“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.”
My Notes
What Does Zechariah 12:10 Mean?
Zechariah delivers one of the most mysterious and emotionally charged prophecies in the Old Testament. God pours out a spirit of grace and supplication upon Jerusalem, and they look upon the one they have pierced — and mourn.
The piercing is the key: someone will be pierced, and the response will be national mourning — the kind reserved for the death of a firstborn or an only son. The grief is devastating and deeply personal.
John 19:37 applies this verse to the crucifixion: "They shall look on him whom they pierced." The one Israel pierced was Jesus. The mourning Zechariah described is the recognition of what was done to the Messiah.
"The spirit of grace and supplications" is poured out before the looking — meaning the ability to see clearly comes through God's initiative. The recognition is not self-generated. It is Spirit-enabled.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does it mean to 'look upon him whom they have pierced' — how is that different from knowing about the crucifixion?
- 2.Why does genuine recognition of the cross produce mourning rather than just gratitude?
- 3.How does the spirit of grace enable you to see what you could not see before?
- 4.When you look at the cross, what do you see — and has your understanding deepened over time?
Devotional
They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn. This is the moment of recognition — the moment when the truth of what was done becomes visible. And the response is not anger or defensiveness. It is grief.
The mourning is described as the deepest kind: like the loss of a firstborn, like the death of an only son. This is not mild regret. It is devastating recognition.
God pours out the spirit of grace before the looking. The ability to see what happened — to truly recognize the one who was pierced — comes through grace. You do not earn this sight. It is given.
John saw this fulfilled at the cross. The soldiers pierced Jesus' side. The onlookers watched. And the day is coming when every eye will see and every heart will recognize what was done.
Have you looked? Not at the cross as a theological concept, but at the one who was pierced — for you? The mourning Zechariah describes is not guilt. It is love — the kind that breaks your heart when you finally understand what someone endured for you.
Look upon him whom they have pierced. And let the recognition do its work.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
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Cross References
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