June 18, 2023 - Sunday Service

Good morning, my brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you from God, our

Father, and from the Lord. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the children of Israel.

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy.

He will not always strive with us, nor will he keep his anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward those who fear him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far he has removed our transgression from us.

As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him.

For he knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, as the flower of the field, so he flourishes.

For when the wind passes over it, it is gone, and in its place remembers it no more.

For the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting and those who fear him and his righteousness to children's children, to such as keep his covenant and those who remember his commandments to do them.

The Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all.

Bless the Lord, his angels, who excel in strength, who do his word, heeding the voice of his word.

Bless the Lord, all his hosts, you ministers of his who do his pleasure.

Bless the Lord, all his works and all places of his dominion. Bless the

Lord, oh my soul. Let us worship God, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we have come to worship and to bow down, to kneel before you, the

Lord our maker. For you are our God and we are the people of your pasture, the sheep of your hand.

We come to you in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

He is our advocate with the Father. He is our only mediator between God and man.

He always lives to make intercession for us. Through him, we come boldly to your throne of grace.

In his name, we earnestly seek you. Oh Lord, our souls thirst for you, our flesh yearns for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Bow your heavens and come down. Inhabit the praises of your people. Remember your promise, oh spirit of Christ, to be present in the midst of your worshiping people when two or more have gathered in your name.

Condescend to us, grant us the joy of your fellowship. Speak to us through your word and be blessed by our praise and adoration.

We ask all of these things in the name of our living savior, Jesus Christ, our

Lord. Amen. Please kneel as you are able for the corporate confession of sin.

Let us join together in confessing our sins. Gracious God, we confess that we have longed too much for the comforts of this world.

We have loved the gifts more than the giver. In your mercy, help us to see all things in kind for our shadows, but you are substance.

We plead your forgiveness on the merits of Jesus Christ. Accept his worthiness for our unworthiness, his sinlessness for our transgressions, his fullness for our emptiness, his glory for our shame, his righteousness for our dead works, his death for our life.

We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Please stand for the assurance of pardon.

As we have just read in the call to worship, our sins have been removed from us as far as the east is from the west.

Our God remembers them no more. Here is our assurance of pardon. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of his love in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, amen.

Please take up the Trinity hymnal and open up to hymn number 32, great is thy faithfulness, hymn 32.

♪ Springtime and harvest be sad and true ♪

Amen. Please take up the insert and look for our

Psalm of the week, Psalm 26a, Lord vindicate me.

Psalm 26a, our Psalm of the week. Brother, any instruction? If you remember

Psalm 22, not the one we did this year, but Psalm 22 which we did last year, the title of that would be not far off.

That's the tune for this one, Psalm 22. If you're unsure, just jump in with me.

♪ For true God's glory dwells in his lovely hands ♪

Please remain standing for the reading of God's word from Hebrews chapter 12,

Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews 12.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself so that you may not grow weary or faint -hearted in your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the

Lord nor be weary when reproved by him for the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives.

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons.

For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate childrens and not sons.

Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them.

Shall we not much more be subject to the father of the spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good that we may share his holiness.

For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but rather it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Therefore, lift your drooping heads and strengthen your weak knees and make straight the paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

Strive for peace with everyone for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that there is no root of bitterness, springs up and causes trouble, and by it, many become defiled.

That no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau who sold his birthright for a single meal.

For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest, and sound of the trumpet and voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.

For they could not endure the order that was given. If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.

Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "'I tremble with fear.'

But you have come to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who were enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirit of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to be sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking, for if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if they reject him who warns from heaven.'

At that time, his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, yet once more

I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. This phrase, yet once more, indicates the removal of things that are shaken, that is, things that have been made, in order that the things cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for our

God is a consuming fire. This is the word of the Lord. Let us now join our voices together in our ancient and common

Christian faith by the singing of the Apostles' Creed. ♪

In God was his only begotten

Son, our Lord ♪ ♪ Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit ♪ ♪

Born of the Virgin Mary ♪ ♪ Offered under Pontius Pilate ♪ ♪

Was crucified, dead, and buried ♪ ♪

He descended into hell ♪ ♪ The third day he rose again from the dead ♪ ♪

He ascended into heaven ♪ ♪ And is seated at the right hand of God the

Father Almighty ♪ ♪ From there he will come to judge the living and the dead ♪ ♪

I believe in the Holy Spirit ♪ ♪

I believe the holy Catholic Church ♪ ♪ The communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins ♪ ♪

The resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting ♪ ♪

Everlasting, ah ♪ Please take up the

Trinity Hymnal once more and open to hymn number 116,

For the Beauty of the Earth, hymn 116. ♪ Each hour, round and side, human and divine ♪

Please make preparations for the prayers of the people. Let us pray together.

