Zechariah 12

In our previous study of Zechariah, we looked into chapters 9-11 where we saw the coming of the Shepherd prophesied who would remove the false shepherds. In chapter 11 the imagery was very detailed as the shepherd takes His two staffs called Unity and Favor and breaks them. The wages are given to the Shepherd is thirty pieces of silver which were cast to the potter, prophesying of Christ’s betrayal price and use of the blood money. In chapters 12-14 Zechariah receives his final oracle from the Lord. A careful study is required of these passages, for these chapters have been subjected to all sorts of wild speculations. We will attempt to do better and make sense of the images that are revealed to Zechariah.

Enemies will not stand against Jerusalem (12:1-9)

The oracle begins with images that reminder the readers of the creation events found in Genesis 1. The Lord declares that Jerusalem will be a cup of reeling against all the surrounding peoples. All peoples that go against Jerusalem will be cut into pieces. The question concerning this passage is: who do the people of Jerusalem refer to? Is it the people at that time or a future people of Jerusalem? It seems clear that this cannot be a reference to the people of Jerusalem at that time because history does not verify the events described in this passage. After 520 B.C., Jerusalem was still going to be in much upheaval and persecution. In fact, Daniel prophesied that Jerusalem would be made desolate and brought low (Daniel 8:13-14, 24; 11:16-31). I do not believe that Daniel and Zechariah, both moved by the power and will of God, were contradicting each other. Therefore, we must understand Jerusalem to refer to the new people of God under the rule of the Messiah. I believe the rest of our study will bear this point out.

Also notice the time markers that are given in this passage. Five times the prophet says, “in that day� or “on that day.� In verse 3, “And it shall happen in that day….� In verse 4, “In that day says the Lord….� Also in verse 6, “In that day I will make….� In verse 8 we also find, “In that day the Lord will defend….� Finally, in verse 9 we read, “It shall be in that day….� The phrase “in that day� is repeatedly used as a prophetic reference to the last days. We noted this many times in our study of the prophecies of Daniel, with its many proofs. Peter, in Acts 2:17, and the writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews 1:1-2, declare the last days to be the days of the Messiah. Therefore, the first nine verses are describing the strength of the true people of God during the days of the Messiah. Those who would truly follow the Lord will be protected such that none will come against them. This time marker concerning the days of the Messiah is further proven in the following section of scripture.

For us today, we must see the strength in these words. There is no foe that can defeat when we are walking with the Lord. Though calamities have been prophesied by many of God’s prophets, including Zechariah himself, God tells His people that if they will be His, God will defend them. Further, as noted in verse 9, judgment will come against those who desire to do harm to God’s people. The wicked will receive their just punishment from the Lord. Let us never believe that God does not see the hands of the wicked against His children. God knows and He will judge them and deliver us. These are words of hope to those who put their trust in the Lord.

Mourning the Pierced One (12:10-14)

In verse 10, Zechariah prophesies of two events that would happen in the days of the Messiah. The first event listed is “I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication.� This is the same thing that Joel prophesied of in Joel 2:28, which is quoted by Peter in Acts 2:17, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh.� What had occurred in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost was the fulfillment of these prophetic words (Acts 2:16). Peter then preached forgiveness of sins through repentance and baptism and the receiving of the gift of the Holy Spirit. This again shows that Zechariah is speaking about events that would occur in the days of the Messiah.

The second event is recorded by Zechariah saying, “then they will look on Me whom they have pierced.� God declares in the first person that He will be pierced by the people. I do not believe anyone could comprehend the meaning of these words until these things were fulfilled. How is it possible that God could be pierced by His very people? I would expect that many simply understood this as a figure of speech, yet it was not to simply be a description of God’s pain when we rebel against Him. The gravity of these words go much deeper. Turn to John 19 and read this account about the crucifixion of Jesus. In verses 36-37 of this chapter we read that these things we done that the Scripture should be fulfilled. “And again another Scripture says, ‘They shall look on Him whom they pierced.’� The fulfillment of the words of Zechariah is found in the days of the Messiah, when Jesus was crucified. This was the event that the Lord prophesied through Zechariah would take place, a prophecy made 550 years before the event.

The significance of the prophecy cannot be lost upon us today either. The Lord said that the people “will look upon Me whom they have pierced.� That was God speaking these words. The implication of this prophecy being fulfilled is the subtle reality that Jesus was not a mere man or another teacher that was rejected. Jesus is God. These words being fulfilled in Jesus being pierced by Roman soldiers and dying by crucifixion proves that Jesus is God. God said in Zechariah that they would pierce Him and then says in John 19 that those words were fulfilled in these things. The necessary conclusion for all is that Jesus is God.

The rest of verse 10 through the end of the chapter describes the great amount of mourning that will be done by all the families of the earth. The mourning is described in verse 11 to be “like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.� Most scholars believe that this is the location of where Josiah was slain in battle against Egyptian forces (2 Chronicles 35:20-25). It is this kind of great mourning for a fallen king that is represent in the mourning for the Pierced One, who died as king over mankind.

This prophecy also has meaning under the new covenant of our Lord. As John begins to write the book of Revelation, he makes a statement concerning Jesus in chapter one and verse seven. “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 of Him. Even so, Amen.� The imagery of coming in the clouds is used as a reference to a coming judgment. Everyone will see the Pierced One, every knee will bow, and every family will mourn because of Him when He comes in judgment. At judgment there is reality of who is ruling and what we have done to Christ because of our sins. We often ignore these realities now, while we consider ourselves and not Jesus. But when judgment comes, whether it be final judgment or judgment nationally or individually, we will see what our great sins have done to the Son of God. I believe these thoughts lead us into the next section of Zechariah’s prophecy.

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