Zechariah 12:10: “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 have pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”

December 23rd, 2021 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The way of salvation is explained here in the simplest of terms, and we see quite clearly that God Himself has already done all that is necessary. It is God’s will to freely give His grace, as He promised in Isaiah 44:3, “For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, / And floods on the dry ground; / I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, / And My blessing on your offspring.” God has provided the way of salvation for His creation.

Someday soon Israel will finally recognize their rejected and pierced Messiah, the crucified Savior of sinners, and come to the knowledge that their sins have been forgiven. God has left so many ways for them to discover who the Messiah is, from 100s of fulfilled prophecies to other symbols throughout Jewish traditions. For example, in a Jewish home at Passover, the head of the family places 3 pieces of matzoth bread on the table. The middle piece, which is called afikomen (Greek, meaning “that which is coming”), is broken in half, wrapped in cloth, and then hidden. At the end of the meal, it is brought back out and served as the last fragment of food to be eaten. This middle matzah, the broken piece, symbolizes the Passover Lamb. Conservative Jews have differing views on what the symbolism is, but for Messianic Jewish believers, it could not be any clearer. The 3 pieces of bread symbolize the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The broken one obviously represents Jesus Christ, and it is hidden in a cloth to remind us of the grave clothes His body was wrapped in.

The Apostle Paul told the Gentiles in Rome who were in danger of thinking God was done with the Jews:

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved. (Romans 11:25–26).

So we look forward to that day, in God’s timetable, when Jesus the Messiah is recognized by Israel, but until then we will look for opportunities to share His love with all people, no matter what their genetic heritage might be.

“LORD, give us eyes to see the opportunities You placed before us today to share Your love with a dying world.”