Today's Scripture Reading (September 2, 2020): Zechariah 12 & 13
Ronald Reagan, speaking about
abortion, said that "I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has
already been born." All of us, arguing for and against the birth of an
unborn child, share that fact in common. It is not our birth about which we are
speaking. And maybe if it were, if it were possible for us to time travel back
to the days following our conception and be part of the discussion around the
beginning of our lives, we would think differently. Maybe. But then again,
sometimes the obvious things are hard for us to see.
And our struggle with the obvious
rears its head with this prophecy. For some, primarily more conservative Christians,
the allusion here could not be more explicit. Zechariah places these words in
the mouth of God and says they will look on me, the one they have pierced. The
verse seems to confirm that God himself will be pierced, suggesting that not only
would the Messiah be pierced, but that he would also be God. Zechariah said
that this is the way that it had to happen more than five centuries before
Jesus was born; the Messiah would be pierced, and he would die.
If that is not enough, the language
continues as Zechariah speaks of mourning an only child and grieving a firstborn
son, all adding to the picture that seems to be fulfilled in the story of Jesus.
Zechariah argues that this piercing of the Messiah will somehow be connected to
God pouring out a spirit of grace and supplication, or of repentance, on the house
of David, all of which was reinforced through the ministry of Jesus. I have to
admit that often when it comes to prophesy from various sources, including biblical
ones, it seems that you can only see what the prophet might be getting at if
you squint your eyes and peer into the mystery in just the right way. It is the
reason why prophecy always seems more apparent after the events have been
fulfilled.
But if you are still struggling,
wondering if this passage is really about Jesus, then John confirms in his witness
that he believes it is, although he doesn't mention Zechariah by name. John
writes, "These things happened so that the scripture would
be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," and,
as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced"
(John 19:36-37). John's latter comment is a clear allusion to Zechariah 12:10.
So, what's the problem. For some, Zechariah's words are too
obvious; besides, God cannot die. And so, they argue a translation problem or
translating the verse with an eye to what we believe is the fulfillment, except
that even those who struggle with the translation of the verse agree that the
easiest and the most straightforward reading seems to be the one that we have.
Zechariah seems to tell us that the Messiah would come and
that he would be God incarnate. God, in the guise of the Messiah and a member
of the house of David, would minister grace and repentance to the nation of
Israel. And then he would be pierced and would die. And he would be mourned as
an only child and a firstborn son.
This is the story of the Messiah. The
only question is, is it also the story of Jesus, or is that just too obvious an
answer.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah
14
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