O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsel, and all just works.

Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments, and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness, through the merits of Jesus Christ, our

Savior, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

For the church of Jesus Christ, that it may be filled with truth and love, and be found without fault at the day of your coming, we pray to you,

O Lord. Lord, hear our prayer. For all ministers, missionaries, and the mission of the church, that in faithful witness the gospel may be preached, we pray to you,

O Lord. Preach those who have not preached to us.

For those in positions of public trust, that they may serve justice and promote the dignity and freedom of every person, we pray to you,

O Lord. Our country be a symbol of godly living, and a righteous life for you.

Pray that you would turn our country as well. For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer, for refugees, prisoners, and all who are in danger, that they may be delivered and protected, we pray to you,

O Lord. For this congregation, for those who are present, and for those who are absent, that we may be delivered from hardness of heart, and show forth your glory in all that we do, we pray to you,

O Lord. Lord, hear our prayers. Dear Heavenly Father, great

God in heaven, pray for us that we would be led by the

Spirit in glorifying your name. Pray for those who are absent. I lift up Zach and Alyssa with their new child,

Tigany, precious little girl. We look forward to the day that she is gathered with us, and becomes a full participant on the church body.

We love your grace. Great God, for those who are absent for other reasons, whether sickness or travel,

I pray that you be with them. I pray that you can bring us all back together.

And we look forward to the day when you gather your entire congregation, and not a single one will be absent.

Pray this in Christ's name, amen. Being in agreement with all these things, we join our voices together and say, amen.

Amen. Please stand and take up the insert once again, and look for our

Psalm of the month. Psalm 94, God of vengeance, O Jehovah.

Psalm 94. ♪ And soldier to the right ♪ ♪

Who does see ♪ ♪

Who warns nations thus he smite not ♪ ♪

Who men teaches knows not he ♪ ♪

All the earth from his people will be ♪

Please turn in your Bibles to Zechariah and chapter 12. Zechariah chapter 12.

This is God's holy and infallible word. The burden of the word of the

Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of a man within him.

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem.

It shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples.

All who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.

In that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with confusion and its riders with madness.

I will open my eyes on the house of Judah and I will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.

And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, the inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength and the

Lord of hosts, their God. In that day, I'll make the governors of Judah like a fire pan in the wood pile and like a fiery torch in the sheaves.

They shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited and again in her own place,

Jerusalem. The Lord will save the tents of Judah first so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah.

In that day, the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the

Lord before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Passage for today. And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication.

Then they will look on me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn.

In that day, there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem like the mourning at Hadad Ramon in the plain of Megiddo.

And the land shall mourn every family 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, the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves, the family of Shammai by itself and their wives by themselves.

All the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves.

May the Lord be pleased with our consideration of his most holy word. Please pray with me.

Oh, Lord Jesus, we thank you that you have not hidden yourself from your people throughout every page of scripture, your glory burst forth.

We pray now that this, your church, would be built up and encouraged in the faith, that they too would experience the joy of the spirit of grace and supplication, that they will look upon you,

Lord Jesus, whom they have pierced, that they would mourn over their sins with a godly sorrow that would lead them to repentance, that they would long for that day when even the least among the nation of Israel would be saved and the gospel would triumph and go forth to the

Gentiles. Oh, Lord, we look forward to experiencing and enjoying your victory, your righteousness conquering the earth.

And we ask these things in Jesus' name, amen. Please be seated.

The title of the message today is that phrase that jumps out off the page, they will look upon me whom they have pierced.

For those of you who are taking notes, I have three areas of consideration for you to organize your thoughts.

