Jn 19:31-37
Whom they have pierced: The text alludes to the great lamentation in the book of Zechariah: “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition; and they shall look on him whom they have thrust through” (12:10). The lamentation, however, becomes an expression of conversion which brings the inhabitants of Jerusalem purification and deliverance. These come about through the intervention of an unnamed sufferer similar to the Servant of God about whom Isaiah prophesies (52:13-53). John sees this prophecy fulfilled in the piercing of Christ’s side on Calvary (vv 34, 37).
Whom they have pierced: The text alludes to the great lamentation in the book of Zechariah: “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition; and they shall look on him whom they have thrust through” (12:10). The lamentation, however, becomes an expression of conversion which brings the inhabitants of Jerusalem purification and deliverance. These come about through the intervention of an unnamed sufferer similar to the Servant of God about whom Isaiah prophesies (52:13-53). John sees this prophecy fulfilled in the piercing of Christ’s side on Calvary (vv 34, 37).
In effect, John refers here to the saving efficacy of the cross. All those who have participated in putting Jesus to death could repent for what they have done and recognize in their victim the source of their salvation. This brings to mind the story of the bronze serpent in the desert. As punishment for their rebellion, the Lord sends saraph serpents which bite the Israelites and many of them die. When they acknowledge their sin, the Lord orders Moses to make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and those who look at the bronze serpent recovers (Nm 21:4-9). Jesus himself alludes to this when he tells Nicodemus: “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (Jn 3:14-15). His death on the cross brings life to those who believe.