“And I will pour out on the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that when they look on Me, on Him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly over Him as one weeps over a firstborn.”
– Zechariah 12:10
There’s a ton we could talk about here that’s going on in Zechariah and in the history of God’s people in the Old Testament. What I want to draw your attention to by reading Zechariah 12:10 and us praying, according to it is what John writes in John 19:37, the crucifixion as he looks back to the old Testament at the crucifixion of Jesus. As he looks back to the Old Testament, and he quotes from Zechariah 12:10, and he talks about how they will look on Him whom they have pierced.
When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, he fulfilled the prophecies of long before.
He quotes from this verse to talk about Jesus. So knowing that quotation in John 19:37, now let me read this verse one more time. And as I do, just consider how Jesus prophesied centuries before how Jesus came to die. To be pierced in the side on a cross according to prophesy centuries before.
The One who Died for Our Transgressions
And Zechariah said, “I will pour out on the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that when they look on Me, on Him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly over Him as one weeps over a firstborn.”
Let’s pray. Jesus, we praise You. We exalt You. We worship You. Jesus, we glorify You as we consider one of many different promises given. Words spoken centuries before You even came about how You would be born. How and where You would live and how You would die. Where You would die. What would happen when You chose willingly according to the will of the Father to go to the cross. How Your side was pierced for our transgressions, Your body bruised for our iniquities, for my sins. Lord Jesus, for the sins of those who are listening right now, who have put their trust in You, that You were pierced for our transgressions, all glory be to Your name, Jesus, for being pierced for our transgressions according to promises given centuries before you even came.
Zechariah 12:10 Praises God for Our Salvation
So God, we praise You for ordaining our salvation. For orchestrating the crucifixion of Your Son for the salvation of our souls that we might be forgiven of our sins. We might have heaven and eternal life with You right now in communion with You, Jesus, thank You for making that possible. We never grow weary of praising You for the cross, Jesus. Praising You for Your life and Your death and Your resurrection from the grave. So we give You glory and honor and praise today and a fresh way for Your love for us, for being pierced for our transgressions.
Jesus, we pray that You would use our lives while we’re on this earth to make the good news of Your love known, what you did on the cross known to people around us. God, as we worship in churches, may the exalted Jesus who died on the cross, rose from the grave, is ascended on high be praised and honored and glorified, and when You draw people to trust in you today for salvation from their sins.
Pierced for the Transgressions of All
So God, we pray that You use our testimony, our lives all throughout this week to make Your love known among others. To make the good news of Jesus pierced for our transgressions known among more and more people. That more and more people might trust in You to save them from their sins. God, we pray this for the Najdi people of Syria, for these Saudi Arabs. God, please, 1.3 million of them. 0.0% followers of Jesus. No known followers of you among that entire people group.
So God, we pray for the Najdi people of Syria. God cause the good news of Jesus pierced for our transgressions be made known among them. We know Revelation Chapter Five that You were pierced. You shed Your blood to ransom men, women from every nation, every tribe, every time. For the Najdi tribe in Syria, God please, cause Your Grace be made known among them. Send out laborers from Your church, God, especially as we prepare to celebrate Christmas, the good news of Your coming.
Zechariah 12:10 Thanks Jesus for Covering Our Sins
So God, please cause the truth of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done is prophesied in places like Zechariah 12:10. Make that good news known among all the peoples of the world, we pray. Use our lives, use our families, use Your church toward that end. Jesus, we exalt You as our savior. We praise You for being pierced for our transgressions. We praise You for Your forgiveness. Oh God, through the blood of Jesus for the life that we have with You now.
And we pray that You help us in fresh way today. So we praise You to die, to sin in ourselves to live fully in You and to make Your love known around us and around the world. We pray this in Jesus’ name. In the name of the one who is pierced for our transgressions according to prophecies centuries before. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
