Zacarias 12

Zacarias 12

Calvin comments on this text to show that Christ is the same in essence with the Father and the Spirit, but distinct in person. Thus God the Father was not pierced, because He did not take on human flesh. But He can say, “They shall look on Me” because He is one in essence with the Son (Calvin’s Commentaries on The Twelve Minor Prophets, p 365-367). While you do not need to understand the Trinity to be saved, you really cannot understand the Gospel unless God opens 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 could not apply to humans. But not only must we see the Savior accurately, 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 for sins (Heb. 9:22-note). To follow Jesus as a great moral example is not enough (See Josh McDowell's classic "More than a Carpenter"). To be saved, you must apply (by grace through faith) His shed blood to your sins. The Jews who will be living during the Battle (ED: MORE ACCURATELY THE "CAMPAIGN OF ARMAGEDDON" - SEE NOTE) 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 pierced Christ 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 salvation through His Spirit and by opening our eyes to see the Savior accurately (cf Acts 26:18-note)." Cole on look on Me - The emphasis in looking “on Me whom they have pierced” is not on looking on the Messiah literally, but on looking to the Messiah in faith (Kenneth Barker, Expositor’s Bible Commentary 7:683). It is the same as when Moses erected the bronze serpent, and whoever looked to it in faith lived (Nu 21:9, cf Jn 3:14-15). Some interpret this as happening at the Second Coming of Christ, but I understand it to be just prior to that event. At that point, there will be a widespread conversion of the Jews, as Paul states in Romans 11:25-27-note. No one, Jew or Gentile, can be saved apart from looking in faith to Jesus Christ as the crucified and risen Son of God. Pastor Cole's comment on looking to the Messiah reminds me of the conversion of the great preacher Charles Spurgeon who was saved the day he heard a simple exposition from an unknown substitute preacher of the passage in Isaiah 45:22KJV (for context see Isa 45:21) Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: For I am God, and there is none else. Look on Me - Messiah is speaking. They will look on their Messiah in that day even as described in the Gospel of John "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life. (John 3:14-15) Comment - In the OT Jews who had been bitten by poisonous serpents and were destined for certain death were told by Moses to look (also nabat; Lxx - epiblepo) at the bronze serpent and live in Nu 21:9. Jesus took this OT shadow and emphasized that one was to look at Him with spiritual eyes, eyes of belief (John 3:14-15) "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds ( theoreo) the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:40) Feinberg adds that the Hebrew verb nabat is "used of both physical and spiritual sight and is not infrequently “coupled with the idea of confidence in the object beheld; like theoreo (To behold intensely or attentively), for example, in John 6:40.” A LOOK OF FAITH OR A LOOK OF SIGHT? The following notes are again somewhat more technical than usual but hopefully will help you understand why some versions translate Zechariah 12:10 "look ON Me" (NAS, KJV, ESV, NIV, NLT, NAB, NKJ, NRSV. AMP, REB, NEB) and other versions translate it as "look TO (unto) Me" (NET, ASV, ISV, NJB, Young's Literal, Modern English). Holman Christian Standard Bible has "look AT Me." Some of the versions that translate it "look ON me" still have a marginal note "TO me." (CSB, NIV) .Even two versions of the English translation of the Septuagint differ - Brenton's LXE = "look UPON me" and Septuagint-NETS = "look TO me." The issue in question is the little Hebrew preposition ( אֵל ʾēl, אֶל ʾel) which means to, into, concerning. It has the basic meaning of toward. The preposition expresses primarily motion toward someone or something. As such, it occurs in a wide variety of contexts expressing motion, attitude, direction, or location. In the present passage the question is simply this - Does Zechariah mean that those Jews who will be saved "look" toward the Messiah figuratively, with eyes of faith or do they look literally, with eyes of sight, eyes that literally see Him? Of course we know that they will eventually literally see their Messiah, but do they first have to "see" Him by faith in order to be saved by grace (cf "by grace you have been saved through faith" = Eph 2:8, "the conviction of things not seen" = Heb 11:1, "we walk by faith, not by sight" = 2 Cor 5:7). Do you see the subtle difference? That's what the next set of comments deals with and hopefully you will walk away not totally confused. Clearly there is not a consensus as indicated by the variation in the way the Hebrew preposition is translated. May the Spirit give you insight as you prayerfully study this section. Arnold Fruchtenbaum says rather than looking on (upon), they will look to (unto) explaining that "The KJV erroneously translated this to read: they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. Because of the mis-translation of the Hebrew word al as upon, many have interpreted this to mean that Yeshua (Jesus) will come first; once the Jews have seen Yeshua, then will they be saved. However, the Hebrew word used here