Today, piercing is as common as a “cold.” It used to be that women only pierced their ears, but now it’s a different story. And it seems to me that something very important has been lost in the message that piercing delivers.
Zech 12:10(a) … and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. KJV
There are many reasons why that soldier pierced Jesus’ side as He hung on the Cross. From his perspective it was to see if He was dead. If not, he was going to break His legs so that He could no longer push Himself up to breathe so that He would suffocate. But God had not ordained for that to happen. In Exodus 12 and Numbers 6 God prophesied that not one of Jesus’ bones would be broken. No, Jesus wan’t pierced so that He would die… He was pierced for you and for me.
The blood and water that poured out of Jesus’ side were indicative of coronary thrombosis… “a broken heart.” And with His broken heart, Jesus finalized the great mystery… the birth of the church; His bride. The water speaks of our baptism, our salvation, and His blood speaks of our sanctification. In that one stroke, in that one piercing of the side of the last Adam, the bride of Christ was born. The penalty of sin was removed by His blood and our enemy was overcome by the water; the Holy Spirit. The blood cleanses us and the Spirit empowers us, and they are both freely available because of the piercing proof of Jesus’ broken heart on the Cross.
As the bride of Christ, that is the message we need to carry to a lost and dying world. There is only one piercing that carries any meaning in life for the lost in this dying world, and it’s the piercing of the human heart with the love of Christ.
Maybe your ears have been pierced… but has your heart been pierced?