December 8, 2011
JESUS > ALCOHOLISM
Zechariah 12
John Elmore
Central Truth
Salvation is by faith in Jesus, and He is coming again.
Key Verse | 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 12:10)
Zechariah 12
The LORD Will Give Salvation
1 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.’
6 On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.
7 And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Him Whom They Have Pierced
10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family 1 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 1214 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.
Dive Deeper | Zechariah 12
I placed my faith in Jesus when I was nine years old. I grew apart from God by making tiny comprises that led to big consequences. I binge drank for the first time at 12 and daily in my 20's until I crashed at the age of 30 . . . marriage destroyed, losing my career, filled with rage, emptiness, and depression. The drinking all along was just a symptom of my heart condition -- I loved sin and my way of life more than God and His ways.
So what does this have to do with Zechariah 12? Everything.
Zechariah 12 is a prophecy about some of God's children -- the Jews -- who for a long time followed His commands and loved Him. But when Jesus came, they rejected Him and sought to live life on their own. As a result, life became very empty, cold, and detached despite all the best efforts, for both them and me. They were enslaved, oppressed and destroyed -- totally without hope. This was my life from 1995-2005.
But God is faithful even when we are not.
After rejecting Jesus for more than 2,500 years, Zechariah 12:10 says that God will protect the Jews, Jesus will come again, and they will know Him for who He is -- the Messiah.
This is the God we serve. One who pursues and even protects us when we are living in sin apart from Him. One who forgives in an instant -- the second we turn to Him. The One who is faithful after years and years of our faithlessness.
It says in Zechariah 12:10 that they will mourn, grieve, and weep as they look upon Jesus. I'll never forget being 30 years old, but only five-months sober. I was walking in the gravel parking lot of the same Christian sports camp where I had first heard the gospel at the age of 9. I fell to my knees and balled. All I could say through my tears was, "I'm sorry." For the first time, I felt the gravity of the years I wasted. But God is able to use our broken past (Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28, Philippians 3:13-14). He did it with me, He'll do it with the Jews, and He can do it with you. See Jesus for who He is -- the Savior -- and allow Him to save every area of your life.
Discussion Questions
1. God protects the Jews in Zechariah 12 before He saved them. How did He protect you before He saved you? Give Him thanks for that.
2. How did it change your life when you first realized Jesus is who He says He is -- the One who was pierced for our sins, raised from the dead, and is coming back?
3. Because Jesus is coming back a second time, what about your life needs to change now? And before you go out and try to change yourself, remember that God changed the Jews by first pouring out a spirit of grace and supplication on them (which means asking God for help).
4. Can you think of some people who know a lot about God, but do not know Him (like the Jews in Zechariah 12)? When will you befriend them, ask them to church, and share the gospel with them?
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
ZECHARIAH 9-13 (DECEMBER 5-9)
ACTIVITY: All of the prophets were telling about things that would happen in the future. This week, let's read a couple verses in Zechariah and then find their fulfillment in the New Testament. Fold a piece of paper in half. On the left side at the top, write Prophecy, and on the right side, write Fulfillment. As you read the passages below, write down the verse and what it tells us, both the prophecy and the fulfillment.
Read Zechariah 9:9.
Who is the king that came riding in on a donkey? Read Matthew 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-38; John 12:12-15. What are the three words that describe Jesus in Zechariah 9:9?
Read Zechariah 10:4.
Let's look at the fulfillment of this verse. Read Acts 4:11 and Ephesians 2:20. Who is the cornerstone?
Read 1 Peter 2:4-9.
If you have trusted in Jesus as your cornerstone, then what does God say about you in verse 9? What does He want you to show others?
Read Zechariah 12:10 and then John 19:33-37.
Who was pierced?
God gave the prophets information about when Jesus would come, and He was very specific. Seeing these prophecies fulfilled helps build our trust that what God says is going to occur in the future will actually happen.