The first is the promise. And the promise is that God will pour out his spirit.

Second is the piercing. The piercing is Jesus Christ on the cross.

And third, the mourning. The mourning that leads to repentance, renewal, salvation.

Promise, piercing, and mourning. The restoration from exile leads us to consider the future renewal of God's people in Christ.

So these things that happen to Israel are not mere happenstance, but they illustrate and illuminate our understanding of the work of Christ in building his church and calling people from every tongue, tribe, and nation, but also not forgetting his promises to Israel.

Israel will be saved. The people of God, though obstinate in their rebellion, a remnant of them has been saved.

And as we know from the Apostle Paul in Romans 9, there's going to be a great harvest of the

Jewish people. It's happened in history and it will continue to happen even up to the last day.

Now, one of the difficulties of preaching through a book and then missing a week as we forget what happened before.

So I'm borrowing from a very short synopsis largely from John Gill to remind you of what this chapter is about.

Then we'll jump back into the exposition. This chapter contains a prophecy of the defense, protection, and salvation of the church of God and the effusion of the spirit and of the conversion of the

Jews in the latter day. It begins with a title and a preface describing the power of God from the creation of the heavens and earth and the soul of man.

Then follows the subject matter of the prophecy to the way of judgment upon the enemies of the people of God.

And you may remember from a couple of weeks ago, we are absolutely secure because God has defeated and he protects and preserves us from all of his and our enemies.

So we walk around with great confidence and hope. We sleep easy at night with a great trust in the

Lord. The people are gonna find Jerusalem to be a cup of trembling, a burdensome stone, a hearth, a torch, a fire to them.

And the effects of that are going to be astonishment, madness, blindness, and utter destruction.

But to the people of God, they have confidence in him, salvation from him, and strength and protection by him.

At the same time that God will destroy all the enemies of his people, he will, and this comes very close to us now, he will pour out his spirit upon his chosen ones, even in Israel.

The consequence of this will be their faith in Christ signified by looking to him whom they have pierced and their repentance towards God expressed by mourning.

And this illustration is found in that firstborn imagery, which we'll consider today.

The restoration from exile, the theme of Zechariah, leads us to Christ and leads us to the future renewal of his people.

Let's consider first the promise. Look again at verse 10 of chapter 12.

I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication.

This prophecy we considered a few weeks ago on Pentecost Sunday. This was realized in Acts chapter two.

The Holy Spirit, according to the prophecy of Joel, is going to be poured out on the people, and we learned that this experience was not necessarily normative.

It's not gonna happen every way in this manner on every Sunday, but it is the beginning of the work of the

Holy Spirit being poured out on the people of God, that they might be a repenting people, that they might be a people who worship, that they might be a people who turn from their sin and turn back to God.

This is a tremendous blessing and promise that is given to the people, particularly when they have just heard that their city's going to be ravaged, that the temple's going to be overthrown, that God has not given up on the descendants of Abraham, but they have to come now like everyone else does.

They have to come in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. And the question has to be asked, how will he pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication?

Let's turn back to Acts two really quick. There's one part I'd like you to read with your own eyes in Acts chapter two.

We'll begin reading in verse 23. This is referring to Jesus. It says, him being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death.

This is going to be very important to our understanding of the mourning in our section. The Jewish people are active participants and complicit in sentencing

Jesus to death. This ironically turns out to be the means of salvation.

Their ways are wicked, but it is God's way that is righteous. And God uses the betrayal of Judas Iscariot for the salvation of men.

He uses the betrayal of the Sanhedrin for the salvation of the nations. You have taken, it's very directed.

Peter is saying to the audience gathered at Pentecost, you have taken him by lawless hands, you have crucified him and you have put to death, but God has raised him up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be held by it.

Now, skip down to verse 29. These are incredible words from Peter.

The whole section. Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried.

His tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the

Christ to sit on his throne. He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the

Christ that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

This Jesus, God has raised up of which we are all witnesses.

Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the

Holy Spirit, he poured out this which you now see in here. For David did not ascend to the heavens, but he says himself, the

Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this

Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.

And when they heard this, they were cut to the heart. Their hearts were pierced.

They understood that their wickedness was the cause of Jesus going to the cross.

