to him that says, for Messiahthe son of Josephthat shall be

slain; as it is written, "and they shall look upon whom they have pierced, and
mourn", &c. for, for the other, why should they mourn? hence Jarchiand
Kimchi on the place say, our Rabbins interpret this of Messiahthe sonof
Joseph, who shall be slain; and the note of Aben Ezra is, all the nations shall
look unto me, to see what I will do to those who have pierced Messiahthe son
of Joseph. Grotius observes, that Hadarsan on Genesis 28:10 understands it of
Messiahthe sonof David. The Jews observing some prophecies speaking of
the Messiahin a state of humiliation, and others of him in an exaltedstate,
have coined this notion of two Messiahs, whichare easilyreconciledwithout
it. The Messiahhere prophesiedof appears to be both God and man; a divine
PersoncalledJehovah, who is all along speaking in the context, and in the text
itself; for none else could pour out the spirit of grace and supplication; and yet
he must be man, to be pierced; and the same is spokenof, that would do the
one, and suffer the other; and therefore must be the or God-man in one
person. As to what a Jewishwriter (g) objects, that this was spokenof one that
was pierced in war, as appears from the context; and that if the same person
that is pierced is to be lookedto, then it would have been said, "and mourn for
me, and be in bitterness for me"; it may be replied, that this prophecy does
not speak ofthe piercing this person at the time when the above wars shall be;
but of the Jews mourning for him at the time of their conversion, who had
been pierced by them, that is, by their ancestors,hundreds of years ago;
which now they will with contrition remember, they having assentedto it, and
commended it as a right action;and as for the change from the first personto
the third, this is not at all unusual in Scripture:
and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son; or, "for this"
(h); that is, piercing him; for sin committed againsthim; because oftheir
rejectionof him, their hardness of heart, and unbelief with respectto him;
and on accountof their many sins, which were the occasionofhis being
pierced; which mourning will arise from, and be increasedby, a spiritual sight
of him, a sense ofhis love to them, and a view of benefits by him. Evangelical
repentance springs from faith, and is accompaniedwith it; and this godly
sorrow is like that which is expressedfor an only son; see Amos 8:10 and

indeed Christ is the only begottenof the Father, as well as the firstborn among
many brethren, as follows:
and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn;
sin is a bitter thing, and makes work for bitter repentance.
(f) T. Bab. Succah, fol. 52. 1.((g) R. Isaac Chizzuk Emunah, par. 1. c. 36. p.
309. (h) "super hoc", Junius & Tremellius; "propter hoc", Gussetius;"super
illo", Piscator, Cocceius.
Geneva Study Bible
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the spirit of {e} grace and of supplications: and they shall look
upon me whom they have {f} pierced, and they shall mourn for {g} him, as one
mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in
bitterness for his firstborn.
(e) They will have the feeling of my grace by faith, and know that I have
compassiononthem.
(f) That is, whom they have continually vexed with their obstinacy, and
grieved my Spirit. In Joh19:37 it is referred to Christ's body, whereas here it
is referred to the Spirit of God.
(g) They will turn to God by true repentance, whom before they had so
grievously offended by their ingratitude.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
10. I will pour] The word denotes the abundance of the effusion. Comp. Joel
2:28 [Heb., 3:1]. “Quodverbum doni largitatem et copiam indicat.” Rosenm.
the house of David, &c.] Becausethey, restoredto their proper place and
dignity (Zechariah 12:8), are as it were the head of the nation. But from the
head the holy unction shall flow to the whole body (“the land,” Zechariah
12:12). Comp. Psalm 133:2.
the spirit of grace and of supplications] i.e. the Spirit which conveys grace and
calls forth supplications. The word “grace”is not here used in its primary
sense ofthe favour of God towards man, but in that secondarysense, with
which readers of the N. T. are familiar, of the effects ofthat favour in man, by
the gifts and influences of the Holy Spirit. See John1:16; 1 Corinthians 15:10;
and for the expression, “the Spirit of grace,”Hebrews 10:29, where, as Dean
Alford shews, the secondmember of the “alternative very neatly put by
Anselm; Spiritui sancto gratis dato, vel gratiam dante,” is to be accepted.
upon me whom they have pierced] unto me, R. V. The Speakeris Almighty
God. The Jews had pierced Him metaphorically by their rebellion and
ingratitude throughout their history. They pierced Him, literally and as the
crowning act of their contumacy, in the Personof His Son upon the Cross,
John 19:37. Comp. Revelation1:7. “Confixerant ergo Deum Judæi quum
mærore afficerentejus Spiritum. Sed Christus etiam secundum carnem ab
illis transfixus fuit. Et hoc intelligit Joannes, visibili isto symbolo Deum palam
fecisse nonse tantum olim fuisse indigne provocatum a Judæis; sed in persona
unigeniti Filii sui tandem cumulum fuisse additum scelestæ impietati, quod ne
Christi quidem lateri pepercerint.” Calv. There is no sufficient ground for
adopting with Ewald and others the reading, upon him.

his only son] Comp. Jeremiah 6:26; Amos 8:10.
10–14.The penitent Sorrow of the People for Sin
The conversion(Zechariah12:10-14)and moral reformation (Zechariah 13:1-
6) of the people shall accompanytheir deliverance from their enemies
(Zechariah 12:1-9). On the royal house and the royal city first God will pour
out His Spirit, and as the consequencethey shall regard Him, whom they have
pierced and wounded by their sins, with the deepestsorrow and bitterness of
soul, Zechariah12:10. The mourning in Jerusalemshallbe such as to recall
that which was occasionedby the greatnational calamity of the death of
Josiahin battle, Zechariah12:11. But the outpouring of the Spirit and the
penitent grief calledforth by it shall extend to the whole nation, so that every
family throughout the land, the sexes apart, shall form itself into a separate
group of mourners, Zechariah12:12-14.
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 10-14. -§ 2. There shall ensue an outpouring of God's Spirit upon
Israel, which shall produce a great national repentance. Verse 10. - I will
pour. The word implies abundance (comp. Ezekiel39:29; Joel2:28). The
house of David, etc. The leaders and the people alike, all orders and degrees in
the theocracy. Jerusalemis named as the capitaland representative of the
nation. The spirit of grace and of supplications. The spirit which bestows
grace and leads to prayer. "Grace"here means the effects produced in man
by God's favour, that which makes the recipient pleasing to God and
delighting in his commandments (Hebrews 10:29). They shall look upon me
whom they have pierced. The Speakeris Jehovah. To "look upon or unto"
implies trust, longing, and reverence (comp. Numbers 21:9; 2 Kings 3:14;
Psalm34:5; Isaiah22:11). We may saygenerally that the clause intimates that
the people, who had grieved and offended God by their sins and ingratitude,
should repent and turn to him in faith. But there was a literal fulfilment of
this piercing, i.e. slaying (Zechariah13:3; Lamentations 4:9), when the Jews

crucified the Messiah, him who was God and Man, and of whom, as a result of
the hypostatic union, the properties of one nature are often predicatedof the
other. Thus St. Paul says that the Jews crucified"the Lord of glory" (1
Corinthians 2:8), and bids the Ephesianelders "feedthe Church of God,
which he hath purchasedwith his own blood" (Acts 20:28;for the reading
Θεοῦ, see the critics). St. John (John 19:37)refers to these words of Zechariah
as a prophecy of the Crucifixion (camp. Revelation1:7). The LXX. renders,
Ἐπιβλέψονται πρὸς μὲ ἀνθ ῶν κατωχρήσαντο, "Theyshalllook to me because
they insulted," either reading the last verb differently, or understanding it
figuratively in the sense ofassailing with cutting words; but there is no doubt
about the true reading and interpretation. Vulgate, Aspicient ad me quem
confixerunt. "Me" has been alteredin some manuscripts into "him:" but this
is an evident gloss receivedinto the text for controversialpurposes, or to
obviate the supposed impropriety of representing Jehovahas slain by the
impious. That St. John seems to sanctionthis reading is of no critical
importance, as he is merely referring to the prophecy historically, and does
not profess to give the very wording of the prophet. A suffering Messiahwas
not an unknown idea in Zechariah's time. He has already spokenof the
Shepherd as despisedand ill-treated, and a little further on (Zechariah 13:7)
he intimates that he is strickenwith the sword. The prophecies of Isaiah had
familiarized him with the same notion (Isaiah 53, etc.). And when he
represents Jehovahas saying, "Me whom they pierced," it is not merely that
in killing his messengerand representative they may be saidto have killed
him, but the prophet, by inspiration, acknowledgesthe two natures in the one
Personof Messiah, evenas Isaiah(Isaiah 9:6) calledhim the "Mighty God,"
and the psalmists often speak to the same effect(Psalm 2:7; Psalm45:6, 7;
Psalm110:1, etc.; comp. Micah5:2). The "looking to" the strickenMessiah
beganwhen they who saw that woeful sight smote their breasts (Luke 23:48);
it was carried on by the preaching of the apostles;it shall continue till all
Israelis converted; it is re-enactedwheneverpenitent sinners turn to him
whom they have crucified by their sins. Critics have supposedthat the person
whose murder is deplored is Isaiah, or Urijah, or Jeremiah;but none of these
fulfill the prediction in the text. They shall mourn for him. There is a change
of persons here. Jehovahspeaks ofthe Messiahas distinct in Personfrom
himself. As one mourneth for his only son... for his firstborn. The depth and

poignancy of this mourning are expressedby a double comparison, the grief
felt at the loss of an only son, and of the firstborn. Among the Hebrews the
preservationof the family was deemedof vast importance, and its extinction
regardedas a punishment and a curse, so that the death of an only sonwould
be the heaviestblow that could happen (see Isaiah47:9; Jeremiah 6:26; Amos
8:10). Peculiarprivileges belonged to the firstborn, and his loss would be
estimatedaccordingly(see Genesis 49:3;Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 21:17;
Micah6:7). The mention of "piercing," just above, seems to connectthe
passagewith the Passoversolemnities andthe destruction of the firstborn of
the Egyptians (see Expositor, vol. 6. p. 131, etc.).
Keil and DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament
The secondvision is closelyconnectedwith the first, and shows how God will
discharge the fierceness ofHis wrath upon the heathen nations in their self-
security (Zechariah 1:15). Zechariah1:18. "And I lifted up mine eyes, and
saw, and behold four horns. Zechariah1:19. And I said to the angel that
talkedwith me, What are these? And he said to me, These are the horns which
have scatteredJudah, Israel, and Jerusalem. Zechariah1:20. And Jehovah
showedme four smiths. Zechariah 1:21. And I said, What come these to do?
And He spake to me thus: These are the horns which have scatteredJudah, so
that no one lifted up his head; these are now come to terrify them, to cast
down the horns of the nations which have lifted up the horn againstthe land
of Judah to scatterit." The mediating angelinterprets the four horns to the
prophet first of all as the horns which have scatteredJudah; then literally, as
the nations which have lifted up the horn againstthe land of Judah to scatter
it. The horn is a symbol of power(cf. Amos 6:13). The horns therefore
symbolize the powers of the world, which rise up in hostility againstJudah
and hurt it. The number four does not point to the four quarters of the
heaven, denoting the heathen foes of Israelin all the countries of the world
(Hitzig, Maurer, Koehler, and others). This view cannotbe establishedfrom
Zechariah 1:10, for there is no reference to any dispersionof Israelto the four
winds there. Nor does it follow from the perfect ‫ּורז‬ that only such nations are
to be thought of, as had already risen up in hostility to Israel and Judah in the
time of Zechariah; for it cannotbe shownthat there were four such nations.
At that time all the nations round about Judah were subject to the Persian

empire, as they had been in Nebuchadnezzar's time to the Babylonian. Both
the number four and the perfectzērū belong to the sphere of inward intuition,
in which the objects are combined togetherso as to form one complete
picture, without any regard to the time of their appearing in historical reality.
Just as the prophet in Zechariah 6:1-15 sees the four chariots all together,
although they follow one another in action, so may the four horns which are
seensimultaneously representnations which succeededone another. This is
shown still more clearly by the visions in Daniel2 and 7, in which not only the
colossalimage seenin a dream by Nebuchadnezzar (ch. 2), but also the four
beasts which are seenby Danielto ascendsimultaneously from the sea,
symbolize the four empires, which rose up in successionone after the other. It
is to these four empires that the four horns of our vision refer, as Jerome,
Abarb., Hengstenberg, and others have correctly pointed out, since even the
picturing of nations or empires as horns points back to Daniel 7:7-8, and
Daniel 8:3-9. Zechariah sees these in all the full development of their power, in
which they have oppressedand crushed the people of God (hence the perfect
zērū), and for which they are to be destroyedthemselves. Zârâh, to scatter,
denotes the dissolution of the united condition and independence of the nation
of God. In this sense allfour empires destroyed Judah, although the Persian
and Grecianempires did not carry Judah out of their ownland.
The striking combination, "Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem," in which not only
the introduction of the name of IsraelbetweenJudah and Jerusalemis to be
noticed, but also the fact that the nota acc. ‫יא‬ is only placed before Yehūdâh
and Yisrâ'ēl, and not before Yerūshâlaim also, is not explained on the ground
that Israeldenotes the kingdom of the ten tribes, Judah the southern
kingdom, and Jerusalemthe capitalof the kingdom (Maurer, Umbreit, and
others), for in that case Israelwould necessarilyhave been repeated before
Judah, and 'ēth before Yerūshâlaim. Still less canthe name Israel denote the
rural population of Judah (Hitzig), or the name Judah the princely house
(Neumann). By the factthat 'ēth is omitted before Yerūshâlaim, and only Vav
stands before it, Jerusalemis connectedwith Israeland separatedfrom
Judah; and by the repetition of 'ēth before Yisrâ'ēl, as well as before
Yehūdâh, Israelwith Jerusalemis co-ordinatedwith Judah. Kliefoth infers
from this that "the heathen had dispersed on the one hand Judah, and on the

other hand Israel togetherwith Jerusalem," andunderstands this as
signifying that in the nation of God itself a separationis presupposed, like the
previous separationinto Judah and the kingdom of the ten tribes. "When the
Messiahcomes," he says, "a small portion of the Israelaccording to the flesh
will receive Him, and so constitute the genuine people of God and the true
Israel, the Judah; whereas the greaterpart of the Israel according to the flesh
will rejectthe Messiahatfirst, and harden itself in unbelief, until at the end of
time it will also be converted, and join the true Judah of Christendom." But
this explanation, according to which Judah would denote the believing portion
of the nation of twelve tribes, and Israeland Jerusalemthe unbelieving, is
wreckedonthe grammaticaldifficulty that the cop. ‫ו‬ is wanting before
‫ריב‬ ‫.יארה‬ If the names Judah and Israel were intended to be co-ordinated
with one another as two different portions of the covenantnation as a whole,
the two parts would necessarilyhave been connectedtogetherby the cop. Vav.
Moreover, in the two co-ordinatednames Judah and Israel, the one could not
possibly stand in the spiritual sense, and the other in the carnal. The co-
ordination of 'eth-Yehūdâh with 'eth-Yisrâ'ēl without the cop. Vav shows that
Israelis really equivalent to the Jerusalemwhich is subordinated to it, and
does not containa secondmember (or part), which is added to it, - in other
words, that Israelwith Jerusalemis merely an interpretation or more precise
definition of Yehūdâh; and Hengstenberg has hit upon the correctidea, when
he takes Israelas the honourable name of Judah, or, more correctly, as an
honourable name for the covenant nation as then existing in Judah. This
explanation is not rendered questionable by the objection offeredby Koehler:
viz., that after the separationof the two kingdoms, the expressionIsrael
always denotes either the kingdom of the ten tribes, or the posterity of Jacob
without regardto their being broken up, because this is not the fact. The use
of the name Israelfor Judah after the separationof the kingdoms is
establishedbeyond all question by 2 Chronicles 12:1;2 Chronicles 15:17; 2
Chronicles 19:8; 2 Chronicles 21:2, 2 Chronicles 21:4; 2 Chronicles 23:2; 2
Chronicles 24:5, etc.
(Note:Gesenius has correctly observedin his Thesaurus, p. 1339, that"from
this time (i.e., from the severanceofthe kingdom) the name of Israel beganto

be usurped by the whole nation that was then in existence, and was used
chiefly by the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Deutero(?)-Isaiah, andafter
the captivity by Ezra and Nehemiah; from which it came to pass, that in the
Paralipomena, evenwhen allusion is made to an earlierperiod, Israel stands
for Judah," although the proofs adduced in support of this from the passages
quoted from the prophets need considerable sifting.)
Jehovahthen showedthe prophet four chârâshı̄m, or workmen, i.e., smiths;
and on his putting the question, "What have these come to do?" gave him this
reply: "To terrify those," etc. Forthe order of the words ‫וא‬ ‫בא‬ ‫ייה‬ ‫ילי‬ ‫,תי‬
instead of ‫ייה‬ ‫ילי‬ ‫וא‬ ‫בא‬ ‫,תי‬ see Genesis 42:12;Nehemiah2:12; Judges 9:48.
‫יהרהוא‬ ‫ילי‬ is not a nominative written absolutelyat the head of the sentence in
the sense of"these horns," for that would require ‫יילי‬ ‫;יּלרהוא‬ but the whole
sentence is repeatedfrom Zechariah 1:2, and to that the statementof the
purpose for which the smiths have come is attachedin the form of an
apodosis:"these are the horns, etc., and they (the smiths) have come." At the
same time, the earlier statementas to the horns is defined more minutely by
the additional clause ‫ופו‬ ‫יהא‬ ‫,וגה‬ according to the measure, i.e., in such a
manner that no man lifted up his head any more, or so that Judah was utterly
prostrate. Hachărı̄d, to throw into a state of alarm, as in 2 Samuel 17:2. Them
('ōthâm): this refers ad sensum to the nations symbolized by the horns.
Yaddōth, inf. piel of yâdâh, to castdown, may be explained as referring to the
powerof the nations symbolized by the horns. 'Erets Yehūdâh (the land of
Judah) stands for the inhabitants of the land. The four smiths, therefore,
symbolize the instruments "of the divine omnipotence by which the imperial
powerin its severalhistoricalforms is overthrown" (Kliefoth), or, as Theod.
Mops. expresses it, "the powers that serve God and inflict vengeance upon
them from many directions." The vision does not show what powers God will
use for this purpose. It is simply designed to show to the people of God, that
every hostile powerof the world which has risen up againstit, or shall rise up,
is to be judged and destroyed by the Lord.

PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
ADAM CLARKE
Verse 10
I will pour upon the house of David - This is the way in which the Jews
themselves shall be brought into the Christian Church.
"They shall have the spirit of grace,"Godwill show them that he yet bears
favor to them.
They shall be excitedto fervent and continual prayer for the restorationof the
Divine favor.
Christ shall be preachedunto them; and they shall look upon and believe in
him whom they pierced, whom they crucified at Jerusalem.
4. This shall produce deep and sincere repentance;they shall mourn, and be
in bitterness of soul, to think that they had crucified the Lord of life and glory,
and so long continued to contradictand blaspheme, since that time.
BRIAN BELL
. PERCEIVING THE PIERCED PRINCE!(10-14)

2.8. (10)In the future day, Israel will see the pierced Messiahreturn from
heaven.
2.8.1. It will be the same Messiahthey rejectedlong ago, bearing the
selfsame wounds they inflicted then.
2.8.2. The Spirit of Grace – The outpoured Spirit would “sensitize” the
inhabitants of Jerusalemto the One they pierced.
2.8.2.1. Acts 2(Pentecost)was ofcourse the 1stinstallment!
2.8.3. Is.53:5[NIV]“But he was piercedfor our transgressions,he was
crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace
was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
2.8.4. Rev.1:7 “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see
Him, even they who pierced Him.”
2.8.5. Poem– C.E.Peglar
His brow is marred & on His side
Wence flowedthe cleansing, crimsontide
The Marks of love are found.
In every wound I read the guilt
And thank Him that His blood was spilt
To bring this sinner nigh.
2.8.6. So, the One whom they Rejected(12:10a), they will Receive(13:1),
by Repenting(12:10b-14), & thus Receiving forgiveness &
cleansing!

STEVEN COLE
God, the Mighty Savior(Zechariah 12:1-14)
RelatedMedia
Just outside of Madrid is a famous old monastery, the Escorial. The kings of
Spain have been buried there for centuries. The architect who built the
church made an arch so low that it frightened the king. Fearing that it would
collapse, he ordered the architect to add a column to uphold the middle of the
arch. The architect protestedthat it was not necessary, but the king insisted
and so the column was built.
Years later, the king died and the architectthen revealedthat the column was
a quarter of an inch short of touching the arch, and that the arch had not
saggedin the slightest. I have heard that tour guides still pass a lath between
the arch and the column as mute proof of the architect’s knowledge (Donald
Barnhouse, Let Me Illustrate [Revell], p. 245).
That arch illustrates our salvation, which comes totallyfrom the Lord. It
stands because ofGod, not because ofanything that fallen sinners can add to
it. But, like the Spanish king, people want to add something to help Godout.
The idea that salvationis totally from God is an affront to our pride. So even
many that profess to believe in Christ as Saviorare prone to think that their
salvationrests at leastpartially on something that they must do, rather than
completely on what God has done. We keepadding our columns, but God’s
Word clearly shows that God’s salvationdoes not need our human support.

God’s mighty power will save His people according to His purpose.
Zechariah 12-14 contains the second“burden” that the prophet receivedfrom
God (see 9:1). This burden focuses onIsrael, and specificallyon Jerusalem(22
times in these chapters). The phrase “that day” occurs 17 times and “the
nations” occurs 14 times, pointing to the period of time when God brings His
purpose for Israeland the nations to culmination. As we saw lastweek,
chapter 11 predicts Israel’s rejectionof Jesus, the GoodShepherd, and her
subjection during the Tribulation to the worthless shepherd. This will plunge
the nation into a time of severe testing, describedby Jeremiah(30:5-7) as “the
time of Jacob’s distress.”Daniel(12:1) calls it “a time of distress such as never
occurredsince there was a nation until that time.”
This time of testing culminates in the Battle of Armageddon (Joel3:9-16; Rev.
16:16-21;Zech. 12:1-9; 14:2-3), when God will gather all the nations against
Jerusalemto battle. At the lastminute, just before Israelis annihilated, God
will supernaturally rout the enemy and deliver His people. Our text describes
the physical deliverance of Israelin verses 1-9, and the spiritual deliverance of
Israelin verses 10-14.The greatmilitary victory that God will achieve for His
helpless people illustrates the greatspiritual salvationthat He also brings.
Both sections emphasize the truth that God is mighty to save His people
according to His purpose.
1. God is mighty to save His people physically (12:1-9).
First, God establishes His sovereignauthority and poweras seenin His role as
the creatorand sustainerof the universe. Then He shows whatwill take place
with His chosenpeople, Israel, in the end times, and how He will “destroyall
the nations that come againstJerusalem” (12:9).

A. GOD’S SUPREME AUTHORITYAND POWER ARE SEEN IN HIS
SURE WORD AND IN HIS ROLE AS CREATOR AND SUSTAINER OF
THE UNIVERSE (12:1).
“Burden” means a messagefrom God that is weightedwith important words
of judgment and deliverance. We might say, “That’s a heavy message.”It is a
burden “ofthe word of the Lord concerning Israel.” This is further
underscoredby “Thus declares the Lord…” So before he even describes who
the Lord is, Zechariah wants us to know that this is not his human word; it is
the word of Almighty God.
Then he describes Godas the one “who stretches outthe heavens, lays the
foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.” The Hebrew
participles refute the idea of deism, that God createdthe earth, but has
nothing to do with it now. Rather, He continually stretches out the heavens,
lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him (E.
W. Hengstenberg, Christologyof the Old Testament[Kregel], p. 355). As
Colossians 1:17 states ofJesus, “in Him all things hold together.” If Jesus
decided to “let go,” the universe would chaoticallyself-destruct!He is the
Lord who is speaking here! If He spoke the universe into existence and
sustains it by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3), then when He states what is
going to transpire in the future, He has the authority to make it happen. We
should thus believe His word and submit ourselves to Him as the Sovereign
Lord.
B. GOD’S MIGHTY POWER TO SAVE IS SEEN IN THE WAY THAT HE
WILL DELIVER ISRAEL FROM ALL HER ENEMIES (12:2-9).
If all that we had to go on was 12:2-9, we might conclude that the battle will
not be too bad for Israel. These verses show how God will strengthen the
nation for battle so that her enemies will be defeated. But 13:7-9 and 14:2-3
revealthat things will get pretty desperate for Israel before the Lord
intervenes. The city will be captured, houses plundered, womenraped, and

half of the city exiled before the Lord fights againstthe nations. Two parts of
the land will be cut off and perish and the third part will be brought through
the fire. Only after this will Israel be delivered.
God will make Jerusalema cup that causes reeling to all the nations (12:2).
The nations will greedily consume Israel like a cup of wine, but instead of
satisfying them, it makes them staggerandfall to the ground. God also
promises (12:3) to make Jerusalema heavy stone, so that whoevertries to lift
it will only injure himself. Also, God will strike the horses with bewilderment
and the riders with madness (12:4). Scholars differ over whether there will be
literal cavalry in the campaignof Armageddon or whether the prophecy uses
language ofthe times (maybe God will cause the computer systems to go
haywire!).
Some understand verse 5 to mean that the leaders (NASB, “clans”)of Judah
will side with the nations until they recognize that God is empowering those in
Jerusalem(F. Duane Lindsey, in The Bible Knowledge Commentary [Victor
Books], 1:1566). Orperhaps the faith of those in Jerusalemwill inspire these
leaders to trust in God. He will make them like a fire to consume their
enemies (12:6).
Then (12:7) Godpromises to “deliver the defenseless country[“tents of
Judah”] before the fortified and well-defended capital, so that both may
realize that the victory is of the Lord” (Charles Feinberg, God Remembers
[American Boardof Missionto the Jews], p. 225). Merrill Unger observes,
“The Lord will manifest Himself in such deliverance as will honor faith, unite
His people, and cause them mutually to make their boastwholly in the Lord,
instead of partially in themselves” (Zechariah: Prophet of Messiah’s Glory
[Zondervan], p. 212, italics his). God promises further that the weakestofthe
inhabitants of Jerusalemwill be like David and the leaders (“the house of

David”) will be like God, further described as like the angelof the Lord going
before them.
In 12:9, when the Lord says [literally] that He “will seek to destroyall the
nations that come againstJerusalem,”it is not as if there is any doubt about
the outcome!Verse 1 shows us God’s omnipotent ability to do whatever He
purposes to do. Rather, it is using human language in the sense of focusing full
attention on the matter, so as to say, “WhenGod sets His mind on doing it, it’s
a done deal!” (See Unger, p. 213.)
God’s reasonfor delivering His chosenpeople physically (12:2-9) is so that
later He can save them spiritually (12:10-14), and all of this is for His glory.
Many of God’s people cantestify that God saved their lives from physical
death years before He later saved their souls from spiritual death. John
Newton, the wickedslave trader, who was savedto become a pastor and hymn
writer (“Amazing Grace”), more than once narrowly escapeddeath before his
conversion. Once he fell overboardwhen he was drunk and was harpooned to
get him back on deck, but he survived! If God has sparedyour life, but you
have not yet come to Christ, He wants you to turn in faith to Him today!
There is anotherlessonhere: The safestplace for any of God’s people is in the
centerof His will and purpose. When Zechariah wrote, many Jews were still
in Babylon. Perhaps they thought, “It’s just not safe to move back to
Jerusalem. There is no army there and no wall around the city. The place is
surrounded by hostile neighbors. I’ll just stayhere in Babylon.”
But Zechariahis showing them that evenif all the hostile nations in the world
are lined up againstJerusalem, it is the safestplace in the world to be, because
Almighty God has promised to destroythe nations that come against
Jerusalem. This doesn’t mean that we should throw cautionto the wind, or

that there are not times when God’s servants should flee for their lives. But it
does mean that God watches overHis people (12:4), and that no one cantouch
them unless it fits with God’s purpose. All the armies on earth canline up
againstGod’s people, but they will not thwart God’s mighty purpose to save
His people for His glory.
2. God is mighty to save His people spiritually (12:10-14).
Verse 10 is one of the most remarkable prophecies in the Bible. There is no
way to explain it apart from the incarnation, death, and resurrectionof one
who is both God and man. The speakerthroughout this passagehas beenGod,
who now says, “Theywill look on Me whom they have pierced.” “Pierce”is
consistentlyused of someone being run through by a swordor spear(Num.
25:8; Judges 9:54; 1 Sam. 31:4). No one canpierce God, unless God first takes
on human flesh. And the Jewishnation cannot somedaylook on this one
whom they pierced unless He is then living, having been raisedfrom the dead.
When the soldier thrust his swordthrough Jesus’side as He hung on the
cross, he inadvertently fulfilled this prophecy in remarkable detail (John
19:36-37)!
Before we look at severalaspects ofthe spiritual salvation that Godpromises
to bring to His chosenpeople, note that it is entirely of God. God does not say,
“I would like to save My people someday, but they must exercise their free
will in order for the process to happen.” Nor is this prophecy based only on
God’s foreknowledge ofwhat will happen, but rather on His mighty power
that causes itto happen. In other words, God isn’t looking down through the
centuries here and exclaiming, “Finally, after all these years, I can see that the
Jews will softentheir own hearts by their own free will and trust in Me! I’ve
always wantedthem to do this, but I couldn’t do anything about it because of
the sovereigntyof human free will. I’m so glad that they finally decided to
follow Jesus!”

That is how many evangelicals view salvationin our day, but it is definitely
not what the Bible teaches. It shows that salvation is of the Lord, from start to
finish. While we must trust in Jesus Christ and repent of our sins, neither
saving faith nor repentance originates in the fallen human heart. They are
God’s gift, so that none can boast(Eph. 2:8-9; Acts 5:31; 11:18).
Note briefly five things about God’s salvation:
A. GOD OFTEN PREPARES US FOR SALVATION THROUGH TRIALS.
Before Godsaves the Jews spiritually, He will take them through the awful
events of the Tribulation, culminating in the horrifying campaignof
Armageddon. Lest you think that God is merely describing what will happen
in the future, apart from His causation, in 14:2, He states, “ForI will gather
all the nations againstJerusalemto battle….” Those nations will be
accountable for their hatred againstthe Jews, but behind all events is God,
“who works all things after the counselof His will” (Eph. 1:11).
When you encounter trials, you are prone to doubt either God’s love or His
sovereignpower. You may even go so far as to doubt His existence:“If there is
a loving, all-powerful God, then why are these terrible things happening to
me?” But our text is clear that God is by far stronger than the most powerful
armies in the world and that He cares for His people, whom He will save.
There are Christians who saythat anything bad that happens to us is from the
devil and that it was not God’s will (imagine!). But the implication, then, is
that Satangot one over on God! The Bible is clearthat God sometimes uses
Satanto carry out His will, but Satancan go no farther than Godpermits
(Job 1-2). It brings far more comfort to know that even severe trials are under
God’s sovereignwill, than to think that somehow they are not.

In the chemistry lab, every substance has its melting point. The same is true of
the hard human heart. God graciouslybrings trials into our lives to softenus
and prepare us to receive His grace. Beforethe trials, we didn’t know that we
needed God. We thought that we were in control. So God yanks the rug out
from under us by bringing all the armies of the world againstus to cause us to
cry out to Him for help!
B. GOD BRINGS US TO SALVATION THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT.
God promises to pour out on the Jews “the Spirit of grace and of
supplication.” This is a reference to the Holy Spirit (Isa. 44:3; Ezek. 39:29;
Joel2:28-29;note all three persons of the Trinity in Zech. 12:10). Jesus told
Nicodemus that the new birth is effectedby the Spirit (John 3:5-8). “It is the
Spirit who gives life” (John 6:63). Unless the Spirit of God convicts us of sin,
righteousness, andjudgment (John 16:8) and imparts new life to us, we
remain dead in our transgressions andsins (Eph. 2:1, 5), excluded from the
life of God because ofour hard hearts (Eph. 4:18). Salvation, like the original
creation, requires the sovereignpowerof God (2 Cor. 4:4, 6).
He is calledhere “the Spirit of grace and of supplication.” Grace means God’s
undeserved favor. The Jews who piercedtheir Messiahdo not deserve God’s
favor, and neither does any sinner. Grace means that we do not have to clean
up our lives or accumulate goodworks in order to qualify for salvation. Those
things follow salvation, but they do not precede it to prompt God to act.
The “Spirit of supplication” means that when He graciouslyintervenes in a
sinner’s heart, that sinner cries out to God, “Save me, Lord, or I perish!” All
subsequent prayer stems from God’s gracious Spirit of supplication moving
us to cry for help. If you recognize that you are a sinner in God’s sight and
you have cried out to Him to save you, it is because He has poured out His

Spirit of grace and supplication on you. If you know Christ as Savior, but you
lament the hardness of your heart, and you are crying out, “God, soften my
heart towards You,” it is because His Spirit of grace and supplication is
working in you.
C. GOD’S SALVATION BRINGS US TO SEE THE SAVIOR
ACCURATELY.
Israelwill “look on Me whom they have pierced.” As I said, the only way that
this canbe explained is if the one piercedis both God and man. In the 16th
century, John Calvin fought againstthe same errors that we face in
Unitarianism and the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who deny that Jesus is fully God.
He comments on this text to show that Christ is the same in essence withthe
Father and the Spirit, but distinct in person. Thus God the Fatherwas not
pierced, because He did not take on human flesh. But He can say, “Theyshall
look on Me” because He is one in essence withthe Son (Calvin’s
Commentaries [Baker], on The Twelve Minor Prophets, pp. 365-367). While
you do not need to understand the Trinity to be saved, you really cannot
understand the gospelunless Godopens your eyes to see that Jesus is fully
God and fully man. He had to be God to be sinless, so that His sacrifice would
be acceptable to the Father. He had to be man or that sacrifice couldnot
apply to humans.
But not only must we see the Savioraccurately, as God and man; we must also
see that “He was pierced through for our transgressions”(Isa. 53:5). There is
no salvation apart from Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 1:23-24;2:2). Apart
from the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness forsins (Heb. 9:22). To
follow Jesus as a greatmoral example is not enough. To be saved, you must
apply His shed blood to your sins.
The Jews who will be living during the Battle of Armageddon did not
physically kill Jesus. True, their ancestors did. But God says here that they

pierced Christ. We need to apply this to ourselves:I piercedChrist by my
sins! You pierced Him! If you do not see that fact, you do not understand
God’s salvation.
Thus God often prepares us for salvation through trials. He brings us to
salvationthrough His Spirit and by opening our eyes to see the Savior
accurately.
D. GOD’S SALVATION REQUIRES THAT WE LOOK TO THE SAVIOR
IN FAITH.
The emphasis in looking “on Me whom they have pierced” is not on looking
on the Messiahliterally, but on looking to the Messiahin faith (Kenneth
Barker, Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Zondervan], 7:683). It is the same as
when Moses erectedthe bronze serpent, and whoeverlookedto it in faith lived
(Num. 21:9). Some interpret this as happening at the secondcoming of Christ,
but I understand it to be just prior to that event. At that point, there will be a
widespreadconversionof the Jews, as Paulstates in Romans 11:25-27. No one,
Jew or Gentile, canbe savedapart from looking in faith to Jesus Christ as the
crucified and risen Son of God.
E. GOD’S SALVATION PRODUCES GENUINE REPENTANCEIN THE
HEARTS OF HIS PEOPLE.
Israelwill mourn over the pierced Savior, as one mourns for an only son, and
as the Jews mourned for the goodKing Josiahin the plains of Megiddo, when
Pharaohkilled him.
Genuine repentance is not something that a person must work up in order to
be saved. But it does necessarilyaccompanysaving faith, so that the New
Testamentviews saving faith and repentance as flip sides of the same coin

(Acts 20:21; 26:18). Just as saving faith is not a one-time thing, but ongoing, so
with repentance. Ongoing repentance should mark the life of a believer, as we
continually look to the Saviorwho was pierced for our sins.
As believers, we should look frequently to the Saviorwhom we pierced, and
mourn. It must be personal, so that even husbands and wives mourn
separately. Thatis the point of the repetition of “by itself” (12:12-14). The
family of David refers to the rulers; the family of Levi refers to the priests.
“All the families that remain” refers to everyone else. True repentance is not
glib, shrugging off sin as no big deal. Jesus said, “Blessedare those who
mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4). The Lord’s Supper is a good
time to look in faith to the Savior whom we pierced.
Conclusion
Why did God give this remarkable prophecy to people who lived at least2,500
years before it would take place? It was not so that they could draw up
prophecy charts and read books abouthow soonthese things would take
place. He gave these prophecies to comfort His people as they went through
trials and facedthreatening enemies with the solid truth that He is a mighty
Savior, and that no one can touch His electapart from His purpose.
That’s how He wants us to apply it. If you have not yet repented of your sins
and trusted in Christ as your Savior, God may have kept you alive until now
so that today you would look on Him whom you pierced and mourn. If you
have trusted in Christ, He wants you to know that no enemy, whether
“tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, orperil, or
sword,” or even death itself, will be able to separate you from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:35-39)!
DiscussionQuestions

What theologicalproblem arises if you ascribe all trials to the devil? What
problem arises if you ascribe them to the Lord?
Should we pray that God would bring trials into the lives of loved ones to
bring them to repentance? Why/why not?
Why is it essentialto understand properly who Jesus is? Cana person be
savedand deny the deity or humanity of Jesus?
How does mourning oversin fit in with “rejoice always”?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2003,All Rights Reserved.
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 10
The Lord also promised to pour out on the Davidic rulers and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, representing all the Israelites, a spirit of remorse. Grace would
be the motive for this outpouring, and supplication to God (for what the Jews
had done to their Messiah)would be the result. This God-givenconviction
would cause them to mourn when they looked(in faith) to Him (better than on
Him) whom they had formerly pierced (i.e, slain; cf. Numbers 21:9; Isaiah
45:22;Isaiah 53:5; John 3:14-15;John 19:34).
"It is not so much a mourning for the act committed, but for the Person
involved. Compare John 19:37; Revelation1:7." [Note:Feinberg, God
Remembers, p231.]
"The idea is that they will humble themselves and recognize that they were
savedby another whom they pierced." [Note:Smith, p277.]

They would mourn as one mourns over the death of one"s only (beloved, cf.
Genesis 22:2;Jeremiah6:26; Amos 8:10) son or his or her firstborn son.
"It is a picture of penitence as vivid and accurate as any found anywhere in
the Scriptures." [Note:Chambers, p94 , in Lange"s commentary.]
The Jews will do this either just before the Messiahreturns to the earth or
when He returns to the earth (cf. Isaiah27:9; Isaiah 59:20-21;Jeremiah
31:31-37;Amos 9:11-15;Romans 11:25-27;Revelation1:7). The spirit in view
will be a result of the ministry of the Holy Spirit who conveys grace
(compassion;cf. Hebrews 10:29)and calls forth supplication (prayer; cf.
Isaiah32:15; Isaiah44:3; Isaiah 59:20-21;Jeremiah 31:31;Jeremiah31:33;
Ezekiel36:26-27;Ezekiel39:29;Joel2:28-29). The coming of the messianic
kingdom is contingent on Israel"s repentance, God"s sovereigncontrol, and
the Spirit"s enabling grace. [Note:See StanleyD. Toussaintand JayA. Quine,
"No, NotYet: The Contingencyof God"s PromisedKingdom," Bibliotheca
Sacra164:654(April-June2007):131-47.]
The unusual combination "they will look to Me whom they have pierced" and
"they will mourn for Him" suggests two different individuals, but the deity of
the Messiahsolvesthis problem. Yahweh Himself would suffer for the people
in the personof Messiah. The suffering could be figurative (they wounded His
holiness)or substitutionary (He died in place of others). Other referencesto
this text point to a substitute suffering (e.g, John 19:37;Revelation1:7; cf.
Isaiah53:5; Isaiah53:8).
". . . like Thomas their excruciating and inexpressibly penetrating cry of
deepestcontrition will be, "My Lord and my God!" ( John 20:28)." [Note:
Unger, p217.]

