“They will look on Him whom they have pierced.” John 19:37
This phrase from the book of John has been circling through my mind, my heart and my prayers; I have found it to be particularly moving this Easter season. Both the sorrow and the beauty of it have opened up immensely as I have prayed.
It is vital that we look upon the One whom we have pierced.
It is of immense importance that we take in the reality of our sin; absorbed by the sinless Son of God. The brutal picture of death the cross presents to us displays the brutal truth of what sin actually does to a life. We must look upon the One whom we have pierced; we must watch his blood run from his side until all has been shed and water joins the stream of red beneath His hanging body.
It is of immense importance that we take in the reality of His love; scripture says that only HE could lay down His life, it could not be taken from Him. He gave it. No one made Him set aside the glories of heaven for the dirt of earth; no one made Him sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane as He wrestled with the truth of what He was facing (the righteous becoming sin); no one made Him carry His cross or hang upon it; no one made Him reach the point of crying out as the Father turned His face...HE chose all of that. He chose to be the sacrificial Lamb of God. We must look upon the One whom we have pierced; we must be floored, literally weak in the knees, to take in the picture of what it looks like to love.
It is of immense importance that we take in the reality of salvation; we are forgiven, our guilt and our shame placed on the sacrificial lamb. We must look upon the One whom we have pierced...as many times as we fall, we must look at the One who bled for us, we must set our eyes upon our Savior and KNOW we have been made righteous by His blood. May His mercy be magnified as we live without condemnation.
It is of immense importance that we take in the reality of redemption; when He gave up His spirit there, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom so that all could freely enter into the throne room of God--eternal relationship restored. We must look upon the One whom we have pierced and draw near to the Father.
But the One whom we pierced didn’t remain up on the cross; He was wrapped once again in cloths and this time instead of being laid in a manger, He was laid in a tomb; and on the third day, He rose from the dead, VICTORIOUS.
And it is vital that we continue to look upon the One whom we have pierced; this Lamb who is now seated upon the throne, the One to whom all blessing and honor and glory belong, the slain Lamb who stands before the multitudes in heaven, the shepherding Lamb who leads us to glory by the Father’s side; this Lamb who conquered.
We must look upon Him and believe. Because if our eyes end at the cross, our faith is in vain. They must follow the One whom we pierced into the glories of heaven.
Hosanna, King Jesus! What a Savior.
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