Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Zechariah 12:10-1
The Pouring out of the Spirit And The Repentance Brought About By Considering The Pierced One (Zechariah 12:10 to Zechariah 13:1).
‘And I will pour on the house of David and on the dwellers in Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplication, and they will look to me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son, and will be in bitterness for him as one who is in bitterness for his firstborn.'
From now on in this section all the promises are to the ‘house of David' and the ‘dwellers in Jerusalem', and yet in this terminology the whole land is in mind (Zechariah 12:12; Zechariah 13:2; Zechariah 13:8). Once again we recognise that they are a symbolic, representative group representing the people of God as a whole.
This remarkable prophecy of the death of Christ and the outpouring of the Spirit, both on members of His own family, ‘the house of David' (Acts 1:14), and on those appointed to take His message to the world, ‘the dwellers in Jerusalem', can only fill us with awe and gratitude.
Jesus' own brothers of the house of David did become true followers of Him. James the Lord's brother became a prominent leader of the Jerusalem church and His other brothers also proved true to Him. They shared in the outpouring of the Spirit. And the Apostles became dwellers in Jerusalem, going out from there to the world. And they were indeed ‘like David' both in boldness and in faithfulness.
Firstly the prophecy looks to the ‘piercing' of One Who was in so close a relationship with God that He can describe it as the piercing of Himself. It is His true Prophet Who is to be pierced. It is His true Shepherd Who is to be smitten (Zechariah 13:7).
‘They will look on me whom they have pierced.' In one sense they will be piercing God Himself. Yet that the piercing is of a human being comes out in the following phrases where the verse reverts to ‘him' and describes One Who is mourned like an only son. This can only look back to the suffering Servant described by Isaiah 53 (we have noted earlier in the chapter his knowledge of Isaiah's work). Here the prophet is thinking of One Who will suffer on behalf of God's people, will offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin, and will be received by God as the victor. And while the reference to the only son is indirect, it is nevertheless significant. There will be mourning as for an only son. But there is also reference to the house of David which gives the verse Messianic significance. It is the time of the Messiah.
Secondly it looks to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, commencing in the life of Christ (Mark 1:10), continuing in the Upper Room (John 20), and wonderfully revealed to the world in Jerusalem at Pentecost (Acts 2). These events truly changed history and affected the whole world.
‘The Spirit of grace and of supplication.' This must have in mind Joel 2:28 and Isaiah 44:3, and many similar passages, where God's grace and favour is made known to men in the pouring out of the Spirit, causing them to walk in His ways and to prophesy. It is a picture of fruitfulness and of blessing, using the pouring down of rain as a symbol for the work of the Spirit. But here it goes a step further in recognising the direct connection with the suffering Servant.
‘Grace'. In Psalms 84:11 God's grace is revealed in the fact that He withholds nothing from those who walk uprightly. All that we receive from God is through His grace, His undeserved favour, and that grace abounds to those who are His.
‘Supplication.' In Jeremiah 36:7 supplication is directly linked with returning from evil ways. The idea here is of true repentance and submission to God. Thus those who experience this outpouring return to God and receive His favour and His Spirit.
‘Me whom they have pierced.' The piercing is an indication that we are dealing with a Prophet (Zechariah 13:3). Zechariah 13:3 would suggest that ‘piercing through' was the recognised punishment for false prophecy. Thus the One Whom God would send was to be treated as a false prophet. The so-called people of God would reject Him and pierce Him, and by doing so they would accuse God Himself of being false. Thus He Himself would be pierced by their action, for the One Whom they rejected would be proclaiming His truth.
But once they had pierced Him there would be many who would be woken to the truth about Him. When the Spirit was poured down on them they would look on what had been done and they would mourn for Him and for their sinfulness.
‘And they shall mourn for him --.' The theme of mourning is emphatically stressed in these verses in a number of ways and is clearly connected with the pouring out of the Spirit of grace and supplication, demonstrating that their hearts have been changed and that it is a mourning for sin and for the way in which they have offended God. It is the mourning of repentance from that sin and for what they have brought on the suffering Servant, and will result in their benefiting from the fountain for sin and uncleanness (Zechariah 13:1).
