Jesus - The One Pierced (Zechariah 12:10)

By Malachi Bowman

Published October 18, 2026

Introduction

Last week, we took time to establish the evidence we will use to answer the question “Who is Jesus?” The evidence matters drastically because depending on the evidence, we will come up with different answers. There are religious texts which came later that claim that Jesus was not crucified but instead someone else was made to appear like him.

Surah An-Nisa (4:157)

"And [for] their saying, 'Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.' And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain."

But if we rely on the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus’ crucifixion is a major part of Jesus’ mission. And John even connects Jesus’ crucifixion with Old Testament prophecy in John 19:33-37,

But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

Specifically, “They shall look on him whom they pierced” comes from Zechariah 12:10.

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 firstborn.

John specifically recounts that it was Jesus who was hung on the cross, not simply somebody or something who appeared to be Jesus, but the living and breathing body of Jesus was hung on a cross and put to death and pierced.

Discussion: Do you think this is a significant detail? Does this really change how we answer the question “Who is Jesus?” Why do you think a religion would refuse to believe Jesus was crucified?

Just like it can be a challenge today for many religions to wrap their minds around Jesus being crucified, this was not a concept that his disciples even understood when it first happened. After Jesus had been crucified, many of his disciples dispersed and returned to their previous lives for 3 days, being challenged in their minds on how to understand this.

Luke tells us that after 3 days, Jesus rose again and began to appear to people even though they couldn’t recognize him.

Luke 24:13-32 tells us that there were two disciples of Jesus traveling on a road together and they were talking about the things which had happened with Jesus. And Jesus appeared to them and asked them:

What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

It’s apparent that the Jews believed Jesus was going to redeem Israel, but not as they expected. Israel was under Roman rule and what the Jews were hoping for was their Messiah to come and deliver them out of the hands of Roman rule and establish them again as an independent nation.

One might ask, why did the Jews expect this manner of redemption? It’s because when we read the Old Testament, that was the common cycle in which God would work with Israel. Israel would sin, God would allow their consequences to catch up, and then when they cried out to God in their affliction, God would send a warrior to come and fight for his people to re-establish Israel.

We see this happen in the book of Judges repetitively when God would raise up people like Samson who would use supernatural strength to deliver his people (Judges 13-16). But this time, God didn’t send a warrior to deliver Israel or lead a revolt. He sent a teacher who worked miracles and raised the dead, but he allowed himself to be crucified.

So what was the meaning of all of this? What did Jesus’ death do for anybody? To understand this, we should look to how the apostles later understood the death of Jesus.

The Death of Jesus Is a Crucial Part of the Gospel

The “Gospel” means good news. But who ever heard of somebody being crucified being good news? Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4:

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

So Paul says that the gospel is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and he rose again. The word “gospel” literally means “good news.”

Discussion: Who ever heard of somebody being crucified being good news? Why do you think this message is good news based on 1 Corinthians 15:1-4?

Paul said that it is this message that the Corinthians received, wherein they stand, by which they were also saved. How can this message save us?

There is a crucial detail which we must recognize. Jesus had the complete power and ability to deliver himself from off the cross, but he didn’t. We read in the gospel accounts that Jesus allowed himself to be crucified.

Jesus says in John 10:17-18:

Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

So why did Jesus lay his life down and allow himself to be crucified? To understand that, we must understand some of the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament, sin could be forgiven by a person bringing a female lamb to the priest and having it offered for atonement of their sin. Leviticus 4:32-35 says:

And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar: And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.

After this lamb was offered, it would take on the punishment which the person should have received, so that the person could walk away forgiven. And this is what Leviticus calls “atonement.” But people kill and eat goats and lambs all the time. How could a lamb be a proper substitute? The issue with the law was that a lamb could not be a proper substitute.

The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 10:4-10:

For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 40:6-8 when he says:

Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

And through this the writer of Hebrews is saying that this was a prophecy which Jesus fulfilled since God had no pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. And this is when he says, “Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”

Jesus saw his crucifixion as the will of God to be the perfect substitution for us.

The writer says that we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. Just like people would bring spotless lambs to be offered for sin in the Old Testament, the Jews and Gentiles brought Jesus to be crucified. They thought they were simply getting rid of a heretic. But in reality, they were making atonement for their sin through the offering of Jesus Christ.

This is good news because today we don’t need to bring a lamb to a priest somewhere to have our sins forgiven because Jesus has already offered himself for our sins. But we read in the New Testament that this sacrifice is not automatically applied to everyone; instead, it must be applied to our lives through baptism.

Paul says in Romans 6:3-5:

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection

And this is why Peter says in Acts 2:38 that baptism is for the remission of sins:

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

It is through baptism that we identify ourselves with Jesus’ death and the atoning sacrifice is applied to our lives.

Discussion:
1. What do you think these sacrifices were intended to teach Israel about sin and forgiveness?
2. How does understanding the Old Testament sacrifices change the way we understand Jesus’ crucifixion?
3. If Jesus had never been crucified, how would that change our understanding of who Jesus is?