RON DANIEL
hey Will Look On Me Whom They Have Pierced
This is one of the most difficult passagesforthe Jews to explain away. After
all, how can God be pierced? The explanation is of course simple to us. Justas
it was prophesied,
Ps. 22:16 ...Theypierced my hands and my feet.
Isa. 53:5 ...He was piercedthrough for our transgressions...
God's piercing occurred when He was hung on the cross, His hands and feet
were pierced. Then, the soldiers came, and...
John 19:33-37 ...whenthey saw that He was already dead, they did not break
His legs;but one of the soldiers piercedHis side with a spear, and immediately
there came out blood and water. And he who has seenhas borne witness, and
his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also
may believe. For these things came to pass, that the Scripture might be
fulfilled, "NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN." And again
another Scripture says, "THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY
PIERCED."
They will look on Him again. Revelationsays,

Rev. 1:7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye
will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will
mourn over Him...
A C GAEBELEIN
Zechariah 12:10-14. This is anothergreat Messianicprophecymentioned in
the New Testament. In John 19:37 it is written, after the blessedside of our
Lord had been pierced, “And againanother Scripture saith, They shall look
on Him whom they pierced.” It is significantthat the Holy Spirit speaking in
the preceding verse, “that the Scripture be fulfilled,” avoids this wellknown
phrase in the verse we quoted and does not say that the looking on Him has
been fulfilled. It was not then fulfilled, nor is it fulfilled during the age of
Gospelpreaching, but its fulfillment comes in the day which is prophetically
describedin the verses before us. Matthew 24:30 and Revelation1:7 refer also
to this portion of our chapter.
We do not follow the rationalistic reasonings ofthe schoolof criticism on this
passage, nordo we mention the many question marks which these modern
infidels have put over againstthis greatprophecy. One of the mildest critics,
Canon Driver, says:“The passageis, however, one of those which our
ignorance of the circumstances ofthe time makes it impossible to interpret as
a whole satisfactorilyor completely. As the text stands the speakermust be, of
course, Yahweh, and it is, no doubt, true that the Jews had pierced Him
metaphorically by their rebellion and ingratitude throughout their history....
‘They pierced Him literally as the crowning act of their contumacy, in the
Personof His Sonon the cross’(T.T. Perowne;quoted by Driver), but these
considerations do not explain the passagehere.” The New Testament

quotations as given above are to any believer sufficient evidence that the Lord
Jesus Christ is meant, and therefore explain the passage fully.
What a day it will be when the Spirit of grace andsupplication comes upon
the remnant of His people, when He appears in the clouds of heaven, when
they shall see Him and know Him by the pierced side. The great vision of Saul
on the road to Damascus will then be repeated;the young Pharisee saw Him
as one “born out of due season.” He was in his experience the earnestthat the
remnant of the nation to which Paul belongedwould some day pass through
the same experience. (See Studies in Zechariah, pp. 120-125.)A great
mourning follows. It will be like the mourning in Hadad-rimmon in the valley
of Megiddon 2 Chronicles 35:22-27;2 Chronicles 35:1-27 :2 Kings 23:29.
What a day of repentance it will be when this takes place.
JOHN GILL
Verse 10
And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem,....The Jews that belong to the family of Christ, and to the heavenly
Jerusalem, the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven:
the Spirit of grace and of supplications; by which is meant the Holy Spirit of
God, who is calledthe "Spirit of grace";not merely because he is goodand
gracious, and loving to his people, and is of grace given unto them; but
because he is the author of all grace in them; of gracious convictions, and
spiritual illuminations; of quickening, regenerating, converting, and
sanctifying grace;and of all particular graces, as faith, hope, love, fear,
repentance, humility, joy, peace, meekness, patience, longsuffering, self-

denial, &c.; as well as because he is the revealer, applier, and witnesserofall
the blessings ofgrace unto them: and he is calledthe "Spirit of supplications";
because he indites the prayers of his people, shows them their wants, and stirs
them up to pray; enlarges their hearts, supplies them with arguments, and
puts words into their mouths; gives faith, fervency, and freedom, and
encouragesto come to God as their Father, and makes intercessionfor them,
according to the will of God: pouring it upon them denotes the abundance and
freeness ofhis grace;see Isaiah44:3,
and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced; by nailing him to the
tree at his crucifixion; and especiallyby piercing his side with a spear; which,
though not personally done by them, yet by their ancestors, atleastthrough
their instigation and request; and besides, as he was pierced and wounded for
their sins, so by them: and now, being enlightened and convictedby the Spirit
of God, they shall look to him by faith for the pardon of their sins, through his
blood; for the justification of their persons by his righteousness;and for
eternal life and salvationthrough him. We Christians can have no doubt upon
us that this passagebelongs to Christ, when it is observed, upon one of the
soldiers piercing the side of Jesus with a spear, it is said, "these things were
done that the Scripture should be fulfilled; they shall look on him whom they
have pierced";and it seems also to be referred to in Revelation1:7 yea, the
Jews themselves, some ofthem, acknowledgeit is to be understood of the
Messiah. In the TalmudF6, mention being made of the mourning after spoken
of, it is asked, whatthis mourning was made for? and it is replied, R. Dusa
and the Rabbins are divided about it: one says, for Messiahben Joseph, who
shall be slain; and another says, for the evil imagination, that shall be slain; it
must be granted to him that says, for Messiahthe son of Josephthat shall be
slain; as it is written, "and they shall look upon whom they have pierced, and
mourn", &c. for, for the other, why should they mourn? hence Jarchiand
Kimchi on the place say, our Rabbins interpret this of Messiahthe sonof
Joseph, who shall be slain; and the note of Aben Ezra is, all the nations shall
look unto me, to see what I will do to those who have pierced Messiahthe son
of Joseph. Grotius observes, that Hadarsan on Genesis 28:10 understands it of
Messiahthe sonof David. The Jews observing some prophecies speaking of

the Messiahin a state of humiliation, and others of him in an exaltedstate,
have coined this notion of two Messiahs, whichare easilyreconciledwithout
it. The Messiahhere prophesiedof appears to be both God and man; a divine
PersoncalledJehovah, who is all along speaking in the context, and in the text
itself; for none else could pour out the spirit of grace and supplication; and yet
he must be man, to be pierced; and the same is spokenof, that would do the
one, and suffer the other; and therefore must be the θεανθρωπος, orGod-man
in one person. As to what a JewishwriterF7 objects, that this was spokenof
one that was piercedin war, as appears from the context; and that if the same
person that is piercedis to be lookedto, then it would have been said, "and
mourn for me, and be in bitterness for me"; it may be replied, that this
prophecy does not speak ofthe piercing this personat the time when the
above wars shall be; but of the Jews mourning for him at the time of their
conversion, who had been pierced by them, that is, by their ancestors,
hundreds of years ago;which now they will with contrition remember, they
having assentedto it, and commended it as a right action; and as for the
change from the first person to the third, this is not at all unusual in
Scripture:
and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son; or, "for
this"F8;that is, piercing him; for sin committed againsthim; because oftheir
rejectionof him, their hardness of heart, and unbelief with respectto him;
and on accountof their many sins, which were the occasionofhis being
pierced; which mourning will arise from, and be increasedby, a spiritual sight
of him, a sense ofhis love to them, and a view of benefits by him. Evangelical
repentance springs from faith, and is accompaniedwith it; and this godly
sorrow is like that which is expressedfor an only son; see Amos 8:10 and
indeed Christ is the only begottenof the Father, as well as the firstborn among
many brethren, as follows:
and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn;
sin is a bitter thing, and makes work for bitter repentance.

Is Zechariah 12:10 a Messianic prophecy?
Zechariah 12:10 Messianicaudio
Question:"Is Zechariah 12:10 a Messianic prophecy?"
Answer: Zechariah 12:10 reads, “And I will pour out on the house of David
and the inhabitants of Jerusalema spirit of grace and supplication. They will
look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one
mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a
firstborn son.” This prediction, that Israelwill see someone whomthey
“pierced,” is amazing because it is God Himself speaking—the Lord is the
One who is “pierced.” This appears to fit later descriptions of Jesus Christ’s
suffering. Indeed, the New Testamentspecifies thatthis prophecy is truly
Messianic.
This verse indicates a future time when the Jewishpeople will plead for the
mercy of God. This will happen when they see “the one they have pierced.”
Zechariah’s verse is mentioned in John 19:36-37 when Jesus, hanging on the
cross, was piercedwith a spear: “These things happened so that the scripture
would be fulfilled: . . . ‘They will look on the one they have pierced.’”
Revelation1:7 adds, “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will
see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will
mourn because ofhim”—definitely an allusion to Zechariah12:10. Isaiah 53:5
also predicts that the Messiahwould be pierced: “But he was pierced for our
transgressions.”

In addition to the idea of a “pierced” God is the conceptof the “only child.”
Zechariah’s mention of a “firstborn son” bears an unmistakable connectionto
Jesus as God’s Son. The Hebrew word bekor was translatedin the Septuagint
as prototokos, the same term used for Jesus in Colossians1:15:“He is the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn [prototokos]ofall creation.” And, of
course, there is John 3:16, which includes a reference to Jesus as God’s “one
and only Son.”
This Messianic prophecyhas not yet been completelyfulfilled. Jesus has been
“pierced,” but there will still be a future time when all of Jerusalemwill see
Him and mourn their ill treatment of Him. At that time, they will cry out to
God for mercy, and He will answerthem by saving them from their enemies:
“On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem. . . . I will set
out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem” (Zechariah12:8-9). These
events will occurat the end of the tribulation period at Christ’s second
coming.
In summary, Zechariah 12:10 predicts the piercing of the Sonof God, the
Messiah, fulfilled at the first coming of Jesus Christ when He died on the cross
and was piercedby a spearin His side (John 19:36–37).The complete
fulfillment of this verse awaits the last days when the Jewishpeople will plead
for mercy from the One they have pierced.
https://www.gotquestions.org/Zechariah-12-10-Messianic.html
L. M. GRANT
JUDAH LOOKS ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED

(vv. 10-14)
After reading of the tents of Judah being savedfirst, now we are told of the
defense of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. This last part of Zechariah12:1-14
beautifully displays the grace and power of the Lord Jesus in dealing with His
own people who have for centuries rejectedHim, a reminder of the way
Josephdealt with his brethren when their circumstances virtually forcedthem
into his presence (Genesis 42:1-38;Genesis 43:1-34;Genesis 44:1-34;Genesis
45:1-28). But what is seenin verse 8 actually follows what is declaredin verses
10-14, forverse 8 indicates the new-found strength and courage whichwill
animate the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The following verses show the reason
for this. He who is feeble among the people will be as David, having found
strength such as David displayed in defeating Goliath.
"And the house of David will be as God, as the angelof the Lord before
them." The change will be so tremendous that the decisions and capability of
the house of David will be like the sovereign, active powerof God. This will be
because "the Prince of the house of David," the Lord Jesus, willtake His place
of supreme authority, and the people will learn in experience, "I can do all
things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). Also it is said
they will be "as the angelof the Lord before them." In the Old Testamentthe
angelof the Lord often intervened in awesome poweronbehalf of Israel. This
angelis the Lord Jesus Himself, though at that time He had not been
manifested in flesh as He is now and as He will present Himself to Israelat the
end of their GreatTribulation. In many victories of the Old TestamentHe
went before them, though invisibly, but He will do so visibly in that day of
which verse 8 speaks. The powerof the house of David, therefore, will be as
that of the angelof the Lord. Wonderful experience indeed! But such poweris
given to believers today in a true spiritual way to enable a living, moral
triumph over every spiritual enemy. May we have grace to use it rightly!

That day is God's appointed time to destroy all those nations that come
againstJerusalem(v. 9). These attacking armies will be headedby the King of
the North, the Assyrian. They will first conquer Jerusalemand then continue
southward to bring Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia into subjection (Daniel 11:42-
43), but will return in great fury when hearing news out of the eastand the
north. Easternnations will be arousedto come also to Jerusalem, while the
beastand his westernarmies will arrive at Armageddon which is north of
Jerusalem, where the King of the North has returned to besiege the city with
the intention of utterly destroying the Jews (Daniel11:44-45).
Before the Lord goes againstthose armies, however, He has serious work to
do with His own people, the Jews. He will stand upon the Mount of Olives
(Zechariah 14:4) from where He had ascendedafterHis resurrection(Acts
1:9-12). What a sight for Israel at a time when they find themselves in the
deepestdespair they have everknown! The Lord will work marvelously in
their hearts, pouring upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalemthe spirit of grace and of supplications at this marvelous time when
"they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced." It is Jehovah who is
speaking, forthe Lord Jesus is Jehovah, God over all, blessedforever
(Romans 9:5). The sight of this blessedMessiahof Israelwhom they had
crucified will produce the most profound, repentant mourning in the hearts of
these once rebellious people. From the depths of their hearts will come those
expressions ofIsaiah 53:1-12, "SurelyHe has borne our griefs and carried our
sorrows;yet we esteemedHim stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He
was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisementfor our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed"
(vv. 4-5).
Their sorrow will be that of one mourning for his only son, for they will
realize that God has in matchless grace givenHis only Sonto the awful sorrow
of suffering for their sins. As the only (or unique) Son He is equal with God,
for He is the eternalSon, therefore God Himself! He is indeed the firstborn

also as to the truth of His Manhood - not firstborn in point of time, but having
the rights of the firstborn because ofwho He is (Colossians 1:15-16). The
firstborn was always given the place of dignity in Israel, though sometimes
God intervened by giving the rights of the firstborn to one who was born later,
as in the case ofJacoboverEsau and of Ephraim over Manasseh(Genesis
25:23;Genesis 48:14-19). Thus Adam must give up his place of firstborn to
the Lord Jesus.
The greatmourning in Jerusalemis likened to the mourning of Hadadrimmon
in the valley of Megiddon (v. 11). Hadadrimmon means "soundof the
pomegranate." The pomegranate (full of seeds)is often connectedwith the
fruitful blessing of the Millennium, and the mourning of the Jews will be as
the sound of promised blessing in store for them, for true repentance is the
sure sign of blessing to come. The mourning in the plain of Megiddo may refer
to Israel's mourning for Josiahat his death in the valley of Megiddo (2
Chronicles 35:22-25). So Judah will be similarly affectedin thinking of the
death of the Lord of glory for their sakes.
This description of the repentance of Judah and Jerusalemis the prophetic
fulfillment of the truth of the great day of atonementof which Leviticus 23:26-
32 speaks. Onthat day every year, the children of Israel were commanded,
"You shall afflict their souls and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord."
If one did not afflict his soul or if he did any work on that day, he was cut off
in death. This lookedforward, therefore, to the day of Christ's manifestation
to Israel, when the sight of the One whom they had pierced will draw forth
their profound repentance. They will "cease fromtheir own works" in
appreciationof His own greatwork of atonementat Calvary. If one refused
this, he would have a hard heart indeed and would righteously be cut off in
judgment.

The mourning for Christ will be so intensely deep and personalthat every
family will mourn alone, and evenhusbands and wives will mourn apart from
eachother before God. When an orthodox Jew is converted to Christ, he is
often utterly brokendown at the thought that it was his own nation Israelthat
had despisedand rejectedthe Messiah. This same sorrow will burden all the
Jewishpeople at this future day of national repentance.
The family of the house of David is first specificallymentioned. David was the
king who sinned grievously againstGod. The family of the house of Nathan is
added. He was the prophet who exposedand reproved David (2 Samuel 12:7).
His family too will mourn in repentance. Then the family of the house of Levi
indicates that the priests also will be included in this repentance. It was their
work to restore one who had sinned, but they are reduced to the same need of
restoration. Finally, the family of the house of Shimei. Shimei was the subject
who cursedDavid (2 Samuel 16:5-8). Thus, the whole range of the population
of Judah and Benjamin is represented, as is seentoo in the expression, "allthe
families that remain" after the land has been terribly diminished during the
GreatTribulation. How marvelous will be the sight of this formerly rebellious
nation bowedin genuine repentance at the feet of the Lord Jesus!We, the
Church, will observe this from the height of the glory of God. If there is joy in
the presence ofthe angels ofGod over one sinner who repents, how great will
be the joy at the sight of the tremendous multitude turning to the blessedLord
of glory in repentance and faith! This will be a truly national repentance, but
wonderfully individual at the same time.
MATTHEW HENRY
(1.) It is a mourning grounded upon a sight of Christ: They shall look on me
whom they have pierced, and shall mourn for him. Here, [1.] It is foretold that
Christ should be pierced, and this scripture is quoted as that which was

fulfilled when Christ's side was piercedupon the cross see John19:37. [2.] He
is spokenof as one whom we have pierced it is spokenprimarily of the Jews,
who persecutedhim to death (and we find that those who pierced him are
distinguished from the other kindreds of the earth that shall wail because of
him, Revelation1:7) yet it is true of us all as sinners, we have piercedChrist,
inasmuch as our sins were the cause ofhis death, for he was wounded for our
transgressions, andthey are the grief of his soul he is broken with the whorish
heart of sinners, who therefore are saidto crucify him afresh and put him to
open shame. [3.] Those that truly repent of sin look upon Christ as one whom
they have pierced, who was pierced for their sins and is pierced by them and
this engagesthem to look unto him, as those that are deeply concernedfor
him. [4.] This is the effectof their looking to Christ it makes them mourn.
This was particularly fulfilled in those to whom PeterpreachedChrist
crucified when they heard it those who had had a hand in piercing him were
pricked to the heart, and cried out, What shall we do? It is fulfilled in all those
who sorrow for sin after a godly sort they look to Christ, and mourn for him,
not so much for his sufferings as for their ownsins that procured them. Note,
The genuine sorrows ofa penitent soul flow from the believing sight of a
pierced Saviour. Looking by faith upon the cross ofChrist will set us a
mourning for sin after a godly sort.
(2.) It is a great mourning. [1.] it is like the mourning of a parent for the death
of a beloved child. They shall mourn for sin as one mourns for an only son, in
whose grave the hopes of his family are buried, and shall be inwardly in
bitterness as one that is in bitterness for his first-born, as the Egyptians were
when there was a cry throughout all their land for the death of their first-
born. The sorrow ofchildren for the death of their parents is sometimes
counterfeited, is often small, and soonwears off and is forgottenbut the
sorrow of parents for a child, for a son, for an only son, for a first-born, is
natural, sincere, unforced, and unaffected, it is secretand lasting such are the
sorrows ofa true penitent, flowing purely from love to Christ above any other.
[2.] It is like the mourning of a people for the death of a wise and goodprince.
It shall be like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon,
where goodking Josiahwas slain, for whom there was a generallamentation

(Zechariah 12:11), and perhaps the greaterbecause they were told that it was
their sin that provoked God to deprive them of so great a blessing therefore
they cried out, The crown has fallen from our head. Woe unto us, for we have
sinned! Lamentations 5:16. Christ is our King our sins were his death, and,
for that reason, ought to be our grief.
(3.) It is a generaluniversal mourning (Zechariah 12:12): The land shall
mourn. The land itself put on mourning at the death of Christ, for there was
then darkness overall the land, and the earth trembled but this is a promise
that, in considerationof the death of Christ, multitudes shall be effectually
brought to sorrow for sin and turn to God it shall be such a universal gracious
mourning as was when all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord, 1
Samuel 7:2. Some think this is yet to have its complete accomplishmentin the
generalconversionof the Jewishnation.
(4.) It is also a private particular mourning. There shall be not only a
mourning of the land, by its representatives in a generalassembly(as Judges
2:5, when the place was calledBochim--A place of weepers), but it shall
spread itself into all corners of the land: Every family apart shall mourn
(Zechariah 12:12), all the families that remain, Zechariah 12:14. All have
contributed to the guilt, and therefore all shall share in the grief. Note, The
exercises ofdevotion should be performed by private families among
themselves, besides their joining in public assemblies forreligious worship.
Nationalfasts must be observed, not only in our synagogues, but in our
houses. In the mourning here foretold the wives mourn apart by themselves,
in their own apartment, as Estherand her maids. And some think it intimates
their denying themselves the use even of lawful delights in a time of general
humiliation 1 Corinthians 7:5. Four severalfamilies are here specifiedas
examples to others in this mourning:-- [1.] Two of them are royal families: the
house of David, in Solomon, and the house of Nathan, another son of David,
brother to Solomon, from whom Zerubbabel descended, as appears by
Christ's genealogy, Luke 3:27-31. The house of David, particularly that of

Nathan, which is now the chief branch of that house, shall go before in this
goodwork. The greatestprinces must not think themselves exempted from the
law of repentance, but rather obligedmost solemnly to express it, for the
exciting of others, as Hezekiahhumbled himself (2 Chronicles 32:26), the
princes and the king (2 Chronicles 12:6), and the king of Nineveh, Jonah 3:6.
[2.] Two of them are sacredfamilies (Zechariah 12:13), the family of the house
of Levi, which was God's tribe, and in it particularly the family of Shimei,
which was a branch of the tribe of Levi (1 Chronicles 6:17), and probably
some of the descendants ofthat family were now of note for preachers to the
people or ministers to the altar. As the princes must mourn for the sins of the
magistracy, so must the priests for the iniquity of the holy things. In times of
generaltribulation and humiliation the Lord's ministers are concernedto
weepbetweenthe porch and the altar (Joel2:17), and not only there, but in
their houses apart for in what families should godliness, both in the form and
in the powerof it, be found, if not in ministers' families?
IRONSIDE
To this they will come in the hour of their deep distress, just prior to the
appearing of the Crucified in the glory of His Father, and all His holy ones
with Him. This, therefore, is the mourning referred to in Revelation1:7, and
here, in verses 10 to 14. In the Apocalyptic passagewe read, “ Behold, He
cometh with clouds;and every eye shall see Him…and all tribes of the land
shall mourn over Him.” It is not wailing in terror that is contemplated, but
the anguishedmourning of the awakenedremnant when they realize the
dreadful impiety of which their fathers were guilty in crucifying the Lord of
glory.
God Himself will pour upon the house of David and the inhabitants of
Jerusalemthe spirit of grace and supplications, and “they shall look upon Me

whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for
his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for
his first-born” (ver. 10). The word “look” might be rendered “contemplate.”
It implies an earnestattention, beholding with thoughtfulness, that every
lineament of His face may be imprinted upon their souls. His once-marred
visage, His pierced hands and side-allwill be indelibly impressedupon them.
When they thus learn that He who was spurned as a malefactor and a
blasphemer was really the Lord of glory, their grief and repentance will know
no bounds.
We have two New Testamentpictures of this scene:Thomas the apostle, called
Didymus (the twin), believed when he saw. In the remnant of Judah, the other
twin-may I say?-will come to the front, equally unbelieving till the marks of
spearand nails shall prove convincing.
Then in Saul of Tarsus we have a preeminent picture of the same remnant.
Hating the name of Jesus, he goes onhis way, zealously persecuting all who
love that name, till arrestedby a light from heaven:his eyes, blinded to
earth’s glory, peerinto the holiest; and there, upon the throne of God, he
beholds the Nazarene!Thus he was one born before the time; that is, before
the time when, by a similar sight, the remnant will be brought to cry, as he
did, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?”
His days and nights of darkness answerto the period of mourning here set
forth. “In that day shall there be a greatmourning in Jerusalem, as the
mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon” (ver. 11). The
reference is generally supposedto be to the great grief that fell on Judah when
Josiahwas slain, in the same valley where the Lord is yet to appear for the
judgment of the armies of the haters of His earthly people. Megiddon is, of
course, Armageddon, the valley of slaughter, of Revelation16:16.

In vers. 12 to 14 the people are distinguished into various classes.The family
of the house of David, the royalty of Judah, mourn apart. The house of
Nathan, the very prophet who once reproved David for his sin, mourn also
apart. Then there are the families of Levi and of Shimei, or Simeon, once
joined in iniquity, now eachjoining, though apart, in common confession
because ofsin.
So shall every family participate in the affliction of soul that extends to the
glorious appearing of Him who long since enteredinto the heavenly sanctuary
by His own blood.
Another feastcloses the series in Lev. 23. Of that, chapter 14 of our prophet
treats; so I leave it till we reachthat portion.
JAMIESON, FAUSSET, BROWN
Verse 10
Future conversionof the Jews is to flow from an extraordinary outpouring of
the Holy Spirit (Jeremiah 31:9, Jeremiah31:31-34;Ezekiel39:29).
spirit of grace … supplications — “spirit” is here not the spirit produced, but
THE HOLY SPIRIT producing a “gracious”disposition, and inclination for
“supplications.” Calvinexplains “spirit of grace” as the grace ofGod itself
(whereby He “pours” out His bowels of mercy), “conjoinedwith the sense of it
in man‘s heart.” The “spirit of supplications” is the mercury whose rise or fall
is an unerring testof the state of the Church [Moore]. In Hebrew, “grace” and
“supplications” are kindred terms; translate, therefore, “gracious
supplications.” The plural implies suppliant prayers “without ceasing.”

Herein not merely external help againstthe foe, as before, but internal grace
is promised subsequently.
look upon me — with profoundly earnestregard, as the Messiahwhomthey
so long denied.
pierced — implying Messiah‘s humanity: as “I will pour … spirit” implies His
divinity.
look … mourn — True repentance arises from the sight by faith of the
crucified Savior. It is the tear that drops from the eye of faith looking on Him.
Terror only produces remorse. The true penitent weeps over his sins in love to
Him who in love has suffered for them.
me … him — The change of personis due to Jehovah-Messiahspeaking in His
own person first, then the prophet speaking ofHim. The Jews, to avoid the
conclusionthat He whom they have “pierced” is Jehovah-Messiah, who says,
“I will pour out … spirit,” altered “me” into “him,” and representthe
“pierced” one to be MessiahBen(sonof) Joseph, who was to suffer in the
battle with Cog, before MessiahBenDavid should come to reign. But Hebrew,
Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic oppose this; and the ancient Jews interpreted it
of Messiah. Psalm22:16 also refers to His being “pierced.” So John19:37;
Revelation1:7. The actualpiercing of His side was the culminating point of all
their insulting treatment of Him. The act of the Romansoldier who pierced
Him was their act(Matthew 27:25), and is so accountedhere in Zechariah.
The Hebrew word is always used of a literal piercing (so Zechariah13:3); not
of a metaphorical piercing, “insulted,” as Maurer and other Rationalists
(from the Septuagint) represent.

The Conversionof Israel
Zechariah 12:1-14
Dr. S. Lewis Johnsonexpounds the "secondburden" presented in the latter
portion of Zechariah's prophecy. Dr. Johnsonfocuses his teaching on the
conversionof Israelat the return of the Messiah.
SLJ Institute > The Prophets > Zechariah> The Conversionof Israel
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[Message]The Scripture reading is in the 12thchapter of the prophecy of
Zechariah. We’re reading the entire chapter, Zechariah chapter 12. We’re
drawing near the end of our study of this prophetic book. And I hope that you
have enjoyed it, at leasthalf as much as I have. Beginning with the 1st verse,
and remember from our studies last week, this prophecy is divided into three
greatsections. The first 6 chapters are largely visions, which the prophet
receivedfrom the Lord. In chapters 7 and 8 we have an answerto a question
concerning fasting, which was brought to him. And then in chapters 9 through

14 there are two prophetic burdens. And eachone of these burdens takes
three chapters in the book, so that today as we begin in chapter 12 and verse
1, we have come to the last of the burdens, and you will notice that the
prophet begins with that word. The first burden stressedthe judgment that
would come upon Gentiles in Israel’s deliverance, that is, their future
deliverance. The last burden stressesthe deliverance amidst the judgments of
the lastdays. We begin reading with verse 1,
“The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which
stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and
formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalema cup of
trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both
againstJudah and againstJerusalem. And in that day (now you will notice as
you read through these last three chapters that this expression“in that day”
occurs wellover a dozen times, about fifteen or sixteentimes. In the prophetic
word and especiallyin this book, it has to do with the day of the second
coming of Jesus Christ when he establishes his kingdom upon the earth, and
so, “in that day” is that prophetic day of the future) And in that day will I
make Jerusalema burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves
with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered
togetheragainstit. In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with
astonishment, and his rider with madness:and I will open mine eyes upon the
house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And
the governors ofJudah shall sayin their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem
shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God. In that day will I make
the governors ofJudah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch
of fire in a sheaf; (now that means of course, that Judah and Jerusalemshall
be the means for the destruction of the enemies of the Lord in that time) and
they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the
left: and Jerusalemshallbe inhabited againin her own place, even in
Jerusalem. The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, (perhaps because
they are defenseless)thatthe glory of the house of David and the glory of the
inhabitants of Jerusalemdo not magnify themselves againstJudah. In that
day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem;and he that is feeble

among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as
God, as the angel of the Lord before them. (and you remember from the
studies that we have had in various sections ofthe Old Testament, the angelof
the Lord is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ and his pre-incarnate days
when he ministered to Israel, and to individuals, before his incarnation. The
coming of the angelof Jehovahand his ministry among the people before, his
incarnation, was designedto prepare them for that greatevent when God
became, or came among us, as a man in the personof Jesus Christ, now verse
9,) And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the
nations that come againstJerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David,
and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they
shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in
bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day
shall there be a greatmourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of
Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every
family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart;
the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; The family of
the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and
their wives apart; All the families that remain, every family apart, and their
wives apart.” May God bless this reading of his holy, inspired word, let’s bow
togetherin prayer.
[Prayer] Our gracious Godand heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the
privilege, which is before us today, the privilege to meet in the name of our
Lord and SaviorJesus Christ, to listen to Thy word. We thank Thee for the
powerof the word of God. We thank Thee that it is living, that it is sharper
than any two edged sword, that it pierces evento the dividing asunder of soul
and spirit, and of the joints and the marrow, and as a discernerof the
thoughts and intents of the heart. And we know Lord that it is this word with
which we have to do. We thank Thee for the living word who has come, a
word from God, the revelation of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank
Thee that he has revealedto us all that God is, and all that God can do for us.

And we thank Thee for the fact that this revelation is sure and certain,
because he himself is the word of God.
And we remember that the apostles wrote concerning him, “In the beginning
was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.” And so
Lord, we want to worship and adore Thee for the gift of the Son of God who is
himself very God of very God. And we acknowledgethat it is only through
him that we have any right to approach Thee. We know Lord we could never
approachThee through our own merits. And so impress this upon us, and
impress upon us the solemnity of the privilege before us today. May in this
meeting we sense the voice of the Spirit of Godas he speaks to us. We know
Lord that there are many in this auditorium with greatneeds. And some
perhaps are troubled and distressed, and do not know where to turn. We
thank Thee that we are able to point them to Thee. And then Lord, we pray
that as Thou hast said in Thy word, that Thou wilt make goodthe promises,
for Thou art able to do that which Thou hast promised. And so wilt Thou
minister to us, and comfort those who need to be comforted, and strengthen
those who need to be strengthened, and minister consolationto those who are
down hearted.
And for those Lord who are finding it difficult to know the way, wilt Thou
show them the one who is the way, the truth and the life, our Lord Jesus
Christ. And may, oh Father, there be a greatopening of heart and of mind, as
we listen to the word in this meeting today. We commit Thee assemblyto
Thee. Pray Thy blessing upon it. May this church oh God, have Thy hand
upon us for good. Wilt Thou supply all of the needs that exist. Above all, we
pray that Thou wilt guide and direct us and make us a useful instrument in
Thy hands. We pray that above all, Jesus Christ shall be honored and
glorified and that eachone of us who comes into this meeting may sense his
presence, and also the fact that those gatheredhere desire to make him
supreme in their lives. We know Lord, some of the shams and hypocrisies of
our hearts, beyond realities that often exist within them, when we speak of the

need of reality. And so we pray that Thou wilt wipe awaythe façade and
hypocrisy, and enable us truly to put Thee first. We commit our meeting to
Thee today in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
[Message]Oursubject for today is the conversionof Israel. And of course, it is
portrayed in the sectionwhich we have read for our Scripture reading today.
One of the supreme miracles of history is just this conversionof Israel, the
national conversionof Israelto Jesus ofNazareth. I think in perhaps the most
touching scene that is recorded in all of the word of God, the time shall come
when Israel as a nation, shall turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and with one
accordshall say, as Nathaniel did when he too owned his ownking of Israel,
many centuries ago, “RabbiThou art the Son of God Thou art the King of
Israel.” And the fact that Israel shall some day turn to the Savior Jesus
Christ, and own him as the one whom they have crucified, as their Jehovah, is
interesting in the light of the continuing debate over Israel’s guilt of deicide,
or the murder of God. You open up your newspapers and your periodicals,
and from time to time you see this subject brought up, againand again. Was
Israelguilty of deicide, as certain of the Christian groups have charged?
I notice that even this week, in the latest issue of Time Magazine, this subject
againcomes up. With the chief justice of Israel’s supreme court, who has just
written an article in a law review. And the point of this review is that Israelis
not guilty of the crucifixion of Jesus Christas a matter of fact, the Sanhedrin
really desired to prevent our Lord Jesus from being crucified. Well now, I
don’t want to debate the illogic of that article which considers certainfeatures
of the New Testamentrecordwithout considering all, and misinterpreting
much of that to which it refers. That’s not really important. The thing that I
want you to notice is the fact that men are still concernedabout guilt for Jesus
Christ’s death. It’s rather a strange thing to me that this should still be upon
the conscience ofanyone, something an ancient, a fact of ancient history,
nineteen hundred years ago. But that very fact testifies to this, that God has
not allowedmen to forgetthat we have crucified our Lord and Savior Jesus