‘As one mourns for his only son'. They will recognise that they have done this to One Who should have been as dear as an only son. This is doubly stressed. He will be as dear to them as their firstborn sons.
‘In that day there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddon, and the land shall mourn every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart, the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart, the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart, the family of the Shimeites apart, and their families apart, all the families that remain, every family apart and their wives apart.'
The depth of the mourning for sin is brought out by the continued emphasis. It has been compared with the mourning for a firstborn son, now further comparisons are made.
‘As the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddon.' This clearly refers to some well known ceremony of mourning. The name Hadad-rimmon suggests connection with fertility rites, for Hadad is the god of storm (compare Baal) and Rimmon is similarly the chief god of Damascus (2 Kings 5:18). Such rites would include mourning as the dead deity was sought in order to bring him back to life for the renewal of the seasons (compare weeping for Tammuz in Ezekiel 8:14). Rites like these would often continue through the centuries long after their main meaning was forgotten.
But it is mentioned, not to approve of the rites, but as a prime example of open and deep mourning which all would recognise. There may be some connection with the death of Josiah, the last great and favoured descendant of David to do what was right in the eyes of Yahweh. This took place in the valley of Megiddo, and may well have been remembered by appropriating such rites.
The mourning will be deep and personal for each family will be apart, and wives apart from their men. Prominent in the mourning will be the royal family and the priests. David, the head of the royal house, is mentioned and especially David's son Nathan (2 Samuel 5:14; 1 Chronicles 3:5; Luke 3:31), and Levi the head of the priestly tribe, and especially the Shimeites (see Numbers 3:18; Numbers 3:21). Then the remainder of the people. The mourning will go right from the top to the bottom. It is noteworthy that the natural descent of Jesus and His family from David was through Nathan (Luke 3:31).
So the mourning for sin will reach to all parts of Israel, including members of the Messiah's own family.
‘In that day there will be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the dwellers in Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.'
The result of the piercing of the Messianic Servant will be the opening of a fountain for sin and uncleanness both for His own family and household and for those who ‘dwell in Jerusalem', that is those whose hearts are true towards the God of Jerusalem.
The idea of a fountain for the removal of sin is not found elsewhere in the Old Testament. Elsewhere the idea of the fountain is as a fountain of life, or of living waters, which symbolise life through the Holy Spirit (Psalms 36:9; Proverbs 13:14; Isaiah 41:18; Jeremiah 2:13; Jeremiah 17:13; Joel 3:18).
But in mind here are almost certainly the words of Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36:24. ‘I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean. From all your filthiness and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart also I will give you and a new Spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you --- and I will save you from all your uncleannesses.' The deep mourning and repentance of sin in Zechariah 12:10 opens the way for God's Spirit to work within them, and indeed shows that He has already begun to work within them. That work produces new life and results in the removal of sin and uncleanness through the waters from God's fountain.
But sprinkled water as in Ezekiel is water that has been treated with the ashes of a heifer - Numbers 19:17 (see ‘the waters of expiation' - Numbers 8:7) and thus cleanses through its sacrificial qualities. That is why it is ‘clean' water. Thus this ‘fountain opened for sin--' must be seen as connected with the piercing of the true Prophet with His shedding of blood interpreted sacrificially as in Isaiah 53, compare possibly Isaiah 52:15.
The idea of sin being washed away by water is rare in the Old Testament. The ritual washings did not cleanse. They were only preparatory. When they were used men would ‘ not be clean until the evening'. Something further was necessary. When David speaks of being washed from sin he parallels it with being purged with hyssop. His emphasis is on being cleansed through sacrifice, and always sprinkling involves sacrificial blood in one way or another.
So the prophet declares that there is coming a day of great repentance for sin resulting from the piercing of the Servant Messiah, a day of great spiritual renewal, and the provision of God's final answer to the problem of sin and uncleanness.