does not mean upon but unto because of where His is: “aloft” or “on high.” (NOW HERE IS HIS INTERESTING POINT) When believers look unto the Lord, they do not visibly see the Lord. The way this passage should be interpreted is when the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the whole House of Israel, they will then look unto, not upon, the One whom they have pierced, mourning for Him to return. Only then will He return. So after they have looked unto Him, they are saved, resulting in His return. (IN OTHER WORDS) Israel’s national salvation is the prerequisite to the Second Coming. (THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING ANALYSIS AND IT IS NOTABLE THAT JOHN MACARTHUR IN HIS STUDY NOTE SAYS "Israel’s repentance will come because they look TO Jesus, the One whom they rejected and crucified (cf. Is 53:5; Jn 19:37), in faith at the Second Advent Ro 11:25–27.") (Emphasis mine) S Lewis Johnson's comments support Fruchtenbaum's analysis - 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 Zechariah means? Or does he mean that they (FIRST) shall look 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 soon comes and they see Him visibly, as the One Who has come and has died for them. (The Conversion of Israel) (Emphasis mine) Look (05027)(nabat) carries the root idea of that which one does with the eye and can describe a mere glance (1Sa 17:42) but more often it has the sense of looking somewhat intensely in a focused way at something; to gaze: to gaze at the heavens (Ge 15:5); at Sodom and Gomorrah (Ge 19:17, 26 - Lot's wife did not just glance but she gaze...with longing to go back - See Luke 17:32-note); at the sea (1 Ki 18:43). And so nabat can speak of a careful, sustained, and favorable contemplation (Isa 5:12; Ps 74:20; Ps 119:6, 15, Hab 1:5). Nabat speaks of of physical "looking" (Ex 3:6) and (as in Ps 119:18) of figurative "looking", that is, spiritual apprehension (1 Sa 16:7). Nabat can speak both of man's looking upon God and God's looking upon man (Isa 63:5). In the figurative sense it can mean looking at, considering the commands of the Lord to follow them (Ps. 74:20; 119:6, 15, 18); looking on something for help, dependence (Isa. 22:8, 11). Nabat can mean to evaluate or consider by looking at something (1 Sa 17:42; Ps. 84:9; Amos 5:22). Nabat is used of the keen observations of an eagle from a great distance (Job 39:29); and of the Lord's gazing on the earth from His habitation (Ps. 102:19). The Hebrew verb nabat (Lxx - epiblepo = see below) here is used of looking intently at Messiah Whom they had pierced, which contrasts radically with the use of their look (nabat) in His first coming the psalmist recording words that also apply to Messiah - " I can count all my bones. They look, (Lxx = katanoeo = look carefully, think about very carefully = but their spiritual eyes [for most of the Jews] were not opened to comprehend the significance of the One they observed) they stare at me." (Ps. 22:17) In Messiah's first coming, the first look of the Jews was with hardened hearts, while in this Second Coming in Zech 12:10, they would look with broken hearts! At that time the grace poured out by the Spirit will allow one-third of the Jews in the Great Tribulation (Zech 13:8-9-note) to look on Messiah and be spiritually healed. The Septuagint translates nabat in this passage with the verb epiblepo means to literally to turn the eyes upon. The root verb blepo frequently implies looking not nonchalantly but with intent and earnest contemplation. BDAG says epiblepo means to "look intently, to pay close attention to (show special respect for - James 2:3), to look attentively at with implication of personal concern for someone or something. Cole on they will mourn - God’s salvation produces genuine repentance in the hearts of His people. Israel will mourn over the pierced Savior, as one mourns for an only son, and as the Jews mourned for the good King Josiah in the plains of Megiddo, when Pharaoh killed him. Genuine repentance is not something that a person must work up in order to be saved. But it does necessarily accompany saving faith, so that the New Testament views 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 Savior who was pierced for our sins. As believers, we should look frequently to the Savior whom we pierced, and mourn. It must be personal, so that even husbands and wives mourn separately. That is 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, “Blessed are 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. Pierced (01856)(daqar) means to pierce or thrust through in each biblical instance, the subject of the verb is a human being pierced by a weapon in the context of warfare. Normally the piercing results in death, but in Jeremiah 37:10 the men are only seriously wounded. The weapon used to pierce is usually a sword, but a spear is used in Nu 25:8. There is a surprising and strange rendering of daqar in the Septuagint which uses the verb katorcheomai which means to treat spitefully, to mock at, to insult and this is the only use of this verb in all the Bible. Even though the Lxx does not translate with a Greek verb for pierce it is significant that not one of the 10 uses of the Hebrew verb daqar means anything other than to pierce or thrust through and none convey the sense of to insult. My experience with the Septuagint is that it is often very close to the Greek