Christ. And Israelis guilty, but the Gentiles also are guilty. And men shall
never forget this, for the time is coming when those, and that includes all of
us, Gentile and Jew, whenthose who have not responded to him shall be faced
again, with this question of the death of Jesus Christ. It is upon the conscience
of mankind. And that is the only wayin which we can explain the factthat
men today are still debating that, with some vehemence.
Now, the passagethat we’re looking at today is in the last burden of the
prophecy of Zechariah. And as I mentioned lastweek, the first burden
emphasized the destruction of Gentile world powerin the last days before the
coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. The secondburden stresses the
deliverance and transformation of the nation Israel. In order to understand
this 12th chapter, if you are here and you have not yet read much in the
prophecy of Zechariah, it is necessaryfor us to bear these points in mind. Our
passagepresupposesseveralthings. It presupposes that in the last days, the
nation Israelshall be re-gatheredto the land of Palestine. As we look today,
and look towardthe east, we notice at leastthat the situation is such that this
prophecy could be fulfilled. We cannot, with dogmatism, say that the re-
gathering of Israelin the land today is that referred to in the Bible. No one
can saythat, no one is that wise. We do not have the mind of God. We can
only say that the situation is such that the prophecy can well be fulfilled
within our understanding.
The secondthing that is involved is, that some day an antichrist, an idol
shepherd whom we referred to last week in the 11th chapter, an idol shepherd
shall make a covenant with the Nation Israel. And the worship of the land
shall be restoredin a restoredtemple. But at the middle of the time of the
dealings of this idol shepherd with the nation Israel, the covenantshall be
broken and Israelshall not be a nation with a covenant made with the
Antichrist, but shall be the objectof the depredations of this man of sin, or
idol shepherd. And so, this passage presupposesa warfare directedagainstthe
nation Israel, in the last days. And the final thing that it presupposes is the

natural result of that. And that is, that a raid againstthe city of Jerusalemand
the inhabitants of that land, shall be a federationof all the nations, gathered
togetheragainstthat place. There must be something of real worth in
Jerusalem, and in that land, if all of the nation of the earth shall some day be
involved in an attack againstit. But that is what Zechariah chapter 12
presupposes.
So, today let’s look at our passage, andI want to spend just a few moments on
the earlierpart, devoting most of our time to the considerationofthe great
change that takes place whenIsraellooks upon our Lord Jesus Christin his
secondcoming. In the first three verses of the 12th chapter, the prophet
Zechariah describes the conflictthat shall take place over Jerusalemin the
last days, just prior to the secondadvent of Jesus Christ. Now he will speak of
it here in a very generalway. In the 14th chapter he will speak of it more
specifically. And so beginning with the 1stverse, the prophet writes, “The
burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which (that is the
Lord who) stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the
earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.”
Now, it is obvious that the chapter begins with an attestationto the effect that
the Godwho is speaking in this 12th chapter is one who can fulfill the
promises that he has made to men. Now it is very necessaryfor us to notice
something like that in the twentieth century, because it is very difficult for
anyone today to really believe that the time is coming when Israelshall be
restoredto the land, and that God is going to really fulfill these promises that
are found in his word. If you speak with people about these things, they think
immediately, “Wellyou must be some fundamentalist fanatic, to believe all of
these things that the Bible says about the future.” And I’m sure that God
understood that this is exactlythe way that men should feel at this time. He
tells us in the New Testamentthat when men speak ofthe secondcoming of
Christ there shall be scoffers arising who shall say, “Where is the promise of
his coming? Forsince the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they have

been since the time of creation.” And so the 12th chapterof the book of
Zechariah begins with an assertionofthe supreme powerof the deity who
shall bring to pass these things. As if to stress the fact that what he is saying in
this chapter, he is fully able to carry out. That’s why he begins with, “the
word form the Lord who stretches forth the heavens who lays the foundation
of the earth and who has formed the spirit of man within him.” If he has made
the heavens and the earth, and if he has also createdman and formed the
spirit of man within him, than he is well able to arrange that in the last days, a
federation of nations shall be gatheredagainstJerusalem, in antipathy to all
that it represents, and he is well able to have his son, our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, come and win that final battle.
Now in the New Testamentwe notice, over and over again, that this is the
thing that God does when he speaks ofsome of the blessings which seem
strange to us, hard to believe. Forexample, in the 3rd chapterof the book of
Ephesians, the Apostle Paul prays one of the most unusual and significant
prayers that I think, was evermade. He prays that we would be strengthened
with might by his spirit in the inner man. He prays that Christ may dwell
deep down in the hearts of believers, by faith. He prays that we may be able to
comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and depth and
height, and to know the love of Christ which passethknowledge. And then as
if, that’s not enoughto pray, he prays that we might be filled with all the
fullness of God. And I must confess whenI reada passage like that I say,
“Well, that may be true of someone else, but it’s very difficult for me to
believe that I could ever know the greatness ofthe love of Christ. And I surely
could not be filled unto the fullness of God. That is a promise that is far
beyond me.” And it’s almostas if the apostle anticipates the objections that we
have when he gives us these tremendous promises in the Bible.
So he says, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think. Unto him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all ages, worldwithout end.” In other words, the promises of God,

which are found in the word of God, are guaranteedby this supreme,
omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. This is, by the way, why it is
important for us to study the attributes of God. Forin the attributes of God, I
have a friend in Houston who calls it, “The essence box”, but nevertheless it’s
the attributes of God. And these things tell us what God is. And because he is
what he is, he is able to do the things that arise out of naturally, that which he
is. So since he is omnipotent, he is able to bring all things to pass. And I find it
very easy, in the light of these statements made about him, to believe then that
these things shall come to pass. And when my friends, when I mention them,
when they lift their eyebrows, they don’t tell me I’m a fanatic until I’ve turned
around and walkedaway, and they actexactly like I do, see I’m talking
behind their back too, now. [Laughter] But when my friends lift their
eyebrows I know exactlywhat they mean. To think that this could come to
pass is ridiculous. It’s just out of this world. This fellow’s gone around the
bend. And that’s why the prophet states, this is said by, “the Lord which
stretcheth forth the heavens, layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth
the spirit of man within him.”
Now he speaks aboutthe effectthat Israelshall have upon the nations of the
future. He says, “Behold, I will make Jerusalema cup of trembling unto all
the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both againstJudah
and againstJerusalem.”I would gatherfrom this, that there is something
about Jerusalemand Judah that is going to attractthe nations of the future to
that city. Have you been reading in the newspapers and in your other
literature, the things that are being discoveredin the land of Palestine today?
Do you know that in the DeadSea itself, which now at leastso far as the
westernshore is concerned, belongs largelyto Israel, do you know that in the
DeadSea there are forty-five billion tons, now that’s right, forty-five billion
tons of some of the most valuable chemicals that we know of? Did you know
that? Did you know that in the DeadSea itself, there is wealth that is worth
not millions, billions. It is very easyto see, as things are being discovered
within that land, that this land shall become, as Ezekielsays, a booty for the
nations. And so they shall one day be gathered againstJudah and against
Jerusalem, to take that land. Now that is not the only reasonthey’re gathered

there. I saythis only that you might be able to believe, you see, some of the
things that are found in God’s word.
But when the nations are gatheredthere, Zechariah says that he’s going to
make them a goblet of staggering. Thatis, they’re going to take up Jerusalem,
to drink it, just as you might take up a BloodyMary to drink it. And you’d
discoverthat that BloodyMary, which looks onthe outside to be a very
innocent drink, is something that will, well, it will do things to your eye balls,
so I understand. Now mind you, I’m not recommending this, and I’m not
recommending that you acceptthis product for yourself. But I know, at least
my friends tell me. To tell you the truth, I calledsomeone yesterdayand I
said, “Now tellme, some drink that is extremely powerful.” And he said, “It’s
a Bloody Mary,” [Laughter] said, “That’s what you want. It’s tomato juice
and it looks very, very innocent. But of course it’s mixed with Vodka, and
when you drink it, it really does things to you.”
And so, Israelshall be very much like that in that day. And the nations shall
come down and they will say, “I’m going to drink this grape juice.” But they
are going to discoverthat it’s a BloodyMary, as far they’re concerned. It’s a
gobletof staggering. And that, by the way, is exactly what God says. You
think I’m trying to make something out of the word, no I’m not. That’s
exactly what he says, “It’s a gobletof reeling” they’re going to take it up and
think they’re going to drink it and enjoy it, but it’s going to cause them to
staggeraround like alcoholics.
“And in that day I will make Jerusalema burdensome stone for all people:”
and so as they come, by the way, that’s a stone in Hebrew that was often used
of weight lifting stones. Now all young men lift weights today. You know how
they do, they strain and you hear all this noise, don’t you wives? You hear all
of this noise back in the boy’s room, and every now and then you hear one of
them hit the floor, and you wonder if it has gone through the floor and so you

rush back, weightlifting. And then occasionallyof course, it’s possible to
dislocate a bone, or it’s possible to cause a rupture. And that is exactlythe
figure that is used in the 3rd verse. “In that day I will make Jerusalema
burdensome stone for all people:” they’re going to go down there and say, “I
think I’ll practice my weights a little and I’m going to lift up Judah and
Jerusalem.” Butthey’re going to discoverthat things will happen to them,
when they lay their hand upon God’s place and God’s people.
Now we must hastenon, because we want to emphasize the latter part of this
chapter. But in verses 4 through 9, he stressesthe fact that Israelshall be
delivered when these nations are gatheredagainstthem. When this, when the
nations gatheragainstJerusalem, Godby a might divine deliverance, turns
the enemy to maddened riders upon maddened steeds. And God’s eye is upon
his people, and because his eye is upon his people, he is sure to deliver them. I
againsay, I take this to be literal, and to be literally fulfilled.
Some time ago I mentioned an old story, which I have used a number of times
in Bible teaching, because I think it sets forth some principles that are
exceedinglyimportant. Many years ago, a Jew was speaking with a Christian
minister. Now this Christian minister did not believe in the fulfillment of the
Old Testamentpromises. He believed that they were fulfilled in the church.
He of course, took the blessings. He did not take the curses. Buthe took the
blessings, and said the blessings are fulfilled in the church. And he ignored the
promises, the prophecies of cursing in the Old Testament. He was speaking to
the Jew about the claims of Jesus Christ. And the Jew spoke to him and he
said, “I want to ask you a question sir. Do you believe Luke chapter 1 and
verse 31, ‘And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a
son, and shalt call his name Jesus.’”? The Christian minister said, “Yes I do, I
believe in the virgin birth.” The Jew then said, “Welldo you believe verses 32
and 33, ‘and he shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and
the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall

reign over the house of Jacobfor ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no
end.’ Do you believe that sir?”
The Christian minister said, “No, I do not.” “How do you understand it?”
“Well, I understand it to be a reference to the factthat Jesus Christ is going to
have a spiritual kingdom in the church.” The Jew said, “This is an amazing
thing to me.” He says, “You’re willing to believe verse 31 literally, which
records the virgin birth, which to my mind is a far greatermiracle than the
second. And yet you will not believe the second. How is that? Why do you
believe, sir, in the 31stverse, about the virgin birth, and you do not believe the
other?” The Christian minister said, “I believe in verse 31, that Jesus was
born of a virgin because it is a fact.” And the Jew, with an aire of scornand
inexpressible triumph said, “Ah, I see it. You believe in Scripture, because it is
a fact. I believe in Scripture because it is the word of God.” Now it’s obvious
that the Jew stoodon higher ground. He believed in the word of God. And
because it was the word of God, he acceptedits teaching. He did not testthe
word of God by what he thought were facts, but he believed that God was able
to bring to pass the statements of Scripture. And so I believe these things.
Robert Louis Stevenson, whom we know as a man of literature, was
nevertheless a believer. And in his latter days, he became firmly convinced
that the Scriptures would be fulfilled as God had written them. And when he
spent his lastdays on the island of Samoas, he came into contactwith a
missionary, who later wrote an article in the Atlantic Monthly. And in this
article he went on to say that Robert Louis Stevenson, in his last days, spoke
often about the fact that the Christian church had neglectedthe great
promises of the Old Testament. Mr. Stevensonwent on to saythe Old
Testamentand the New Testament, contains glorious promises of the future,
which if they are takenin their plain sense, afforda greatmeans of
encouragementand consolationto the people of God. But when they are
applied to the church, they become farcical. When they are not takenin their
simple sense, but applied to those to whom they do not apply, they are a

comedy. And so the Old Testamentis a comedy, and it is farcical, if it is not to
be fulfilled as Godwrote it. This is why the Old Testamentis neglectedtoday.
But of course, the Old Testamentwas the Bible of the early church. They did
not have a New Testament, they carried the Old Testamentaround in their
pockets and they proved, and they preachedform the Scriptures as they knew
them in the Old Testament. And they justified the Christian religion from the
standpoint of the teaching of the Old Testament. And they lookedforward to
the future, in the light of the promises which would been made by the
prophets. To which also were added, those of the apostles as our Lord Jesus
taught them.
And so now in the first part of the 12th chapter, we have had this wonderful
picture of the conflictagainstJerusalem, and the conquestof the nations by
God, but what about the nation itself? So we turn now to the 10th verse. And
we read of the conversionof the nation Israel. Beneaththe robes of religion,
Israelhas had a barren unfeeling heart of stone. Why should he, God, wish to
destroy her enemies? That’s a natural question that comes to us, why should
God wish to destroy the enemies of Israel? Israelhas not responded to him,
Israelhas been unfeeling. Israelhas been indifferent. And furthermore, Israel
has been in positive antipathy againstGod.
How can we explain that he is concernedwith her? Well, the only way in
which we can explain it is to stress the factthat divine initiative is involved.
And you will notice in the 12th chapter, in the 10th verse, the prophet says,
“And I (God, Jehovah)I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications: and they shall
look upon me whom they have pierced.” In other words, it is the divine
initiative that is responsible for the conversionof Israel. He has chosenIsrael
and he is to bring them to faith in him because he loves them, and he loves
them because he loves them, that’s what the Bible says. And that of course, is
his attitude toward me. He has chosenme to put my faith and trust in Jesus
Christ because he loved me, and he, in the greattremendous divine initiative,

brought me to faith in Christ. And if I ask why he has done this, the only
answerI cangive is because he loves me, and he loves me because he loves me,
and he loves me because he loves me, and so on. That’s exactly what the
Scriptures say. And it’s a wonderful truth. And all we have to do to
experience this for ourselves is to respond to this great love of God. And so far
as the Bible is concerned, all, everywhere, may believe in him, and receive the
benefits of this greatlove of God.
And so, the time is coming when, to the accompanimentof the hallelujahs of
Abraham, of Moses, ofthe prophets, of the apostles, andperhaps the tears of
our Lord Jesus, Israelshallhave a tremendous transformation of heart and
this greatnation, which has been in such opposition to God, which has been
an enemy of God down through the centuries, shall in this tremendous,
touching scene, Israelshallfind her Lord. And I want to tell you, I do not
know of any scene in Scripture which I want to witness more than this one. I
cannot wait to see the day when this greatnation of people, so opposedto God
which, as a nation, figuratively has lifted its fist againstJehovahin heaven,
and againstthe one who sits at the right hand. When I want to see the day
when they themselves turn and put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The only illustration that I can think of in the word of God which can
effectively picture what is going to happen is the illustration of Joseph’s
revelation of himself to his brethren. You know the old story, and you
remember that the brethren, because they hated Joseph, soldhim into
captivity. All of this is designed to illustrate the ministry of the Lord Jesus, for
it is his brethren who have sold him. And Josephwas soldinto captivity. He
finally made his way to Egypt. There he came to be the top man in the
kingdom, next to Pharaoh. He sat at Pharaoh’s right hand, as our Lord Jesus
today sits at the right hand of God in heaven. And you know we have not time
to go through all of those wonderful details, told in the latter chapters of the
book of Genesis, how Josephfinally made himself known to his brethren, how
it so happened that some of them fell into his hands, and how he wanted so

badly to see his father, and his little brother Benjamin, and how he arranged
ultimately for them to come down to the land. They didn’t know what was
happening, they were very much disturbed that this strange man, whom they
did not recognize, who was their own brother, this strange man, was bringing
to pass all of these circumstances whichseemedto be so destructive to them.
And Jacobof course, was one who was immensely impressedby all of this. He
spoke about the fact that he had lost Josephand now he was going to lose
Benjamin, and it lookedas if everything was againsthim. All these things are
againstme, Jacobsaid. And finally, when Josephbrought the brethren and
got them into his presence in the 45th chapter of the book of Genesis, he
couldn’t stand it any longer and he made everybody move out, and there in
the presence ofthe brethren, he wept aloud, the text of Scripture says. Now all
of this of course, is illustrative of our Lord Jesus Christ and his attitude
toward Jacobtoday. He wept aloud, in fact the weeping and wailing of Joseph
was so loud that those outside the room heard it. And I cannot help but
believe in my own heart, that one of the reasons that Israelresponds to our
Lord Jesus Christ, and weeps and wails as they do, is because our Lord Jesus
Christ weeps first. And I cannot help but believe that when the time comes,
the one who shall be most visibly affectedby the revelation of himself to Israel
shall be our Lord Jesus himself.
You know I’ve often heard people getup behind the pulpit and tell how they
were converted. And sometimes when I know the backgroundof it, I sit over
in the cornerand tears begin to come in my eyes, and I don’t like for people to
see that I’m really kind of tender hearted, you know. And I look down and I
rub my eyes like this, because there’s just something about a man coming to
faith in Christ that touches me. There’s just something about it, it’s something
I cannot explain. It’s just something that touches me in my inmost being. To
see a man who has been opposedto God, a rebel, an alien, who doesn’tknow
anything about God and now he sees ourlovely Lord Jesus Christ and he
bows before him and says, “Thank you Lord for giving Jesus Christto die for

me.” And I want you to know the tears really begin to flow, and I love to have
an audience in which there are a few. You know there are severalin this
congregationtoo, and every now and then I look around to see if I’m getting
home to you, and I cantell, there are a few little tears coming down your face
and so I say, “Well, the Holy Spirit is working.” I used to have an airline pilot,
he was a Braniff] pilot, and you know wheneverI beganto talk about the
cross, I could look at his face, and pretty soonthe tears would begin to flow.
And this man, the rest of the pilots didn’t know this but, you know this man
had a reputation among the pilots of being a very tough and rigid kind of a
person. But when the gospelwas preached, the tears really flowed. And I
think that when this day comes, whenthis nation responds to our Lord Jesus
Christ, there is going to be tremendous weeping and wailing and I think that
of all the people who shall weep, our Lord shall weepthe most.
And the text says, “And I will pour upon the house of David.” There is no
gracious thought that ever originates in the free will of unregenerate men.
There is no actthat is ever glorifying to God that originates in the free will of
unregenerate men. There is no deed that is pleasing to God that ever
originates in the unregenerate will of man. Everything that is pleasing to God
originates first of all, in the activity of God. And so I read, “And I will pour”.
Prophets may warn, men may plead, but it is God who ultimately prevails
upon the hearts of men. And so we read, “And I will pour and they shall
look.” “Iwill pour and they shall look,” forit is God who takes the initiative
in all of the work of God in the hearts of men.
And the text says, “and they shall look unto me”. Is this the look of faith, or is
it the look of sight? When the Lord Jesus comes, is it the look of sight, which
sees him as the one who has been crucified, is that what Zechariahmeans? Or
does he mean that they shall look simply in faith, and realize that it is the
Savior who has died for them, whom they do not see, visibly. Now we know of
course, they shall see him. I am inclined to think that it is both. They see our
Lord Jesus Christ by faith, and of course, he sooncomes and they see him

visibly, as the one who has come and has died for them. “They shall look unto
me, whom they have pierced.” Now this settles the question it seems, to me, of
national guilt, “Theyshall look unto me whom they have pierced.” Many have
been the attempts of Israelto explain awayZechariah chapter 12 and verse
10, “Theyshall look unto me whom they have pierced.” There is no question
but that Israel has had a hand in piercing our Lord Jesus Christ.
I have a commentary on the Old Testamentwritten by some Jewishscholars,
it’s not a bad commentary in many ways, and I find a greatdeal of help. I
notice the explanation that they gave of the 10thverse of the 12th chapter. It
was something like this: They shall look unto me, because they, the nations,
have thrust him through. They shall look unto me because theythe nations
have pierced him through. And I lookedin my Hebrew text to seek, to
discoverhow it was possible for this rendering to be given to the text. It is
impossible. Will you look at the text carefully, it says, “And I will pour upon
the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem”. There is the
“they” of the text, not the nations. The nations have been mentioned back in
the 9th verse. But since that mention, there has been the mention of the Jews
of verse 10. And so the normal, surely the normal interpretation of the 10th
verse is, “And they”, that is the inhabitants of Jerusalem, aboutwhom I’ve
just been speaking. “Theyshalllook upon me whom they have pierced”, the
“they” must refer to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And if we could turn to the Hebrew text, and I could make myself intelligible
to you, I think in the Hebrew text, there is a specialstress upon the fact that
this “whom” is a reference to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It is the view point
of the Jews that messiahBenJoseph, an imaginary characterwho does not
have any existence in Scripture, messiahBen Josephis slain in the battle of
Armageddon, or the battle betweenGog and Magog, andthat it is this
messiahwho is referred to here. “Theyshall look upon me, whom they the
nations have pierced” that’s messiahBen Joseph, that is pure imagination.
That is an attempt to getawayfrom the plain teaching of the word of God.

And when we turn to the New Testamentwe find that, three times, Zechariah
12, verse 10 is referred to our Lord Jesus Christ. So the text says, “And I will
pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalemthe spirit
of grace and supplications. And they the inhabitants of Jerusalemshall look
upon me,” who is that “me”. Why, that is the Jehovahwho has been speaking
throughout this passage, ourLord Jesus Christ. “They shall look upon me
whom they the inhabitants of Jerusalemhave pierced, and they shall mourn
for him,” and this is the softmellow fruit of the spirit of God, which fixes its
eye upon the wrong done to God.
Oh how we need a revival of repentance, genuine repentance in the church of
God. Do you know what repentance is in the sight of God? It is an
acknowledgmentof the fact that we have been wrong before him. It is a
change of mind with respectto everything that we thought before we come to
know Jesus Christ as Savior. There is a godly repentance that works towards
salvation. It is the repentance that is not concernedwith the effects of sin upon
ourselves. Esaurepented, the text of Scripture said, but his repentance was
the ungodly kind of repentance. He repented because he had eatenthe pottage
and now he had lostthe birth right. He did not repent because he had sinned
againstGod. Judas repented, or regretted, as the text of Scripture said, he
regrettedwhat was happening to him but he never went to our Lord Jesus
and acknowledgedthat he had sinned againsthim. The repentance that does
not repent, in the sight of God is a repentance that needs to be repented of.
The text of Scripture, when we have genuine repentance, says that it is an
acknowledgmentof the fact that we have sinned againstGod. It is the kind of
repentance that David had when he said, “AgainstThee and Thee only have I
sinned and done this evil in Thy sight.” It is the repentance that the prodigal
son experienced, when he went back to the father and he spoke about the fact
that he had sinned before God, and he had sinned againsthis father. It’s the
repentance that realizes that our sin, first of all, is sin againstheaven. And I
want to tell you that when the day comes in Believers Chapel, when we

recognize that sin is againstGod, when we really recognize that, then there
shall be an increase ofholiness in the congregation, and a tremendous increase
in outreachin the lives of eachone of us. For when that day comes, the fire
and the power of God shall be upon this congregation. Butwhat a wonderful
day it’s going to be when Israel “shalllook upon him whom they have pierced
and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son,” a nation of
Jeremiahs, all of them weeping prophets who sing, “Alas and did my Savior
bleed and did my sovereigndie, would he devote that sacredhead for such a
worm as I.” What a tremendous and wonderful experience and wonderful
time this is going to be.
The text says that they shall mourn as for an only son. I don’t know how to
expound that, I must confess,sometimes words leave me. But, about two years
ago, a little less than that, I had an experience. It was something that came to
me just by accident, an accidentof an acquaintance. But we were very well
acquainted with a family, they are dear friends of ours. They had one son, and
that sonwas killed. And I was calledin the morning, about three o’clock, both
Mary and me. It was the policeman. He had arrived at the home to give the
news. And he had askedher whom to call. She gave him two names, my wife’s
name and another friend. We rushed over, and I heard what happened. She
was upstairs. She heard the doorbell ringing. She lookedout from the second
story and she saw the police car. And it just so happened, that she had read in
the newspaper, just a few months before that, of some other young football
players who had been killed. And she knew them very well, and she knew that
it was the policemen who came to give the news. And when she lookedout and
saw the police carat three o’clock in the morning, she saidafterwards, her
heart dropped. And said she went down tremblingly, and she opened the door.
The policemansaid, “Is this the so-and-so residence?” She said, “Yes”. They
said, “Maywe step in?” She said, “Yes”. Theyspoke to her and said, “We
have terrible news to give you. Your sonhas been killed.” She said afterwards
she just collapsedon the floor. I think she said, “Oh my God.” Wonderful
Christian woman, collapsedon the floor. We arrived, of course, when she had
come to, again. It’s a terrible experience.

When I look at the text of Scripture and read “And they shall mourn for him
as one mourneth for his only son,” I realize the tremendous transformation
that is to take place in Israel. And all of the Abrahams, and all of the Isaacs,
and all of the others, and as a nation as a whole, they shall collapse before our
Lord Jesus Christ, crying out, “Oh my God, we have crucified our king and
our Lord.” And Zechariahdescribes the tremendous mourning that takes
place. Now you know in the book of the prophet Isaiah, we have the exact
words that they shall utter, for we have Israel’s penitential confession, in the
53rd chapter of the book of Isaiah. And this is what they shall say at that day,
“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed? Forhe has grown up before him as a tender plant, as a root out of
dry ground: he had no form nor comeliness;and when we saw him, there was
no beauty in him that we should desire him. He was despised and rejectedof
men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our
faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemedhim not. Surely he hath
borne our griefs, and carriedour sorrows:yet we did esteemhim stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions,he
was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisementof our peace was upon him;
and with his stripes we have been healed. All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the
iniquity of us all.”
Oh my God, why have we done it? This is Israel’s sentiment, in that day.
Don’t you look forward to that day? I think I’m going to contribute a few
tears to that too. They’re going to be tears of bitter happiness, for Israel.
They’re going to be tears of happiness, so far as I’m concerned. Now
Zechariah describes, in the remainder of the chapter, this mourning that is
not only national, but individual and personal. You know when I read this
chapter, and this is the lastthing I’m going to sayto you this morning, when I
read this chapter, the prayer that I offer by my bed side, which I offeredlast

night and this morning, is “Oh that I might have some of the tenderness of
heart that Israelshall have in that day,” for it seems to me that this is only the
magnificent expressionof what should be individually true of us when we
come to know him, when we realize that it is we, who have crucified our Lord
Jesus. It is we who have respondedin this way in our own individual lives,
until the day when he poured upon us the spirit of grace and supplications.
How may I have a heart like this? Well I know first, that it arises from the
divine operation. Only God canmake this stony heart of mine like wax. Only
he can melt the iceberg ofmy soul. And it is God’s work. And I know too, as I
look at this, that apparently it’s wrought by a faith look at the pierced sonof
God. Forit’s when Israelsees him as the on who has been slain for them, that
this greattransformation takes place in their hearts. It was on old preacher
who said that we ought to look at the cross until all that is on the cross is in
our hearts. And this is the thing, it seems to me, whereby God brings us to the
place that we respond as Israelresponds, and come to know him in the way
that Israelshall come to know him. It is only as I see him, and the spirit of
God pours upon me, this spirit of grace and supplications. And the evidence
will be found in the fact that I shall mourn for my sin before Godtoo, in the
intense way that they do.
Someone has said the eyes have been given for two purposes. Eyes are given to
see with, and eyes are given to weepwith. Have you lookedoft to the cross?
Have you lookedat our Lord Jesus as the one who died for you? Have you
seenhim as Israelshall see him in that day, as the Lord Jehovah, who so loved
them that as with Joseph, he wept that they might come to him? Have you
thought of him at the right hand of God, as desirous from his inmost being
that you respond to him? And have you come to him? You who are children in
this audience, have you put your faith in Jesus Christ? You young people,
have you put your trust in Christ? And you adults, is it really personalwith
you? Do you know him personally? Have you said, “Thank you Lord for
giving Jesus Christ to die for me, I take him as my personalSavior”? I wish

you’d forget about me. I wish you’d think about the cross. And I wish you’d
put your trust in him. And then I hope the spirit of God, as you look at the
crucified Savior, shall so move your heart, that you shall be affectedby what
he has done for you. Shall we stand for the benediction.
[Prayer] Father we thank Thee for this wonderful event that we have been
considering, when Israelshall look upon him whom they have pierced. And oh
Father, we too are guilty. Wilt Thou melt our cold hearts, and touch us as
Thou shalt touch them. And enable us oh God, with the sense ofrelationship
to him. And out of the love and gratitude, which the spirit gives, may we serve
him acceptably. MayThy blessing go with us as we part. In Jesus’name.
Amen.
Keil & DelitzschCommentary on the Old Testament
Verse 10
But the Lord will do still more than this for His people. He will renew it by
pouring out His spirit of grace upon it, so that it will come to the knowledge of
the guilt it has incurred by the rejection of the Saviour, and will bitterly
repent of its sin. Zechariah 12:10. “And I will pour out upon the house of
David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplication; and they will look upon me, whom they have pierced, and will
mourn over him like the mourning over an only one, and will grieve bitterly
over him, as one grieves bitterly over the first-born.” This new promise is
simply attachedto the previous verse by ‫ו‬ consec. ( ‫ואגפׁשה‬ ). Through this
mode of attachment such connections as that suggestedby Kliefoth, “But such
glory can only be enjoyed by rebellious Israelwhen it is converted, and
acknowledgesandbewails Him whom it has rejected,” are precluded, as at

variance with the text. There is not a word in the text about conversionas the
condition on which the glory setbefore them in Zechariah 12:3-9 was to be
obtained; on the contrary, conversionis representedas one fruit of the
outpouring of the spirit of prayer upon the nation; and this outpouring of the
Spirit is introduced by ‫ואגפׁשה‬ , which corresponds to ‫ילהא‬ in Zechariah 12:9,
as a new feature in the salvation, to be added to the promise of the destruction
of the nations which fight againstJerusalem. The fact that only the
inhabitants of Jerusalemare named, and not those of Judah also, is explained
correctlyby the commentators from the customof regarding the capitalas the
representative of the whole nation. And it follows eo ipso from this, that in
Zechariah 12:8 also the expression“inhabitants of Jerusalem” is simply an
individualizing epithet for the whole of the covenantnation. But just as in
Zechariah 12:8 the house of David is mentioned emphatically along with these
was the princely family and representative of the ruling class, so is it also in
Zechariah 12:10, for the purpose of expressing the thought that the same
salvationis to be enjoyed by the whole nation, in all its ranks, from the first to
the last. The outpouring of the Spirit points back to Joel3:1., except that there
the Spirit of Jehovahgenerally is spokenof, whereas here it is simply the
spirit of grace and of supplication. Chēn does not mean “prayer,” nor
emotion, or goodness,orlove (Hitzig, Ewald), but simply grace or favour; and
here, as in Zechariah 4:7, the grace ofGod; not indeed in its objectivity, but as
a principle at work in the human mind. The spirit of grace is the spirit which
produces in the mind of man the experience of the grace ofGod. But this
experience begets in the soul of sinful man the knowledge ofsin and guilt, and
prayer for the forgiveness ofsin, i.e., supplication; and this awakens sorrow
and repentance. ‫יבה‬ ‫ז‬ ‫ייה‬ , they look upon me. Hibbı̄t , used of bodily sight as
well as spiritual (cf. Numbers 21:9). The suffix in ‫יבה‬ (to me ) refers to the
speaker. This is Jehovah, according to Zechariah 12:1, the creatorof the
heaven and the earth. ‫אּלרז‬ ‫יאריאר‬ , not “Him whom they pierced,” but simply
“whom they pierced.” ‫יא‬ , that is to say, is not governed by hibbı̄tū as a
secondobject, but simply refers to ‫יבה‬ , to me, “whomthey pierced,” ‫יאריאר‬ is
chosenhere, as in Jeremiah 38:9, in the place of the simple ‫יאר‬ , to mark ‫יאר‬
more clearly as an accusative, since the simple ‫יאר‬ might also be rendered
“who pierced (me):” cf. Ges. §123, 2, Not. 1. Dâqar does not mean to ridicule,
or scoffat, but only to pierce, thrust through, and to slay by any kind of death

whatever(cf. Lamentations 4:9). And the context shows that here it signifies
to put to death. With reference to the explanation proposed by Calvin, “whom
they have harassedwith insults,” Hitzig has very properly observed:“If it
were nothing more than this, wherefore such lamentation over him, which,
according to the use of ‫דגס‬ , with ‫בא‬ governing the person, and from the
similes employed, is to be regarded as a lamentation for the dead?” It is true
that we have not to think of a slaying of Jehovah, the creatorof the heaven
and the earth, but simply of the slaying of the MaleachJehovah, who, being of
the same essence withJehovah, became man in the personof Jesus Christ. As
Zechariah repeatedlyrepresents the coming of the Messiahas a coming of
Jehovahin His Maleachto His people, he could, according to this view, also
describe the slaying of the Maleachas the slaying of Jehovah. And Israel
having come to the knowledge ofits sin, will bitterly bewailthis deed. ‫והבא‬ does
not mean thereat, i.e., at the crime, but is used personally, over him whom
they have pierced. Thus the transition from the first person ( ‫יבה‬ ) to the third
( ‫אבהו‬ ) points to the factthat the personslain, although essentiallyone with
Jehovah, is personally distinct from the Supreme God. The lamentation for
the only son ( yâshı̄d : cf. Amos 8:10) and for the first-born is the deepestand
bitterest death-wail. The inf. abs. hâmēr , which is used in the place of the
finite verb, signifies making bitter, to which mispēd is to be supplied from the
previous sentence (cf. ‫ׁשתרז‬ ‫6:26(.תסמד‬ haimereJ , ‫רה‬
The historicalfulfilment of this prophecy commencedwith the crucifixion of
the Sonof God, who had come in the flesh. The words ‫אּלרז‬ ‫יאריאר‬ ‫יבה‬ ‫ז‬ ‫ייה‬
are quoted in the Gospelof John (John 19:37), according to the Greek
rendering ὄψονται εἰς ὅν ἐξεκέντησαν, which probably emanated not from
the lxx, but from Aquila, or Theodotion, or Symmachus, as having been
fulfilled in Christ, by the fact that a soldierpierced His side with a lance as He
was hanging upon the cross (vid., John 19:34). If we compare this quotation
with the factmentioned in John 19:36, that they did not break any of His
bones, there can be no doubt that John quotes this passagewith distinct
allusion to this specialcircumstance;only we must not infer from this, that the
evangelistregardedthe meaning of the prophecy as exhausted by this allusion.
The piercing with the spear is simply lookedupon by him as the climax of all

the mortal sufferings of Christ; and even with Zechariah the piercing is
simply an individualizing expressionfor putting to death, the instrument used
and the kind of death being of very subordinate importance. This is evident
from a comparisonof our verse with Zechariah 13:7, where the sword is
mentioned as the instrument employed, whereas dâqarpoints rather to a
spear. What we have observedrespecting the fulfilment of Zechariah9:9 by
the entry of Christ into Jerusalem, also applies to this specialfulfilment, viz.,
that the so to speak literal fulfilment in the outward circumstances only
served to make the internal concatenationofthe prophecy with its historical
realization so clear, that even unbelievers could not successfullydeny it. Luke
(Luke 23:48) indicates the commencementof the fulfilment of the looking at
the slain one by these words: “And all the people that came togetherto that
sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts.” (Forthe
smiting of the breasts, comp. Isaiah 32:12, ‫אדה‬ ‫אב‬ ‫סגד‬ .) “The crowds, who
had just before been crying out, Crucify him, here smite upon their breasts,
being overpoweredwith the proofs of the superhuman exaltationof Jesus, and
lament over the crucified one, and over their own guilt” (Hengst.). The true
and full commencement of the fulfilment, however, shows itselfin the success
which attended the preaching of Peteron the first day of Pentecost, - namely,
in the fact that three thousand were pricked in their heart with penitential
sorrow on accountof the crucifixion of their Saviour, and were baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness ofsins (Acts 2:37-41), and in the
further results which followedthe preaching of the apostles forthe conversion
of Israel (Acts 3-4). The fulfilment has continued with less striking results
through the whole period of the Christian church, in conversions from among
the Jews;and it will not terminate till the remnant of Israelshall turn as a
people to Jesus the Messiah, whomits fathers crucified. On the other hand,
those who continue obstinately in unbelief will see Him at lastwhen He
returns in the clouds of heaven, and shriek with despair (Revelation1:7;
Matthew 24:30)
as one mourneth for … son — (Jeremiah 6:26; Amos 8:10). A proverbial
phrase peculiarly forcible among the Jews, who felt childlessness as a curse

and dishonor. Applied with peculiar propriety to mourning for Messiah, “the
first-born among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).
LANGE
Zechariah 12:10
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon
me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth
for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness
for his firstborn.
2. REPENTANCEAND CONVERSION.
CHAPTERS 12:10–13:1.
A. A plentiful Effusion of the Spirit causes Mento look upon the Jehovahthey
have pierced, and Mourn bitterly (Zech 12:10). B. Greatness ofthe Mourning
(Zech 12:11). C. EachFamily mourns separately(Zech 12:12-14). D. A
Provisionfar the Penitents (Zech 13:1).
10 And I will pour out upon the house of David,
And upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

The Spirit15 of grace and supplication,16
And they shall look upon me17 whom they pierced,
And they shall mourn for him18 as the mourning over an only one,
And be in bitterness19 forhim as one is in bitterness for the first-born.
11 In that day the mourning shall be greatin Jerusalem,
Like the mourning of Hadadrimmon20 in the valley of Megiddo.
12 And the land shall mourn, family by family apart,
The family of the house of David apart and their wives apart,
The family of the house of Nathanapart and their wives apart.
13 The family of the house of Levi apart and their wives apart,
The family of the Shimeite21 apart and their wives apart.
14 All the remaining families,

Family by family apart and their wives apart.
Zech 13: 1In that day there shall be a fountain opened
To the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
For sin and for uncleanness.
EXEGETICALAND CRITICAL
This passagepresents a complete contrastto the one immediately preceding.
The change is every way startling. There is not a word of war, or conflict, or
victory, no reeling-cup for the nations, no torch among sheaves, no march of a
hero at the head of conquering hosts. On the contrary, all is subjective,
subdued, spiritual. It is a picture of penitence as vivid and accurate as any
found any where in the Scriptures. The people are seenstanding alone in their
relation to Him whom they have rejected, and meditating upon the character
of their greatcrime. One thought occupies all minds, one feeling pervades all
hearts. The experience of their greatancestorrecordedin the 51stPsalms
renewedon a broad scale, anda great sorrow spreads overthe community,
the intensity of which is likened on one hand to that occasionedby the sorest
domestic affliction, and on the other to that of a greatpublic calamity felt to
be at once universal and irreparable. Eachtribe and family goes apartto
weepin silence and solitude over the grievous infliction. What now is the
nexus betweenthis passageand that which precedes? It seems to be this. As
the former portion of the chapter setforth the outward protection of
Providence showntoward the New TestamentIsrael, by means to which it
emergedvictor from all trials and conflicts, and saw its enemies utterly

discomfitted, this portion turns to the other side of Israel’s experience and
deals with its inward character, showing how the covenantpeople become
such, how the Church in its new form commences the Christian life, and
obtains a title to the divine protection. It is by the bitter herbs of repentance,
leading to pardon and renovationthrough a believing sight of the pierced
Saviour,—the whole precededand induced by a copious showerof spiritual
influences of the same kind as those predicted by Joel(2:28), Isaiah(44:3;
32:15). In this view the two parts of the chapter correspondto eachother and
make one complete whole. The result of the failure of the shepherd in Zech 11.
is shown to be not final and absolute, but a link in the chain of events which
works out the fulfillment of the old covenantpromises, and the ingathering of
all the Israelof God.
A vast spiritual blessing is promised. It begins in the outpouring of a gracious
Spirit, which produces an intense and wide-spreadpenitential sorrow, and
this againis followedby purification and forgiveness.
Zech 12:10. And I pour out. … supplication. The house of David and
inhabitants of Jerusalem, here and in 13:1, stand for the whole covenant
people, according to a usage by which the capitalrepresents the nation (2:2;
8:8). The mention of the royal house indicates that all ranks from the highest
to the lowestneedand shall receive the promised gift. The “pouring out” rests
upon the earlierpassage(Joel2:28), and differs from it in defining more
minutely the characterofthe effusion. It is a spirit of grace and supplication,
which is abundantly bestowed. ‫ח‬ֵ‫ן‬ is not=prayer (Gesenius, Noyes), norlove
(Ewald), but grace or favor. The Spirit of grace then is the Spirit which brings
grace (cf. Heb. 10:29). It. produces in the mind of man the experience of the
grace ofGod, and this experience rousing the sense ofsin and guilt, naturally
leads to “supplication;” and this in turn suggests the looking spokenof. ‫ה‬ ‫ב‬‫י‬ ‫ב‬‫י‬ is
applied both to bodily and mental vision, and not unfrequently with the idea
of confidence in the objectbeheld (Num. 21:9; Is. 23:11;51:1). The phrase,
upon me, must refer to Jehovah, for according to ver.1 He is the speaker

throughout. The ‫א‬ ֵ‫י‬ before ‫ר‬ ַ‫א‬ ֶׁ‫,י‬ as usual defines more clearly the accusative,
and thus renders impossible the rendering of Kimchi, because. Ewaldand
Bunsen prefer the reading of a number of MSS , upon him insteadof upon
me; but the authority for the receivedtext is overwhelming, and on ever
critical ground it is to be adopted (see Text, and Gram.). The other reading
seems to have arisenfrom an attempt to correctthe Hebrew on the ground
that it was impossible that God could actually be pierced,—anobjection
which of course falls awayat once when the doctrine of the Incarnation is
received. Whom they pierced. ‫רז‬‫ּלק‬‫דק‬ was rendered by the LXX. κατωρχήσαντο
reviled, or insulted, probably because theythought the literal meaning of the
word unsuitable, since they similarly avoided it in rendering 13:3, where the
E. V. has, “His father and his mother shall thrust him through.” Several
Christian critics have adopted this as the figurative meaning of the verb, and
translated or expounded accordingly(Theodore of Mopsuestia, Calvin,
Grotius, Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Maurer);but entirely without reason, for in
every other case the word is confessedlyused in its literal sense (Judg 9:45; 1
Sam. 31:4; Zech. 13:3); and the prodigious mourning subsequently
mentioned, with the comparisons by which it is set forth, the loss of an only
son or a first-born, and the wail over the goodking Josiah, presupposes the
occurrence ofa literal death. But the point is put beyond question by the
Apostle John, who after recounting the actof the soldier who piercedthe
Saviour’s side, adds (19:37), “Another Scripture saith, They shall look on Him
whom they pierced; “of course not meaning that this one act of the soldier
exhausted the meaning of the prophecy, but that it was a fulfillment of it. The
change of person in the quotation—him whom Hot me whom,—is due simply
to the fact that in the Prophet it is MessiahHimself who is speaking, while in
the GospelJohnspeaks ofHim. Matthew makes a similar change of person in
his quotation (27:9). The remainder of the verse describes the result which is
to follow from this looking to the pierced One. And they shall mourn. The
objectof this verb is put not in the first person, as we should expect, but in the
third, for him; but such an enallage of personis not uncommon in Hebrew.
See any of the grammars for examples. That the pronoun is to be in the
masculine and not in the neuter (Gousset, Schultens, etc.), see in Text, and
Gramm. Mourning over art only son, is of course a sign of the deepestsorrow
(cf. Amos 8:10). Similar is the death-wailover a first-born, of which the great

instance is found in the last of Egypt’s ten plagues (Ex. 11:6). There was an
incipient fulfillment of this prophecy in the fact mentioned by Luke (23:48),
that at Christ’s crucifixion, “all the people. … smote their breasts.” (The
primary meaning of ‫ד‬ֶׁ‫ג‬ ‫סק‬ is to strike, especiallyonthe breast). But the true
fulfillment beganwhen the multitudes at Pentecostwere prickedto the heart
(Acts 2:37).
Ver.11. The mourning shall be great, ff. The Prophet furnishes an historical
illustration of the greatnessofthe mourning. The reference is generally
supposedto be to the lamentation over Josiah, who was mortally wounded “in
the valley of Megiddo” (2 Chron. 35:22). Hadadrimmon appears to have been
a city in this valley, and Jerome speaks ofsuch a city as still existing in his
day, although he says that its name had been altered to Maximinopolis. Josiah
was a king of Judah, a pious king, and one whose death was lamented in an
extraordinary manner (2 Chron. 35:25). There is no need to seek for other
applications of the text, such as the absurd reference ofthe Targum to the
death of Ahab, who could not have been mourned at all, much less, generally
or bitterly; or the impious suggestionofthe heathen weeping for Thammnz or
Adonis (Movers, Hitzig); or the frivolous notion of Pressel, thatthe allusion is
to Sisera’s mother (Judg.5:28), as mentioned in the Song of Deborah! Equally
frivolous are Pressel’sobjections to the common view, namely, (1) That Josiah
did not die in Megiddo but on the way to Jerusalem, where he was buried and
lamented; (2) that he, being now a man of nearly forty years of age, could not
properly be spokenofas a first-born or only son! Hengstenberg. on the
contrary, states wellthe reasons why just he should be introduced here as a
type of the Messiah. “He was slainon accountof the sins of the people;his
reign was the closing manifestation of mercy on the part of the Lord;
unspeakable misery followedimmediately afterwards;the lamentation for his
death rested upon the mingled feelings of love, and of sorrow for their own
sins as the cause ofhis death.”

