Zechariah 12 is God's promise to grant godly sorrow and repentance to the nation of Israel, and by extension, to all who believe. He would give them, and us, grace and a spirit of praying. A spirit of seeking the Lord. A spirit of supplication (entreat, pray, seek).
A marvelous thing happens as we receive this Spirit of praying. God shows us something amazing and changes our hearts in the process. God shows us the cross! "They will look on Me whom they have pierced!" God lifts our eyes to see Jesus suffering in our place, being wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, and pierced for our peace. It is when we "look on Me (Jesus) who was pierced" that we then "mourn for Him as for an only son." We sorrow over our sin, it begins to break our hearts, and we turn from it.
But the good news is that the cross not only hurts our hearts, it also heals them! We don't mourn in hopelessness. We see how much Jesus loves us there at the cross, and we see that all our sins are forgiven, all our wrongs canceled, all our guilt is dead and buried. We see Jesus rising from the dead, and through believing, we begin to experience the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit raises us with Jesus out of our tombs of overeating, to a new life. A different life. A life lived walking by the Spirit rather than gratifying the lusts of our flesh.
There is such tremendous power in seeing my wounded Savior every day - to dwell at the cross and wash there, to experience the power of His death daily. Seeing Jesus and His cross, remembering His atoning death hurts and humbles me, but it also heals and raises me! Washing at the cross leads to walking by the Spirit, and this is an entirely different walk than what I was doing before!
Friend, please take a moment and look! Really look at the cross! Look on Him, whom you have pierced! Spend some time here and see your sin placed upon your Savior. See His wounds. See His blood. Acknowledge that your sin of overeating placed Him on the cross and that He went there willingly out of great love for you. See the love in His eyes for you, and let it change your heart! Let it cut you deeply. "Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up" (James 4:9-10).
But also let it heal you as you see that God's heart was for you, and Jesus went to the cross to remove your sin and to give you His righteousness. You are not your sin any longer, for Jesus has separated it from you forever! You are forgiven, you are washed, you are made new, you are set free! "And that (sinfully enslaved) is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11).
This ongoing heart work, this cutting, and healing bring about real heart change and glorious freedom in our lives!
Use the following passage to help focus your view of the cross:
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:5-6).
Question 5. Please write out Isaiah 53:5-6, replacing "our" and "we" with "my" or "I."
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Question 6. As you look to the cross, what thoughts do you have as you consider the lengths to which Jesus went to forgive you and break the power of sin in your life?
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God's method to change hearts is to give us the grace to pray and to show us the pierced Son, who died for us out of love. As we see Him, our hearts are cut, and we experience godly sorrow, which turns us from sin. The wounds of Jesus heal us, lift us up, set us free, and make us new!
This experience may be instantaneous, or it may take time. You may cry from a broken heart, or maybe no tears will come. But if you want to be free from overeating and the domination of the flesh, it will happen as you cry out to God for a heart change and gaze on Him who was pierced for you.
Some people will turn away from this sight of Jesus and His cross and lose the gospel's power. Others will obey the command to "fix your eyes on Jesus, who, for the joy set before Him endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2), and they will be renewed in their hearts and minds and find the power of the Spirit of God that they've been needing. Which are you?
Question 7. What are your thoughts or questions about this lesson?
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