Their wickedness was during his lifetime, they failed to see him as the

Messiah. And now recognizing this, they're pierced. They're cut to the heart.

And Peter was asked, men and brethren, what shall we do?

And Peter said to them, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the

Holy Spirit. The outpouring, the spirit of grace and supplication is the prompting and the moving of wicked men to turn in their hearts in faith to Christ.

This is not self -generated. God is acting upon the hearts of the men gathered and women and children, everyone in that area who have gathered at Pentecost, and a mighty working of his spirit.

He opens their hearts. The grace of supplication and grace is pouring in, and salvation and life and hope and a future now comes upon this remnant of the people of God.

Let's go back to our text in Zechariah 12. Zechariah is about the gospel of Jesus.

I'll pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication.

But another question has to be asked, that its fulfillment is realized at least partially with Pentecost and the active working of the spirit in the life of the church.

But how does this come to pass? What is the basis of the spirit's outpouring upon the house of David?

That last phrase, we'll spend a little time here in verse 10 the title of our message, then they will look on me whom they pierced.

Isaiah 53 .5, do you remember these familiar words?

But he was pierced, he was wounded for our transgressions.

He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed.

You see the piercing of the holy one, the righteous one is the means of our salvation.

And I don't know if you caught this, but God is speaking in the first person in verse 10.

Can God be pierced? God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable and his being wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.

God is a spirit. How can God a spirit be pierced?

Well, in the beginning was the word. The word became flesh and dwelt among us.

The incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ is in Zechariah 12.

God taking on the flesh of humanity, it's not fully developed here, but it's right there in verse 10.

They're going to look upon me, it's capitalized in my English Bible appropriately.

God in the first person saying, you're gonna look upon me whom you have pierced.

This is utterly profound. How does

John, for example, think of this language? Let's turn to the gospel according to John in verse 19.

I'm excuse me, chapter 19. John chapter 19. I could have quoted these to you, but I think it's sometimes good to read them, read the messages, read the words themselves.

John 19, beginning at verse 33, it says, but when they came to Jesus, this is at the crucifixion after his death.

When they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

And here, this is not an incidental thing that happens. You see, there's so much depth and so much layers to things that are happening in places like Zechariah 12, but who can begin to palm the fathoms of the depth of the death of Christ on the cross?

This is not just a little side theater that one of the soldiers pierces his side with the spear.

There's something important here. And this is gonna be the fulfillment of Zechariah 12.

And it should be noted that the picture of blood and water is obviously also a picture of our sacraments, about atonement and about washing and regeneration.

The death of Christ is the salvation of sinners. The piercing of his side is the fulfillment of this incarnate

Christ coming to redeem and rescue and save a wayward people. And this pictures the glories of his salvation.

Blood and water came out from his side. You know, scholars, the really smart guys, they have creative local interpretations about what

Zechariah 12 might have been about. The rabbinic scholars, they don't consider

Christ. They have another explanation. Let's keep reading.

It says in verse 35, and he who has seen and testified and his testimony is true and he knows that he is telling the truth so that you may believe for these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled.

Not one of his bones shall be broken. Important prophecy found in Psalm 34,

I believe. And again, here's ours. Another scripture says they shall look upon him whom they have pierced.

You see, there's something big here. God says that his piercing, this autobiographical description of something that's going to happen, this piercing is not only going to be the cause of mourning and judgment, but it's also going to be the means of salvation.

They shall look on him whom they pierced.

I was gonna do this later, but since we're here, I won't do more page turning later. Turn over to the book of Revelation in chapter one.

Johannine, big idea. It's big for John.

There's something very important about this notion of piercing. And to look upon the one who has been pierced.

Revelation chapter one, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants, things which must shortly take place.

And he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ to all things that he saw.

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near.

I will point out, because I have to, it's very obvious that John is writing about something that's going to happen very quickly and shortly.

8070, for example, things like that. This isn't necessarily all fulfilled in 8070, but there's a lot that happens in that first century.

Now listen carefully. Verse four, John, to the seven churches which are in Asia.

These are real churches that existed at the time of John's revelation.

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come.

That's the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about that description. Who is and who was and who is to come.

And from the seven spirits who are before his throne and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead.