A still more elaborate descriptionof the mourning is given in the next three
verses.
Vers.12–14.And the land shall mourn, ff. Notonly the capital, but the whole
land shall mourn, and this not only in gross but in detail, every family and
every subdivision of a family apart. The mention of the wives apart is not to
be explained from the habit of the women in all lands “to go into mourning”
(Pressel), but simply as a further specificationof the intensity and universality
of the mourning. The mention of David and Levi is easily understood, as these
were heads respectivelyof the royal and priestly lines. The other two names
are not so clear. The old Jewishview supposed Nathanto refer to the
prophetic order, and Shimeite to the teachers, who were said to have sprung
from the tribe of Simeon; but Shimeite is not the patronymic of Simeon, but
Shimeonite; nor is there any evidence that that tribe furnished teachers for
the nation, and Nathanthe prophet was not the head of any order. It is better
to adopt the view (Hengstenberg, Henderson, Keil, Köhler) first stated by
Luther: “Fourfamilies are enumerated, two from the royal line under the
names of David and Nathan (son of David), and two from the priestly line,
Levi and his grandson Shimei; after which he embraces all together.” Thus he
mentions one leading family and one subordinate branch, to show that the
grief pervades all, from the highest to the lowest. All the remaining families.
Not those that are left after the judgment (Neumann), nor the less renowned
(Köhler), nor as implying that some families shall have become extinct
(Henderson); but simply the remainder after those which have just been
specifiedby wayof example. This penitential grief will not be in vain.
Zech 13:1. There shall be a fountain opened, ff. This verse resumes and
completes the process begunin Zech 13:10 of the preceding chapter. It treats
of the same parties, —the house of David and the inhabitant of Jerusalem,
standing here as there for the whole nation. He who poured out the spirit of
supplication will also provide the means of purification from sin. A fountain is
shut up as long as it remains under ground, or is sealedfrom access(Cant.

4:12); it is openedwhen it breaks forth and flows freely. The reference
appears to be to a twofold usage in the Mosaic ritual; one, the sprinkling of
the Levites at their consecrationwith “waterof purifying,” lit., sin-water, i. e.,
for purification from sin (Num. 8:7), and the other the sprinkling of persons
contaminated by contactwith death, with the waterprepared from the ashes
of the red heifer, called the water of uncleanness, i. e., which removed
uncleanness. In both these cases the impurity denoted the defilement of sin,
and the outward purification was a symbol of the inward. So the water which
flows from the fountain in the text, is a water of sprinkling by which sin and
uncleanness are removed. It does not need to be renewedfrom time to time, as
was the case with the Levitical waters, but issues from a living well-spring.
The meaning cannot be a new watersupply for the metropolis (Pressel), nor
even grace in general(Köhler), nor the grace of baptism, as the older critics
said; but is the blood which cleansethfrom all sin (1 John 1:7), the blood of
that sacrifice whichwas typified in the sin-offering of the red heifer, the blood
which removes alike the guilt and he dominion of sin.
Excursus on 12:10. The history of the interpretation is interesting.
I. Among the Jews the early opinion was in favor of the Messianic
interpretation. Thus in the Gemara of Jerusalem, it is said, “there are two
different opinions as to the meaning of this passage.Some referit to the
lamentation for the Messiah;others to the mourning for sin.” Both concurred
in thinking of a dying Messiah, but one thought directly of Him and his
suffering, the other of the sin which causedhis death, directly or indirectly.
The former took ‫הו‬‫וקבק‬ as a masculine suffix, the latter as neuter. In contrastto
this the Gemara of Babylon maintains the personalapplication of the passage,
but says that it refers to Messiahben Josephwho is to suffer and die, while
Messiahben Judah is always to live. And this convenient fiction of two
Messiahs was“subsequentlyadopted by Aben Ezra and Abarbanel, the latter
of whom confessedthat his chief object was to remove the stumbling-block
interposed by Christians when they interpreted the prophecy, as relating to

the crucified One. Kimchi and Jarchidenied any Messianic reference. They
said that there was a change of subject, and either adopted the false reading
upon him instead of upon me, or translatedthe following word because
instead of whom, so that they interpreted, “the piercedOne”=everyone who
had been slain in the warwith Gog and Magog, andsaid, “they will all lament
for the death of one as if the whole army had been slain.” But this view is its
own refutation. The translators of the LXX. had the same text as we have, but
gave the sense vexinstead of pierce, because they could not see the relevancy
of the literal meaning. Some considerationof the same kind operatedupon the
Chaldee paraphase, which renders “they shall pray before me because they
have been carried away(or have wandered about). ‘ The modern Jews,
however, generallyadhere to the literal sense ofthe verb ‫,רהד‬ and explain it in
the method proposed by Kimchi, rejecting either expresslyor tacitly the
notion of a double Messiah.
II. Among Christians the reference to Christ was adopted without dissentby
the early expositors and most of the Reformers. Strange to say, the first
exceptionis found in Calvin, who understood the passageas referring to God,
who is figuratively said to have been pierced, i. e., irritated and provoked by
the Jews. He, however, held that as Christ is God, manifest in the flesh, what
happened to Him was a visible symbol of the substance ofthe prophecy, and
therefore was justly cited by John as its fulfillment. This view was warmly
repudiated by Calvin’s contemporaries, and followedonly by Grotius, and
some Socinianwriters. Later writers applied the words to some distinguished
Jewishleaderor martyr. Jahn suggestedJudas Maccabæus, andrendered,
“they will look upon Him (Jehovah) on accountof Him whom they have
pierced.” Baur thought it was impossible to determine which pf the leaders it
was, but it was one of those who had losttheir lives in the service of the true
God. Bleek adoptedthe same view, and to get rid of the reference to Jehovah,
substituted for ‫ה‬ֶׁ‫ב‬ֵ‫,י‬ ֵ‫ה‬‫יַב‬ the poetic form of ‫ב‬ַ‫,י‬ and rendered “they look to Him
whom they pierced.” This is simply desperate, for ‫ה‬ֵ‫יַב‬ occurs only four times
in the Old Testament, and these are all in the Book ofJob, and immediately
before a noun, and as it is here in the construct state, it cannot possibly be
joined to the accusative ‫א‬ ֵ‫.י‬ Besides, this view fails to accountfor the universal

mourning or the opened fountain.—Ewaldfor one martyr substitutes a
plurality of such as had fallen in the warwith the heathen. He renders “they
look to Him whom men have pierced,” thus changing the text and assuming
another subject for the verb, and explains thus, “the intention is to show that
no martyr falls in vain, but will one day be mourned with universal love.” But
this is opposedto the religious tone of the first clause, grace andsupplication,
and to the factthat in both the preceding chapter and the following, only one
person is spokenof as an object of persecution. Hofmann, after giving up his
first view of a plural object, adopted another according to which he rendered,
“My heroes look at Him whom men have pierced.” But ‫יב‬ never means hero
(see Fürst, sub voce), and besides, ‫ה‬ ‫ב‬‫י‬ ‫ב‬‫י‬ is usually construedwith the
preposition ‫ב‬ַ‫.י‬ Nor does the sense he thus obtains at all suit the connection.
An altogetherdifferent view has been adopted by Vogel and Hitzig, whom
Presselforsubstance follows, namely, that the Prophet speaks ofhimself
whom he identifies with Jehovah. “The murder of a Prophet is regardedas an
attack upon Jehovahhimself.” The statement of this view is enough to show
its untenableness. Foralthough the sender and the sent are often identified,
yet no instance can be found in Scripture, among all its records of martyrdom,
of a case in which the death of a prophet is representedor mourned for as if it
were the death of Jehovah. Noyes, in his Translationof the Hebrew Prophets
(ii. 387), first mentions Calvin’s explanation,22 and then adds, “Orthe
meaning may be that the people pierced Jehovah, when they recently put to
death some one of his messengersorprophets who is not named.” But the
violent death of a prophet was not such a rare thing in Jewishhistory; and
why should it in any case leadto such a greatand universal mourning as is
here described? Or, if there had been some murder of a prophet so
exceptionalin its atrocityas to convulse the whole nation in an agony of grief,
would there not be some trace of the factin the books of Kings or Chronicles?
Yet none such is found.
THEOLOGICAL AND MORAL.

1. When our Lord was about to ascendto heaven He commanded the Apostles
(Acts 1: 4) not to allow themselves to be drawn or driven from Jerusalem, but
to “waitfor the promise of the Father.” There can scarcelybe a doubt that the
passagebefore us contains one form or instance of the promise to which the
Saviour referred. The first greatgift of heaven, for which men were taught to
look in the latter days, was a divine personincarnate to make reconciliation
for iniquity and bring in everlasting righteousness;the next one was that of
another divine person whose influences should apply the redemption effected,
and thus complete the work of the Father’s sovereignlove. The latter—the
Holy Spirit—had of course been present and active in the previous stages of
the Church’s history; otherwise there could have been no Church, for the
Spirit is the indispensable bond of union betweenGod and his people. But
during the old economy, owing to its very nature as an introductory,
preparatory, and restricteddispensation, the gifts of the Spirit were far less
rich and powerful and generaland constant, than they were ultimately
designedand required to be in order to effect the purposes of grace. Hence the
promise of an effusion which should not be intermittent or partial, either in its
nature or its subjects, but every way adequate to the necessities ofthe case.
This promise was given by the older Prophets, Joel(2:28, 29), Isaiah(59:21),
Jeremiah(31:33, 34), Ezekiel(36:27), and is now resumed after the exile by
Zechariah, who uses the very term (‫ד‬ֶׁ‫ג‬ ‫ק‬‫=א‬pour out) employed by Joelthree
centuries before. (Isaiah uses a different word, ‫,ּלצה‬ but of the same
signification.)The effusion is not to be fitful or scanty, but generous and
abundant, a pouring rain from the skies, overcoming all obstacles, reaching
all classesand effecting the most blessedand durable results. Its precise
influence as conceivedby Zechariah, is in the wayof overcoming depraved
natural characteristicsby imparting grace and developing this grace in the
exercise ofsupplication. All true and successfulprayer is “in the Spirit” (Eph.
6:18, Jude 20). Paul had often gone through the forms of supplication in his
unconverted career, but it was only when spiritually enlightened that it could
be truly said of him, as it was, “Behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9:11). In the view of
a thoughtful mind, prayer itself is hardly so greata blessing as the promise of
a divine Spirit to help our infirmity and make intercessionwithin us. (Rom.
8:26.)

2. This passageis singularly happy in pointing out what all experience has
shown to be the chief means of kindling evangelicalrepentance,—this
apprehension of a crucified Saviour. Men are indeed convincedof sin in
various ways. Naturalconscience sometimesinflames remorse to a fearful
pitch. Sudden judgments, or what are thought to be such, stimulate fearuntil
reasonis eclipsed. A. keensense of shame proves to be a sorrow of the world
which workethdeath. But the true, healthy conviction of sin, the repentance
which needeth not to be repented of, is born at the cross. There the sinful soul
sees its sin as it sees it nowhere else in the world, sees allthe vileness,
malignity, and inexcusablenessofits past life, and is thoroughly humbled and
prostrated in contrition. It becomes conscious ofits own share in the dark and
bloody crime of Calvary. As one of those for whom Christ died, it had part in
driving the nails and pushing the spear, and is justly liable to the aggravated
doom of those who with wickedhands crucified the Lord of glory. Hence all
pleas in extenuation are given up, all excuses are felt to be frivolous. Nothing
is left but a fearful looking for of judgment, so far as the soul’s own merits
and claims are considered. But this very convictionof total unworthiness is
accompaniedwith a conviction of Christ’s wondrous love in bearing the cross,
and an inspiration of hope in the efficacyof his atoning death. Thus the arrow
that kills bears with it the balm that makes alive. The true penitent says, “I
am lost, for my sins have slain my Lord; nay, I am saved, for my Lord died
that those very sins should be blotted out.” So the repentance is real, deep,
and hearty, but it is not sullen, angry, or despairing. It grows keenerand
more comprehensive by experience, but faith and hope are growing in like
measure, and thus the equipoise in which the spiritual life began is maintained
even to the end. Even at the height of his usefulness Paul felt that he was not
worthy to be called an Apostle, and at the close oflife calledhimself chief of
sinners; yet he knew whom he had believed, and expecteda crown of
righteousness whichthe Lord, the righteous judge, would give him “in that
day.”

3. There are two striking peculiarities of penitential sorrow,—its depth and its
solitariness. The Prophetuses the strongestmetaphors knownto human
experience. No pang which death caninflict is so severe as that which wrings
the heart of parents following to the tomb the remains of a first-born or an
only son. It seems as if all hope and joy were interred in the same grave. So
againa greatnational calamity is intensified by the reciprocalinfluence upon
one another of all who are affectedby it. When President Lincoln was
assassinatedin 1865, a shuddering horror seizedevery heart throughout the
land, and multitudes who had never seenthe kindly leader were as deeply
moved as if the blow had fallen on their own kindred. A gloomy pall settled
down over all hearts and all households. But penitential grief which is
awakenedby the sight of a pierced Saviour is as real and pervading as that
which proceeds from any outward affliction, personal, domestic, or national,
its theatre is within. There are no outward manifestations, but the feeling for
that reasonis the more concentratedand intense. The soulrenews the
experience of the royal penitent,—my sin is everbefore me. But the stricken
soul mourns apart. As there is a joy, so there is a sorrow, with which a
strangerintermeddleth not. The relations of the soul to God are so delicate
that all shrink instinctively from exposing them to the view of others. Deep
grief is necessarilysolitary. In its acme, neither sympathy nor fellowshipis
sought or allowed. Much more must this be the case whenthe grief is
spiritual, for the hand of God which causesthe pain alone can cure it, and the
soul nauseates allother comforters. David Brainerd mentions that on one
occasionwhenho was preaching to his Indians, the powerof God came down
among them like a mighty rushing wind. “Theirconcernwas so great, each
for himself, that none seemedto take any notice of those about him. They
were, to their own apprehension, as much retired as if they had been alone in
the thickestdesert. Every one was praying apart, and yet all together.”
Cowperis not the only penitent who could say in truth, —
“I was a strickendeer that left the herd.”

The immediate prompting of all who become convincedof sin is to fly to some
solitary place and be alone with God, unless indeed, as in the case of
Brainerd’s Indians, the absorption of mind is so complete that they are
insensible to the presence of others. “The heart knowethits own bitterness,”
and a godly sorrow shuns companions until it has wrought “a repentance unto
salvationnot to be repented of” (2 Cor. 7:10).
4. Repentance ofitself, howeverdeep and thorough, is of no avail toward
justification. It does not repair the evils of wrong-doing even in common life,
any more than in the sphere of religion. The spendthrift may bitterly mourn
the extravagancewhichate up his estate, orthe debauchee the excesseswhich
ruined his constitution, but in neither case does the penitence bring back what
has been lost. It is the same with the sinner. Tears and penances are no
compensationfor sin. Sin is. a debt (Matt. 6:12), and a debt is satisfiedonly by
payment. The payment may be made by one person or by another, but it must
be made, or sin remains with its legaland endless consequences.Hence the
fullness of this passageofthe Prophet, which to a most elaborate painting of
the distress for sin causedby a believing apprehensionof the cross, appends
the true and only-source of relief for that distress,—the fountain set flowing
on Calvary. There must be aid from without. A continuous baptism of tears is
of itself impotent. Nothing avails but a provision by the Being whom sin has
offended, and just this is furnished in that blood of sprinkling which was
symbolized in so many ways in the Old Covenant. Apart from this, nothing is
left for a conscious sinnerbut despair.
5. A striking expressionof this is given in two passagesin the New Testament,
evidently founded upon the words of Zechariah. In Matt 34:30, our Lord says,
“Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of
man coming in the clouds of heaven, with powerand greatglory.” In Rev. 1:7
the beloveddisciple resumes these words with an additional particular,
“Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also
which pierced Him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because ofHim.”

All men are to see Christ, not merely in his glory but as bearing the scars by
which that glory was won. Some see Him so as to be subdued into a salutary
contrition; they are drawn to Him by irresistible attraction, and while they
mourn over sin rejoice in the ample and gracious pardon He bestows. Others,
alas, are to see Him, not voluntarily but by a necessitywhich they would fain
escape!They see Him a lamb as it had been slain, but no more within their
reachand for their advantage. He is to them a lost Saviour, one whose pierced
side and mangled limbs express only the fearful wages andterrible iniquity of
sin, but offer no hope of forgiveness andacceptance.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.
MOORE:All true repentance arises from a sight of a dying Saviour, one who
has died for us. True repentance is only love weeping at the footof the cross,
the soulsorrowing for sins that have been so freely forgiven. True religionis a
personalthing, and when it takes strong hold of the heart, will lead the soul
apart to solitary wrestling with Godand acts of personalhumbling before
Him.
BRADLEY: Holy mourning for sin is a bitter thing; there comes along with it
many a tear and pang; but yet there is mingled with it a comfort and a
blessednesswhichmust be felt to be known. The very look which makes the
heart bleed, is a look at One who can do more than heal it.…Pray for this
sorrow. When would you mourn and weepfor your sins, if not now?
Somewhere you must weepfor them; would you keepback this weeping till
you come to that world where; tears are never dried up; where you must
weep;if you weepat all, forever? And somewhere youmust look upon this
pierced Jesus 1 Will you look on Him for the first time when He opens the
heavens and calls you out of your graves to his judgment-seat?Itis a blessed
though a mournful thing to see Him now, but it is a dreadful thing to see Him

for the first time in the very moment when his work of mercy is forever ended,
when fountain He has opened for sin and uncleanness is forever closed.
MCCHEYNE:1. The Great Spring. I will pour. 2. The GreatAgent. The
spirit of grace and supplication. 3.The Effect. They look;they mourn; they see
the fountain opened.
JAY: There were provisions for ceremonialpollution under the Mosaic
economy, the brazen sea for the priests and the ten lavers for the things
offered in sacrifice. There were also fountains for bodily diseases:the pool of
Siloam to which our Saviour sent the man born blind; and the pool of
Bethesda, where lay a number of sufferers waiting for the troubling of the
waters. Christ differed from all these, as a fountain for moral and spiritual
defilement, “for sin and uncleanness.”
JOHN MACARTHUR
Israel's Final Deliverance
Sermons Zechariah12:1–14 2169 Oct9, 1977
A + A - RESET
We come to the twelfth chapter and the subject is a subject that’s not new to
us in the book of Zechariah. It’s a rather familiar theme and yet Zechariah
comes at it in a very, very different way. It’s the theme of Israel’s final
deliverance and salvation. All the way through the book of Zechariahthis has
been predicted. This has been prophesied. This has been anticipated and
hoped for and now we find a description of its coming to pass.

Now this is not something that’s really in the abstractfor us who live today in
this particular age because we canreally see all around us the coming together
of the fulfillment of prophecy as it relates to Israel. I imagine if we had been
living a hundred years ago this would seemsomewhatobscure. Butin our life
time since 1948, the eyes of the world have focusedon that little plot of ground
that is known as Israel. It has drawn the attention of the world because ofits
amazing existence and because ofits amazing sanctification, as it were. And I
mean that in the sense ofbeing setapart. It seems to be undefeatable or
indomitable. It exists as an island in a sea allaround it that is endeavoring to
rage and swallow it up. And since it became a nation again in 1948, this little
nation that you might call the mystery of history has causedthe world to focus
its attention right there.
Now there’s a reasonfor this. There’s a reasonthat Israel is the focus of
history againand that is, I believe, that God is not yet finished with His
purposes for them. A major part of the end of the redemptive plan of history
finds its way coursing through the land of Israel. We believe that the Bible
teaches that there is coming a greatday for the nation Israel, a day of
deliverance and a day of salvation, a day of tremendous political victory and a
day of even more tremendous spiritual victory. God has planned it. God has
predicted it repeatedly in the Old and the New Testamentand most
particularly for our interest, God details it right here in the twelfth chapter of
Zechariah. It’s going to be a day when what has been a very tragic history will
be reversedand be a history of greatjoy for Israel.
Now you’ll remember chapter 11 for just a moment. We lookedat chapter11
in the lastseveralweeks, andwe noted that that chapter deals with the coming
of Jesus Christ. And He is pictured here as a shepherd. And you remember
that we saw in the first part of the chapter through verse 14 the story of Jesus’
first coming. He came as the true shepherd and He was rejected. And then we
saw in verses 15 to 17 that after Israelrejectedthe true shepherd, they would
acceptthe false shepherd. That in the end time would come the one called the

foolish shepherd who was Antichrist and Israelwould accepthim. So,
basicallywhat we want to remind ourselves ofin chapter11 is that Israel
refused Christ at His first coming. They refusedthe true shepherd and will
acceptthe false one.
Now as you move into chapter 12 we find that at the secondcoming of Jesus
Christ the very opposite happens and Israelreceives the true shepherd. In
fact, in verse 10 it says that they shall look on Me whom they’ve pierced and
mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son and be in bitterness for Him as
one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. The first time Jesus comes in chapter
11, He’s rejected. The secondtime Jesus comes in chapter 12, He is accepted.
And those are the distinguishing elements in these two chapters.
Now let me give you another note for understanding the sweepof the book.
The first eight chapters of Zechariah basicallydeal with Zechariah’s time.
They have prophetic implication, but basicallythey deal with Zechariah’s
time. And then all of a sudden from chapter 9 to 14 you have this sweeping
prophetic picture of the end time. So 9 to 14 is really the vast picture of the
end time, the closing of redemptive history. Now from that section, 9 to 14,
there are two parts. Chapters 9 to 11 deal with the first coming of Christ,
chapters 12 to 14, the secondcoming. So that will just help you dividing the
book. The first part of the book is basically historic. The secondpart is
basicallyfuturistic. And of the futuristic part there are two sections,one
dealing with the first coming of Christ, 9 to 11;the seconddealing with the
Secondcoming, 12 to 14. So as we come to chapter 12 we are coming to the
secondcoming of Christ. His return to earth to setup His kingdom.
Now particularly, of course, Zechariah’s point in chapters 12, 13, and 14 is to
show that when Christ returns, Israelwill be convertedand the kingdom will
be established– God’s promised Kingdom. And that really is the subject of 12,
13, and 14. There’s so much prophecy here and it is so loadedthat there’s no

way we can really covereverything. In fact, you could spend the next five
years preaching on 12 to 14 and do an entire theologicalstudy of all of the
doctrines of lastthings and not really ever leave this sectionbecause they’re
all touched on right here. Dr. Fienberg in his commentary on Zechariah says,
“As a portion of the prophetic Scriptures, it is secondto none in importance in
this book or in any other Old Testamentbook. It is indispensable to an
understanding of the events of the last days for Israel, the time of the great
Tribulation and the establishment of God’s Kingdom and His rule.”
The actualevents which are presentedhere include the world confederacy
againstJerusalem, the victory of God’s people empoweredof the Lord, the
conviction of Israelnationally by the Spirit of God, the presentation of Christ
as their rejectedMessiah, the national day of atonement, the cleansing of the
hearts of the nation, the purging of the land of idolatry and false prophets,
parenthetically the crucifixion of Messiah, the time of Jacob’s trouble, the
partial success ofthe nations invading Palestine, the appearance ofthe
Messiahfor His people, their rescue, His coming with His saints, the changed
and renovatedHoly Land, the establishment of the Messianic kingdom, the
punishment of the nations for their feudal assaulton Israel, the celebrationof
the kingdom feast, the FeastofTabernacles, the complete restorationof the
people of God to a holy nation, et cetera. Now that’s a lot of prophetic theme
for one little section12 to 14. But it’s all here, touched on. A very, very
expressive and vital area of prophecy.
Now, sixteentimes – I’m still giving you some notes so you’ll understand the
thrust of the chapter – sixteen times in these three chapters – 12, 13 and 14 –
is the phrase “in that day.” Sixteen times it says “in that day.” So we know
one thing for sure, this whole sectionis about that day. There’s no question
about that. And what day? The day of the Lord. The whole picture focuses on
the apocalyptic day of the Lord when history resolves into the Kingdom of our
God and of His Christ.

All right, now you’ve gotthe picture. Chapters 1 to 8 of Zechariah, basically
historic; chapters 9 to 14, futuristic prophecy; chapters 9 to 11 detail the first
coming of Christ; chapters 12 to 14 the secondcoming, particularly as it
relates to the salvation of Israeland the establishment of the kingdom. Now,
let’s look at chapter 12 now that you’ve gotall of that completelyunderstood.
As we look at this, there are four features of Israel’s coming deliverance and
conversion, four features, four major events: The siege ofIsrael, the shielding
of Israel, the sorrow of Israel, and the salvationof Israel. These are dealt with
in the twelfth chapter. Beloved, this is exciting material. This is not only
exciting to the Jew to hear, and there certainly ought to be some of us
pronouncing this and proclaiming it to Jews around the world so that they
will know what God has planned for them, but it is exciting to me to know
that God is in control of history. Let’s look first of all at the siege ofIsraelin
the first three verses.
“The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the Lord, who
stretcheth forth the heavens and layeth the foundation of the earth and
formeth the spirit of man within him. ‘Behold I will make Jerusalema cup of
trembling unto all the peoples round about when they shall be in the siege
both againstJudah and againstJerusalem. And in that day will I make
Jerusalema burdensome stone for all peoples. All that burden themselves
with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the nations of the earth be gathered
togetheragainstit.” And we’ll stop there. Now those three verses very
obviously tell us about some kind of a siege againstIsrael. In fact, the word
siege is used in the authorized in verse 2. The word simply means attack. The
first element that the Holy Spirit wants us to focus on is that there will be a
greatattack by the Gentile nations coming againstIsrael. It’s obvious at the
end of verse 3 that all the nations of the earth will be gatheredagainstIsrael
in this siege. So there is coming a day when a tremendous world waris going
to happen. Some have calledit the battle of the ages, the battle of the
centuries, the greatestwarofhistory, the ultimate war. Now we know it as the

Gentile invasion of Israelin the tribulation commonly calledthe Battle of
Armageddon. This is a worldwide battle where all of the nations of the world
converge on the nation Israelin an effort to wipe it out and to wipe out the
potential of the Messiah’s return to establishthe kingdom. It focuses onIsrael.
You’ll notice verse 1, “The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel” – for
Israel. This is all about Israel. They are the subject. Further on you note that
it mentions all through this chapterin addition to just Israel, Jerusalemin
verse 2; Judah again, Jerusalem;and further down in verse 5 the governors of
Judah; verse 6 the governors of Judah; the tents of Judah verse 7; Jerusalem,
the house of David; Jerusalemand so forth. It’s very obvious this whole
prophecy is directed at Israel.
Now you’ll notice there there’s the term burden. The burden of the word of
the Lord. This Hebrew term is used frequently in prophetic literature. In fact
it’s used in chapter 9 verse 1 for a particular burden of prophecy againstthe
Gentiles. It is used to signify – now watchit – a prophecy of grief – a prophecy
of grief, something that really burdens down the prophet, something that
creates anxietyand grief. And before there can ever be conversionin Israel
and before there can ever be repentance in Israel and before there will ever be
salvationin Israeland before God will ever setup His kingdom, there’s going
to be grief – there’s grief.
Now I want you to notice another thing about this thing. It is directed to
Israel. It is a word of grief, to begin with, about an attack and a siege against
them, but I want you to notice that it is from God. It is God Himself who
brings this to pass. The burden, for example, of the Word of the Lord. This is
the Word of the Lord. Now notice verse 2, “Behold, I will make” – God is in
mind here. He is the I. Verse 3, “In that day I will make.” Verse 4, “In that
day, I will smite and I will open Mine eyes.” Verse 6, “In that day I will
make.” Now repeatedlyyou getthe idea that God is acting here. And beloved,

I want you just to remember that all of the history of the world is really the
enacting of the sovereigntyof God to one direct degree or another. God is
involved in the flowing of history and if this attack is to come on Israel, then it
is God who makes it happen. We saw the same thing similarly with the idea
that there would come a false shepherd and we saw how that it literally is God
who allows him to come, even the Antichrist.
Now God is making a promise here. God is directing a prophecy. It’s a
prophecy of siege but it’s also a prophecy of salvation, and God is behind the
whole thing. And the reasonthis is emphasized so greatly is so that the people
who hear this prophecy will have the confidence to believe that it will come to
pass. It doesn’t depend on men. It depends upon an unchanging immutable
God, a God who doesn’t make plans and scuttle them, a God who isn’t
thwarted by some other power. When Godsays it and God plans to do it, it’ll
be done. And this is why the emphasis here on God. And just in case
somebody might wonder whether this Godcan handle it, you’ll note in verse 1
that it says this, “The Lord says this.” And if you’ve forgottenwho He is,
“He’s the Lord who stretchethforth the heavens and lays the foundation of
the earth and forms the spirit of man within him.”
Now the point here is beautifully made. What he’s really saying is this, it is the
God who made it all who will end it all. And with the same powerthat God
could make it begin, Godwill draw it to an end. He is the alpha and the omega
in terms of history. This is a solid basis for faith in the ultimate destiny of
history because yougo back to the one who made it to start with, who created.
So you can see the divine element – let me summarize for a minute – the
divine element here then in many ways. First of all, the word burden is a
messageofgrief and it always indicates a divine message attached with
judgment. So this very word burden indicates that it comes from God, thus it
is calledthe burden of the Word of the Lord. Secondly, you’ll notice that it

says, “saiththe Lord,” and again it reemphasizes that it’s from God, that God
is the one who is sovereignin offering this. And thirdly, as I mentioned, it
describes Godas the omnipotent creatorof the world. He is the beginning, He
will be the end. He made it in the beginning, He will make it in the end to fit
His plan. It’s as if it all beganfrom Him under His control and that’s the way
it will all end.
So the prophecy is toward Israeland it is from God. And first of all, the
prophet says it will begin with a siege. Verse 2 and 3, “Behold, I will make
Jerusalema cup of trembling unto all the peoples round about, when they
shall be in the siege both againstJudah and againstJerusalem. And in that
day will I make Jerusalema burdensome stone for all peoples. All that burden
themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the nations of the earth be
gatheredtogetheragainstit.” Now these two verses are what is simply called
parallels. They both begin the same way, really. “I will make Jerusalema cup
of trembling,” and verse 3 says, “Iwill make Jerusalema burdensome stone.”
Both 2 and 3 sayunto all the peoples and for all the peoples. So here you have
a description of a coming siege.
Now let’s look at it for a minute. God says the siege is going to come and this is
what’s going to take place. First of all, I’ll make Jerusalema cup of trembling.
The normal word in Hebrew is kos, K-O-S. The word here is saph, S-A-P-H.
Want to getthat right. But the word saph means a basin rather than a cup.
Kos or kos means a cup; saph means a basin. So what you really have here is a
very large basin and it needs to be very large because it’s a cup of trembling
for all the peoples. And if you look at the end of verse 3, all the peoples on the
earth are going to have to drink out of it. So the picture here that the prophet
has in mind is this huge basin. Everybody’s going to drink of it.
Now you say, well what is the point of this? What does he mean? Well there
are certaincups from which if you drink you will find yourself staggering

around. True? True. That’s what it’s saying. A cup of trembling. Not the idea
that you’re nervous, but the idea that you’re sort of reeling around a little bit.
You know, you can’t walk the straight line; you fail the test. I will make,
literally – if you want to know the interpretative way to render it – I will make
Jerusalema basin of intoxication to all people.
Now let me describe what he is saying. The nations are going to attack
Jerusalem. Now we know this, because it’s detailed for us as I’ll show you in a
minute in many places in the Bible. There’s going to be a greatworld war, the
battle of the centuries. They’re going to converge on Israel; they’re going to
attack Israel;they’re going to attack Judah and the surrounding countryside;
and they’re going to have their sight set on Jerusalem, althoughthey never
really are able to pull off much of an attack on Jerusalemas this prophecy
points out. But they really begin to go after the land of Israel. And he says
they’re going to be like men greedily draining a wine goblet. They’re going to
come in and they’re just going to drink it up. But in the end, they’re going to
find themselves reeling and staggering aroundlike helpless drunks, unable to
claim the covetedprize. And in factthey’re going to be so disorganizedand so
drunk and so staggering around that they’re going to be easyprey for divine
judgment. That’s the idea.
In Revelation17:6 you remember that the final evil world systemof Satanis
said to be drunk with all the blood of the martyrs. Well in a similar sense
that’s what’s going to happen. The nations come in and they getdrunk with
the idea of conquest. And they think they’re going to conquer Israel;and they
drink deeply of the gobletof victory, deeply of the gobletof war, and they find
that instead of them having the sanity to make the victory they have in mind,
they wind up as stupefied reeling staggering drunks who are easyprey for the
judgment of God.

Then he has a secondmetaphor that he uses to speak ofthem. He says, “I’ll
make them a burdensome stone,” literally a stone of burden, a heavy stone,
hard to lift. Evidently, and it’s interesting in the Hebrew, I did a little research
on it and this very word referred to a stone that was used in weight lifting
contests – a stone used in weight lifting contests. Apparently in those days they
had weightlifting contests andthey just got biggerand biggerand bigger
stones till people got eliminated. And the guy who could lift the biggeststone
ultimately was the winner. Now the figure here is very simple. He’s saying I’m
going to make Jerusalema burdensome stone, and literally what it’s saying is
anybody that tries to lift it is going to get a hernia. That’s what it says. You
say, it does? Trust me. See the phrase cut in pieces? “Allthat burden
themselves with it shall be cut in pieces.” Literally it says “shallgrievously
injure themselves.” And the simple meaning in the Hebrew is to rupture, to
tear’s oneself, an injury perhaps sustained from lifting something too heavy.
So what’s going to happen? Here come these nations to siege againstIsrael
and instead of being able to lift Israel, the picture of conquering Israel, they’re
simply going to tear themselves to pieces in the effort. The proud Gentile
nations who think they’re going to take Jerusalem, think they’re going to
destroy God’s people, who think they’re going to remove any possibility of the
Messiahhaving anybody left to setup His Kingdom with, all these nations of
the world – it says at the end of verse 3 – they’re all going to be gathered
there. They’re all going to be in the siege – verse 2 – againstJudah and
Jerusalem. And in that day – it says, “In that day,” verse 3 – in that day, that
greateschatologicalday of the Lord, they’re going to find themselves reeling
around in a drunken stupor, and they’re going to find themselves torn up
inside because they’ve tried to do something that’s impossible. Why? Because
God is on the side of His people.
And what is absolutely incredible, people, and this is not – you know, this isn’t
pie in the sky or wishful thinking or something down the road that’s some
kind of a modified fairy tale. There is coming a day literally when the entire

world attacks that little nation and that little nation wins. Now that’s a
staggering reality. But after all, if the same people could walk around the
walls of Jericho blowing horns and have all the walls fall down, don’t discount
what could happen in the future. It’s describing for us Armageddon.
Now it isn’t the only book that describes it. Go back to the third chapter of
Joel. If you’re wondering where it is, it’s right after Hosea. If that doesn’t help
it’s on page 930 in my Bible – Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah and on.
Now Joelis an interesting little book. But one of the parts that I want to point
to you is the part that’s about the battle of Armageddon, the battle of the ages,
the warof the century that’s going to happen. Verse 9 of chapter 3, Joel
chapter 3 verse 9. Two books right of Daniel. It says this, “Prepare this among
the nations: Prepare war; wake up the mighty men. Let all the men of war
draw near; let them come up. Beatyour plowshares into swords and your
pruning hooks into spears.” That’s a reverse of what happens in the Kingdom.
“And let the weak say, ‘I’m strong.’Assemble yourselves and come all you
nations and gather yourselves togetherround about. And there cause the
mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the nations be weakenedand come up
to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Forthere I will sit to judge the nations round
about. Put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe. Come getdown for the press is
full. The vats overflow. Their wickednessis great. Multitudes, multitudes in
the valley of decision. For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
The sun and the moon shall be darkened, the stars shall withdraw their
shining. The Lord shall roar out of Zion, utter His voice from Jerusalem. The
heavens and the earth will shake. The Lord will be the hope of His people and
the strength of the children of Israel. So shall you know that I am the LORD
your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then shall Jerusalembe holy.”
We’ll stop there.
Coming a day of salvation. Jerusalemwill be holy. Backing up, before that,
there’s going to be a time when Jesus Christcomes and judges the nations.
Backing up from that, Joel says there’s going to be a time when the nations

come againstIsraelwith a greatwar. It’s really a warthat’s begun by Satan,
generatedby Satan, enticed by Satan, motivated by Satan, innovated by
Satan, all in direct accordwith the plan of God. All the nations of the world
come there convening with all their armies, they’re defeatedby Jesus Christ,
brought into the Valley of Jehoshaphatand there they are judged for their
evil. And so, Joelspeaks ofthe very same event.
Now as we look at prophecy we find interestingly enough there are four
armies going to be at Armageddon. And I’ll just remind you of them. The
army from the westis signified in Daniel chapter 2 and Daniel chapter 7. The
army from the westis in Daniel 2 and Daniel 7. And also in Revelation17 it
talks about this. And this is what we know as the European Confederacy. This
is what Daniel would call the revived Roman Empire. Those nations that once
made up a part of the Roman Empire regrouped, reunited, ten nations
making up one confederacy. And by the way, we’re not far from that right
now in the Europeaneconomic community. Those nations constitute the army
of the westled by the Antichrist, the emperor of that particular dominion.
They march againstIsrael.
Then there is the army of the north in Ezekiel38. You read Ezekiel38 and 39
and you’ll find the army from the north. And we know it as Russia and her
allies, Gog and Magog, the land of Meshechand Tubal. And they ally with
Cush and Put and so forth, those other names which are ancient names of
modern Arab states. So there is some kind of a Russian-Arab alliance. And
then there is in Daniel 11 the southern army coming up from the south. And
this is Egypt. Daniel11:40 to 44 talks about it. The army of the south will be
Egypt and other Arab allies. So you’ve got the west, the north, the south, and
then of course you’re well aware that in Revelation9 and in Revelation16
there’s a greatarmy of the eastwith 200 million soldiers that comes moving
toward Israel. The Euphrates River is dried up and they march toward Israel.
So you’ve got the west, the north, the south and the eastconverging. And
when they all arrive, folks, there’s going to be some kind of battle. Just

imagine the army of the eastalone has 200 million soldiers. That’s really
amazing and would be shocking exceptfor the fact that the army in Red
China right now numbers 200 million soldiers. It did seven years ago.
In Revelation14 verse 20 it says, “And the winepress was trodden outside the
city.” Apparently they don’t really get into the city of Jerusalem. Theybegin
to tear up the countryside all around. “And blood came out of the winepress
even to the horses’bridles by the space of a thousand six hundred furlongs.”
Literally what it says is there was blood as deep as horses’bridles for a two
hundred mile area. Now that may not be specificallyliteral, it may be
somewhatfigurative, but the point is there is going to be unprecedented
bloodshed all over the face of that land. It’s only 200 miles long, so what it
means is the whole land is going to be in the midst of a drowning blood bath as
the battle rages – the warof the world, the battle of the centuries.
In the midst of it all, the world is going to find out that all they getout of it is a
drunken stupor and they’re unable to claim their prize. And all they get out of
it is a sort of a political spiritual rupture in trying to lift the stone that’s far
too heavy because Godhappens to be sitting on it. Hope for that day is, I
think, expressedin one of the Psalms. In Psalm118 verse 6, “The Lord is on
my side; I will not fear. What canman do unto me? The Lord takes my part
with those who help me. Therefore shall I see my desire upon those who hate
me.” Verse 10, “All nations compassedme about, but in the name of the Lord
will I destroythem. They compassedme about; yea, they compassedme
about, but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They compassedme
about like bees. They are quenched like the fire of thorns. For in the name of
the Lord I will destroy them.” That’s a Psalmthat sings of the victory that
God brings over the armies of Armageddon. So, the siege ofIsrael.
Secondly, moving from the siege in the text to verse 4, we come to the
shielding of Israel. And here we look at God and how Godis going to protect

those people. Verse 4, “In that day” – againwe’re in that day. The day of the
Lord which is the day of judgment and the return of Christ. “In that day,
saith the Lord, ‘I will smite every horse with terror and his rider with
madness. I will open Mine eyes upon the house of Judah and will smite every
horse of the peoples with blindness and the governors ofJudah shall sayin
their heart, “The inhabitants of Jerusalemshall be my strength and the Lord
of host their God.” In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an
hearth of fire among the woodand like a torch of fire in a sheaf. They shall
devour all the peoples round about on the right hand and on the left and
Jerusalemshall be inhabited again in her ownplace, even in Jerusalem. The
LORD shall also save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of
David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalemdo not magnify
themselves againstJudah. In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be like David.
And the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord before
them. And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroyall the
nations that come againstJerusalem.’” Now we’llstopthere. That section
deals with the shielding of Israel. God is going to come in protection and bring
a tremendous victory.
Let’s go back now to verse 4 for a minute. “In that day, saith the Lord” – and
this is most interesting. Horses were the symbol of strength. They were the
symbol of power. They were a symbol of a formidable army. And in that day,
He says, “I will smite every horse with terror.” Now this probably means
confusion. In other words, the horses are just going to go off in all kinds of
directions. And down in verse 4 at the bottom it says He’ll smite every horse
of the people with blindness. Now if you believe that the battle of Armageddon
will have literal horses, then the literal horses will be smitten with blindness
and confusion. If you believe this is talking about military tanks and
weaponry and so forth then that will all fall into confusionand they won’t
know where they’re going. Whichever.

