Zechariah 12:10 – They Shall Look Upon Me Whom They Have Pierced
“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.” This remarkable prophecy accomplishes something theologically astounding: it places the speaker—God Himself—in the position of being pierced. The LORD declares that Israel will look upon Him whom they have pierced. In one verse, Zechariah unveils both the deity of the Messiah and the means of His death.
The Oracle’s Context
Zechariah 12 begins a prophetic section describing the latter days when Jerusalem becomes “a cup of trembling” and “a burdensome stone” for the surrounding nations. The enemies of Israel will gather against Jerusalem, but God will defend His people, destroying the attacking nations while strengthening the inhabitants of Jerusalem. “In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:8).
Into this context of future deliverance comes the surprising statement of verse 10. God’s rescue of Jerusalem from her enemies will be accompanied by an outpouring of His Spirit producing repentance. The people will look upon One whom they have pierced and mourn with the intensity of grief over the death of an only child. Private mourning by family and individuals will spread throughout the land.
The traditional reading acknowledges this as a prediction of future national repentance but struggles with the identity of the pierced One. Some Jewish interpreters have applied the text to a martyred leader, perhaps a Messiah ben Joseph figure distinct from the conquering Messiah ben David. Others have seen it referring to God’s people collectively, pierced by their enemies. Still others recognize a reference to God Himself but cannot explain how God could be pierced.
The pronouns in the verse present interpretive complexity. “They shall look upon me… mourn for him.” God speaks in the first person (“me”) but then shifts to third person (“him”). This shift has puzzled interpreters, though it naturally resolves in understanding the Messiah as distinct from the Father yet identified with Him—one God in relational complexity.
The Piercing Problem
How can God be pierced? The question seems unanswerable within purely monotheistic categories. God is spirit, invisible, immortal. He cannot be touched, let alone wounded. Yet Zechariah 12:10 has God Himself declaring that He will be pierced by the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
This is not metaphorical piercing—emotional wounding or figurative rejection. The Hebrew word daqar refers to physical piercing, running through with a weapon. The same word describes Phinehas’ spear thrust (Numbers 25:8) and Saul’s death by sword (1 Samuel 31:4). This is violent, penetrating, physical piercing. God says they will do this to Him.
The response also indicates more than metaphor. The mourning compares to grief over an only son, over a firstborn. This is bereavement language—the kind of grief that follows death. The extensive mourning described in verses 11-14, family by family, indicates genuine loss requiring genuine lamentation. Something catastrophic has happened to the One who was pierced.
Furthermore, this piercing produces repentance. Looking upon the pierced One leads to mourning, supplication, and the spirit of grace. The seeing is connected to the transformation. Whatever Israel did to God produces, when recognized, the deepest possible grief. This suggests recognition of a terrible crime—not merely political assassination but something touching the divine relationship itself.
Calvary’s Cross Fulfills Zechariah
The Gospel of John explicitly identifies Jesus’ crucifixion as the fulfillment of Zechariah 12:10. After the soldiers refrained from breaking Jesus’ legs because He was already dead, one soldier “pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34). John then adds: “And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced” (John 19:37).
Revelation 1:7 applies the same text to Christ’s second coming: “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” The piercing that occurred at the first advent will be seen and mourned at the second. The One who comes in glory is the same One who hung on the cross.
Jesus Christ is the answer to Zechariah’s puzzle. As God incarnate, He could be pierced. As the second Person of the Trinity dwelling in human flesh, the invisible God became visible, the immortal One became mortal, the untouchable One received nails and spear. When they pierced Jesus, they pierced the One through whom God had come to dwell among them. They pierced Immanuel. They pierced their Creator.
The Piercing Produces Repentance
Zechariah connects the piercing to national transformation. The spirit of grace and supplications poured out, the looking upon the pierced One, and the mourning all occur together. Repentance comes through seeing what their sin has done—not to an ordinary man, but to God Himself. The cross reveals sin’s ultimate horror: humanity crucified their Creator.
This pattern has operated throughout church history. Individuals come to repentance when they truly see the cross. The Spirit of grace illuminates what happened at Calvary—not merely a good man dying, but the Son of God bearing sin. The recognition produces godly sorrow. “They shall mourn for him.” True repentance includes grief over sin, especially grief over what sin cost Christ.
For Israel nationally, the fulfillment remains partially future. Paul anticipates a day when “all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26), when the veil covering their hearts will be removed and they will recognize Jesus as their Messiah. Zechariah 12:10 describes that recognition: they will look upon Him whom they pierced—their own Messiah, rejected and crucified—and mourn with unprecedented sorrow. National repentance will follow national recognition.
Yet the initial fulfillment came at Pentecost, when Peter preached to Jewish crowds: “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (Acts 2:23). The response? “They were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). They looked; they were pierced in heart as He had been pierced in body; they mourned and repented.
Look and Live
Zechariah 12:10 extends an invitation hidden within its prophecy. The pierced One is meant to be looked upon. The spirit of grace produces not only supplications but the capacity to see. When God pours out His Spirit, eyes open to perceive what happened at Calvary. And that seeing produces transformation.
Have you truly looked upon Christ crucified? Not a glance, not a theoretical acknowledgment, but the sustained gaze that perceives what is actually there—God Himself pierced for human sin. Your sin. The nails that pierced His hands were driven by your transgressions. The spear that pierced His side was thrust by your iniquities. Looking upon Him means acknowledging your complicity in His death.
But this painful recognition is the pathway to life. The looking that produces mourning also produces healing. “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced” is connected to “I will pour upon the house of David… the spirit of grace.” Grace comes through the pierced One. Forgiveness flows from His wounds. The very death your sins caused becomes the source of your salvation.
The mourning Zechariah describes is not hopeless grief but repentant grief—the kind that leads to restoration rather than despair. The pierced One lives. He rose from the dead. He poured out the Spirit of grace at Pentecost. He continues to save all who look to Him in faith. Will you look? Will you mourn the sin that pierced Him? And will you receive the grace that flows from His wounds? Look upon Christ whom you have pierced, and live.