That firstborn language will pick up again a little bit later, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and made us kings and priests to his

God and father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen.

Behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, even they who pierced him.

And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. This is also

Zechariah chapter 12. It's all about Jesus. It's all about looking upon the one who has been pierced.

Even so, amen. And these glorious words from Jesus, I'll just finish here.

And I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end says the Lord who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.

Zechariah 12 telescopically looks to the future, the revelation, the atonement of the

Lord Jesus Christ. Now let's go back and stay here now, Zechariah 12.

The Lord Jesus Christ has been pierced. He's been wounded for our transgressions, and he is a public spectacle.

Now here's where it gets interesting. I want you to think closely about this.

The wickedness that men intended in their rebellion against God, God intends for good.

Does that sound familiar? Joseph was thrown by his brothers into a pit and sold into slavery.

Joseph goes down to Egypt, and Joseph becomes the means of salvation because of the famine, and it turns out that this wicked act of the brothers, the guys who make up the very nation of Israel, the sons of Jacob, they send their brother into this curse, and he is their salvation.

You see, the Lord Jesus Christ, Joseph is the firstborn son of Rachel, the favored wife of Jacob, and the

Lord Jesus is the firstborn over all creation. Men intended great evil, but God intends it for good.

The whole fabric of the Jewish people is bound in this imagery.

This is all very readily accessible to them. What about this language?

They will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn.

Do you remember the appeal that Moses would make to Pharaoh? God said, tell them this,

Israel is my firstborn. Let my firstborn go that they might worship me, and the punishment for the failure to release the firstborn of Israel is the death of the firstborn of Egypt.

We know how this concludes. The Passover, the blood of the lamb protects the firstborn of Israel, and the judgment of God falls upon Egypt, but there's a superior

Israel. There's a greater Jerusalem. We discovered that last time. Jesus is the true

Israel. The gathering place of the people of God is the bride, the church.

Israel, like Jacob's sons and Joseph's brothers, they reject their brother, and in the case of the

Lord Jesus, they reject their elder brother, and they mourn.

I often have thought it was some grief in my heart early this morning about the very committed

Jewish people who are the Orthodox Jews in places like New York City, and many of them have devoted their academic lives to try to prove that Jesus is not the

Messiah, and I imagine them, their whole life striving in this desire to be

God's people, and to be holy, and to be faithful, to find out on that day of their death the horror, the terror of standing before the

Lord Jesus Christ and saying, I spent my entire life refuting and denying the

Savior of Israel. There's a more hopeful part of this.

How many people who, in Peter's day, in Acts chapter two, who were not believing that Jesus was the

Christ, can you imagine the stricken grief that they must have experienced?

Their sin, their rejection of the Messiah, and his conquering love, they cried out to say, we rejected him, we pierced him, we sent him to death, and our

Savior says, it's okay, I have come for this very purpose, to come into the world and to save sinners, even you who have pierced me and rejected me.

Do you remember Jesus' mourning on the eve of his crucifixion, that he wished he could gather up Israel under his wings, but they were haughty in spirit, they were hard -hearted, they rejected him as the

Messiah. Can you imagine the wails and the heaving cries of the firstborn's death in Egypt?

Pharaoh's hard -heartedness leads to the death of all of the firstborn, and as you know, the ancient world, they get the double portion of the inheritance, they are the hope of future generations.

Pharaoh's heir died on that night, his son, his firstborn son, do you remember that?

His son died, the guy who should be king next, he dies.

The hopes of the family rests on the firstborn, and so the nation mourns.

Now, I think this mourning happens on many occasions, I think it happens in the immediate aftermath of the crucifixion.

Remember the man on the road to Emmaus, wasn't this the one who would be the salvation of Israel?

This mourning would also extend to the rejection of the

Jews over a period of time, and I think Paul is the example par excellence of what the

Jewish people will experience in redemption, isn't it amazing to think of? The apostle to the

Gentiles, his hatred, his persecution of the Christian people, the church, he made it his aim and mission to snuff it out.

Can you imagine the glory that God showed to him and revealed to him the love and grace, what a spirit of grace and supplication was poured out on Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus.

Well, Jesus is the firstborn over all creation,

Colossians 1, very important text, preeminent over all things, so the people mourn.