But it also adds, “And the riders with madness.” This simply means panic, a
wild and helpless kind of panic in the Hebrew. So here come all these great
armies of the world and all of a sudden all of their weaponryand all of their
instruments and all of their vehicles and all of the people who’re running the
thing go into total confusion, blindness, and panic. By the way, interesting
note, in studying this I discoveredthat these things describedin verse 4 are
the very calamities that befell Israelin Deuteronomy28:28. The very thing
that happened to Israelin her unbelief is going to come to happen to those
Gentile nations at Armageddon. So terror, confusion, seize the ranks of the
worlds’ armies.
That’s nothing new. Really. You remember some armies in the Old Testament
that gotso confusedthey startedkilling eachother? Yeah, you remember
Gideon? Stands on a hill and bangs a bunch of pots and watchedthem all slay
eachother. Terrorand confusion seizes the ranks of the worlds’armies. And
while they have imagined that they have gained the victory, they find out that
all they are – rather than chasing the vanquished Jews is rushing themselves
to destruction. And the key phrase here in verse 4 is God says, “I will open My
eyes on the house of Judah.” No longer will I turn My back, no longer will I
keepMy eyes closedto what’s going on. I’m going to open My eyes. And these
are eyes of love, and these are eyes of care, and these are eyes of tenderness,
and these are eyes of forgiveness.These are eyes ofsalvation. God says I’m
going to open My eyes toward Israel.
Now look at verse 5, God shields them, “And the governors of Judah shall say
in their heart” – now we’re looking at the countryside around the city of
Jerusalem. The people who would be the most vulnerable in a war. They
wouldn’t have any defense. Jerusalemis somewhatdefensible. They wouldn’t
have any defense. Justthe people living all over the land and the governors,
the leaders out in the countryside are going to sayin their heart, “The
inhabitants of Jerusalemshall be my strength in the LORD of host their
God.” What is it saying? Listen, it’s saying this, the fact that God has chosen

Jerusalemto be His city, the city of His affection and the city of His election,
the city He will save gives confidence to us in the surrounding countryside.
In other words, we’re getting in on the factthat Jerusalemis God’s city. And
all of us who live anywhere in this land are preserved because Godhas chosen
Jerusalem. That’s what they’re saying. The governors ofJudah outside and
around are saying it is because ofwhat God has promised to do for the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, that becomes our strength. God has chosen
Jerusalemand because He has chosenJerusalemand the nation around, the
princes of Judah are confident that they too are invincible. Perhaps they’ll
sing Psalm46:5 which says, “Godis in the midst of her; she shall not be
moved.” And that’s about Jerusalem.
Now I want you to notice something interesting. This is a critical verse
because it opens the door just a crack and the light starts to come in. What
light? The light of the beginning of saving faith. All of a sudden all through
Israel’s history today, they’ve been thinking their strength is in themselves, in
their guns, and their smarts, and their military expertise. And they’re going to
come to the place where they all of a sudden sayin their hearts, “The
inhabitants of Jerusalemshall be my strength.” Not in their poweror in their
military prowess orbecause they’ve gotso many smart people, but in the
Lord of host their God. All of a sudden they turn from the politics of it and
the armies and they begin to see God as the resource.
They don’t see that yet. But when they begin to see God shield them in the
midst of Armageddon, they’re going to see that God is their strength. They’re
going to realize there is no way militarily that they could handle what they’re
handling. They might be able to win a skirmish with the PLO; they might be
able to stop the encroachmentfrom Jordan; and they might be able to handle
the Egyptians;but when the world arrives and all of a sudden they see
themselves gaining the victory, they’re going to know that the strength that

they have seenis not the strength of men. And here is the first glimpse of the
saving faith that comes to the hearts of Israel.
Verse 6, “In that day will I make the governors ofJudah” – and He’s still
dealing outside the city. It never really touches the city. “I’ll make the
governors of Judah” – in the countryside around – “like a fire pot among the
wood.” Now I don’t know if you know what a fire pot is – those of us who live
in the day of thermostats and forcedair. A fire pot was just that, a bunch of
coals in a little metal pot that you put in some kindling woodand it started a
fire. You drop a fire pot on a pile of kindling, you’re going to geta quick fire.
And that’s what He’s saying. The Gentile armies are kindling. The governors
of Judah are fire pots. Those simple little people in their simple little military
weakness are going to fire and burn the armies of the nations. He says it will
also be like a torch of fire in a dry sheaf. Take a sheafof grain that’s dry and
seta torch to it – pshew – drop a fire pot in some dry sticks, you getthe same
thing. So just as a fire pot sets fire to twigs and dry woodand a torch sets fire
to dry grain, so Judah’s princes will devour.
And who will they devour? Look what it says? “All the nations round about
on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalemwill be inhabited againin her
own place even in Jerusalem.” In other words, in the end time nothing will
have happened to that city. It won’t be moved. It will never be destroyed. It’s
going to be there right where it belongs. You know what’s incredible about
that? That city hasn’t moved. You know, as you study archaeology, youfind a
lot of cities move from place to place. You can go right to Jerusalem, right in
the middle of Jerusalem, walk right out, put your hand out in that mosque
and lay it right on Mount Moriah. It’s still there. And you can take about a
ten-minute walk and stand with your feet on Mount Zion. It’s right there.
Nothing moved. And God says it won’t move either. They’re not even going to
get there with any really powerful effect. Becausewhenthey just getinto the
countryside, God is going to use the governors of Judah to setthem aflame.

And so there’s going to be the protection of God and Jerusalemwill be
inhabited in her own place even in Jerusalem.
Then a very interesting note in verse 7. This is very interesting. “The Lord
also shall save the tents of Judah first in order that the glory of the house of
David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalemdo not magnify
themselves againstJudah.” In other words, if Jerusalemwonthis big victory
to start with, if all the military geniuses and all the hotshots in Jerusalemwon,
they’d say, “Well, it was us.” And so just to make sure they don’t mistake it
being human and know it’s God, the greatvictory comes first to all the little
folks out in the countryside who win the war, who knock off the big Gentile
armies. And then Jerusalem’s gotnothing to boastabout. Becauseby the time
it comes to them, all they cansay is, “It’s gotto be God. It sure isn’t us.” It
wasn’t them.
In other words, to prevent Jerusalemfrom magnifying itself againstthe
country folks, God makes sure the country folks gainthe first deliverance.
Why? This is a time of humbling for the nations. This is a time of penitence.
This is a time of repentance. This is a time of bending the back and bowing the
knee and laying prostrate before God. God wants no human glory, no human
magnification, and so just to make sure it won’t happen He starts by giving
the victory first to the little folks in the countryside. The defenselessland is
delivered first. The welldefended capitallast in order that Jerusalemnot
think it was by her military might and be lifted up with pride. So God defends
the defenseless andthen Jerusalem.
Verse 8, “In that day shall the Lord defend” – or shield – “the inhabitants of
Jerusalem. And” – I love this, this is so great – “he that is feeble among them
at that day shall be like David.” Isn’t that amazing? Who was the greatest
soldier in the history of Israel? David. Saul has slain his thousands; David his
ten thousands. Greatestsoldierin the history of Israel. One little rock – one

dead Goliath. Greatestsoldierin the history of Israel. And the weak andthe
puny in this day will all be like David. What an army. Can you imagine?
And by the way, the strong represented by the house of David, those who are
in the house of David, the royal line, the greatwarriors, the strong shall be
like God. They’ll be like the angelof the Lord. Who is the angelof the Lord?
Christ. They’ll be infused with the powerof Christ. Oh, I tell you, that’s going
to be exciting. Isn’t it? You say, “Will we get to see that?” I think so. If I read
my Bible right we’re coming out of heavenjust about that time on white
horses, which will give us a perfect view of the whole thing. So the feeble are
going to be like David and the people who normally are like David are going
to be like God, infused with the energy of the MessiahHimself, the angelof
the Lord. That’s just a little taste, that’s a little hint of the fact that Jesus
Christ is going to be there winning the victory. And what’s so beautiful, if you
study the book of Revelation, you find out that just at the climax of
Armageddon, just when the warreaches its high point, out of the sky comes
Jesus Christ.
And maybe you’ve askedyourself, “Wellhow does He win it? Well how does
He do it?” Well somehow it’s His conquering blow. It’s His sword, but
somehow it’s His powerpoured through these people who shall be like God,
like the angelof the Lord. It’s most interesting, isn’t it, that the angelof the
Lord is equated with God. Another evidence that the angel of the Lord was
not just an angelbut God, God incarnate Jesus Christ.
“And it shall come to pass,” verse 9 says, “in that day, I will seek to destroy all
the nations that come againstJerusalem.” Godis going to wipe out all those
who soughtto wipe out His people and His Kingdom. The term “will seek”is a
most interesting Hebrew term. It is a term that is used of a marksman who
bends his bow with his eye focusedon the target. He wants to hit the bullseye
and nothing distracts him. The cup of iniquity is full and Godcomes in

judgment. ReadRevelation16, read Revelation19, and see how God begins to
come in judgment, how Jesus splits the heavens with His coming, comes in
glory and powerwith a flaming victory at hand with a sword dipped in blood
and He comes to conquer.
So in summary, the first nine verses of the twelfth chapter describe
prophetically Israel’s greatdeliverance and the destruction of the armies of
the world gatheredagainsther. That’s political, folks. That’s political. The
next part is spiritual. And that brings us to the sorrow of Israel – the sorrow
of Israel. In the political victory, what’s the one thing that stands out in your
mind? In my mind it’s this, they are going to recognize whom? God. They’re
going to see God at work. That’s the beginning. That’s an easytransition to
verse 10. “And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants
of Jerusalemthe spirit of grace and of supplication and they shall look on Me
whom they have pierced.” While their spiritual eyes are up and they’re
thinking about God and how He has delivered them, they’re going to see God
incarnate, Jesus, coming. They’re going to look on Him. The Saviorwill be
revealedas the victor.
And they have a simple response, “Theyshall mourn for Him as one mourns
for his only son and shall be in bitterness for Him as one that is in bitterness
for His first born. In that day there shall be a greatmourning in Jerusalemas
in the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land
shall mourn, every family apart. The family of the house of David apart and
their wives apart; and the family of the house of Nathan apart and their wives
apart; and the family of the house of Levi apart and their wives apart; the
family of Shimei apart and their wives. All the families that remain, every
family apart and their wives apart.” What’s He saying? He’s saying there will
be not just a national mourning like, “This is declaredthe national day of
mourning.” No. There will be national mourning in this sense, everyfamily on
its own. And within that family, every individual, the men here, the wives
here. There will be individual mourning, individual repentance, family

repentance and then all those families making up the whole of national
repentance. This is right at the point of victory.
You say, it’s strange, isn’t it? Oh yeah. Here they are, they’ve just wonthe
battle of the centuries. Here they are, the greatestvictoryconceivable has just
been won and their reactionis to all cry. Why? Becausethey recognize that
the very one who came back as their deliverer was the same one they killed
and they piercedwhen He came the first time. That’s why they mourn. And
now that’s the anguish of true repentance, beloved.
There’s really only one sin – now watch this one – there’s really only one sin
that God wants you to repent of in the actof salvation, just one. There’s really
just one sin the Holy Spirit moves after and all the rest kind of follow along.
Listen to this, “When the Comforter is come, He will reprove the world of
sin,” John 16:8. Now listen to verse 9, “Of sin” – and what is it? – “because
they believe not on Me.” That’s the sin. That’s it. That’s the one sin the Spirit
of God must convict to bring a person to salvation. And that’s exactly the one
Israelwill be convicted of. They’ll look on Me, says God, whom they have
pierced and mourn as if they were mourning the death of their only son.
Sorrow for the sin of rejecting Christ. Beloved, that’s where salvation begins,
that’s where it begins in your heart. Anybody to be saved must turn from the
ultimate sin which is the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ, not believing in Him.
Now notice what he says about it. He says this mourning and this bitterness is
similar to that which was in the valley of Hadadrimmon, the valley of
Megiddon. You say, what’s that? I’m not going to have you turn to it but just
note it, 2 Chronicles 35 records for us a sad story. There was a godly king in
Israel– king in Judah, actually. Never was a godly king in Israel. They were
all bad. But in Judah there was a godly king and his name was Josiah. You
remember goodgodly King Josiah? And there was a bad, bad ruler in Egypt
known as PharaohNecho, N-E-C-H-O. PharaohNecho murdered Josiah, and

2 Chronicles 35 records the terrible, terrible weeping and wailing and
mourning that occurred over the murder of Josiah. And so says Zechariah,
the mourning in that day in Jerusalemwill be reminiscent of the mourning of
the people over the death of the goodgodly King Josiahat the hands of
Pharaoh.
Now you’ll notice also in verse 12 that it singles out the family of David and
then the family of Nathan. Why? Well, the family of David is the royal line,
the regalline, the line of Solomon, the line through which Josephthe husband
of Mary descended. So the royal family is going to mourn. It’s talking about
all classesofpeople. The royalty, he starts with. Then the family of Nathan.
Nathan? You say, who is Nathan? Listen to this, Nathanis the brother of
Solomonthrough whom Mary was descended. Check it out, Luke 2. So all of
those people who fit anywhere into the royal line, anywhere into the Messianic
line are going to weep. Naturally, don’t you think they’ll be the first ones to
weep? Sure they will, because they’ll know that it was in their very line that
the Messiahcame and was rejected.
Then the family of Levi and the family of Shimei. You know who they were?
They were priestly families. Don’t you think the priesthood will weep? Don’t
you think the priesthoodwill mourn? All those years they were supposedto
connectmen to God, all those years they were supposed to speak to men for
God, all those years they were supposed to speak to God for men, all those
years they stoodin the place of Godand when God finally arrived, they slew
Him. Don’t you think they’ll mourn? “These families, the family of David and
Nathan and Levi and Shimei,” David Baron says, “these are the aristocratic
and privileged lines. These are the kings and the priests who, alas, in times
past often setan evil example to the whole nation, where they will now be
foremostin their self-contrition and mourning over the greatnational sin.
Their example for goodwill now also be followedby all the rest of the people.”
And so, in verse 14 it says all the families that remain, every family apart;

individually, eachfamily repenting; and their wives, even the individuals in
the family repenting. Great sorrow.
This is beautiful. You know what I thought of when I was looking atthis? I
just kept thinking of one statementby Jesus, “Blessedare they that mourn,
for they shall” – what? – “be comforted.” This is the mourning of true
repentance. It’s coming. And they’ll be comforted. The Hebrew word mourn
means to strike the breastin deep grief, bitter sorrow, true repentance. So the
siege, the shielding, and the sorrow culminates into salvationof Israel.
Verse 10 at the beginning, just a simple word of salvation, “And I will pour
upon the house of David” – God never sprinkles. He always pours. I want you
to know that. “I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of
Jerusalemthe Spirit.” You see, there’s the evidence of salvation. God never
gives His Spirit to an unbeliever. He pours the Spirit, and He’s called the
Spirit of grace, because that’s the motive for which He’s given; and the Spirit
of supplication, that’s the response which He brings. When God pours out His
Spirit by grace, we respondin prayer. Zechariahis saying that just as God
pours out refreshing showers onthirsty and parched ground, so will He pour
out the Spirit of grace and supplication on a repentant needy Israel.
The Spirit of grace. What a greatterm. Isn’t that a beautiful term? It’s used
in Hebrews 10:29, the Spirit of grace. Joelprophesiedthis. Didn’t he? Joel
chapter 2, oh yes. Joelsaid the same thing essentially. He said, “It shall come
to pass afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and
daughters will prophesy; your old men dream dreams; your young men see
visions. And also on the servants and the handmaids in those days will I pour
out My Spirit.” Beloved, that prophesy can only be fulfilled here. On the day
of PentecostwhenPeterquoted it, they were just getting a little taste of it. But
it’s a future prophecy. Ezekielsaid the same thing. In Ezekiel36, Ezekielsaid
some day God is going to come and He is going to – He is going to come to

Israeland He’s going to take out their stony heart and He’s going to give them
a heart of flesh. And he says, “I will give them My Spirit” – salvation.
And I can’t resistpointing you to the fact that it only happens – now watch it
– it only happens because, “Theylook onMe whom they have pierced.” Who’s
talking here in this verse? God. God is talking. Do you know who it was on
that cross? Who was it? God. Is that a greatstatement? Then notice, “They
will look on Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him.” You
see the trinity there? In one breath it’s Me; in another breath it’s Him. And
there God sees Himself there in one breath; and in the next breath He sees the
incarnate Christ the Son. Don’t anybody tell you that that wasn’t God, that
Jesus is any less than God. God says that was Me you pierced. And don’t let
anybody tell you that the Jews didn’t pierce Him. They may have used Roman
swords, but it was their plotting that gotHim there. But that’s all right. That’s
all right for God because Godcanforgive anything – anything. Even the
murder of the Messiah. And by the way, there isn’t anything you’ve done that
He couldn’t forgive either. “They shall look on Me whom they pierced.”
Remember John 19:37, they took a swordand they pierced Him.
And then Israelis going to receive salvation. Look at 13:1, “In that day there
shall be a fountain openedto the house of David and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalemfor sin and for uncleanness.”God’s going to washthe nation from
its sin. First, they’re going to cry, “My Lord and my God,” when they see
Jesus. They’re going to realize it was God they pierced. And then God’s going
to turn the fountain loose and washthem and pour out His Spirit. In any day
in any age, repentance like this kind, true honest repentance will lead to the
same cleansing.
Beloved, canI tell you something? The fountain’s open right now. Did you
know that? I’ve been there, have you? And I’ve been washed. It’s open right
now. Paul says today is the day of salvation. And while we as Christians look

forward expectantly to the day of national mourning and blessing for Israel,
meanwhile we can tell every Jew and every Gentile that they don’t need to
wait till then. The fountain’s open right now. It’s open for you right now.
Let’s pray.
Father, we’re so grateful for this tremendous hope. What a God of grace. Oh
what we see whenwe look at the future and see the plan You have. And just to
realize we’re a part of it is such joy. Thank You. Thank You for having that
fountain open, that fountain – as the song writer said – filled with blood,
flowing from Emanuel’s veins in which every sinner’s stain is washed. Thank
You, Father, for the fountain that will be open to Israel in that day and for the
fountain that’s open right now for any Jew or Gentile who comes and is ready
to repent of the sin of unbelief and turn to Jesus Christ.
Father, if there’s any in our midst tonight who have never been to the fount,
who have never been washedin the blood of the lamb, who have never been
cleansed, forgiven, grantedeternal life, been given the Spirit of grace, and
citizenship in the Kingdom, we pray that tonight might be that night when
they receive this gift that You freely offer. To this end we pray for them and
for us who know You that we might be faithful to spread the word that You’re
waiting and that You said, “Him that comes to Me, I will in now wise cast
out.” May we be faithful to bring folks to the cleansing that waits for them
even now. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.
RICH CATHERS
12:10-14 The PiercedOne

:10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of
Jerusalemthe 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.
:10 the Spirit of grace and supplication
grace – chen – favor, grace, charm
The Holy Spirit is called the “Spirit of grace” by the writer of Hebrews
(10:29)
supplication – tachanuwn – supplication, supplication for favor
Supplication is another word for “prayer”.
This word is based on the same Hebrew rootword as “grace”.
When God’s Holy Spirit is poured out on Israel, they will respond with
“supplication”, by calling on God for help.
:10 look on Me whom they pierced
What a strange thing to say.
God is speaking, so how could God be “pierced”?
David wrote prophetically,
(Psalm 22:16 NKJV) Fordogs have surrounded Me; The congregationof the
wickedhas enclosedMe. They pierced My hands and My feet;
The odd thing about this song is that we have no recordof any historical
incident in David’s life that matches the things describedin this psalm. He
was speaking prophetically. He was talking about something that would
happen to the “sonof David”.
When Jesus was on the cross, He cried out “My God, My God, why have you
forsakenMe” (Mark 15:34). (Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?)
Jesus was actuallyquoting the first line of Psalm 22. It’s like the Jewish
worship leadercrying out, “Now let’s all sing Psalm22”. Jesus wasn’tjust

experiencing separationfrom God the Father, He was giving a clue about
what was happening.
Psalm22 is an eerie description of the crucifixion 1,000 years before it
happened, written before crucifixion was even invented.
Isaiahexplains why:
(Isaiah 53:5 NKJV) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was
bruised for our iniquities; The chastisementfor our peace was upon Him, And
by His stripes we are healed.
Jesus was crucifiedin order to pay for our sins. He took the punishment that
we should have received. He paid the price for what was required to make
peace with God.
John describes Jesus’return this way:
(Revelation1:7 NKJV) Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will
see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will
mourn because ofHim. Even so, Amen.
:10 they will mourn … mourns … grieve
mourn – micepd – wailing
mourns – caphad – to wail, lament; smiting the breasts in mourning
grieve – marar – to be bitter
The entire nation of Israelwill have their eyes opened to who Jesus is, and
they will mourn over the factthat they had missed Him at His first coming.
But it will not be too late for them to believe in Him, and they will believe in
Him.
Paul wrote about the change that will take place in Israel.

(Romans 11:25–27 NKJV)—25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should
be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your ownopinion, that
blindness in part has happened to Israeluntil the fullness of the Gentiles has
come in. 26 And so all Israelwill be saved, as it is written: “The Delivererwill
come out of Zion, And He will turn awayungodliness from Jacob;27 For this
is My covenantwith them, When I take awaytheir sins.”
Their salvation will be a
“physical” salvation– being saved from their enemies, and a
“spiritual” salvation– being saved from their sins.
:10 only son …a firstborn
I understand that the greatestgriefcomes at the death of a child.
With this language, you can’t help but think of Jesus.
(John 3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoeverbelieves in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
:11 In that day there shall be a greatmourning in Jerusalem, like the
mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
:11 Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo
Video: Hadad Rimmon map video
Hadad Rimmon is a city in northern Israel.
It is locatedon the “plain” of Megiddo, or the “valley” of Megiddo.
The name “Armageddon” means “mountain of Megiddo”
The reference is connectedto the death of King Josiah. (2Chr. 35:24-25)
King Josiahwas the last hope of the godly people in Judah. While the nation
was on a spiritual decline, he was the one working to turn things around. He
would be the last of the “goodkings”.

But a day came when he went out to do battle againstPharaohNecho in the
valley of Megiddo. The Egyptian archers shot Josiah.
Josiahdied. There was great, greatmourning in the nation.
WILL POUNDS
Zechariah 12:8-10 Mourning for the One Who was Pierced
God is always actively pursuing an intimate love relationship with His people.
The Holy Spirit is the author and giver of all grace. It is through His agency
alone that we are able to turn from our selfishways to the living God. It is not
until the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin that we can know our spiritual state
and the terrible consequencesofit.
The Holy Spirit turns the eyes of our heart to the crucified and now living
Savior. We are humbled by our sense ofspiritual poverty and overwhelmed
by the love of an infinite holy God who caredenough about our sinful state to
die for us.
The prophet Zechariahtells us Yahweh will pour out His Spirit of grace upon
the house of David (12:8-10). In the Old Testamenteconomythe kings, priests
and prophets were anointed with oil symbolizing the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Anointed of Yahweh, the Messiah, came ministering with the anointing of
the Spirit of Yahweh without measure. Jesus spoke Himselfinto office quoting

the words of Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the
LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; he has sent me to
bind the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to
prisoners. . ." (Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:18). Moreover, under the new covenantall
believers in the Messiahhave the infilling of the Holy Spirit. He gives, not
unsparingly, but in full measure as is needed.
In this greatpassagethe prophet makes a remarkable statement about those
in the future who will pierce the Branch and then look upon Him and go into
deep mourning as if they had losttheir only child.
"In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one
who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of
David will be like God, like the angelof the Lord before them. And in that day
I will setabout to destroyall the nations that come againstJerusalem. I will
pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit
of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have
pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and
they will weepbitterly overHim like the bitter weeping over a firstborn" (vv.
8-10).
Outpouring of the Spirit
This outpouring of the Holy Spirit points us back to Joel’s greatprophecy.
Keil says, "The spirit of grace is the spirit which produces in the mind of man
the experience ofthe grace ofGod. But this experience begets in the soulof
sinful man the knowledge ofsin and guilt, and prayer for the forgiveness of
sin . . . and this awakens sorrowand repentance."

He will minister graciouslyto Israelin her sinful condition and will leadher to
call upon Him in repentance. The work of the Spirit is to produce repentance
in the hearts of the rebellious and to turn spiritual eyes to the crucified Savior.
The apostle Petersaid, "The God of our fathers raisedup Jesus, whomyou
had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted
to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and
forgiveness ofsins. And we are witnessesofthese things; and so is the Holy
Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him" (Acts 5:30-32).
Piercing the Servant
"They will look on Me whom they have pierced" (v. 10).
The idea is to pierce, thrust through and to slayby any kind of death. The
context signifies it means to put to death.
Yahweh, I AM THAT I AM (Exo. 3:14), pierced by an instrument of death
wielded by depraved sinners! Yahweh says, "Theywill look on Me whom they
have pierced." Jesus the Messiahsaid, "Iand the Father" (distinguishing two
persons)"are One" (Jn. 10:30). Jesus also said, "He who has seenMe has seen
the Father. . . . I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me . . . the Father
abiding in Me does His works . . . I am in the Father, and the Fatherin Me . .
." (14:9-11). The LORD God speaks ofthe Messiahas of a different person
who nevertheless is One with Him in the undivided and indivisible essenceof
Jehovah. I am He=Yahweh, the First and the Last (Isaiah 48:12). Yet He calls
Himself the Messengerofthe Lord God and His Spirit (v. 16).

This Spirit through His apostle reveals to us the actual fulfillment of this
stunning prophecy. More than 500 years later the Lord used a Roman soldier
as the unsuspecting agent to fulfill this prophecy (John 19:34, 37). Man did
not plan this out, God did it. And the water and the blood which flowedfrom
the side of Him who was already dead proved beyond doubt that this Pierced
One was the Prince of Life, Jehovah Our Righteousness (John19:33;
Jeremiah23:6; Acts 3:15; 1 John 5:5-12, 20).
It is a picture of the slaying of the MaleachYahweh, who is the same essence
with Yahweh, became man in the person of Jesus Christ. Keil and Delitzsch
bring out the meaning, "As Zechariah repeatedlyrepresents the coming of the
Messiahas a coming of Jehovahin His Maleachto His people, he could . . .
also describe the slaying of the Maleachas the slaying of Jehovah. And Israel
having come to the knowledge ofits sin, will bitterly bewailthis deed. . . . The
person slain, although essentiallyone with Jehovah, is personallydistinct from
the Supreme God."
The historicalfulfillment of this prophecy is found in John 19:37 when the
Son of God was crucified on Calvary. "Theyshall look on Him whom they
pierced." A soldier piercedHis side with a lance as He hung on the cross.
Yahweh was one who was pierced or better stabbed to death. This piercing
with the spearbrought to a climax the death of Christ. The Messiahwas put
to death as the Suffering Servant of Yahweh. No doubt comparing it to the
Passoverlamb, John quotes the Law saying, "not a bone of Him shall be
broken" (v. 36).
Mourning of the nation
The prophet proceeds to show another amazing thing that takes place at the
crucifixion. Those who had despisedand rejectedthe Branch and killed the

Prince of Life and brought about His piercing now "look attentively,
hopefully, trustingly" upon Him whom they have pierced. They suddenly
realize the enormity of their sin and cry out to God. The bitterest and deepest
death-wail of the nation is brought out as the anguish of mourning for the
first-born.
As the crowdof onlookerswalkedawaythat eventful afternoonLuke tells us,
"And all the crowds who came togetherfor this spectacle, whenthey observed
what had happened, beganto return, beating their breasts" (23:48).
Hengstenberg says, "The crowds, who had just before been crying out,
Crucify Him, here smite upon their breasts, being overpoweredwith the
proofs of the superhuman exaltationof Jesus, and lament over the crucified
one, and over their own guilt."
The Holy Spirit gives divine enablement to the people to "look on Me, the One
they have pierced." They have pierced Him unto death. It was Jesus Christ
whom they crucified.
The full commencement of the fulfillment of this passagein Zechariah is
found on the Day of Pentecostin Acts 2:37-41 and in the preaching of the
apostles in Acts chapters 3-5.
The fulfillment says Keil will "not terminate till the remnant of Israelshall
turn as a people to Jesus the Messiah, whomits fathers crucified. On the other
hand, those who continue obstinately in unbelief will see Him at lastwhen He
returns in the clouds of heaven, and shriek with despair (Rev. 1:7; Matt.
24:30)." It is with a deep penetrating convictionand mourning that will take
place. But for so many it will be too late to be saved.

According to Romans 11:25-29 there is a day coming when many in Israelwill
recognize her Messiahand turn to Him. The change in person from "mourn
for Him" to "mourn for Me" is common in prophetic literature. The
outpouring of the Spirit prompts the people to mourn for sin in private (v. 10)
and public (v. 11).
This profound sense of spiritual poverty and mourning leads to a cleansing
from all sin because the precious fountain has been opened.
If you need help in knowing Him in an intimate personalrelationship here is
A Free Gift for You.
Title: Zechariah 12:8-10 Mourning for the One Who was Pierced
PHIL NEWTON
The Lord Shows Grace 12:10-13:6
It is quite obvious that Messianic intentions are setforth in this pericope. The
emphasis is again on God's actions, here that of grace given. He describes
what God gives and the resulting effects.

1. Regeneration 12:10
Since John 19:37 uses this verse as Messianic, it is clearthat we must interpret
it in light of Christ and the gospel. There is a threefold chain in this verse,
with eachlinked to the other, describing gospelwork.
(1) Regeneration:"I will pour forth..." Regenerationprecedes conversion. It
is divine birthing taking place, the
renewing of darkenedunderstanding, the quickening of those dead in
trespassesandsins.
(a) God is the initiator.
(b) Regenerationcomes as a gift.

(c) The Spirit is given and once He is given there are results. This is not
merely convictionbut a distinct
work of God's Spirit.
(2) Faith: Looking to Christ, seeing not only that He was crucified but that I
crucified or pierced Him with my
own sin. So there is both deep consciousnessofsin and trust in His death.
(3) Repentance and sorrow over sin, and supplicating God for His mercies.
2. Repentance vv. 11-14
The reference in verse 11 is to the death of the godly reformer and king
Josiah, atthe hands of PharaohNeco and the plains of Megiddo.

The detail of mourners shows that repentance takes place among the high and
the low, among the royal and priestly. It is an encompassing idea.
3. Fountain of cleansing 13:1
"In that day" must point to the cross in this case forthere is no other
"fountain" for cleansing. It is for the very ones that "pierced" Messiahthat
the fountain opened. The fountain metaphor in an arid land pictures a source
of cleansing and refreshment.
4. Deliverance from sin 13:2-6
At the heart of Israel's fall was idolatry and attention to false prophets. But
the cross ends the enchantment with idols and closes the ears to false
prophets.

III. The Lord Gives the Deliverer 13:7-9
This is the lastpoetic verse in Zechariah. The Shepherd theme startedearlier
in chapter 11 is continued.
CHARLES SIMEON
THE MEANS OF EVANGELICAL REPENTANCE
Zechariah 12:10. I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications:and they
shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as
one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is
in bitterness for his first-born.
REPENTANCE is a subject, with which every one supposes himself to be
sufficiently acquainted, but which is indeed very rarely understood. The
Scriptures speak ofa repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of [Note:2
Corinthians 7:10.]; intimating thereby, that there is a repentance, which is not
unto salvation;and which therefore itself needs to be repented of. The text in
this view deserves ourdeepestattention, since it opens to us,

I. The nature of evangelicalrepentance—
The sorrow, produced in the heart of a true penitent, is exceeding deep—
[Nothing can be more pungent than the grief of a parent who has lost “his
first-born,” “his only son [Note:Luke 7:12.].” Yet to that is the mourning of a
penitent twice compared. In either case, the soul is bowed down greatly; it is
indisposed for receiving gratifications from those vanities, with which it was
before amused; and loves to indulge in pensive solitude, and painful
reflections. The parent’s anguish indeed may be softenedby the assiduities of
surviving friends; and may wholly lose its pungency through the lapse of time.
But nothing canmitigate the pangs of a wounded spirit, nothing silence the
accusationsofa guilty conscience,till “the balm of Gilead,” the blood of Jesus,
be applied to it: nor even then will sin evercease to be the grief and burthen of
the soul[Note: Ezekiel16:63.].]
But repentance is then only to be calledevangelical, whenit has immediate
respectto Christ—
[Twice is it said in the text, that men shall mourn “for him,” that is, for Christ
[Note:Comp. John 19:37.]. Notthat the miseries, which Christ endured on the
cross, are the proper grounds of a penitent’s sorrow;but rather, it is his grief
that he has so dishonoured Christ by his sins, and that he has yet again and
again“crucified him afresh” by continuing in sin. Many, who are not really
humbled, are concernedfor their sins as having subjected them to God’s
displeasure [Note:Exodus 10:16-17. 1 Kings 21:29.]; but it is the true penitent
alone, who mourns for sin, as dishonouring Christ, and as counteracting all
the gracious purposes ofhis love.]

This will more fully appear by considering,
II. The means by which it is to be attained—
The effusion of the Spirit is the primary means of producing penitence in our
hearts—
[The Holy Spirit is called“the Spirit of grace and of supplication,” because he
is the Author and Giver of all grace, and because it is through his agency
alone that we are able to pray. And this Spirit Christ will “pour out” upon us.
He not only has a right to send the Holy Spirit, as being God equal with the
Father, but in his mediatorial capacityhe is authorized and empoweredto
send forth the Spirit, “having receivedof the Father the promise of the Holy
Ghost,” on purpose that he may impart to us out of his own immeasurable
fulness. To him all must look for this blessing [Note: Acts 5:31.]; and all may
look with an assurance ofobtaining it, provided they truly and earnestly
desire it [Note: John 14:13-17.]. The greatand learned, “the house of David,”
must submit themselves to his influence; nor shall the poorestor most
illiterate of “the inhabitants of Jerusalem” be destitute of this mercy, if they
will but ask it of their heavenly Father[Note: Luke 11:13.]. Nortill this Spirit
convince us of our sin, canany of us know our state, so as to be suitably and
abidingly affectedwith it [Note: John 16:7-8.].]
As a secondarymean, the Spirit turns our eyes unto a crucified Saviour—
[Nothing but a view of Christ as dying for us, canever thoroughly break our
obdurate hearts. But this has a powerful tendency to produce ingenuous
sorrow;because, while it shews us the malignity of sin in most awful colours,
it discovers to us also the remedy provided for the expiation of sin. In the one

view, we are humbled by a sense of our extreme vileness;in the other, we are
overwhelmed with a sense of the Redeemer’s love:and a combination of these
two effects constitutes that ingenuous shame and sorrow, whichmay be
denominated evangelicalrepentance.]
We may improve this subject,
1. Forconviction—
[All acknowledgethat they need repentance, and profess an intention to
repent. But let not any imagine that the slight acknowledgments, and faint
purposes of amendment, which are usually made on dying beds, are sufficient.
If the comparisonin the text be just, nothing will suffice, but a heart broken
and contrite under a sense ofsin. And preciselysuch is the view which the
Apostles also give of true repentance [Note:2 Corinthians 7:11. James 4:9.]. O
that we may never rest in any thing short of such repentance, lest, insteadof
looking now on Christ with salutary contrition, we behold him hereafter(as
we must do) with endless and unavailing sorrow [Note:Revelation1:7.].]
2. Forencouragement—
[Many are discouragedby reasonof the hardness and obduracy of their
hearts. Indeed we all feel, that notwithstanding we have so much cause to
weepday and night for our sins, and are really desirous to do so, we can
rarely, if ever, bring our souls to any measure of tenderness and grief. But let
us look more at Christ as dying for us; and not confine our attention, as we
too often do, to our sins. Let us particularly beg of Christ to pour out his
Spirit upon us, and then the heart of stone shall soongive way to a heart of
flesh [Note:Ezekiel36:26.]. The Spirit of grace and of supplications will easily

effect, what, without his aid, is impossible to man: and the rockyheart, once
struck by him, shall yield its penitential streams through all this dreary
wilderness [Note:Alluding to Numbers 20:11.].]
CHUCK SMITH
Chuck Smith
Sermon Notes for Zechariah12:10
"IN THAT DAY"
Intro: The story of man has been a sad tragedy of failure. As we look at the
world today, we see how man has failed to learn any lessons from history.
Lust and pride still create wars.
I. THE BIBLE POINTS US TO A BETTER DAY.
A. Zechariah, beginning here in chapter 12 and continuing to 14, points to the
light at the end of the tunnel.
1. A better day is coming.
a. The Lord is coming to reign as king over the whole earth.
b. God's mercy and grace will be poured out on the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem.
c. There shall be annual tours to Jerusalemto celebrate the Feastof
Tabernacles,and worship the Lord.
II. GOD'S SPECIALPROMISES TO HOUSE OF DAVID.
A. Pour out His Spirit of grace and supplication.
1. The Jewishpeople have been an oppressedpeople.

a. History is filled with atrocities directedat them
b. God had warned them that these things would happen to them if they
rejectedHim.
2. The day is coming when things are going to change for them.
B. "Theyshall look on Me whom they have pierced."
1. In Psalm22 it was predicted, "Theypierced My hands and My feet."
2. Their looking is in acceptanceand recognition.
a. The veil that has been over their eyes will be lifted.
b. They will recognize the mistake they made.
c. They will receive Jesus as their Messiah.
3. Their looking will bring repentance.
a. "Theyshall mourn for Him."
b. As one would mourn for a firstborn sonthat was killed.
C. "The Lord will open to them a fountain for sin and uncleanness."
1. Their recognition, repentance and receiving of Jesus as their Messiahwill
usher in a new age.
III. SALVATION.
A. It comes as a work of God's Spirit.
B. It comes by looking to Jesus.
C. It comes by repentance.
D. It comes by making Him the king of your life.