word but not always and in fact at times literally makes no sense when one looks at the original Hebrew and context. It follows that we can confidently say that Zechariah meant what he said...pierce and not insult. And think about the context. If the Jews who looked (on or to) the Messiah only insult the Messiah, one can hardly imagine their deep contrition that followed. Gilbrant on daqar - Often, to be pierced resulted in a disgraceful death, as in Num. 25:8. An Israelite man brought a Midianite woman home in sight of the whole assembly of Israel. Phinehas, the priest, left the assembly, took a spear, followed them into the Israelite's tent, and thrust the spear through both of them. This action stopped the plague against the Israelites resulting from the idolatry and immorality connected with the worship of the Baal of Peor. Two Israelite rulers asked their servants to pierce them through to avoid dying in disgrace. A woman dropped a millstone on the head of Abimelech and cracked his skull. He hurriedly called for his armor-bearer to pierce him through so no one could say a woman killed him (Judg. 9:54). Saul (1 Sam. 31:4f; 1 Chr. 10:4) ordered his armor-bearer to pierce him through, when the Philistines overtook them, to avoid abuse by the Philestines. The term is used twice in Zechariah, and the idea of disgrace is again present. In 12:10, the house of David turns to "the one they have pierced." Chapter 13 then relates the removal of idols, false prophets, and impurity, predicting that false prophets who continue their false prophecy will be pierced through by their parents (13:3). Dāqar is used four times in connection with the armies of Babylon. When the Persians and Medes overtake them, they will pierce them through (Jer. 51:4; Isa. 13:15). In Jer. 37:10, even "wounded" or "pierced" men will join in defeating Judah, and in Lam. 4:9, people will be "racked" or "pierced" with hunger. (Complete Biblical Library Hebrew-English Dictionary) Daqar - 10x in 10v - pierce him through(1), pierce me through(2), pierced(1), pierced him through(1), pierced of them through(1), pierced through(1), stricken(1), thrust me through(1), thrust through(1), wounded(1). Numbers 25:8 and he (THE PRIEST PHINEHAS) went after the man of Israel into the tent (WHO HAD CO-HABITED WITH MOABITE WOMEN) and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. Judges 9:54 Then he called quickly to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that it will not be said of me, 'A woman slew him.'" So the young man pierced him through, and he died. Comment: Abimelech wanted to avoid the charge that a woman killed him 1 Samuel 31:4 Then Saul said to his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised will come and pierce me through and make sport of me." But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. 1 Chronicles 10:4 Then Saul said to his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised will come and abuse me." But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword and fell on it. Isaiah 13:15 (In the end times, in the Day of the Lord, when He pours forth His full wrath on the God hating, Christ rejecting world) Anyone who is found will be thrust through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword. Jeremiah 37:10 'For even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.'" Jeremiah 51:4 "They (BABYLON) will fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, And pierced through in their streets." Lamentations 4:9 Better are those slain with the sword Than those slain with hunger; For they pine away, being stricken For lack of the fruits of the field. Zechariah 12:10 "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 weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. Zechariah 13:3 "And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, 'You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD'; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies. The second stanza of Charles Wesley's classic hymn “Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending” is especially apropos to the looking and the mourning of the nation of Israel (aka, the third portion of the nation - Zech 13:8-9-note). Take a moment from your study to praise and worship our soon coming King of kings. Amen! Lo, He comes with clouds descending, Once for favored sinners slain; Thousand, thousand saints attending Swell the triumph of His train: Alleluia, alleluia! God appears on earth to reign. Ev’ry eye shall now behold Him, Robed in splendor’s majesty; Those who set at naught and sold Him, Pierced and nailed Him to the tree, Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, Shall the true Messiah see. Now the Savior, long expected, See in solemn pomp appear; All who have not Him rejected Now shall meet him in the air: Alleluia, alleluia! See the day of God appear BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN THEY SHALL BE COMFORTED (Mt 5:4) And they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son: The great grief is like mourning for an only son. Their hearts will be smitten with grief like that for the firstborn in the home. I witnessed this to a degree first hand -- I worked with a Jewish gastroenterologist and he tragically lost his only daughter in an automobile accident and every time after that when I saw him, there was a palpable sadness about his countenance and bearing. Matthew