What we're gonna see now is this mourning is a mourning that leads to repentance, a mourning that leads to salvation and renewal.

Look at verse 11, it says, in that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad, Ramon, and the plain of Megiddo.

What does that mean? Well, you guys may remember this, it's found in both 2

Chronicles and 2 Kings that within a generation, our historian

Mark will appreciate this, this was like the period of time, let's say roughly around the first or second

World War to now in American history. Josiah, the boy king, who walked in righteousness, he had, in scripture, one very bad day of his life and he died.

Neco, the pharaoh in Egypt, was going to fight the remnants of the

Assyrian kingdom and he decided to pass through Israel.

And Josiah, from Neco's own mouth, Neco said, don't come out to fight me, my battle is not with you, the

Lord has spoken through me to you, do not come out and fight me, I have no quarrel with you.

Josiah camouflages himself and is struck down by an archer's arrow and it happens at Hadad Ramon on the plain of Megiddo.

You see, on that day, according to Jeremiah, I believe it's chapter 35, there was great wailing in Israel because the light of Judah was going out.

The righteous kingdom, the flickering hope of the people, the nation's hope, penned on Josiah were suddenly dashed and the people wailed and mourned as they put

Josiah in a chariot and rushed him back to Jerusalem and he is found to be dead.

The wails of the nation in recent history, they all knew all the stories, the death of Josiah is alluded to here.

And you say, well, what's the significance of that? Well, you see, the death of Jesus in that moment, the people's hopes are extinguished.

The apostles are scattered, we're gonna learn next couple of weeks that you strike the sheep and the people are scattered, the sheep are scattered, the shepherd, you hit him and the sheep will be scattered.

But this king's death in battle for his people is their salvation.

Powerful, rich, multifaceted gemstones of the glory of Christ.

Well, what's this last morning that's here in our section? The mornings for an only son, the grievings, the kind that is the guttural wail and scream of a family losing their heir and their hope for the future.

Israel was a firstborn son, but there's a better firstborn, the

Lord Jesus Christ. But what about this language? Now, here's something very interesting.

If you're reading this in your daily reading plan, this is very awkward language and you just read through it.

Look what it says in verse 12. It says, and the land shall mourn, every family by itself, the family of the house of David by itself.

Now, when you think about this, there is this general sense, and we're very guilty of this as Christians, we think about our sin, we think about our sins generally.

I am a sinner and I need repentance. It's not a bad thought.

But what about the house of David? They had a particular sin. You see, the king is supposed to come from David.

And so they are mourning because they're confronted with we're of the house and lineage of David, and we don't see

Jesus as our king. That's their particular sin.

The separation of the men and the women seems to follow their practice of temple worship, that they were separated.

And I think that's the reason that they're described in this way. So there's a corporate upheaval, there's a corporate confession, there's a corporate mourning, but there's also a individual mourning.

It should be pointed out to us that we sin in particular. So we have to repent particularly.

There are times for us to say, oh Lord, we're sinners, save us. But we also have to mourn over our sin, our particular sins, and confess them to him.

What's the second one? Nathan. This is a reference to the you are the man,

Nathan. This is to the prophetic class of the people. Jesus is the prophet promised by Moses, who would be a greater prophet than himself.

The thus saith the Lord is amplified, and exponentially so when the person saying it is the

Lord himself, just like in our text. But the prophetic class, the prophets of Israel didn't see

Jesus as the greatest prophet. So they have a particular way that they need to mourn over their sins.

And this mourning in both cases leads to their salvation, because they have a godly sorrow, and our

God receives them. So we have the kingly office, and the kingly class, the

David, and his tribes, his family. And we have Nathan representing the prophet.

It's out of order for us, but do you see something we often refer to about the three offices of Christ? Look at the next one in verse 13.

And we have the family of the house of Levi, the priestly class.

We have the king, and the prophet, and the priest, and we usually refer to this as the threefold office, the prophet, priest, and king.

The family of the house of Levi has to repent because they don't see Jesus as the great high priest.

Book of Hebrews, chapters seven through 10, fully expounds upon the perfect priesthood and mediation of Christ.

And lastly, the family of Shimei. I believe this is some controversy about who this is.