THE BITTERNESSOF THE CROSS
NO. 2683
A SERMON
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD’S-DAY, JULY 15, 1900.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,NEWINGTON,
ON THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 12, 1881.
“They...shallbe in bitterness for Him.”
Zechariah 12:10.
YOU know, dear friends, that, this text primarily refers to the Jewishnation.
They will not always be
blinded, as they are at present. The veil will ultimately be takenaway from
their eyes and their heart;
and when it is takenaway, it will not be by the enlightenment of mere reason,
or through the cogencyof
argument by itself, but it will be through the outpouring of the Spirit of our
God. The verse from which
our text is takenmakes this quite clear:“I will pour upon the house of David,
and upon the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace andof supplications.”
Our Lord Jesus Christcan only be seenin His own light. The grace of God
must be given to us before we can see and understand Christ at all; and this
shall be the greatproof that grace has been given to

Israel—thatthey shall look upon Christ. It is goodevidence that grace has
been given to any man when
he looks upon Christ, obeying the great command: “Look unto Me, and be
you saved, all the ends of the
earth.” This is the first sign and token of believers, and it is to be our
continual distinguishing mark, for
we are always to be “looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our
faith.” There is much more in a
look at Christ than many suppose;it is the index of everything that appertains
to the Christian life. There
must be life in an eye that can see;and when there is life in the eye, there is
life in the whole man who
possesses thateye. When an eye cansee Christ, it can see other things that He
intends it to see. Thateye
which has been enabled to behold Him, and which has taught the heart to cry,
“My Lord and my God,”
is prepared to see all the wondrous things that are in God’s law.
The first mark of grace, then, in the Jew, will be that he shall look to Christ.
By that word “look,” I
do not understand a mere transient glance at Him, but a long, lingering,
wistful, discerning, penetrating,
loving look at Him, and unto Him, as it is in that verse, “Theylookedunto
Him, and were lightened.” At
first, it may be only a furtive stolen glance;but when men come to see and feel
the full power of Christ,
they will want to have a long, fixed, steady gaze at Him. Blessedwill be the
day when the Jews shallbe

brought even to think seriously about Christ. At present, they will scarcely
listen to the arguments concerning Him; they denounce the Nazarene, and
close their ears againstHis gospel;but the day shall
come when they will hear, when they will listen diligently, and incline their
ear, and come unto Him that
their soul may live. They shall look, and look, and look, and look, and look,
until the vision shall at last
break in upon their very soul, and then they shall say, “It is He! Yes, it is He
of whom Mosesin the law
and the prophets did write. This is no other than the promised Messiah, the
Son of David; and, alas, up
to now, both we and our fathers have rejectedHim.” And as they thus look,
and realize the greatness of
their guilt, they will begin to weepand lament that they have so long refused
their only Savior.
So, the first effectupon the Jews ofa true sight of Christ—and, as we are all
constituted so much
alike, the first effectupon any man who has a true sight of Christ—is that it
produces sincere sorrow:
“Theyshall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for
Him, as one mourns for
his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for
his firstborn.” I must confess thatI have no love for a dry-eyed faith. The
faith that never wept over sin will have to be wept over
one of these days. If you saythat you have seenChrist, and yet you have never
bemoaned yourself, and
mourned over your transgressions, I think you must have seena false christ,
and not the true Son of

2 The Bitterness of the Cross Sermon#2683
2 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 46
God; for they who behold His wounds are themselves wounded, they who gaze
upon His pierced heart
are themselves piercedto the heart—no, they are piercedin the heart, and
they who, by faith, see the
flowing of His precious blood feel their very hearts bleed on accountof Him,
and all that He endured on
their behalf. A sight of His crucifixion crucifies sin. A sight of His death—if it
be a true sight—is the
death of all love of sin. If, then, you have never felt the mournful effectof the
sorrowfulspectacle ofthe
bleeding Savior, you still have need to stand, and to look, and look, and look
againuntil you do feel it,
for so it will always be: “Theyshall look upon Me whom they have pierced,
and they shall mourn.”
That is the generalthought of this verse, the Jews will look to Christ, and
they will mourn; and the
same thing happens with Gentiles, they also look to Christ, and mourn. So the
theme we are to consider
is the wonderful truth that, when we rightly look to Christ, whether we are
Jews orGentiles, we are “in
bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” It is quite
true that, of all sights in the
world, the sight of Christ crucified is the sweetest. People say, “SeeNaples and
die.” But it would be

worthwhile to see Christ by faith, even if that sight were necessarilyfollowed
by death. Of all that can
be seenin the world, there is nothing as delightful as a believing sight of Jesus
Christ. I appeal to all of
you whose eyes have ever been ravished with that wondrous vision; do you not
say to your Lord—
“A glimpse—a single glimpse of You,
Would more delight my soul
Than this vain world, with all its joys,
Could I possessthe whole”?
At first sight, it seems strange that the mourner turns his eyes soonerto the
place called Calvarythan
to the sacredspotwhere the star of Bethlehem shone;and strangerstill that
there should be more delight
to be found in Gabbatha and Golgotha than even in the Mount of
Transfiguration. The cross ofChrist is
the first resort of sorrow for sin, and it is the last abode of holy grief, where
she lays aside her weeds,
and puts on her beautiful array. Yet there must be some bitterness always
associatedwith Calvary; do
not be startled at that thought. The command concerning the paschallamb
was, “With bitter herbs shall
you eatit;” so marvel not that the Lamb of God, howeversweetHe is, and
howevernourishing to our
souls, cannever be enjoyed by us without the bitter herbs of godly sorrow for
sin: “Theyshall mourn for

Him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him;” and
that bitterness shall be of
the most intense kind: “as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”
Our line of thought will be this. First, I want to point out to you that our first
sight of Christ brings
bitterness; then, secondly, I will try to show you that our continued sight of
Christ works in us throughout life a measure of the same bitterness; and,
thirdly, I will ask you to notice that this bitterness has
most gracious effects upon us.
I. First, then, I want to point out to you that OUR FIRST SIGHT OF
CHRIST BRINGS BITTERNESS INTO OUR SOUL.
When a man, for the first time, by faith sees Christupon the cross, and
understands the meaning of
His greatsubstitutionary sacrifice, he is bitterly grieved because he has not
known Him before. Imagine
the case ofa Jew who has, perhaps, lived in a nominally Christian country for
fifty years. He has frequently heard the name of Jesus mentioned in various
ways, but he has always receivedit with indignation, possibly even with
ridicule. It is quite likely that he has spokenvery bitter things againstthe
Nazarene, repeating the old stories current among his race concerning the
Prophet of Nazareth, and all the
while thinking that he was doing service to Jehovah by rejecting one whom he
supposedto be a pretender. Imagine that man, all of a sudden, convincedthat
Jesus ofNazareth is indeed the Son of God, the only Savior of sinners, the
promised hope of Israel’s seed. Why, I think, if there were not many sweet
and
precious thoughts to be mingled with the bitter ones, he would be almost
driven to utter despair. Surely

he would, with humble penitence and many tears, fall down at that dear
Savior’s feet, and cry, “Forgive
me, Lord, every opprobrious epithet that I have ever uttered; pardon me for
every scornful word that I
have spoken;forgetevery hard and cruel speechthat I have made against
You, O You bleeding Lamb of
God, whose bloodtakes awaythe sin of the world!”
I beseechsome of you who are not Jews, but sinners of the Gentiles, to
recollectthat your position is
no better than theirs, and in some respects it is even worse. I know mine was,
because I knew Jesus to be
the Messiah. Inever had a doubt about that, and yet I did not believe in Him.
I acknowledgedHim to be
Sermon #2683 The Bitterness ofthe Cross 3
Volume 46 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. 3
the Sonof God. From my childhood I was taught that greattruth, and I
acceptedit as a fact, yet I did not
obey Him as my Lord and my God. I knew Him to be the only Savior of
sinners, and if anyone had spokencontrary to that truth in my presence, my
indignation would have burned againsthim; yet, all the
while, so far as my ownconsciousnesswas concerned, He was no Saviorto me.
I knew that He hung on
the cross that He might save the guilty, but I did not, for a long time, realize
that I had a personalinterest
in His saving grace. From my own experience, I am sure that the bitterness of
anyone who has sinned in

that way, when at lasthe understands the greatplan of salvation, and finds
that Christ loved him, and
gave himself to death for him, must be quite as greatas the bitterness of the
Jews who make the same
discovery. For, lo, my brethren, they did it ignorantly in unbelief, but you and
I have done it wantonly,
or at leastcarelessly, andindifferently, knowing that we were rejecting our
mother’s Savior and our father’s Christ. Herein is much of bitterness that you
ought to feel, and when you do get a true view of Jesus as your Substitute and
Savior, you will feelit very acutely, and you will say to yourself, “Oh, that I
had knownHim before! Oh, that I had loved Him before! Oh, that I had
trusted Him before!Alas! That
all these years should have been wastedand that I should have chosensin
rather than the Savior, and the
pleasures of the world soonerthan the delights of His dear love.” I know that
you will have bitterness
about that matter when you really come to Christ for salvation.
Next, there will come over your soul, when you geta true sight of Christ,
much bitterness on accountof your having slighted the extraordinary love of
Christ to you. This truth will come home to your
heart, with amazing power, “He loved me, and gave Himself for me. Forme
He wore that crown of
thorns, for me He endured that terrible scourging, for me He bore the
piercing of those nails, for me He
agonizedunto that bloody sweat, forme He suffered even unto death.” And
then you will say, “And yet
I have been all this while slighting Him! Others have loved me, and I have
returned their love, ashamed

to be thought ungrateful; but all of them put together have never loved me as
He has done, yet I have
been His enemy, and, as far as I could, I have opposedHim. He has stood
outside my door, and
knocked, and I have keptHim waiting there till His head has been filled with
dew, and His locks with
the drops of the night. Woe is me! Woe is me, that I should have treated so ill
my bestFriend!” It is
long, dear brothers and sisters, since my heart ceasedto shut Him out. I
admitted Him long ago;but even
while I am talking to you about it, I feel all the old bitterness of that sad past
coming over me. I could
stand here and weepto think that, though I loved Him comparatively early in
life, I did not love Him
earlier, and did not sooneryield to His persistentknocking, and to the
gracious pressure ofHis infinite
love.
Another bitterness, which ought soonto be banished, steals overthe heart; it
is this, the fear lest
Christ should not be ours after all. I have known some, who have understood
the doctrine of the cross
right well, and have believed in the greatlove of Jesus Christ for sinners; but
then there has come over
their mind and heart that dark doubting thought, “Will His blood be available
for us? Will He everbe
ours? After years of rejecting Him, shall we ever find Him, or have we forever
missed Him? Is our day

of grace past, or does He still wait to be gracious? WillHe still acceptus, or
has He gone away, saying,
‘I will give them up; they are joined unto idols, so I will let them alone’?” Oh,
the bitterness of such a
question as that! To see living water, clearas crystal, leaping up close by you,
and yet to fearthat you
may not drink of it! To see the bread of life placed upon the table, and yet to
doubt whether your unworthy lips may evertaste of that heavenly food! That
is bitterness indeed; but let it be a bitterness that goes
awayat once and forever, for there is no question about that matter. If you
will believe in Jesus, thatis
proof positive that God wills it. The question is never about God’s will, when
once your will is surrendered to Christ. If you are willing to acceptChrist, it is
because it is the day of God’s power, and He has
made you willing. If you will have Christ, He presents Himself to you with this
gracious word, “Whosoeverwill, let him take the waterof life freely.” So let
that bitter thought be nailed up to the cross, and die
forever.
Then there follows, overand above all this, the black, bitter thought, that our
sin causedHis death
on the tree. The awakenedsoulsighs, “Mysins! My sins! My sins!” Nothing
ever reveals sin like the
cross ofChrist. Milton pictures Ithuriel with his spear touching the toad that
lay squatting at Eve’s ear,
and suddenly it arose in the form of the dark fiend of hell. So does the cross
touch what we thought to be
4 The Bitterness of the Cross Sermon #2683

only mistakes and errors, and they rise before us in their true characteras
hellish sins. In the light of
Calvary, sin does like itself appear; and what is the likeness of sin there? Why,
the murderer of the Son
of God—the murderer of the Prince of Life—the murderer of man’s best
Friend, whose only crime was
this—“found guilty of excess oflove,” and, therefore He must die. O sin, is this
what you are? Are you a
God-killing thing? I have heard of men being guilty of regicide, but what shall
I say concerning Deicide? Yetsin virtually, and as much as it can, stabs at the
Godhead, crying, with the wickedhusbandmen, “This is the heir; come, let us
kill Him, and the inheritance shall be ours.” This is the terrible characterof
sin—it will imbrue its hands in the blood of Him who is perfectly innocent and
perfectly benevolent, it will take man’s best Friend by the throat, condemn
Him as if He were a felon, nail Him to a gallows,and then stand and gaze at
Him, and mock His very death-throes. There is nothing upon earth that
is as devilish as sin. Oh, to what extremes of atrocity has sin not gone! And
such is your sin and mine, to
a greateror lesserdegree. A sight of the cross, therefore, brings bitterness into
the soul, because it shows
us what sin is, and what are its ultimate issues and true designs if it could
carry them out. Neverdo we
smite upon our breastas hard as when we see the cross ofJesus. We are
condemned at the mercy seat
even more fully than we are at the judgment seat. This is the condemnation of
sin in the soul of man,
that he sees whatit did in murdering the Christ of God, and this causes the
repenting sinner to “be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for
his firstborn.”

To this is added another source of bitterness, namely, the discovery of the
wrath of God on account
of sin. You stand in imagination, and look at Jesus Christdying upon the
cross and you sayto yourself,
“The Romans are here, and the Jews are here, and all men are here,
representatively;but there is Someone greaterthan all these here.” Then
there comes to you from the ancient prophecy this message, “It
pleasedthe Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief: when You shall
make His soul an offering for
sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the
Lord shall prosper in His
hand.” Yes, GodHimself put Christ into the sinner’s place through wondrous
love to us, and as Christ
stoodin the sinner’s place, though a sinner He could never be, God treated
Him as if He were actually
the sinner. Look how the Father’s wrath burns againsthuman sin; He could
not be angry with His wellbelovedSon; but, inasmuch as Christ stoodin the
sinner’s place, God poured out the vials of His wrath
upon Him just as if He had been guilty. Beholdhow the Fathersmites Him;
these are His words,
“Awake, O sword.” Will not the rod suffice, greatGod? No. “Awake, O
sword, againstMy shepherd,
and againstthe man that is My fellow, says the Lord of hosts. Smite the
shepherd.” But will not some
common smiting be sufficient? No; to the very heart He must be smitten, and
Jesus must die the death of
the cross that we may live forever. “How God must hate sin, then, and what
wrath must fall upon me!”

That is the convictedsinner’s thought. “My sin is personaland actual, and
not, like Christ’s, imputed;
and since it is my own, how can God continue to bear with me?” And the dark
suggestioncomesinto the
soul, “He will not bear with you much longer, for it is written, ‘I will ease Me
of My adversaries.’”Yes,
verily, a true sight of the cross makes us full of bitterness on accountof the
awful guilt of sin, and the
divine wrath which it provokes.
And then comes the bitterness of the dread of never being forgiven. The
convinced sinner says, “God
spared not His only-begottenSon when sin was laid upon Him; then, surely,
He will not spare me. I am
full of guilt, and I have within me a fountain of evil which is perpetually
bubbling up with foulness—
how can the pure and holy God spare me? Where can I flee to getaway from
His presence?How can I
escape from the bolts of His righteous wrath? Let me fly whereverI may, He
will pursue me, and overtake me, and destroy me.” Do any of you know what
it is to feel like this? I remember when I did; I was
in such terror that I feared lest every step I took should be my last, and that I
should stumble first into
my grave and then into hell. “Did the cross make you feel like that?” you ask.
Yes, certainly; for I could
not but think that, though Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have You
forsakenMe?” Ishould never
have to ask that question, because Ishould know why God had forsaken me,
for my sin was sufficient to

drive Him awayfrom me forever.
I feelquite sure that God intends our first sight of Christ to fill our soulwith
bitterness; and therefore
I ask you most seriously to question your conversionunless there was some
measure of this bitterness
mingled with it. A sinner’s sight of Christ must breed sorrow for sin; it is
unavoidable; and the more
clearthat sight shall become, and the more it is mixed with faith, and the
more sure we are of pardon,
the more bitterness will there be in it. When we know that our sins are
forgiven, it is then that we most
of all realize their guilt, and abhor and hate them. That hymn which we
sometimes sing exactly sets forth
this truth,—
“My sins, my sins, my Savior,
How sad on You they fall!
Seenthrough Your gentle patience,
I tenfold feelthem all.
I know they are forgiven,
But still their pain to me
Is all the grief and anguish
They laid, my Lord, on Thee.
My sins, my sins, my Savior!

Their guilt I never knew
Till, with You, in the desert
I near Your passiondrew;
Till with You in the garden
I heard Your pleading prayer,
And saw the sweatdrops bloody
That told Your sorrow there.”
II. Now, secondly, OUR CONTINUED SIGHT OF CHRIST WORKS IN US
THROUGHOUT
LIFE A MEASURE OF THE SAME BITTERNESS.
For, first, as the great love of Christ is better known, it brings deepergrief for
sin. We then more
deeply lament that we should ever have slighted such love, and that such love
should everhave been
calledto so vast a sacrifice as that which it made for us. I do not suppose,
beloved, that your knowledge
of the love of Christ at first was at all comparable to what it is now; if you
have studied in the schoolof
Christ’s love, and have believed it to be the most excellentof all the sciences,
you will, by the teaching
of the Spirit, and by experience, attain a clearerknowledgeofthe love of
Christ which passes
knowledge;and side by side with that will be a growing sense ofabhorrence of
yourself, and detestation
of the sin which nailed your Savior to the tree. It must be so;deeper love to
Christ will breed greater

grief and a yet more bitter bitterness on accountof sin.
There will also be, in your heart, a more intense bitterness arising from the
dread of grieving your
Lord. Oh, have you not sometimes wished that you could die rather than run
any risk of apostasy? I
marvel not at the poor Methodist who, when surrounded by blasphemers, who
seemedas if they would
drive him from Christ, fell on his knees, andprayed the Lord to take him
home to heaven, so that he
might never againbe tempted to go astray. Bitterer than death itself would it
be for us to ever dishonor
that dear name by which we are called. Feelyou not so, my brother, my
sister? I believe that, the higher
your joy in Christ, the greaterwill be your fear lest you should bring disgrace
upon Him. You stand almost on the top of the mountain of communion, you
seemto be transfigured with your Master, and to be
glowing with the light that streams from Him; yet even there the thought
comes to you, “What if, after
all this, I should slip with my feet? Peter, who was one of the three with the
Lord on the holy mount,
himself afterwards denied his Masterwith oaths and curses;then, may not I
also be found wanting in the
time of trial?” This self-examinationis almost necessaryto the mellowing of
our holy joy. As the sycamore fig never ripens till it is bruised, so, there is a
high joy of fellowshipthat needs bruising, by a sense
of our own weakness,before its essentialsweetness shallbe fully developed. I
have a greatfear concerning your condition if you never felt anything of this
bitterness—this dread lest, in thought, or word, or

deed, by omissionor by commission, you should grieve the sweetand tender
love of Christ. You know
how the spouse said, “I charge you, you daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes,
and by the hinds of the
field”—by all that is most gentle, and timid, and delicate, and jealous, and full
of love—“thatyou stir
not up, nor awake my love, till He please.” Itis thus that the holy soul feels the
bitterness of an inward
jealousylest she should be treacherous to her Lord, or that anything should
occurto grieve Him.
The next bitterness is causedby a deeper regreton accountof our own
unworthiness. I think that
those who love Christ much, and who have had a clearview of His love, can
never be satisfiedwith
themselves. Do you ever rise from your knees, and say, “I am quite content
with that prayer”? If so, I
fancy that you cannothave prayed “with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
Did you ever preach a
sermon, brother, and feel, after it was finished, that you could run up the top-
gallants, and cry, “Never
man preachedas I have done”? If so, I am afraid that it was very poor
preaching, with many fine feathers in its tail to spreadout like a peacock’s,
but with few feathers in its wings to make it mount up like
an eagle. It will never do for us to be satisfiedwith ourselves, for vehement
love thinks nothing good

enough for Christ. When it reaches its best, it says, “Mybest is utter poverty
compared with His deserts.” “Oh!” says the saint who truly loves his Lord, “I
am ashamedto bring Him even my best offerings;and when, sometimes, I lie
at His feet, and feel that I am perfectly consecrated, I still wish that
there was something better to consecrate, andthat I could keepup that
complete consecrationat all times
and seasons, andunder all circumstances.”Butsince it is not so, with any one
of us, there is a bitterness
that mingles with the very sight of Christ. You may look at yourself until you
get quite pleasedwith
yourself, but you cannot remain so when once you look at Him. You know
how Job spoke to the Lord,
when he took his right position before Him, “I have heard of You by the
hearing of the ear:but now my
eye sees You. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Those
brethren who think themselves perfect had better come and look at their
Lord; and then, if their comeliness is not turned to corruption, I shall be
greatly mistaken. A glimpse at Him would act like flames of fire turning dry
stubble
into ashes;for, in a moment, all their glory would be utterly consumed.
Then, again, I am sure there is another bitterness that will always accompany
a true sight of Christ,
and that is, an intense horror at man’s rejectionof Him. Have not you,
beloved, sometimes lookedat
your Lord, and loved and adoredHim, till, first, you have pitied men, and
afterwards you have pitied
Christ? With those who love Christ most, there comes to be, after a time,
sympathy with Jesus rather

than with men. I can understand how, even when the enemies of God shall be
destroyedat the last, and
the smoke oftheir torment shall rise up forever and ever, the perfect ones in
heaven will sing, “Hallelujah.” Certain persons, who are on earth at the
present time, if they had been at the Red Sea, and seenold
Pharaoh’s army castinto the depths, would have mournfully said, “This is
very, very grievous to us.”
But as for me, if I had been there, I would have joined with Moses andwith
Miriam, and said, “Sing you
to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider has He
thrown into the sea.” I confess thatI have very small sympathy with Pharaoh,
but I have the most intense sympathy with Jehovah
and with His people; and I question whether the wonderful sympathy with
lost sinners, which some people profess to feel, is not sympathy with their sin
as much as with themselves, perhaps unconsciouslyto
those who indulge it.
If we were perfectly holy, we would desire to do just what God does, and we
should wish God to do
exactly what He is doing, and we should rejoice without question in all the will
of God. One result of
such a state of mind as that would be that we should cry with the psalmist,
“Horror has takenhold upon
me because ofthe wickedthat forsake Your law.” I do not know that I ever
felt a greaterhorror in my
soul than when, in Rome, I stoodat the foot of the Santa Scala—“the holy
staircase,”as they call it—on
which they pretend to show the marks where our Saviorfainted on the stairs
in Jerusalem. I saw poor

deluded creatures go up and down those stairs upon their knees, repeating
certain forms of prayer all the
while. Ah, me! It did seemhorrible; and, worst of all, the priests have turned
the Christ Himself into an
idol. There is a little black picture of Him, at the top of the stairs, which is
reputed to have been painted
by Luke, and it is kissedand worshipped, and thus even our blessedMasteris
made to act the lackeyto
idolatry. I thought that, if I could have borrowed a thunderbolt or two for a
little while, I could have
made a cleansweephere and there in Rome;but the time for that is not yet.
That time will come, and a
very cleansweepthere will be when the cry is heard, “Babylon the greatis
fallen, is fallen...And her
smoke rose up forever and ever.”
But, brethren, there is an intense bitterness in your heart when you come
truly to see Christ on the
cross, as you realize that all people do not believe in Him, that His kingdom
has not yet come, and that
His will is not done on earth as it is in heaven. Men do still rejectHim; they
scoffat His gospel, they
despise His cause, they set up idol gods and false saviors;and all this is as a
dish of bitter herbs to those
who really love Him. It seems passing strange that He should ever have
entered into this awful battle

betweengoodand evil, that He should have come, the foremostand noblestof
champions, baring His
arm for the war, and that in the fight He should not only have sweat, as it
were greatdrops of blood, but
that He should have had His heart brokenin the fray. Ah, me! How sadit is
that He, whom angels worship, and in whom God Himself delights, should be
trampled, by the feet of wickedmen, like mire in the
streets;that they should dare to defile with their spit that face which outshines
the sun, and pour contempt and scornupon Him who fills eternity with the
splendors of the Deity! All this is like bitter herbs
to those who love Him. Still, the final victory will be wonby Him, and it will
be worth all that it costs.
Up the everlasting hills He has already ascended, victorfrom the fight; and
today He divides the spoil
with the strong. But, oh, that it had been possible for that bitter cup to have
passedfrom Him! Oh, that it
had been possible that He should not drink the hell-draught! Yet He did drink
it to the last dregs;it is all
over now, glory be to His holy name! But the taste of the bitter herbs is always
present with the true
PaschalLamb to those who spiritually feed thereon by faith.
III. Now I must close by noticing that THIS BITTERNESSHAS MOST
GRACIOUS EFFECTS
UPON US.
First, it must be evident to you all that this bitterness works greathatred of
sin. We see how cruel sin
has been to Christ, and we therefore seek to avoid it. The burnt child dreads
the fire; but we are not quite

in that condition. We dread the fire of sin because it burned the Savior; that is
why we hate it so intensely. Sin murdered Him; so, canwe ever tolerate it?
Could anyone ever play with the knife that had killed
his bestfriend? Could he preserve it as a choice treasure? No, he would, if he
could, fling it into the
depths of oblivion; and sin, you cruel murderous thing that slew our Savior,
we would take revenge upon you! We abhor you; God has made you bitter to
us; and there dwells, in that bitterness, a powerthat
helps to sanctify us.
But, next, that bitterness makes Christ very sweet. “Why!” you ask, “how is
that?” Well, I suppose
that the bitter herbs made the paschallamb taste all the sweeterto the
Israelite of old; and I am sure that
a bitter sense of sin, and bitter regrets that we should ever have costour
Savior so much, and a bitter
sense ofour own unworthiness, all make Christ more precious to us. It is like
the two balances in a pair
of scales;when you go up, Christ goes down;and when you go down, down,
down, down, to nothing,
and far below zero, then Christ goes up. No man can know the sweetnessof
Christ who has not tasted
the bitterness of sin.
Next, it makes all worldly things lose their taste. If you get some of the
bitterness that comes of
mourning about Christ, the sweetestthings of the world will have but very
little attractionfor you. I will

give you an illustration of this truth. Suppose you had an only son, and that
you losthim; would not everything look dark about you then? It comes home
to a man’s heart very heavily when such a treasure is
takenawayfrom him. He has a farm, but he has no joy in it; the old home
seems to be a very dreary
place to him now; he wishes to move awayfrom it, and to forgetall it
contained. That is the kind of bitterness of which our text speaks:“Theyshall
mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall
be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” And
thus the world loses its
charms for true believers, as Paul says, “It remains, that both they that have
wives be as though they had
none; and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as
though they rejoicednot,”
because a strongerflavor has takenpossessionoftheir palate, and made them
forgeteverything else.
Thus, the bitterness of mourning for Christ takes awaythe powerto enjoy the
sweets ofthis world.
But there is something better than that, for it removes the bitterness from the
things of this life. Suppose you suffer greatpain. I was yesterdayby the side of
a dear sisterin Christ who has undergone terrible pain, and she said to me,
“Thoughts of the Lord Jesus, andof His sufferings, were so sweetto me
that I seemedonly to recollectmy own griefs as they helped me to remember
His.” That is how it should
be with eachof us; as we are called to suffer, we should say—
“His way was much rougher and darkerthan mine;
Did Christ, my Lord, suffer, and shall I repine?”

How often the bitterness of poverty has vanished when men have thought of
Him who had nowhere
to lay His head! How frequently the bitterness of persecutionhas departed
when His followers have remembered that He was despisedand rejectedof
men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief! One
brings us what he says is a bitter draught, and we say, “Do you call that
bitter? I have tastedsomething
much more bitter than that; I candrink it, and even rejoice in it, since I have
been taught how to take the
very gall of bitterness, that which has the intensity of the bitterest Peruvian
bark, even sympathy with
my Saviorin His awful sufferings.”
And let me also tell you, dear brethren, that one effectof this bitterness upon
the soulthat feels it is,
to take awayall bitterness againstyour fellow men. If you have really felt the
bitterness of your sin
againstChrist, you have said to yourself, “Well, now, after this, I must be
sweet, and gentle, and kind,
and tender, and forgiving towards others. Somebody has offended me. Ah, but
then how much I offended God! He will not ask my forgiveness, he says. Yes,
but my Lord prayed for those who put Him to
death, and said, ‘Father, forgive them,’ though they sought not forgiveness;
must not I do the same?” I
am sure that, if you mourn on accountof your own sin, you will be the last
person in the world to be

harsh and severe in your judgment upon others. You will say, “I cannottake
up the stone to castat them,
even if others do so.” The poor harlot comes before the Savior, and the self-
righteous Pharisees willaccuse her; but none of us, I think, will do so, for who
among us has not been guilty; and if we have been
pardoned, how can we condemn others? I charge any of you, who harbor ill-
will againstothers, to remember that you cannot be Christians if you carry
that foul serpentin your bosom. You canbring no
acceptable sacrificesto God’s altar while you are at enmity againstyour
brother. “He that loves not his
brother whom he has seen, how canhe love God whom he has not seen?”
Whateverelse you may or
may not do, this you must do, forgive as you would be forgiven; and let the
bitterness of your sympathy
with Christ take away from your nature all bitterness, and harshness, and
unkindness, and malice, towards your fellow men.
Last of all, in this bitterness with Christ, there is an unutterable sweetness. If
I were askedwhen I
have felt most happy, if the question were put to me in the most unlimited
sense—“Whendid you feel
such happiness as you could wish always to feel?”—Ishould not quote any of
the days of earth’s mirth,
for, as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the best of mortal merriment.
I could not even quote the
day in which I first knew the Lord because, thoughthere was an intensity of
delight about it, it was not
as deep as the joy I am going to mention. Neither, if I had to ask for a joy that
might continue with me,

should I ask to have the high delights which I have often experienced, when in
sweetestfellowshipwith
my Lord, for that kind of joy is killing, we cannot endure much of it. But I
think that the sweetestjoyI
ever felt was when, rackedwith pain, and broken all asunder, I fell back upon
the omnipotent love of
God, like a child who cannot walk, or move, or even stand, but just lies on its
mother’s breast, quite passive, quite at peace.
I think that mourning for sin is as sweeta floweras blooms outside heaven. I
suppose that pearl of
flowers blooms not on the other side of Jordan. It is the only flower on earth
that I would like to carry
there, just as RowlandHill used to say that repentance and he had kept such
sweetcompany that the only regrethe had about heavenwas that he supposed
he should not repent there. Well, all that is good, we
shall have there; “and there shall in no wise enter into it anything that
defiles.” But I do assure you, from
my ownexperience, that the still, calm, quiet joy which does not well up out of
yourself, but comes into
you direct from Christ by the wayof the cross—thatdew which falls not on
Hermon, but on Calvary—is
the rarestand most roseate dew that ever charms us this side of the glory
land. God give you all to know,
to the fullest extent, the sweetbitterness—the bitter sweetness—thatcomesof
a sight of Christ crucified,
for His dear name’s sake!Amen.

MOURNING AT THE CROSS
NO. 2901
A SERMON
PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1904.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,NEWINGTON,
ON LORD’S-DAY EVENING, JULY 23, 1876.
“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalemthe spirit of grace and
of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and
they shall mourn for Him,
as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that
is in bitterness for his firstborn.”
Zechariah 12:10.
NOTICE, in this verse, the very remarkable change of persons which you find
in it; for you have, first,
the first person, and then, the third: “They shall look upon Me whom they
have pierced, and they shall
mourn for Him.” It is the same Personwho speaks ineachcase, and He is
speaking concerning Himself
in both instances, so it is very remarkable that He should first say “Me,” and
then say “Him.” What is

this but another illustration of the Unity of the Godhead, and yet the Trinity
of the adorable Persons in it?
Notice that the One who, in this chapter, speaks ofHimself as “Me” and
“Him,” is none other than Jehovah
who made the heavens and the earth. Readthe first verse: “The burden of the
word of the Lord for Israel,
says the Lord, which stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundation of
the earth, and forms the spirit
of man within him.” The Creatorof the heavens and the Creatorof our spirit
is the same Personwho was
pierced, and who says, “Theyshall look upon Me.” Yet there is a distinction,
for we next read, “Theyshall
mourn for Him.” Jesus Christ is God, and therefore so speaks ofHimself; yet
is He also man, and therefore
He is spokenof in the third person. There are other instances in which the
divine and human in Christ
Jesus are spokenof in a very remarkable manner. Turn, for instance, to the
50th chapter of the prophecy
of Isaiah at the 3rd verse: “I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make
sackcloththeir covering.” No
one but God could truly saythat. Now turn to the 6th verse. I need not read
the two intervening verses, but
I will put the 3rd and the 6th together:“I clothe the heavens with blackness,
and I make sackcloththeir
covering . . . I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that
plucked off the hair: I hid not My
face from shame and spitting.” Can you realize the tremendous descentfrom
the Godheadof Him who

clothes the heavens with blackness, andcovers them with sackcloth, to the
manhood of Him who gave
His back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair?
That is another illustration of
the truth which is so singularly implied in our text, where we read that
“Jehovah, whichstretches forth the
heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man
within him,” also says, “They
shall look upon Me whom they have pierced.”
The next point I want you to notice is the remarkable fact that Jesus Christ
was crucified and pierced.
Did it never strike you as being very singular that He should have been
pierced? When the Jews brought
Jesus to Pilate, he said to them, “Takeyou Him, and judge Him according to
your law.” Would you not
have supposedthat the Jews, onhearing that, would at once have seizedthe
opportunity of putting Christ
to death according to their law? They accusedJesus ofblasphemy, saying,
“We have a law, and by our
law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.” You know
that the death ordained by the
Law of Moses fora blasphemer was by stoning; and, if I had not read any of
the Old Testamentprophecies,
or the New Testamentnarrative, I should have felt morally certainthat when
Pilate said, “Take youHim,
and judge Him according to your law,” they would have takenHim away, and
stoned Him to death; and I

would have felt all the more certain that this would be the case becausesuch
was the animosity and hatred
of the high priests especiallyagainstHim that I should have thought that each
one of them would have
wanted to castthe first stone at Him. But when He was sentencedto be
crucified, the act of putting Him
to death was left to the Romansoldiers; and it is to me very surprising that as
the Jews hadan opportunity
of stoning Him themselves, they did not avail themselves of it. Why was this?
Why, because this ancient
2 Mourning at the Cross Sermon #2901
prophecy had said, “They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced;” and
because anotherstill more
ancient prophecy had said, “They pierced My hands and My feet.” Therefore,
Jesus Christ must die by
crucifixion, and not by stoning.
There is anothervery notable thing in connectionwith this prophecy. The
piercing of the hands and
feet of Christ by the nails, might, perhaps, not seemsufficient to carry out the
idea of the prophecy: “They
shall look upon Me whom they have pierced;” so, when our Lord hung upon
the cross, when“He was
dead already,” as the Roman soldiers saidwhen they came around to break
the legs of the criminals to put
an end to their sufferings, one of the soldiers, who had never read the Old
Testament, and knew nothing

about what was written there, probably just to gratify his heart’s cruel
instinct, takes his spear, and thrusts
it into the heart of Christ, “and forthwith came there out blood and water.”
Now, if that had been done by
someone who knew about the prophecy, it might have been said that there was
some collusionto fulfill
the prophetic Scriptures; but, as this Roman soldier was a barbarian, who did
not believe at all in the
JewishScriptures, is it not a remarkable thing that this prophecy was fulfilled
through his spearbeing
thrust into the heart of Jesus Christ as He hung upon the cross?So now, as
you read these words, “They
shall look upon Me whom they have pierced,” adore the infinite wisdom of
God, who was able to give the
prophecy hundreds of years before its fulfilment in the most singular and
literal manner.
Our text is a prophecy of the conversionof the Jews. Theypractically pierced
the Saviorwhen they
clamoredfor His crucifixion, although Pilate tried to make a way for His
escape, andthe whole Jewish
race has continued to endorse their dreadful deed. Mostof the Jews who are
now living still rejectChrist
with the utmost scornand contempt. The very mention of His name often
produces a manifestation of the
greatestfury. They callHim “the Nazarene.” Iwould not like to mention the
various opprobrious epithets
by which our Lord is calledby the Jews. I marvel not that they speak ofHim
as they do; for, as they reckon

Him to be an impostor, it is but natural that they should heap scornupon
Him. But in doing so, they show
that they acceptthe actand deed of their forefathers, and so His blood is upon
them and upon their children,
according to the terrible imprecation uttered to Pilate. But the day is coming
when all this will be changed.
Israel, still beloved of the Lord, the first-born of all the nations, shall yet
recognize Jesus ofNazareth, the
Son of David, as being the true Messiah;and then there will come over Israel
such a sorrow for having
rejectedthe Messiahas no nation ever knew before. They will look back on all
the hundreds or thousands
of years during which they have been a people scatteredand peeled, exiled
from their own land, which
was the glory of all lands; and they will then realize that what Isaiah and the
other prophets wrote was
plain and clear, and that they ought to have seenit before. Judicial blindness
has happened unto them even
until the presentday, but they will see then, and there will never be any other
Christians in the world such
as they will make, so devout, and earnest, and so anxious to do the will of God
in all things. Then will the
Gentiles also be gatheredin when Israelshall at last receive her king. The first
Christian missionaries were
of the seedof Abraham, and so shall the lastand most successfulones be. God
will graft in againthe
natural branches of the goodolive tree, togetherwith us who were, by nature,
only wild olive trees, but

who have, by grace, beengrafted into the goodolive tree. O glorious day when
that comes to pass; may
God send it soon, and may some of us, if not all, live to see it! Yet remember
that though it will be a day
of greatjoy to the repentant Jews, it will also be to them a day of deep sorrow
as they recalltheir long
rejectionof their dear Lord and Savior.
I want to remind you that the way in which the Jews will come to Christ is just
the wayin which you
and I also must come to Him if we ever come to Him at all. They are to come
mourning for Him, and
sorrowing especiallybecausethey crucified Him. But you and I also crucified
Him as much as the Jews
did, at leastin a certainsense, ofwhich I am going to speak to you; and,
consequently, when we come to
Christ, we must come in just the same waythat the Jews are to come to Him.
In fact, there is no difference,
in this matter, betweenthe Jews and the Gentiles. There is similar sin in each
case, andthe same Savior;
and when we come to Christ, it must be with the same kind of mourning and
the same kind of faith with
which Israel shall come in the days when God, in His mercy, shall gatherher
to Himself.
I. My subject is to be—Evangelicalsorrow,godlysorrow for sin; and my first
remark concerning it
is, that WHEREVER IT EXISTS, IT IS ALWAYS A CREATION OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT:“I will pour

upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of
grace, and of supplications:
. . . and they shall mourn.” There never was any realgodly sorrow, suchas
works repentance acceptable
unto God, exceptthat which was the result of the Holy Spirit’s ownwork
within the soul.
Sermon #2901 Mourning at the Cross 3
True evangelicalrepentance is not produced by mere conscience, however
much the conscience may
be awakenedand instructed. The Spirit of God must operate upon the heart;
otherwise, the natural consciencecannotrise to the heights of true repentance.
It is not the product of mere terror. I believe that men can be driven into a
sort of repentance by
preaching to them the wrath of God, or by a sense of that wrath overtaking
them in times of sicknessor
of the approachof death. But terror alone is hardening, rather than softening
in its influence. It produces
a repentance that needs to be repented of, but it cannot produce evangelical
sorrow for sin.
And, certainly, true repentance can never be produced in the soul by any
outward machinery. Attempts
have been made to produce it by covering the so-called“altar” with drapery
of a certain color—violetis,
I think, the proper colorto represent repentance—andby darkening the
“church” as it is called, and by

tolling a bell at a certain time during the service, and by a sort of spiritual
charade, acting the tragedy of
the cross with mimic blasphemy, or, rather, with realblasphemy, and a
shameful mimicry of the crucifixion of our Lord. Surely, no true repentance
will ever be workedin that way. People may be made to weep,
and made to feel, by such travesties;but no spiritual result comes of it any
more than of the weeping which
may be produced at the theater by some pathetic scene that is actedthere. No,
no; the preaching of the
gospelis the ordained means of getting at men’s hearts, and the Holy Spirit’s
poweralone canlead men
to repent of their sins, and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
Therefore it follows that genuine mourning for sin comes as a gift of divine
grace:“I will pour upon
the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of
grace.” Gracecomesinto the heart,
and enlightens the understanding, so that the man understands what his
criminality is in the sight of God.
Then the grace ofGod operates upon the conscienceso that the man sees the
evil and the bitterness of the
sin which he has committed againstthe thrice-holy Jehovah. Then the same
grace affects the heart, so that
the man beholds the infinite graciousnessand eternallove of Christ, and then
begins to loathe himself to
think that he should ever have treated Christ so ill. So, by a work of grace
upon the soul, and not by any
other process, does the Spirit of God make men weepfor sin so that they hate
it, and turn away from it.

