Mourning for Messiah
Zechariah 12:1-13:9 is a powerful prophecy of when the veil of the Jewish people will be dropped and Israel will be saved in a day. Zechariah prophesies, “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 first born” (Zech. 12:10, KJV).
The sentence “and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son” has special meaning for me today because it is the birthday of my firstborn son, Russell. What a delight he has been to me, and I cannot even begin to comprehend the grief and mourning I would experience if he left this earth before his appointed time.
Most Jewish people today recognize Jesus as a prophet, but they do not believe that He is God in human flesh. This passage speaks of the day when Jesus’ own Jewish brethren will look upon Him and recognize Him because they will see the nail prints in His hands and the wound in His side. On that day it will be like Joseph revealing himself to his own brothers.
At first they did not recognize him, but after he wept privately over his brothers, Joseph made himself known to them. The brothers were afraid and probably thought, We tried to kill him, and now, he will kill us. They, however, were so wrong because Joseph had no animosity toward them. He forgave them and said, “What you meant for evil, God meant for good.” I believe Jesus will say these same words when He reveals Himself to His Jewish brothers.
Our Lord has a great plan to redeem and restore all His Jewish brothers and sisters who will believe on Him. There will be great rejoicing in the house of Israel on that day after these precious Jews have their time of mourning.
Father, thank You for drawing me to Your Son Jesus. I pray You will do the same for all of my Jewish friends.
READ: Zechariah 12:1-13:9; Revelation 19:1-21; Psalm 147:1-20; Proverbs 31:1-7