Some of the translations say Simeon. This family of Shimei, I believe, is the descendant of Levi, the priestly class.

And if we would go back to the book of Numbers, we would find that this group of people, this family, were responsible for the veils, and the ropes, and the setting up of the tabernacle.

They also were heavily invested, like the sons of Korah, in the singing and the worship of God.

And in fact, Asaph comes from this line.

So you have the prophet, the priest, the king, and the worship leaders, and the people who facilitate and make the worship of God possible for the people represented here.

And they didn't see, they didn't look upon Jesus as the one to be worshiped.

So they mourned. And in their mourning, God, by the power of his spirit, granted repentance and salvation.

And then the catch -all in verse 14, all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves, the whole of Israel, and yea, of the whole of the nations, have their particular mourning they have to do when they approach

Christ in faith. They have to repent and turn from their particular sins.

But when they do, they find salvation and hope in him.

You and I are called to look upon the crucified

Christ, the one who has been pierced for our transgressions.

We should mourn. This is a danger for us as reformed people because we believe in forgiveness and we believe in grace, but sometimes we short -circuit this covenant renewal process.

Your sin put Jesus on the cross, and that should cause some mourning in your heart.

Your wretchedness was so offensive and affront to God that Christ has to die for you.

But that mourning leads to a godly sorrow, which leads to repentance and leads to salvation, and it leads to joy because on that cross where the pierced one is, all of your guilt and all of your sin are taken away.

Incredible irony. So we should mourn.

We need to look upon the one who has been pierced. We need to now, as the forgiven in Christ, go back to the sin that we mourn over and renounce it and mortify it, never to return there again.

Your particular sins, which were a trip, a snare to you in the past, you need to go back to those sins and say,

I'm never going back there again. I'm never going to be that prideful. I'm never going to be that lustful again.

I'm never gonna be a drunkard again because I've been redeemed by Christ. And that godly sorrow, that real true lament, which we learned a few weeks ago, ultimately leads to us crying out to God for help and mercy, and him hearing our cry and filling us with hope for the future.

Zechariah is telling the people that God himself is coming to rescue them.

And brethren, our savior has come and he's rescued us.

Let us look upon the one whom they have pierced. A brief word of application, we'll close here.

I want to reiterate something we talked about on Pentecost Sunday. You and I need to be filled with the spirit and we need to stop acting as though we are slaves of sin.

Romans six. It is good reform doctrine to speak of radical corruption, but it's also an excuse.

You have been washed in the blood of the lamb. Rivers of living water have washed over you.

Go and sin no more. Be filled with the spirit. A great meditation as we come to communion.

Number two, look upon Christ whom you have pierced.

Third, you need to mourn over sin, but you don't mourn as the world does.

Godly sorrow leads to repentance. It leads to a renewal of covenant.

It leads to salvation. Rejoice today in the salvation that's found in Christ.

It was as if you and I were at the cross mocking Christ with the

Roman soldiers. Our sin is heaped upon him and we're mocking him in our unbelief and him saving us anyway.

That's the glory of this gospel of Jesus Christ. Israel's rejected him and time and time and time again they've rejected him.

They're a stiff -necked and obstinate people and God extends his mercy and grace to them. We should expect a full harvest and salvation of the

Jewish people as God never forgets his promises. And fourth, our repentance is corporate and in the evangelical world there's very little corporate repentance.

It's embedded in our liturgy. This repentance is also very personal. The house of David, the house of Nathan, the house of Levi and Shammai, they all had particular causes of mourning and you and I have particular things that we need to continue to repent of.

We sin particularly so we have to repent in particular.

What a glorious God. What a glorious salvation and isn't it wonderful that he in his mercy and kindness sprinkles gemstones of Christ's glory all over the pages of scripture for us to discover and find.

Let's pray together. Oh Lord, I thank you that you've poured out your spirit upon us and you have anticipated since the fall that there would be a redeemer who would be

Christ the Lord. And you take us, oh Lord, from the latter part of Genesis and you show us a picture of Joseph and you take us through the

Psalms and you take us to Boaz as a kinsman redeemer and you show us

Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Moses and David. You even showed us today,

Lord, some of the riches and the righteousness of Josiah but all of them bow the knee to you.