This work of grace is always attended by prayer. Notice the promise in the
text: “I will pour . . . the
spirit of grace and of supplications.” Despairing repentance dares not pray, so
that is not the kind of repentance that God accepts. Remorseforsin has often
been workedin men’s minds, and it has driven them
to despair, and that despair has prevented them from praying. But the godly
repentance, which the Holy
Spirit gives, always sets the sinner praying. Judas Iscariotrepented, after a
fashion; but he could not pray,
so he went out and hanged himself. God save all of you from a prayerless,
tearless repentance!But if you
repent of sin, and at the same time really pray, then I believe we have the
right to say that God has poured
upon you the spirit of grace and of supplications; and that your mourning for
sin will prove to be a godly
sorrow that will work in you every blessedthing. God grant to you more and
more of this grace as long
as ever you live!
This leads me to make a further remark, which is, that true repentance is
continuous in a Christian.
When a man mourns for sin as he ought to do, he does not leave off mourning
as long as he is in this
world. I am sure of this because we are told that it is “the spirit of grace and
of supplications” that God
pours upon His people. Now, grace abides in the Christian all his life, and
supplication also abides in the
Christian all his life; so that we may infer that the third gift of the Spirit,
namely, mourning for sin, will

also abide in the Christian as long as he lives. I have frequently quoted to you
the saying of goodold
RowlandHill, that the only thing he regrettedabout going to heavenwas that
he supposed he should have
to say “Goodbye” to repentance when he entered the pearly gates;“but,” he
said, “she has been my sweet
companion, togetherwith faith, all my pilgrim journey, and I expect to have
these two graces withme as
long as I am in this world.” Oh, yes, beloved; we have not done with
repenting, and we never shall have
done with repenting as long as we are here. The more we rejoice in God, the
more we repent to think that
we should ever have sinned, and that we do still sin againstHim. The more we
see of the loveliness of
Christ, the more we repent that we ever were blind to it. The more we taste of
His amazing love, the more
we smite upon our breasts, and grieve to think that we should ever have
refused Him, and should have felt
no love in our hearts in return for His greatlove to us. If you have done
repenting, brother, the Holy Spirit
has done working in you; for, as long as He works, grace,supplications, and
repenting all go together.
II. Now, having shown you that, whereverthere is true evangelicalmourning
for sin, it is the work of
the Spirit of God, I pass on to remark, in the secondplace, that, wherever
there is this acceptable mourning
for sin, IT IS CAUSED BY LOOKING TO CHRIST.

“Theyshall look upon Me whom they have pierced.” What is the inference
from that fact? Why, that
repentance is not a preparation for looking to Christ. Do you not see that?
The looking is put first, and the
mourning afterwards. Yet I know what many of you have thought. You have
said to yourselves, “We must
mourn for sin, and then look to Christ to pardon it.” That is not God’s order,
and we must always be
careful to keepall truths in the order in which He has put them. Remember,
sinner, that there will never
be a tear of acceptable repentance in your eye till you have first lookedto
Jesus Christ. “Oh, but!” says
someone, “Ihave had many terrors and horrors concerning sin, yet I have
never lookedto Christ.” Then,
all those terrors and horrors are unacceptable. They may be the work of
conscience, or, perhaps, partly
even the work of the devil himself; but evangelicalrepentance begins with a
believing look at Christ. You
must first fix your eye upon Christ before you can truly repent. And I tell you
that all your repentings,
apart from believing in Jesus, are of no value, of no avail; therefore, away
with them! If you weepfor sin
without fixing your gaze upon Christ, you will have to weepagain over your
repentance, for it is itself

another sin. Look awayfrom everything else to Jesus, for He can melt that
hard heart of yours, and enable
you to repent. Do not, as our proverbs say, put the cartbefore the horse, or
put the fruit into the ground
instead of the root; but begin with looking unto Jesus, and then true
repentance will surely follow.
But what is there, in looking to Christ, to make a man hate sin, and repent of
it? I answerthat—Looking
to Him we see how sin hates purity. There was an eloquent, flowery preacher
who, as he delivered his
discourse, one Sunday morning, exclaimed, “O Virtue, fair and beauteous
maid, if you should once descendfrom heaven to earth, and stand among the
sons of men, they would be all charmed by your beauties,
and would fall down and worship you!” It so happened that there was a
certain plain, blunt preacher, who
was not at all an eloquent orator, who had to preach, in the afternoon, in the
same building; and having
heard the morning discourse, he ventured to repeatthe apostrophe to Virtue
which I quoted just now, and
when he had finished the quotation, he said, “But, O Virtue, you did descend
from heaven to earth in the
form of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; but did all men worship You? No, they
vilified You, they abhorred
You, they said, ‘let Him be crucified;’ and they took You, and nailed You to
the accursedtree, and put
You to a shameful death!” The death of Jesus Christupon the cross was an
impeachment of the whole

world. It showedhow bitterly fallen man hates perfection; and if Christ were
to come again to the earth
as He came before, men would again crucify Him; and if Christ’s disciples
were more like their Lord, I
doubt not that they would be far more persecutedthan they now are, even as
they were in the ages thatare
past.
Further, when we look on Jesus Christupon the cross, we see sin’s ingratitude
to love. Christ was not
merely pure and perfect, but He came to earth upon no errand but that of
love and mercy. There were no
thunderbolts in His hands with which to smite the guilty, but even His enemies
said, “This man receives
sinners, and eats with them.” He Himself said, “Godsent not His Son into the
world to condemn the world;
but that the world through Him might be saved.” Love and pity to men were
in His bosom, yet see how
the world treated Him. It would not have pure benevolence in its midst. The
Friend of men, the greatest
philanthropist who ever lived, loving the most degraded, and seeking to up lift
them—they took Him, and
nailed Him to the cross of wood. O sin, what an accursedthing you are, that
you did not only hate purity
itself, but also perfect purity combined with infinite love, and that you did
shootyour sharpestarrows into
the heart of the bestFriend that man has ever had!

Yet even that is not all that a sight of Christ upon the cross shows to us, for it
also shows us man’s
abhorrence of God; for, after all, that which excitedthe bitterest enmity of the
world was the Godheadof
Christ, His Divine attributes. Jesus Christwas God, and He came to this
earth; and wickedmen, though
they could not kill God, went as near to it as they could by killing Christ, who
was God as well as man.
We use the word “regicide” whenwe speak of a man who kills a king, and we
rightly use the word “Deicide” in speaking ofthe crime of which the world
made itself guilty when it put Christ to death. It was the
ever-blessedSonof God whom wickedmen nailed to the tree; and the world
would commit the same
crime again if it could. If all men were gatheredtogether, taking the human
race as it now is, and it were
put to the vote, “Shallthere be any God?” everyfool would hold up his hand
for “No God.” “The foolhas
said in his heart, “No God.” And as the mass of mankind belong to that
category, in spiritual things, they
say, “No God.” It is quite possible that I am addressing some people who
would be delighted if it could
be said to them, “Now, if you hold up your finger, there will be no more
religion to bother you, no judgment day for you to dread, no resurrection, no
hell, no heaven; in fact, God Himself will be put away;as
far as you are concerned, there will be no God.” What goodnews it would be
to you if it were really so,
Sermon #2901 Mourning at the Cross 5

for the thing which troubles you now is that there is a God. Well, that only
shows that you also are among
those who are guilty of the death of Christ, for, if you could do it, you would
extinguish God Himself; and
this is what they did, as far as they could, when they nailed the Son of God to
the cross ofCalvary.
But, dear friends, when we rightly look to Christ, we see that our guilt was so
greatthat only an infinite
sacrifice couldatone for it. Our sin comes home to us; at least, mine comes
home to me. I see Christ upon
the cross, andmy self-righteousnesssays,“Idid not crucify Him.” But my
consciencereplies, “No, but
you heard, for many years, about Christ being put to death, without being at
all affectedby that fact;and,
therefore, you virtually sanctionedthe dreadful deed, by not reprobating it;
and you were not moved to
any feeling of shame even though Jesus died in your room and place.” Thatis
all true, my Lord. For many
a day, I thought nothing of You. Then my conscience added, “You know that
when Christ came to you,
in the preaching of the Gospel, for a long while you refused Him. Many a
time, your conscience was
awakened, andyou were urged to acceptChrist as your Savior;but you said,
‘I will not have this Man to
reign over me.’” Yes, Lord, that also is true. I, who now love You with all my
heart, once refused You;—
no, not merely once, but a thousand times I refused You; and so I did what the
Jews ofold did—rejected

You. Ah, beloved! We chose the pleasures of the world, instead of the love of
Christ, so that we were as
bad as they were who said, “Notthis man; but Barabbas.” We chose the poor,
paltry, trivial joys of time
and sense, andlet the Savior go. Must not all of you confess that you were
guilty in this respect?
Possibly, I am addressing some who, in the days of their ignorance, even
cursed the name of Jesus,
and persecutedor ridiculed His people. You have a loving sister, of whom you
used to make what you
called“rare fun” because ofher love to Christ, and you knew that you were
wounding Christ Himself
through one of His followers. Perhaps there was someone whomyou used to
persecute very violently for
being a lover of the Lord. If you did so, you were persecuting Jesus, even as
Saul of Tarsus did. Do not
say that you never spit in His dear face, do not saythat you never scourged
His blessedshoulders. You
have done so, as far as you could do it; in spirit you have done it, though not
in very deed. Look to Him
now; look to Him now; and, as you see Him on the cross, and see whatwicked
men did to Him there, say,
“Theywere only doing it in my place—doing whatI should have done if I had
been there—doing what I
have, in effect, done for a great part of my life.”
Even we, who have believed in Jesus, must accuse ourselves ofguilt
concerning our treatment of our

dear Lord, as we look into His face. He has forgiven us, blessedbe His dear
name! He has not a word to
say againstus. There is nothing but love in His heart toward us; but we
cannot forgive ourselves for all
the wrong we have done to Him. Oftentimes, we have plaited a crown of
thorns, and put it on His head,
as the soldiers did. That silly talk, when we ought to have been telling out His
gospel—thosedoubts and
fears, that wickedunbelief, when we ought to have been fully trusting Him—
that love of the world, that
greedof gain, when we ought to have been honoring Him with our
substance—allthis was the plaiting of
thorny crowns to put upon His blessedbrow. Ah, yes! We may well look at
Him, and mourn; who among
us can look at Him, and not mourn? God forgive us if we cando so!
III. My time is almostspent; but I was going to show you, in the third place,
that EVANGELICAL
SORROW FOR SIN IS THE CHIEF OF SORROWS. Wheneverit comes into
the heart, it is not a sham
sorrow, but a very real one. Our text says, “Theyshall mourn for Him, as one
mourns for his only son,
and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-
born.”
The grief of one who has lost his only child is very acute. There is hardly a
more painful errand on
which a minister of the gospel, or any other Christian, has to go, than to visit a
family in which the only

child lies dead. There is real sorrow there, for they are thinking that their
name will not be continued; and
their dear child was one in whom they took greatdelight. An only child is
usually very much beloved; so,
for that child to die, causes specialsorrow;and it is a great grief for a man to
lose his first-born—the
beginning of his strength, in whom he had takensuch pride. Well now, such is
the kind of grief that a true
Christian feels concerning his sin. May we have it more and more, O Lord! It
were better that I lost every
child—better that I lost life itself—than that I should sin againstYou; that is a
cruel crime which may well
make me mourn.
The prophet then goes onto compare the mourning for sin to the mourning of
the whole nation when
Josiahdied, and the land rang with bitter lamentations for the loved monarch
who had been slain in battle.
The weeping men and wailing women went through every street, and
Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, was
the chief mourner among them all. Now, suchis the sorrow of a soul when it
realizes that it crucified
Christ. It is a sweetand blessedsorrow;but, still, it is a very deep and real
one. I ask that I may be made
to feel more and more of it—
“Lord, let me weepfor nothing but sin,

And after none but Thee;
And then I would—oh, that I might!—
A constantweeperbe.”
IV. I must not dwell upon this sacredtopic, but close with what would have
been my fourth division
if there had been time for it. That is, that EVANGELICAL REPENTANCE
DOES NOT ITSELF
CLEANSE US FROM SIN.
Are you startled by that statement? Then, read the 1
st verse of the 13th chapter: “In that day there shall
be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalemfor sin and for uncleanness.”
Now, dear friends, if mourning for sin took the sin away, there would not be
any need of the cleansing
fountain; but, although the mourning was so real and so bitter, it did not take
awaythe mourner’s sin.
Toplady was right when he sang—
“Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone:
You must save, and You alone.”
But while evangelicalrepentance does nottake awaysin, wherever it is
present, it is a proof that sin
is takenaway. If you have repented of your sin, and have believed in Jesus,
then you have been cleansed

in the open fountain, and that same blood, which has cleansedyou from guilt,
will yet prove that it can
also cleanse youfrom the power of sin. Am I addressing any who are now
mourning on accountof sin?
“Blessedare they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Thatblessedness
awaits you, for “blessedis
he whose transgressionis forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Go and confess your
transgressionunto the
Lord; say to Him with David, “AgainstYou, You only, have I sinned.” Go and
stand at the foot of the
cross, and view the flowing of your Savior’s precious blood; and while you
stand there, and mourn for
Him, the Holy Spirit will be pleasedto bear witness with your spirit, and you
shall have the blessedassurancewhichwill enable you to know that the blood
of Jesus has washedall your sin away, and you shall
go on your way rejoicing—hating the sin that made Him suffer, and praising
the grace that has forgiven
it.
Before I close I would that some poor sinner, instead of trying to mourn for
sin, would first look to
Jesus Christ upon the cross, for that is the way to be made to mourn for sin.
Instead of thinking that
repentance can cleanse you, look to the finished work of Jesus, andbelieve in
Him, for that is the only
way by which pardon can come to you. May God bless us all, and keepus alw

MOURNING FOR CHRIST
NO. 1362
A SERMON
DELIVERED ON LORD’S-DAY MORNING, JULY 1, 1877,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,NEWINGTON.
“I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the spirit of grace
and of supplications; and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced,
and they shall
mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for
Him,
as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.”
Zechariah 12:10.
SEE, beloved, from where every goodthing flows, “I will pour upon the house
of David the Spirit of
grace.” The starting point is the Lord’s sovereignactin giving the Spirit.
Every work of grace begins
with God. No gracious thought or act ever originates in the free will of
unregenerate man. The Lord is
first in all things which are acceptable in His sight. It is Godthat “works in us
to will and to do of His
own goodpleasure.” “Youhave workedall our works in us.”

Then notice how exceedinglyeffectual the work of the Lord is. Men may
persuade and even inspired
prophets may warn without effect, but when the Lord puts His hand to the
work, He never fails. As soon
as ever He says, “Iwill pour,” the next sentence is, “and they shall look.”
When He works, who shall
hinder? His people shall be willing in the day of His power. “Theyshall look
upon Me whom they have
pierced, and they shall mourn.” This is effectualcalling indeed. In such results
we see what is the exceeding greatnessofHis power to usward who believe
according to the working of His mighty power
which He workedin Christ when He raised Him from the dead.
Observe, thirdly, the dignity and the prominent position which is occupiedby
faith. “I will pour upon them the spirit of supplication and they shall look.”
Faith is evidently intended here, for faith is always that glance ofthe eye
which brings us the blessing which Christ has to bestow. “As Moseslifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, evenso must the Son of man be lifted up that
whoeverbelieves in Him
should not perish.” A look at the brazen serpent healed Israeland according
to the figure, believing in
Jesus Christ is a saving look. Now, this look of faith is mentioned as the first
fruit of the Spirit—before
they mourn, they look. When the Spirit of grace and supplication is given, its
principal result is looking
unto Jesus.
But now see whata choice fruit follows upon faith—a soft, sweet, mellow fruit
of the Spirit, “They

shall mourn for Him as one that mourns for his only son.” This sorrow is a
sweetbitter, a delicious grief,
full of all manner of rare excellencies.It is a peculiar order of mourning and
differs greatlyfrom the sorrow of the world which works death. Those who
mourn in this fashionare made sorry after a godly
manner, for godly sorrow works repentance to salvationnot to be repented of.
Mark, it is godly sorrow
or repentance towards God. Its specialtyis that it looks Godwardand weeps
because ofgrieving Him.
The lamentation describedin the text is mourning for Christ. “And I will pour
upon the house of David,
and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications; and they shall look upon
Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for
his only son, and shall be
in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.” This is a
very remarkable peculiarity
of true Spirit-worked repentance. It fixes its eyes mainly upon the wrong done
to the Lord by its sin. No
other repentance but that which is evangelicallooksin that direction. The
repentance of ungodly men is
a horror at their punishment, an alarm at the dire result of their
transgressions. Theyrepent like Esau, not
of eating the pottage, but of losing the birthright. They see sin only in
reference to themselves and their
fellow men, but its higher bearings in reference to the Lord, they quite ignore.
The ungodly at times, and

especiallyin the hour of death, feel remorse, but it has nothing to do with God
unless it is that they
tremble at His justice and fear the punishment which He executes. It is, after
all, pure selfishness. They
are sorry because they are about to suffer the consequences oftheir rebellion.
Evangelicalrepentance
Mourning for Christ Sermon #1362
Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 23
2
2
sympathizes with the GreatFather and grieves that He should have been so
sadly provoked. See it in
David, “AgainstYou only have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight.” See
it in the prodigal, “Father, I have sinned againstheavenand before you, and
am no more worthy to be called your son.” See
how it was workedin Saul of Tarsus, for the voice from heavensaid, “Saul,
Saul, why do you persecute
Me?” It was sin as againstthe exalted Savior which struck home to Paul’s
heart and laid him low at the
feet of his Lord. All true repentance has this for its specialmark, that it is
attended with evident reconciliationto God, since it now regrets the wrongs
done to Him. One sure sealof its genuine spirituality is
that it is a lamentation on accountof the dishonor which sin has done to God
and to His Christ. We are
going to view the specialcase before us from that point of view and work it
out in three or four ways.

I. First, according to our text, when the spirit of grace is given, THERE WILL
BE A SPECIAL
MOURNING FOR CHRIST ON THE PART OF ISRAEL. You must take the
text in its primary significance, for we must treat the Word of God fairly.
There will come a day when the ancient people of God,
who have so long rejectedJesus ofNazareth, will discoverHim to be the
Messiahand then one of their
first feelings will be that of deep humiliation and bitter regretbefore God.
They will mourn as at the
mourning of Hadadrimmon, when the beloved Josiah fell in battle and all
goodmen knew that the light
of the nation was quenched. “The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the
Lord, was takenin their pits,
of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.” They
justly mourned for pious
Josiah, for he was the last of their godly kings and the full showerof wrath
beganto fall upon Judah
when he was takenfrom the evil to come. Right well also will it be for them to
mourn bitterly as a nation, when they discern the Lord whom they have
pierced, for is there not a cause? Theyhad a peculiar
interest in the Messiah, forit was to them and almostto them only that His
coming was clearlyrevealed.
God spoke ofHim to Abraham and Isaac and Jacoband the fathers. It was
from their race that the Messiahwas to come. It is no small honor to
Abraham’s seedthat the man Christ Jesus is one of them. It was
a Judean virgin of whom He was born and to IsraelHe is indeed bone of their
bone and flesh of their

flesh. When He came on earth, He confined His ministry to them. Of them He
said, “I am not sent exceptto the lost sheepof the house of Israel.” He healed
their sick. He opened the eyes of their blind ones
and raisedtheir dead. It was in their streets that He delivered His gracious
messages oflove. And when
He was gone, it was in their chief city that the preaching of the gospelbegan
and the Holy Spirit was
poured out. “Go you and teach all nations,” He said, “beginning at
Jerusalem.” It was from among the
Jews that the first vanguard of the church’s host was chosen. The first to
preach the gospelwere of the
house of Israeland they might have been to this day in the very front of the
army, peculiarly adapted as
they are in many respects to lead the wayin the teaching of a pure faith, but
they judged themselves unworthy and therefore the ministers of Christ,
though chosenfrom them, were obliged to say, “We turn
unto the Gentiles.” Thencame their casting away, for a time, during which
seasontheir ownMessiah
was despisedand blasphemed by the nation which ought to have receivedHim
with exultation. “He
came unto His own, and His own receivedHim not.”
Their rejectionof the Lord Jesus was mostdetermined and carried to the
utmost length. It was not
sufficient for that generationin which Jesus lived to turn a deafear to His
admonitions, they must needs
seek His life. Once they would have castHim headlong from the brow of a hill.
At another time, they

took up stones to stone Him and at last they did take Him and bear false
witness againstHim, fiercely
seeking His blood. By their malice, He was given over to the Romans and put
to death, not because the
Romans desired to slay Him, but because the clamorof the multitude was,
“Crucify Him, crucify Him.”
and their voices prevailed with Pilate. They imprecated on their heads His
blood, saying, “His blood be
on us and on our children.” They pushed the rejectionof the King of the Jews
to the utmost possible extreme, for they rested not till He hung upon the
shameful tree and life remained no more in Him. Peter
said, “And now, brethren, I know that through ignorance you did it, as did
also your rulers.” How bitterly, then, will they lament when that ignorance is
removed. They will mourn as one who has losthis firstborn and only child, as
for a loss never to be repaired.
Worse still was that their ignorance was, to a large extent willful, for Jesus
was rejectedby them
againstthe clearestpossible light. John came as a voice crying in the
wilderness and all men knew that
John was a prophet. Those who most hated Jesus of Nazarethwere yet afraid
to say that John was not
sent of God. Yet he bore witness of Jesus and said, “Beholdthe Lamb of God,
which takes awaythe sin
Sermon #1362 Mourning for Christ
Volume 23 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ.
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of the world.” Moreover, Jesus Himselfspoke as never any man spoke—His
teachings carriedtheir own
evidence within themselves, so that He justly said, “If I had not come and
spokenunto them, they had
not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin.” His words were
accompaniedalso with signs and
wonders by which He proved His deity and His Father’s pleasure in Him, so
that He said, “If I had not
done among them the works which no other man did, they had not had sin;
but now have they both seen
and hated both Me and My Father.” In memory of this He stood and wept
over Jerusalem, saying, “How
often would I have gatheredyour children togetheras a hen gathers her
chickens under her wings, and
you would not.” What agony will rend their hearts when they perceive how
blinded they were and how
they despisedtheir own mercies.
One greatreasonfor the bitter mourning of restoredand believing Israelwill
be the long ratification
of this rejectionof Christ by generationafter generation. Fornearly 1,900
years have passedsince Calvary’s cross was erected, but they rejectthe
Nazarene still. Alas, poor Israelites!The veil is still upon
their faces though Moses is readin their synagogueseverySabbath day. Alas!
for the sorrowing seedof
Jacob, waiting still with their wailing hymns, for the coming of the Messiah,
who has come already, but

who was “despisedand rejected” ofHis own people and made by them “a nan
of sorrows and acquainted with grief”. They will mourn as overthe grave of
an only child when they come to know that Jesus of
Nazarethwas indeed the virgin-born Emmanuel, God with us. They will
wring their hands and seek to
blot out the pages oftheir history with tears because they did so despitefully
maltreat and so obstinately
rejecttheir Lord, the Prince of the house of David. If another Jeremiahshall
be found to lead the singing
men and singing women in their lamentations, he will have no need to look
long for subjects for his laments. Looking to Him whom they pierced, the
whole house of Israelwill weepbitterly.
And now, dear brethren, it will tend to increase the blessedsorrows whichwill
then sweepoverIsrael to think how the Lord has had patience with them and
still has never castthem away. To this day they
are as distinct a people as everthey were. They dwell alone—theyare not
numbered among the people.
Persecutedalmostbeyond conception, poor Israel, for many a century, has
been the butt and jest of
those—Iam ashamedto say it—who calledthemselves Christians and yet
despisedthe chosenpeople of
the Lord. Alas! The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, have been
esteemedas earthen
pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter! “How has the Lord coveredthe
daughter of Zion with a
cloud in His angerand castdown from heaven unto the earth the beauty of
Israel!” They have for centuries endured a terrible chastening. Theyhave
been turned upside down and wiped as when a man wipes

a dish, but still they stand waiting for a vainly expectedKing. They would not
have their true King, Jesus the Son of David, and they have no other—where
is there any king of the Jews?The scepterhas departed from Jacoband the
lawgiverfrom betweenhis feet, for Shiloh has come, even He who, as He did
hang upon the cross, was thrice named, “King of the Jews.” Jesus is the sole
King of the Jews and they
are preservedand kept alive notwithstanding a thousand influences which
threatened to make them lose
their nationality. They shall yet be gatheredagain, and their restorationshall
be the fullness of the Gentiles, and we and they shall rejoice togetherin Him
who has made both one, and broken down the middle wall or partition, so that
there is now neither Jew nor Gentile, barbarous Scythian, bond nor free, but
we are all one in Christ Jesus.
II. I now come to more personalmatters. In the secondplace, THERE IS A
GENERALMOURNING WHICH GOD GIVES TO HIS CHURCH ON
BEHALF OF CHRIST—a mourning which is only
known and manifested when the Spirit of grace and supplication is fully
poured out; I would we might
have a large measure of that mourning at this present hour. Let us deplore at
this time, beloved brethren
and sisters, that Jesus Christ, by the greatmass of men, is treated with utter
indifference, if not with contempt. Where are the multitudes even of our own
city at this presentmoment? There are many gathered
in places of worship to sing hymns in the Redeemer’s praise, but there are
many, many thousands in this
city—I have even heard it said that there are millions of people who seldom, if
ever, enter within the
walls of the house of God. Jesus has suffered and bled to death for men who,
when they hear of it, treat

His loving sacrifice as an idle tale. He is not quite unknown, I hope, to any of
our city—some tidings of
Him must have reachedtheir ears, but they scarce have enoughcuriosity to
inquire more about it. Their
little children go home from schooland sing to them on the Sabbath day and
so they have sweetly
sounded in their ears the “old, old story” of redeeming love, but ah, they
break the Sabbath—they make
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it a day of amusement and pleasure or they spend it in sloth. The Bible is left
unread, or read without
interest in its divine message. Theyhave no care for the bleeding Lamb, no
regard for their best friend.
If they do not sorrow about this, we ought to sorrow for them, for they are
men and womenlike ourselves and they are living in contempt of our Lord
Jesus. Some ofthem have many amiabilities—there is
so much indeed of human excellence aboutthem that we have deplored that
the “one thing” which they
lackedwas not sought after by them. Yet they continue as they are and it is to
be feared many of them
will continue so till they perish. Weepnot so much because Jesus sufferedon
the cross, as becauseHe is
practically crucified every day by this carelessnessand contempt. The
crucifixion at Calvary is over now

and it is but the visible tokenof a crucifixion to which carelessmenand
women are putting the Redeemereveryday. They care nothing about Him—
dead or alive He is nothing to them. At the thought of such
unkindness will you not cry, “Forthese things I weep;my eye, my eye runs
down with water.”
Reflectsorrowfully, too, how the Lord Jesus has been ill treated and pierced
and wounded by His
opponents—andI mention here as among the chief of them those who deny
His deity. At this moment
there are men of greatattainments and abilities who will extol our Lord’s
manhood and even profess to
be in love with His character, but they will not yield Him divine honors. Oh,
Son of God, to whom the
Father bore witness by an audible voice out of heaven, saying, “This is My
beloved Son, hear Him”—
they rejectthe witness of God and so dishonor You. You did not count it
robbery to be equal with God,
but they gladly would pierce You in Your divinity and make you nothing but
a man. Men also rejectour
Lord’s atonement. By many that truth is obscuredor utterly denied! I still
hear the cry in many quarters,
“Let Him come down from the cross and we will believe on Him.” Modern
philosophers will acceptanything exceptthe bleeding Substitute for guilty
man. When I think of the false doctrine which is
preachedabout the Lord Jesus and how His glory is tarnished by the lips of
His professedministers who
think His gospela worn-out tale, I see that there is, indeed, occasionforus to
get to our chambers and

pour out our hearts in lamentation. Alas, my Lord, why are You thus
blasphemed by the worldly wise?
Why is Your truth despisedamong the learned and ridiculed by the scribes?
I do not know when my grief has been more stirred for my Lord and Master
than when brought actually to see the superstition by which our holy faith is
travestiedand His blessedname blasphemed. Turning from skepticism, where
He is wounded in the house of His enemies, you come to superstition, where
He is wounded in the house of His professedfriends, and what wounds they
are! I have felt sometimes
as if I could teardown the baby image held in the Virgin’s hands when I have
seenmen and women
prostrate before it. What? O you sons of Antichrist, could you not make an
idol, like the Egyptians, out
of your cats and dogs, or find your gods in your gardens? Could you not make
a golden calf, as Israel
did in the wilderness, or borrow the fantastic shapes ofIndia’s deities? Could
nothing content you till the
image of the holy child Jesus should be made into an idol and Christ upon the
cross uplifted should be
setup as an image for men to bow before it? The idolatry which worships the
image of the devil is less
blasphemous than that which worships the image of Christ. It is an awful
sacrilegeto make the holy Jesus appearto be an accomplice in the violation of
the divine command—yes, and to turn that blessed
memorial of death into an idolatrous rite in which divine honors are given to a
piece of bread. Was there
ever sin like unto this sin? O You, innocent Savior, it is grief indeed to think
that You should be setup

in the idol temple, among saints and saintessesand that men should think that
they are honoring God by
breaking His first and secondcommands. This must be to our Lord the most
loathsome of all things under heaven. How does He in patience bear it? Let
not His people behold it without a mourning like the
mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon, because our blessed
Christ is so blasphemed by
Antichrist that the image of the incarnate Sonof Godis setup as an object of
idolatrous worship.
There should be greatsorrow and mourning when we read the history of the
past and look even at
the present, at the fearful wrongs which have been done in the name of Jesus.
Jesus is all love and tenderness and yet they place His cross upon the blood-
stained banners of accursedwar. Jesus, who said,
“Put up your sword into its sheath, for they that take the swordshall perish
with the sword,” is, nevertheless, adjured to go forth with armed hosts to blow
men to pieces with guns, or pierce them with bayonets. When the Spanish
nation captured Peru and Mexico, it makes one’s blood boil to read that, while
they murdered the defenselesspeople for their gold, they set up in every town
the holy cross. What had
the cross to do with their murders and robberies? They tortured their victims
in the name of Jesus and
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when they put them to death, they held up before them the image of the
crucified Jesus. Whathorrors

have been workedin Your name, O Christ of God! Men have, indeed, pierced
You and they who take
Your name and call themselves of “the Societyof Jesus” have beenchief
enactors ofthese abominations. Your crucifixion at Calvary is a small part of
the matter, for the sons of men have gone on piercing You by maligning You
thus infamously, You, Lord, of boundless love.
And now, today, what is done in our land? I can scarcelystayto enlarge, but
there are multitudes of
things done in the name of the religion of Christ which are a dishonor to it.
Under the pretense of guarding the interests of His church a certain
community of professing Christians beg that their fellow Christians may not
be buried within the same enclosure as themselves—indeed, Christ’s name
must sanction
such un-Christly bigotry! One sectionof the church must also be patronized
and made dominant in the
land—and this wrong is done in the name of Jesus. It is to honor Him that this
crying injustice is perpetrated! Hear it, you heavens!There are multitudes of
things besides which I shall not mention for which
the Christian church ought perpetually to sorrow. That she does wrong is
enough to make her humble,
but that she has dared often to do wrong, even in the very name of Jesus, is
worstof all.
Still, brethren, the worstsorrow probably for us all is that there should be so
many professing Christians who act in a manner the very opposite to what
Christ would have them do. The heathen everywhere point to our
countrymen, who are supposed to be Christians, and they say of us that we
are the
most drunken race of men upon the face of the earth—and I suppose we are.
Charges are brought against

us which are supported by the conduct of our sailors and soldiers and others
who go abroad, which make
the followers ofMohammed and the disciples of Brahmanism to think their
religion superior to our own.
These Englishmenare supposedto be Christians, though they are not. This is
a greatscandaland a
grievous sorrow under the sun.
And then in the very heart of it all lies this, that true Christians, those who are
truly Christ’s bloodbought, regeneratedpeople, nevertheless, do not
sufficiently bring glory to His name. Where is the zeal
of the church—the all-consuming zeal of other days? Where is the
consecrationwhich ought to rest upon all members of Christ’s blood-bought
body? Where, I say, is that mightiness in prayer and supplication which at the
first so gloriously prevailed? Where is that spirit of hearty love and unity, of
brotherly
kindness and compassionwhichought to be seenin all Christians? The first
church brought greathonor
to the name of Christ—does the church of today do the like? Do even the most
spiritual portions of the
church bring to the Lord Jesus suchhonor and glory as He ought to have?
You judge what I say. Are we
not all unprofitable servants? Is there not cause formourning and for great
mourning, too, to think that
Jesus should thus have been ill-treated by friends and foes? ForHim, our best
Beloved, perpetually
pierced, the church may wellproclaim a fastand mourn before the Lord, as in
the day of Hadadrimmon
in the valley of Megiddon.

III. Suffer, now, a word or two upon the third point, for THE TEXT SPEAKS
OF A FAMILY
MOURNING. It will be a very blessedday indeed when we see this—when the
Spirit of grace and supplication shall be largely poured out and the land shall
mourn, every family apart. Have you ever seen
this in your households? Where the Spirit of God really rests upon a family,
there will be much of it and
surely there is cause enoughfor it in some families where there is none at all.
We ought to grieve to
think that there has been such formality and coldness in family devotion, so
little love to Jesus manifestedin the morning and evening worship. I fear that
there are professing families where daily prayer is
altogetherneglected. The individuals, I trust, pray in their chambers, but they
have given up the assembling of themselves as families to worship in the name
of Jesus. As families, they are prayerless and dishonor the Lord; herein is
serious cause forsorrow because our Lord loses, by this neglect, that which
He
delights in, namely, family praises.
Families should also mourn because the Lord is not so regardedas He should
be in family management. Christ is not made first and chief in family matters.
Fathers look to the worldly prosperity of their
boys in placing them out, rather than to their moral and spiritual advantage.
Many a time, marriages for
the daughters are sought, not in the Lord, but solelyin reference to pecuniary
considerations. How much
of the arrangementof the household ignores the existence ofthe Savior? As,
for instance, much work
done on the Sabbath which might be spared by a little care and thought and
consequentinability to go

out to worship the Savior with the rest of God’s people. There is a wayof
setting the Lord always before
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us in the managementof householdmatters and on the other hand, there is a
way of so acting as to prove
that God is not in the leastconsidered. Forfamily quarrels, family pride,
family covetousness, andfamily sins of all kinds bring shame upon our
professionand dishonor upon the name with which we are
named, there ought to be greatsorrow.
If there are any members of a family unconverted, this should cause the whole
household deep regret. If there is but one child unsaved, the whole should
plead for him with tears. Happy are you who
have all your household walking in the faith, but if there is one left out, weep
not for the dead, neither
bewail him, but weepfor the living who is dead unto his Lord. Wife, be
grieved in your heart if you
have a worldly husband. O husband, mourn for your unconverted wife! If you
have brothers or sisters
not yet brought to Jesus, fail not to lament concerning them. I would to God
that families did sometimes
come togetherto pay their vows with specialcare and that the father would
confess family faults and
family sins in the name of them all and so acknowledgeeachwound given to
the Lord in their house. I

am not alluding to those private rebukes which every wise parent must give,
but I would have a common
confessionfrom all, uttered by the voice of the head of the household. Oh,
Lord Jesus Christ, how
blessedit is to think that You are the God of all the families of Israel and that
You love the tents of Jacobso well. Grant that our households, as households,
inasmuch as they sin and transgress, mayalso
walk before You in all humbleness. Let all families mourn. Let the house of
David mourn, for there is
sin in royal and noble families. Let the house of Levi repent, for, alas, there
are sins in ministers’ families which greatly provoke the Lord our God. The
house of Shimei, of whom we know nothing may representthe private families
which are unknown and of the humbler order. Let these also draw near to
God
in penitential grief. The house of Nathan may be regardedas the prophetic or
perhaps as the princely
house, but be they what they may, let them all come before the MostHigh,
eachwith the language of
confession. Itwill be a grand thing for England when we shall see more family
piety and family mourning for sin. They tell us that in Cromwell’s day if you
went down Cheapside at a certain hour in the
morning, every blind of every house was down because the residents were at
family prayer. It was then a
standing ordinance of all professors ofreligion and it was the greatbuttress
againstPopery. Modern Ritualists want us to go to church every morning and
night to pray—the church is opened all day long, so I
see by a notice on one of our churches, for private prayer. It strikes me as
being rather a place for public

prayer and well adapted for the display of devotion. The idea that prayer is
more acceptable in the parish
church than in your own houses is a superstition and ought to be treated with
no respect. If we will pray
in our families and make every house into a church and consecrate every
room by private supplication,
we shall not be fascinatedby the foolish idea of the holiness of places or priests
and we shall so be
guarded againstthe seductions of Popery. The Lord pour out the Spirit of
grace upon all the families of
His people!
IV. But now, lastly, and more personally. According to the text, when the
Spirit of Godis given,
there will be PERSONAL, SEPARATE, AND SALUTARY MOURNING ON
THE PART OF EACH
ONE. “Every family apart, and their wives apart,” these words, often
repeated, bring out vividly the individuality of this holy sorrow before the
Lord. Let us now endeavorto enter into it.
First, dear brethren and sisters, letus mourn that our sins occasionedour
Lord’s death and when we
have done this, which would naturally be the first thought from the text and
therefore will naturally occur to you without my needing to urge it, let us go
on to mourn our sins before our regeneration. To me
it will ever cause regretthat I was unbelieving towards One who could not lie.
Now, as I know my Lord
and have proved His faithfulness so well, it looks so strangelycruel that I
should have doubted Him, that

I should have thought He could not cleanse me or that He would not receive
me. He is the tenderest of
all hearts, the most loving of all beings, and yet there was a day when I
thought Him a severe tyrant who
expecteda preparation of me which I could not produce in myself. I did not
know that He would take
me just as I was and blot out my sin. I know it now, but I mourn that I so
grievously belied Him. Ought
we not to grieve over our long carelessness?You used to hear the gospel, dear
friend, and you understood its plan and scope, but you did not wish to feel its
power. The Son of God in pity came to die for
you and yet you thought it an everyday matter to be attended to at your
convenience, and you went your
way to mind earthly things. O Lord, how could I shut the door of my heart
againstYou so long when
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Your head was wet with dew and Your locks with the drops of the night? You
did gently knock and
knock again, my God, and yet I would not let You in for many a year!
Sorrowfully do I repent for this.
Think then, dear friends, of the contempt which we castupon Christ while we
were living in that
state of carelessness,for did we not as good as sayin our heart, “Pleasure is to
be found in the world and

not in Christ. Restis to be had in wealth, not in Jesus”?Didwe not
deliberately choose whenwere
young to follow the devices of our own hearts insteadof the will of Jesus? Now
that we know Him, we
think ourselves fools that we should have seenany charms in the painted face
of that Jezebelworld
when Jesus stoodby with all His matchless beauties. Forgive us, dear
Redeemer, that we ever thought of
these trifles, these transitory toys, these mockeries, andlet You go though it
were but for an hour. Alas,
this base contempt of You was no error of an hour, but a crime which lasted
many years. Pardon us, O
Lord.
Let us reflect, again, with greatregretupon the resistance whichwe offeredto
Christ. In some of us,
the Spirit strove mightily. I do confess that under sermons I was oftentimes
brought to my knees and
driven to my chamber with tears, but the next morning saw those tears
evaporate and I was as stubborn
as before. Did Jesus persuade us to come to His wedding feast? Did He put His
arms about our neck and
say, “Come and receive My love?” By His tenderness did He persuade us and
by His terrors did He
threaten us and yet did we resistHim? What a crime is this! Look at Him
now! Oh, look at Him with His
dear wounds and His face marred more than any man! Did we push Him
aside? Did we contend with

Him who only meant our good? Did we not by this conduct pierce our Lord?
It was even so. Alas, for
those dark days! Let the whole of our life before conversionbe counted but as
a breathing death. Write
down its days as nights and let the nights perish and be forgottenforever.
But we have more than this to reflect upon, namely, our sins since conversion.
Do I address any this
morning who have grievously backsliddensince they professedfaith in
Christ? Have you committed
greatand open sins? Has it even been found necessaryto remove you from the
church of God as the leper is put out from the camp? Then do not think of it
without feeling your eyes swim in tears. What is
justly bound by the church on earth is bound in heaven and therefore do not
despise the censure of the
church of God. And if others of us have been kept—as I trust we have—from
the greattransgression,
yet, beloved, what shall we say? Are there not with us, even with us, many sins
againstthe Lord? We
too have often been guilty of mistrust. We have doubted the Lord, who is
truth itself. What a stab at His
heart is this! What a reopening of His veins! We have been gloomy sometimes,
and full of murmuring
until men have said that Christians are miserable; and they have taken up a
proverb againstour holy
faith because we have been despondent and have not felt the joy of the Lord;
this is wounding Him in
the house of His friends, and for this evil let us mourn.