Josiah had a bad day and he died. Moses was not allowed to go into the promised land but, oh

Lord, you fulfill all righteousness and you will reign and be worshiped and adored forever.

Oh Lord Jesus, we confess that you are the firstborn over all creation and you have dominion and first place and first rank and superiority in all things.

We cry out to you with thanksgiving that you have loved sinners, that you call men everywhere to repent and believe, that you call us to look upon you whom we have pierced.

Imprint this into our hearts, Holy Spirit, use this for some good in the hearts of your people and we ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.

Let's continue our worship, the presentation of the tithes and offerings.

Please stand, let's pray together.

Oh Lord, we confess that you own all things, every blade of grass, every bird, every animal, every piece of gold or silver are really yours and Lord, we thank you for giving us the privilege of work and stewardship and we present back to you this offering, that portion that you have asked for, for the maintenance and work of your church.

We pray these offerings, the tithe would be used for faithful ends, merciful ends, that we would not only meet the needs of our ministry here but that we'd also be on the move and looking to relieve the poor, to send money to the nations that your gospel may be preached.

We thank you for the faithful stewards that you have entrusted to this and that all these things would bring glory to you in Jesus' name, amen.

Let us respond with an exaltation and the singing of the

Gloria Patri. Glory be to the

Father and to the Son as it was, is now.

Be with you. Also with you. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the

Lord. It is right and a good and joyful thing that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to you,

O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, Everlasting God. Because you sent your beloved

Son to redeem us from sin and death and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life, that when he shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the world, we may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing.

Therefore, with angels and archangels, with all the company of heaven, we praise and magnify your glorious name, evermore praising you and singing.

♪ Is he,

O Zach ♪ Just be seated and pray with me.

O Lord, you have come in the flesh to fulfill all righteousness, but also to die, to shed your righteous blood.

To be pierced in the side, but also to be raised from the dead and to ascend on high and to sit at the right hand of your

Father till your enemies are made your footstool. We thank you for your condescension to us, not only in the incarnation, but in things like the

Lord's Supper. You have acknowledged and not despised our creatureliness, that you've given us bread and wine, that we might see the gospel and we might see something of the glory of Christ and his life given for us.

We ask, O Lord, that in our reception of the bread and wine that we would have

Christ crucified, communicated to us. We ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.

Our Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread, he had blessed and broke it and gave it to his disciples saying, take, eat, this is my body.

Likewise, he took the cup after supper saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood.

Drink from it, all of you, for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the

Lord's death until he comes. Therefore, we proclaim the faith.

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. Because of our great humility and our inability, let's approach the table, praying this in unison.

We do not presume to come to this your table, O merciful

Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies.

We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same

Lord who always shows mercy. Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear son,

Jesus Christ, and to drink of his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us, amen.

Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the gifts.

The gifts of God for the people of God. Thanks. ♪

To his dear servants ♪ ♪

And to the wounded he had signed ♪ ♪

Black through white, says the

Lord ♪ ♪

The King of the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪

Nothing but the blood of Jesus in this

I see ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪

For my part and this my plea ♪ ♪

Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪

Oh, precious is the flow that makes me free ♪ ♪

White as snow, for still

Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, good God, nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪

Oh, nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪

This is all my hope and peace ♪ ♪

Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪

This is all my righteousness ♪ ♪

Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪

Oh, precious is the flow that makes me free ♪ ♪

Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪

Oh, precious is the flow that makes me free ♪ ♪

Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪

For my part and this my plea ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ that we are living members of the body of your son in the heirs of your eternal kingdom.

And, oh Lord, grant us this other benefit, that you will never allow us to forget these things, but having them imprinted on our hearts, may we grow and increase daily in the faith which is at work in every good deed.

And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ, our

Lord. To him, to you, and to the Holy Spirit. Be honor and glory now and forever.

Amen. Please stand. Praise God from the saints of the

Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the

Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. ♪ Christ in me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me, ♪ ♪

Christ beside me, Christ to win me, ♪ ♪ Christ to comfort and restore me.

♪ ♪ Christ beneath me, Christ above me, ♪ ♪

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, ♪ ♪ Christ in hearts of strangers.