Might not our Belovedcharge lukewarmnessupon very many who would be
unable to deny the accusation? Lukewarmtowards the bleeding Lamb—
towards the dear lover of our souls!Have we not
been disobedient too, leaving undone certainduties because they were
unpleasant to the flesh and doing
other things which we know we ought not to have done, because we chose to
please ourselves?This is a
sad state of things to exist betweenour hearts and our best Beloved.
Has there not been in us a very greatwant of self-denial? What little we have
given to Him! Did we
ever pinch ourselves for Him? Might He not sayto us, “You have bought Me
no sweetcane with money, neither have you filled me with the fat of your
sacrifices,but you have made Me to serve with your
sins, you have weariedMe with your iniquities.” And how little zeal we have
shown for Him. Zeal has
just lingered on, like a spark in the flax unquenched, but how little flame has
there been, how little love
for God, how little love for perishing sinners, how little love, even, for Christ’s
own people. How scant
has been our fellowship with Jesus. I know some who, I hope, love Him, who
go from day to day without hearing His voice and some will even live a week
in that condition. Shame! Shame! To live a month
in the same house with our heart’s husband and not to have a word with Him!
It is sad indeed, that He,
who should be all in all to us, should often be treated as if He were secondbest
or nowhere in the race.
Alas, alas!Christ is all excellenceand we are all deficiency. In Him we may
rejoice, but as to ourselves,

we ought to mourn like doves because ofthe griefs we must have causedto His
Holy Spirit through the
ill estate of our souls.
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We have askedyou, and I pray the Spirit of God to enable you, to mourn over
the past, but what
shall we say as to the present? Take stock now of lastweek;I invite myself
and you, for we are one in
Christ if we are believers, to look through lastweek. Did you make any survey
of the days as they
passed? If so, I think you might have said with Dr. Watts—
“What have I done for Him who died
To save my guilty soul?
How are my follies multiplied,
Fastas my minutes roll.”
Has it been a week ofreal service for Christ? You have done something; did
you do your best? Did you
throw your heart into it? Did you feel that tenderness, whenyou were trying
to bring others to Christ,
which a Christian ought to feel? You had some little contention with another;
did you act in a Christian

spirit? Did you show the mildness and gentleness ofJesus?You were
offended, did you forgive freely?
For His dear sake did you castit all behind your back? You have been
somewhatin trouble, did you take
your burden to Him as naturally as a little child runs to its mother with a cut
finger? Did you tell Him all
and leave it all to Him? You had a loss;did you voluntarily resignall to His
will? Has there been no
pride this week? Pride grieves Him very much, for He is not a proud Master
and is not pleasedwith a
proud disciple. Has there not been much to mourn over?
And now, at this very moment, what is the state of our feeling toward Him?
Must we not confess that
though there is a work of grace in our souls, yet there is much about us at this
moment which should
make us bow down in grief before the Lord? Dear Savior, You know there is
not one in this house who
has more cause to mourn for You than he does who speaks for You now, for
he feels that these poor lips
are not able to tell what his heart feels and his heart does not feelwhat it
ought. A preachershould be
like a seraph. One who speaks forChrist and tries to praise Him should be a
very Niobe when he sees
the sins of men and his own. Where are my tears? The spirit truly is willing,
but the flesh is weak. I
think what I have now said of myself will suit most of you who are engagedin
my Master’s service.Do

you not feel that you blunder at it, that when you would paint Him, you make
a daub of His likeness?
When you would setHim forth visibly crucified among the people, do you not
obscure Him with the
very words with which you wish to revealHim? You must have such feelings
and if you have them, let
me close by reading these words to you. They are assuredlytrue when there is
a time of hearty, sincere
mourning for Jesus, “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house
of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalemfor sin and for uncleanness.” So
let us plunge into the sacredbath. Believing in the
precious blood, let us washand be clean. Glory be to His name, those whom
He has washedare clean
every whit. Amen.
THE PIERCED ONE PIERCESTHE HEART
NO. 575
DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 19, 1864,
BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,NEWINGTON.
“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the spirit of grace

and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced,
and they
shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness
for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.”
Zechariah 12:10.
THIS prophecy, first of all, refers to the Jewishpeople;and I am happy that it
confirms our hearts in
the belief of the goodwhich the Lord will do unto Israel. We know of a surety,
because Godhas said it,
that the Jews will be restoredto their own land, and that they shall inherit the
goodly country which the
Lord has given unto their fathers by a covenantof saltforever. But, better
still, they shall be convertedto
the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and shall see in Him the house of David
restoredto the throne of Israel. The day is coming, when they shall see in
Jesus ofNazareth, that Messiahfor whom their saints
lookedwith joyful expectation, of whom the prophets spoke with rapture, but
who was despisedand rejectedof their blinded sires. Happy day! Happy day
when our Jewishbrethren shall all be found worshipping before the Lord of
hosts through their greatHigh Priest, who is a Priest forever, after the order
of Melchizedek!We must remember the prophecy concerning this thing; we
must inquire of the Lord
concerning His promise, we must expectits fulfillment, labor for it, and then
beyond a doubt, when the
due seasonshallhave arrived, Israelshall acknowledgeherKing, and upon
the house of David, and the

inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplication shall be poured
out!
We intend to hear our text, upon the present occasion, as it speaks to
ourselves. A greatmistake is
very common among all classesofmen—it is currently believed that we are,
first of all, to mourn for
our sins, and then to look by faith to our Lord Jesus Christ. Mostpersons who
have any concernabout
their souls, but are not as yet enlightened by the Spirit of God, think that
there is a degree of tenderness
of conscience, andof hatred of sin which they are to obtain, somehow or other,
and then, they will be
permitted and authorized to look to Jesus Christ. Now you will perceive that
this is not according to the
Scripture, for, according to the text before us, men first look upon Him whom
they have pierced, and
then, but not till then, they mourn for their sin! This is the common folly of
men—they look for the effectin order to produce the cause;they forgetthe
old proverb and put the cartbefore the horse; but our
text plainly indicates what is the cause, and puts it first, assuring us that the
effectwill follow. Repentance is in no sense a title to faith in Christ. It is, on
the other hand, a legitimate consequence offaith! In
certain diseases, the surgeonaims at producing an outward eruption which
carries off the internal poison, and so assists in the cure; but no man would be
justified in refraining from medical advice until he
could see the eruption in his skin, that being a healthy sign, a forerunner of
the cure, a result of medicine, and by no means a preparation for it. So
repentance is the bringing into our own sight the sin which

lurks within; it is a result of the medicine of faith!
And we would be foolish, indeed, if we refused to believe until we saw in
ourselves that repentance
which only faith can produce! That repentance which is unattended by faith
in the Lord Jesus is an evil
repentance which works wrath, and only sets the soul at a greaterdistance
from God than it was before.
Sweet, heart-melting, reconciling repentance brings the soul to love the Lord,
and to hope in His mercy—this precious gem always glitters on the hand of
faith, and nowhere else!Without faith it is impossible to please God;and
consequently, an unbelieving repentance has nothing in it acceptable to God.
Unbelieving repentance may be so deep as to drive us to hang ourselves, like
Judas, but its only result
would be to secure for us Judas’s doom. Without faith, if our hearts could
break, if our eyes could become perpetual fountains of tears, yet our
repentance would in no way whateverbe regarded by God exceptas a
continuance of our sin, since we would really be rejecting the Lord Jesus, and
setting up our
own bitterness of soulin competition with the finished work of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Let us be quite
The PiercedOne Pierces the Heart Sermon #575
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clearon this point, then, to start with, that it is not mourning for sin which
causes orprepares the wayfor
our looking to Christ; but it is our looking to Jesus which makes us weepand
mourn for Him, and works

in us the sweetbitterness of true repentance.
We will considerthree points—first, what there is in a sight of the pierced
One to make us mourn;
secondly, what is the characteroftrue mourning for sin; and thirdly, what is
that which connects Jesus
and this true mourning. The text tells us that looking does it all—“Theyshall
look upon Me whom they
have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him.”
I. WHAT IS THERE IN A SIGHT OF JESUS TO MAKE US MOURN FOR
SIN? Let us not answerthis question merely in a doctrinal fashion, but as we
proceed, let us pray that the Holy Spirit may
bring our minds to feelthe melting force of the greatsacrifice onCalvary, so
that we may wet His cross
with tears of holy penitence. Come with me, brethren, to Golgotha’s terrible
mount of doom, that we
may sit down and watch the death-pangs of the greatLover of men’s souls.
There, on that transverse
wood, bleeds the incarnate Son of God. His head yields ruby drops where the
crownof thorns has
pierced it; His hands and feet flow with rivulets of blood; His back is all one
wound; His face is marred
with bruises, and filthy with the spit of the mockers;His hair has been
plucked from His cheeks;His
eyes are bloodshot; His lips are parched with fever; His whole body is a mass
of concentratedagony!He
hangs yonder in physical pain impossible to be fully described, while the
misery of His soul, crushed

beneath the wheels ofthe chariot of Justice, constitutes a woe far more
terrible. His soul is exceedingly
sorrowful, even unto death, while His body is as a cup full to the brim with
grief—whatif I say a sponge
saturatedwith infinite miseries? While Jesus bleeds on yonder tree, our hearts
bleed, too. If we have
tears at any time, let us shed them now, for now or never must we weep.
The first cause fordeep sorrow lies in the excellenceofthe Sufferer. He who
hangs there is no other
than that Son of God, before whom angels veil their faces with their wings!He
is Lord of heaven and
earth—concerning Him the Fathersaid of old, “Let all the angels of God
worship Him.” At His command, the cherubim and seraphim fly to the utmost
verge of space, gladto be the messengers ofHis
goodpleasure. He is the light and brightness of heaven, the express image of
His Father’s glory. “Without Him was not anything made that was made,”
and by Him all things consist. And yet the King of
heaven lays aside His crown, strips Himself of His purple, takes offHis golden
rings, becomes aninfant
of a span long, and after a life of suffering, yields Himself to a slave’s death
upon the wretchedgallows
of the cross!My Soul, do you not sorrow that so divine a Personshould sink so
low? Think of the purity
of His characteras man! In Him was never any sin, and yet He suffers! His
whole life was spent in doing good; unselfishly He spared not Himself; and
now, men do not spare Him their worstcruelty! He
gives food to the hungry, health to the sick, life to the dead; He has not time
for Himself so much as to

eat bread; He shuns no labor for the goodof others; He seeks no ease for
Himself; and yet the men
whom He would bless conspire to curse Him! He lives a life of perfect holiness,
in no waycausing any
to offend; His life is the pure light of the sun of love, it has no darkness
whateverin it; His acts are as a
river flowing with crystalstreams of loving kindness, untainted by selfishness
or ambition; and yet He
bleeds! Heaven’s brightest jewelis castinto the mire—earth’s purest gold is
trod in the streets!He who
is of heaven the sun, suffers an eclipse!He who is of earth the brightest star, is
hidden beneath black
clouds.
O immaculate man, shall I see You bleed without compassion? O Almighty
God, shall I see You incarnate in the flesh, suffering throes and pangs
unworthy of Your Godhead, without feeling the commiserationof my soul
stirred towards You? Can we, brethren, think of the beauty of our Lord
without being
filled with bitterness of soul for Him? Shall those eyes, which are as the eyes of
doves by the rivers of
waters, which once were washedwith milk, now be drowned in tears of blood?
His cheeks,whichare as
a bed of spices, as sweetflowers—shallthese be given to them who pluck off
the hair? Those hands
which are setwith jewels, shall they be pierced? Shall His legs, which are as
pillars of marble set upon
socketsoffine gold, become all spattered with the stream of His heart’s gore?
Oh, here is sorrow!That

precious casketofHis body, so rich that heaven’s treasures, and earth’s
wealth togethercould not furnish such another, that dear case ofjewels is cast
out as an unclean thing, and made a victim outside the
camp! O, who will give me tears? I weep, I must weep for my sins!—
“My sins, my hateful, cruel sins,
His chief tormentors were!
Eachof my crimes became a nail,
Sermon #575 The PiercedOne Pierces the Heart
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And unbelief the spear.
‘Twas you that pulled the vengeance down,
Upon his guiltless head,
Break, break my heart!
O burst my eyes,
And let my sorrows bleed.”
All human eyes, if they were forever full of tears, could not express the woe
that One so glorious, so
pure, so loving, so condescending, should, in His own world, find no shelter,
and among His own creatures, find no friends! But contrariwise, in this world,
He rackedupon the cross, andamong His creatures, He met His murderers!
This should make us mourn bitterly for sin.
Look up again, my soul, and perhaps another word may help to melt you,
stubborn though you are.

Let us remind ourselves ofHis sufferings. Remember Gethsemane? In that
garden, His soul is exceedinglysorrowful. Though He is not in labor, but
simply in the exercise of prayer, a sweatcomes streaming from every pore—
not the common sweatof men who toil, but, O God, it is a sweatof blood! “He
sweat, as it were, greatdrops of blood falling down to the ground.” The pains
of hell alone can furnish a
fit parallel for the awful misery of Christ that night; and perhaps even there,
such sufferings were never
sustainedas Christ endured in the garden! Betrayedby His chosenfriend, He
is hurried awayto the
Sanhedrin, and there accusedofblasphemy. Oh, cruel charge againstthe Son
of the Highest! Then He is
draggedawayto Pilate, and then, awayto Herod, to be slanderedbefore both
tribunals. Meanwhile, they
scourge His back with the scourge, the very thought of which is enough to
make a man shudder—it is
said to have been made of the sinews of oxen intertwisted with pieces of sharp
and raggedbone—so that
every blow tore through the flesh to the very bone. He is scourgedthus, and
then beaten with rods. He is
setupon a mimic throne, and crownedwith thorns. They spit in His face. They
insult Him; they bow the
knee and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They buffet Him with their hands.
Shame never descendedto a
lowerdepth—mockery could devise nothing worse than that crownof thorns
and that reed scepter.
Away they hound Him, tearing off the purple robe which must have glued
itself to His bleeding flesh—

they roughly tear it away, and then, they put on His owngarments and hurry
Him to the malefactor’s
place of execution. Rudely, they strip Him, cruelly, they fling Him down,
savagely, they pierce His
hands and His feet. They lift up His cross and dislocate His every bone with
the jar given to it, as it is
fastenedin the earth! They sit down to look at Him in derision, and gloatover
His pains. The weight of
His body tears the nails through His hands, and when the weightfalls upon
His feet, the nails force
themselves in long wounds through the nerves of His blessedfeet!
Feveris brought on by His fearful wounds; He is faint with pain; His mouth is
dried like an oven. In
His extremity, He cries, “I thirst!” They thrust vinegarinto His mouth—that
is the only comfort they
will render Him—vinegar mingled with gall! The hot sun scorches Him until
He cries, “All My bones
are out of joint: My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of My bowels.
My strength is dried up like
a potsherd; and My tongue cleaves to My jaws;and You have brought Me
into the dust of death.” Even
the light is denied Him; He hangs shivering in midday-midnight. The thick
darkness did but express the
darkness which might be felt which coveredall His soul. His agonies had
become so intense, that they
must not be beheld by any onlooker. The darkness, therefore, formedas it
were, a secretchamberwherein Christ might do battle with His direst griefs.

Griefs like Himself, immense, unknown. Godlike sorrows now hold fast the
Son of God—only His deity enabled Him to sustainthe struggle. The storm
passes,and at last, shouting, “It is finished,” with bowedhead, He gives up the
ghost. Have we no tears
for such sorrows as these? Shallwe have no mourning for such griefs? How is
it that if we read the story
of a common man, suffering by his own folly, we freely weep? And over the
silly story of a love-sick
maid, we will feel our pity stirred? But here, on Calvary, where the King of
heaven is tortured with unutterable woe, tormented with sorrows so
tremendous that they exceedall other griefs as a mountain exceeds the
molehills, we are like flints or steel, and scarcelyfeelcompassionmove? O
God, pour out upon us the spirit of grief and commiserationthat we may
mourn for Him—
“Strike, mighty grace, my flinty soul,
Till melting waters flow,
And deep repentance drowns my eyes
In agonizing woe.”
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Perhaps we have not come to the very centerof heart-breaking thought. The
wonder is that Jesus
Christ should suffer thus as the result of sin—of our sin. A young man ran
awayfrom home and left his

agedmother that he might plunge into sin—aftera few shameful years, he
came back to his country and
sought his home. When he knockedatthe cottage doorhe askedfor his
mother, but she was not there.
“What name did you say, sir? She died years ago.” “And how did she die?”
“Well, they say she had a
son who treatedher with cruelty, and at last, left her to indulge his own evil
passions. She could not bear
it, for she loved him much. She sickened, andno one could comforther. She
died, they say, of a broken
heart; and that is her grave over the hedge yonder in the churchyard.” Well
might the sinner turn away
with reeling brain and wish himself under the turf at her side. “I slew my
mother by my sins.” If he
weeps not at this, he must be a devil, indeed. Jesus Christ, my Lord, hangs on
that tree slain by my
sins—shallI not sorrow? Had I never sinned, there had been no need of a
Savior for me. Had we never
rebelled againstGod, there would have been no sword of vengeance to plunge
into His heart—
“Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?”
This is sad, indeed. Can you get the thought, my dear friends, that you made
Christ die—yes, you—if
there were no other man. You could not, if there had been only you to save—
you could not enter heaven

without the dying groans of that Savior! There must be an atonement made no
less than His greatsacrifice for you, and you alone. Therefore, take the whole
of it to yourself, and now, will you not sorrow at
the sight of the pierced Savior?
Let us remember, too, as we continue at the foot of the cross, thatJesus Christ
does not merely suffer
for sin, but He suffers FOR YOU. I do not know, but perhaps this may be the
heart-breakerwith some
who never did repent of sin before. O you who look to Him believingly, Jesus
Christ loves your poor
guilty soul at such a rate that He suffers all this for you! I pray you, as you
look to Him dying upon the
cross, forgetnot that every drop yonder flows for you. How could you have
despisedHim who died for
you! Determined to save you, He went down to the very lowestdepths to bring
you up, and yet you have
heard the gospeland neglectedit! You have lived all these years in sin! You
have been, day after day, a
neglectorof the Word of God, perhaps a Sunday-breaker! It may be a
swearer, using this very name of
Christ to curse by, and yet, He suffered this for you. O believing sinner, for
you these wounds, for you
that sweatofgore, for you that cross, foryou that spear, for you that mangled
frame lying in the tomb
motionless in the graspof death! Will not this make you feelthat you cannot
any longerharbor the lusts
which are the enemies of Christ, but that you must castout, once and for all
from your soul, these cruel

foes which made the Savior bleed?
While I am talking upon this theme, I feelmore than at any other time in my
own life my own insufficiency. I cry as Elijah did, “Woe is me! for I am
undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips!” O, it needs an angel’s tongue to
tell of a Savior’s grief!
Yes, even a seraph might fail. It needs the SaviorHimself to tell you in worthy
words how He suffered,
and what was the love which led Him through the woe;surely the cross makes
sin hateful when we see it
by the light of the Spirit of all truth!
One more remark here upon this first point. It should make us mourn for sin
when we think that this
suffering of Christ for us can be attributed to nothing else than His own
marvelous love towards us who
were so undeserving. What could have brought Christ from on high except
motives of pure affection?
Can you conceive anyother cause? DidHe want glory? My brethren, was not
the glory of heaven
enough for Him? Besides,if it could have been possible for Him to need glory,
is He not Omnipotent?
Could He not, in a moment, have createdten thousand thousand worlds filled
with inhabitants all too
glad to be permitted to sing His praise? Could He gain anything, let me ask
you, by coming here below?
And was there anything in you or me to merit what He did? Far, far awaybe
the accursedthought of

merit! But even if we could merit anything, could we merit this sacrifice?
Could we merit that bloody
sweat? O Virtue, you could never merit this! No, heroism at its highest point,
and self-sacrificesublime
to its most exalteddegree could never merit that the Son of God should die!
Sin accomplishedwhatvirtue could not. Sin brings the Saviorfrom on high—
Virtue never could have procured this. Ah, brethren,
the love of Jesus must have been a strange love, indeed. We have heard of
men, who out of love to some
poor country woman, have left their kingdom and their throne to follow her
poverty, and lift her up ultimately to their wealth. But who everheard of the
equal of this? That God’s own Son, “Though He was
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rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, that through His poverty we might be
made rich”? Worms were
never raised so high above their meanestfellow worms, and therefore, they
could never stoopas Christ
did! If an angel could die for ants, that would certainly look like
condescension—butfor Christ to die
for men is more wondrous by far! If the noblest cherubim before the truth of
God should shed his heart’s
blood for a poor insect, you would think it marvelous! But for God Himself to
take a creature’s form, to

bleed for such insignificant, despicable, worthless things as men—this is a
wonder which has setheaven
ringing ever since it was known, and will make eternity echo with shouts of
praise!
Surely, dear friends, if nothing else canmake us loathe sin and weepbefore
God, this should do so.
And yet, I confess, Ispoil the theme. When Mark Anthony brings out the body
of Julius Caesar, he excites the sympathies of the Roman people by the sight of
the mantle of the murdered man. He makes
them weep, and then he cries, “What? Do you weepwhen you but behold your
Caesar’svesture wounded! Look you here—here is himself—marred, as you
see, by traitors.” Such speechputs tongues into the
silent stones of Rome!Whereas, alas, I, poor worthless creature as I am, talk
of my Master, stabbedby
ourselves, bleeding out of love to us, at so poor a rate that I cannot stir your
souls, nor scarcelymy own!
Almighty Spirit, well is it written that You will come to give the spirit of
supplication, for except You
shall come, we shall neither look to Christ, nor weep, nor mourn because of
Him!
II. Secondly, WE ARE TO SPEAK UPON WHAT TRUE MOURNING FOR
SIN IS. It is not necessarilyfeeling greatterrors nor frightful tears; there is no
need that you should doubt the mercy of
God—allthese things may come with repentance, as smoke attends fire, but
they are not a part of it.
They often spoil repentance—theycannot make it more acceptable.
1. True mourning for sin is the work of the Spirit of God. There is no
mourning until first the Spirit is

poured out. Then men look, and then they mourn. Repentance is too choice a
flowerto grow in nature’s
garden. If you have one sigh after Christ, if you have one particle of hatred of
sin—Godthe Holy Spirit
must have given it to you, for poor human nature with its utmost strain can
never reach to a spiritual
thing! “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit.” True repentance, then, must come from on high. Lord, send it
to us now!
2. True repentance has a distinct and constantreference to the Lord Jesus
Christ. If you repent of sin
without looking to Christ, awaywith your repentance!If you are so lamenting
your sin as to forgetthe
Savior, you have need to begin all this work over again!Whenever we repent
of sin, we must have one
eye upon sin and another upon the cross;or, better still, let us have both eyes
upon Christ, seeing our sin
punished in Him, and by no means let us look at sin exceptas we look at Jesus.
A man may hate sin just
as a murderer hates the gallows—butthis does not prove repentance. If I hate
sin because ofthe punishment, I have not repented of sin—I merely regret
that God is just. But if I can see sin as an offense
againstJesus Christ, and loathe myself because I have wounded Him, then I
have a true brokenness of
heart. If I see the Savior and believe that those thorns upon His head were
plaited by my sinful words; if
I believe that those wounds in His heart were piercedby my heart sins; if I
believe that those wounds in

His feetwere made by my wandering steps, and that the wounds in His hands
were made by my sinful
deeds—thenI repent of sin after a right fashion. Only under the cross canyou
repent! Repentance elsewhere is remorse which clings to the sin, and only
dreads the punishment. Let us then seek, under God,
to have a hatred of sin causedby a sight of Christ’s love.
3. True repentance is realand often intense in its bitterness. The text tells us it
is a sorrow like that
of one who weeps for his only son. A sonis a gift from God; a goodson,
especially, is a treasure to his
father’s heart. But here is a dead sonbefore me—I think I hear the father’s
cries, “O my sonAbsalom,
my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for you, O Absalom, my son,
my son!” Here I see an
only son, which was not David’s case, forhe had Solomonyet sparedto him. I
think I see the woman at
the gate of Nain with her only son carried out to be buried, making much
lamentation, with grievous
pomp of heartfelt woe. Yes, and it is not only that, it is the first-born son, the
beginning of the father’s
strength; and the man who has watchedhim and seenhimself in his first-
born’s growing form, will not
be comforted because his son—his only son, his first-born sonis dead. Such is
true weeping for sin—it
cuts to the heart—it pierces to the quick. “Oh,” says one, “I cannotbelieve in
Christ, for I have no such
bitterness.” My dear friend, you never will have it till you believe in Christ!
You are to trust in Jesus

Christ to getthis! You are not to feelthis, and then trust in Christ. Come, you
hard heart, come to Christ
to be softened!Come, you hell-hardened steel, come to Christ to be melted in
the furnace of His divine
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affection. Come as you are, sinner, feeling or unfeeling, and look up to Jesus;
there is life in a look at
Him, and life for you now, and the first sign of life will be a realand intense
sorrow for sin.
4. True sorrow for sin is eminently practical. No man may say he hates sin if
he lives in it. It will
make us see the evil of sin, not merely as a theory, but experientially—as a
burnt child dreads fire. We
shall be as much afraid of it as a man who has lately been stopped and robbed
is afraid of the thief upon
the highway. And we shall shun it—shun it in everything—not in greatthings
only, but in little things,
too. True mourning for sin will make us very jealous over our tongue, lestit
should saya wrong word.
We shall be very watchful over our daily actions, lestin anything we should
offend, and eachnight we
shall close the day with painful confessionsofshortcoming, and eachmorning
awakenwith anxious
prayers, that this next day, God would hold us up that we might be saved.

5. Once again, true repentance is continual—a man does not repent for a few
weeks,and then have
done with it. RowlandHill said that repentance was one of the sweetest
earthly companions;and the only regret he had in the thought of going to
heaven was that his dear friend, Repentance, couldnot go
with him there. Repentance is the most heavenly thing out of heaven. Well did
our hymn say—
“Lord, let me weepfor nothing but sin!
And after none but Thee!
And then I would—
O that I might—
A constantweeperbe!”
True believers repent to their dying day—they are always repenting! Their
life is made up, it is said, of
sinning and repenting—I will not say that—believing and repenting is their
life—and sin is the disease
which mars it. No time canwearaway the bitterness of repentance. If a man
loses his child, time happily
softens his grief. Every other trouble yields to time, but this never does. It is so
sweeta sorrow that we
can only thank God we are permitted to enjoy and to suffer it until we enter
into our eternal rest.
This, then, is true sorrow for sin; but let me say, whateveris or is not true
sorrow for sin, I do entreat
my hearers not to try and getsorrow for sin before they come to Christ! The
gospelis, “He who BELIEVES in Jesus is not condemned.” Whether or not
you have sorrowedenoughfor sin, if you trust Jesus Christ, you are not

condemned. Your salvationis not procured by your tears, nor by your
feelings,
but by Him whom you have pierced! Look to Him, awayfrom self; look not
even to your own faith, but
look to the objectof your faith. Now, fixedly behold Him, and trust Him, and
your heart will break and
be poured out like water before the Lord.
III. WHAT IS THAT WHICH CONNECTS JESUS CHRIST AND THE
MOURNING? How am I
to get at Christ? This used to puzzle me. I thought if I could walk a thousand
miles to see Him, I would
setoff joyously. Oh, if I could but fall at His feet and lay hold of Him—I
thought this would be very
easy—touching the hem of His garment, or crying, “Godbe merciful to me”—
this would be very simple; but this thought long puzzled me—“How can I get
to Christ?” So many fleshly notions mix themselves with our thoughts before
we are born-again, that we are very much like poor Nicodemus, and say,
“Cana man enter his mother’s womb a secondtime, and be born again?” We
have gross and carnal
thoughts concerning spiritual things. Now, our connectionwith Jesus is a look,
not with these eyes, of
course, but with the eyes of the heart. We all know what it is to look at a thing.
We are told to look at a
certain subjectin politics or science—weare told to look into it. There is
nothing to see with your eyes,
but you see into it with your mind; and this is the kind of look which is
intended here, “Theyshall look

upon Me whom they have pierced.” You cannot, with all your looking, see
Christ with these eyes, but
thinking of Him, and believing in Him, is the look which is meant. In
describing this look, let me say
that it is very simple. Why, looking is not a hard thing! I never heard of a
college fortraining people to
look. I never in my life heard of anyone trying to teachanother person to
look!There may be a defectin
people’s eyes, but still, if they have any eyes at all, they may look. They may
happen to have cross eyes,
but a crossed-eyedlook atChrist will save the soul! They may have a cataract
in the eye, so that there is
scarcelya corner left, but it is not looking with a full eye, it is not looking with
a bold eye—it is the
looking in any way—the simple actof looking which saves a soul! A man may
not be able to read a single letter in a book, but he canlook to Jesus. A man
may not be able to spell a word of one syllable, but
he can look. A man may have no moral courage, but he can look. He may be
destitute of all the virtues,
and yet he canlook. A man may be a thief, a whoremonger, an adulterer, but
he can look. A man may be
castout of society, transported, shut up betweenstone walls, but he can look.
Looking is a thing so sim-
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ple that neither moral nor physical preparations are required. Looking!Such
is faith in Jesus Christ. As
the sin-bitten ones lookedto the brazen serpent, so do we look awayfrom self
to Christ, and we live!
Observe, secondly, as it is a simple look, so it is a look which requires no merit
in order to precede
it. We have an old proverb, to wit, “A catmay look at a king,” and certainly a
poor man may. There is
no hurt done by looking. If the queen were here, I would not ask her leave to
let me look;and if there
were a crossing sweeper, ora mud-lark, or even a pickpockethere, he
certainly would commit no offense by looking. On the other hand, there would
be no merit in looking. Where is the merit of looking
at a thing? It is too simple either to need merit before it, or to have merit in it.
So you, who are the worst
of the worst, you who feel nothing in yourself which is good, you who cannot
even say that you feel
your own emptiness and vileness—nothing of your own is needed to precede
that look by way of preparation. Look, look to Jesus as you are, and you shall
be saved!
The look which saves the soul, again, should be an attentive look. If you have
lookedto Christ, and
cannot see anything there to comfort you, look again!Look again!Perhaps
eachman is comforted in a
different way by looking to Christ. One sees Christ to be God, and he says,
“Ah, then, He cansave me.”
Another dwells mainly upon Christ’s being Man, and he says, “Ah, then, He
can pity me and be willing

to receive me.” One fixes his eyes upon God’s having appointed Christ to save
him—that comforts him.
Another remembers the infinite value of Christ’s sufferings, and that cheers
him. If one point in Christ
does not comfortyou, look to another; keepyour mental eyes fixed upon what
Jesus Christ is. Ah, my
dear friends, I am telling you this, but how difficult it is to make you do it
until the Holy Spirit brings
you! Why the first thing I getfrom any of you when I talk to you about your
souls is, “O sir, I do not
feel.” I know then that you are looking to self. O my dear hearers, you who
have some concernabout
your souls, I would beseechmy God to weanyou from this which must damn
your souls—this looking
to SELF! Come, I pray you, consider! You are too vile, too sinful ever to have
anything goodin you to
look at! Why will you searchfor goodness where there is none? “Why do you
spend money for that
which is not bread? And labor for that which satisfies not? Hearkendiligently
unto Me, and eat that
which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” You cando so if you
look at the cross!I know
you will raise your, “buts,” or cry, “But I cannot believe.” There you are,
looking to your faith instead of
Christ. There He hangs! He bears upon His shoulders the sin of man, and
whoevertrusts Him shall be
saved. Can you not trust Him? Nottrust your God? Canyou not trust Him,
your Brother born to bear

your adversities? Nottrust GOD? Why I declare before you all, if I had all
your sins upon my shoulders,
I could trust Him! When John Hyatt lay a-dying, someone saidto him, “Can
you trust Jesus with your
soul now?” “Ah,” he said, “I could trust Him if I had a million souls! I could
trust Him with them all.”
Do not tell me, awakenedsouls, you cannot trust your Master!When did He
ever lie to you? Whom did
He ever castout? When did He break His promise? Who ever came to Him
and was rejected? Whendid
He say to the chief of sinners, “Your sins shall never be forgiven”? Thousands
have been to Him, and
He has receivedthem. I sought the Lord, and He heard me. I tried to save
myself by feelings of repentance and praying, but it was all of no avail. At last,
in sheerdespair, I flew like a dove pursued by the
hawk straight awayto Jesus Christ, the Rock, andfound shelterin His
wounds! O that you would do so!
Come, I pray you, have done with that self of yours—
“None but Jesus, none but Jesus
Can do helpless sinners good!”
This look is sometimes a wondering look—Iknow it was to me. When I saw
Him hanging on the
cross for me, I could not understand such love, and I cannotfathom it now. I
can understand some of the
things which Christ has done for me, but I cannot make out why He should
die for me—why He should

love such a heap of filth, such a walking dunghill as man is—why He should
give His blood—every
drop of which is more costlythan rubies, and why He should give His tears,
which are richer than diamonds, and why He should give His heart, which is
better than a mine of gold, and why He should close
those lips which are sweeterthan harps of angels, and shut those eyes, which
are brighter than so many
suns—and all for such a clod of earth, such a rebellious piece of rottenness as
man! Oh, this is marvelous! How can we understand it? We can only fall
down before His feet, and while we trust Him, add to
our faith a holy adoring wonder!
This look must, in every case, be a personalone. You cannot be saved by
another man’s faith. I do
beseechofall to whom this word shall come—detest, loathe, abominate the lie
that any man canper-
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8
form spiritual acts for another! No “sponsor” canpromise to renounce the
works of the flesh for another!
No man can stand at the font, and declare that he believes for another! No
man can promise that an unconscious slumbering baby shall believe in God;
no man can say in God’s name what he knows is a
lie—that the child does believe—whenit cannotbelieve, and probably is
asleepat the time and not occupiedwith any mental operation, much less
believing what it never heard, and what it could not understand if it did hear!

O, I pray you, shun this blasphemy! The curse of England has been this
dogma of
baptismal regeneration, forit leads men to shake off their personal
responsibility and obligations to God!
Your godfathers and godmothers, your confirmation, your priests and rural
deans, and canons, and I
know not what of man’s invention, cando no more for you than so many
witches with their incantations!You must flee to Christ yourselves, and by
simple faith lay hold on Jesus!All this showiness and
nonsense of man’s invention must be pulled down! O for a rough hand to pull
it down, to let the sinner
see that he stands before God, naked and defenseless,exceptas he flees to
Christ, and in the passionand
life of Jesus, finds salvation!A personal faith it must be, and what if I urge
you to let it be an immediate
faith? It will be no easierto flee tomorrow than it is today. It is the same thing
that you will have to believe tomorrow as it is today—that Jesus Christ gave
Himself for your sins. This is God’s testimony that
Christ is able to save. O that you would trust Him! My soul, you have
regretteda thousand things, but
you have never regrettedtrusting Christ in your youth! Many have wept that
they did not come to Christ
before, but none ever lamented that they came too early. Why not this very
day? O Holy Spirit, make it
so!Behold, the fields are showing the greenears ready for the harvest! The
seasonadvances, andthe
fields are prophesying the harvest. O that we might see some greenears today,
some greenears prophetic of a blessedharvestof souls!

As to myself, I cross this day into another year of my own life and history,
[Spurgeon’s birthday is
June 19th] and I bear witness that my Masteris worth trusting! Oh, it is a
blessedthing to be a Christian!
It is a sweetthing to be a believer in Christ, and though I, of all men, perhaps,
am the subject of the
deepestdepressionof spirits at times, yet there lives not a soulwho can say
more truthfully than I, “My
soul does magnify the Lord, and my spirit has rejoicedin God my Savior.” He
who is mighty has looked
upon me with eyes of love, and made me His child, and I trust Him this day as
I have trusted Him before. But now, I would to God that this day some of you
would begin to trust in Him! It is the Spirit’s
work only, but still, He works through means. I think He is working in your
heart now. Young man,
those tears look hopeful—I thank God that those eyes feel burning now. I
pray you do not go chatting on
the road home and miss any goodimpression. Go to your chamber, fall upon
your knees, cry out to God,
entreat His favor! Let it be this day! None of the devil’s tomorrows—away
with them! Away with them!
“Todayif you will hear His voice, harden not your heart.” May the Spirit of
God compel you to “Kiss
the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish from the way, when His wrath is
kindled but a little. Blessed
are all they who put their trust in Him.” Amen.

Jesus was mourned for being pierced

Jesus was mourned for being pierced

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