For Whom the Bell Tolls
One Year Bible: Dec. 28
Zechariah 12:1-13:9
The King is Coming: “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
In 1940, Ernest Hemingway wrote a novel about an American who was ordered to “take out” a bridge held by the Fascist army in the Spanish Civil War, which preceded World War II. While there, he fell in love and discovered disturbing things about war, life, and death. This message of the perils of war has also been turned into sad songs and poems.
War is a haunting human tragedy! There is a song by this very title that begins with the sound of “Bells Tolling.” It is an eerie reminder of the brevity of life.
Perhaps you may recall the famous phrase which originated in the 1623 poem by the Englishman John Donne, who wrote: “Send not to know for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.”
Today’s prophetic passage is like “Bells Tolling,” and it tells us of “Pierced Hands” and a “Smitten Shepherd.”
“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.” (12:10)
John 19:36-37 gives us the New Testament explanation of this O.T. prophecy. “These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken, and as another scripture says, ‘They will look on the one they have pierced.’.”
Why was Jesus pierced? Isaiah 53:5 foretells why Messiah will be “Pierced.”. “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed.”
Matthew 26:31 clarifies the words found in Zechariah 13:7-9 about the “Smitten Shepherd.” Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’”
It may be confusing when you look at Zechariah 13 because it talks about false prophets being “struck down,” and then we see Jesus taking this passage and applying it to himself.
It is no accident that Jesus was struck down. He was crucified with thieves and transgressors. He took the punishment that would go to the worst of sinners. Instead, it was heaped upon him! This punishment did not come from just the Romans.
Make no mistake, the religious leaders of that day struck him down as a “false prophet.” Not only that, He helped seal his own feat if you think about it…
Do you remember the passage in Luke 22:36 where Jesus said, “He said to them, ‘But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.”
Then, Jesus turns around and corrects Peter when he uses the sword to chop off the ear of Malchus in the Garden of Gethsemene. He says, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (Luke 22:50-53)
Jesus tells Peter and the disciples to sell their cloaks to buy a sword but then corrects him for using the sword to protect Jesus and save his life. Are you confused yet?
They had been looking to apprehend Jesus but could find no fault in him. In fact, they could find no fault in him until Jesus handed them “the weapon.” They needed to escalate this to another level. They had labeled him a “religious revolutionist,” but his revolution was not of their world. They had labeled him a “blasphemer,” but he kept raising people from the dead.
So, Jesus placed himself squarely in the circle with transgressors and then refused to open his mouth. Do we think for one minute that Jesus was born in a stable and placed in a manger just because God forgot to make a reservation for him at “The Inn”? There was “No Room for him in the Inn” because He was the Sacrificial Lamb.
The same God who gave the Israelites word after word picture has now given them the biggest word picture of all…In a stable. Lying in a manger. Shepherd of the world. And the sacrificial Lamb. Let’s not forget to reflect on one more unfathomable word picture.
Remember Abraham and Isaac. He climbed the mountain. Took his own knife and laid his own son on the altar. In the bushes, God provided a sacrifice. This sacrifice is the thread running through the entire Old Testament, and now Zechariah takes a minute to “Ring that Bell” and call the people to remember…
Do you know what the Englishman John Donne meant when he penned those famous words, “Send not to know for whom the bell tolls? It tolls for thee”!
Donne said, “Because we are all part of mankind, any person’s death is a loss to all of us.”
You see, “We will all die, and the bell will toll for each of us.”
Death Diminishes us, but Jesus’ Substitution TRANSLATES us!
Jesus said, “The thief (Satan) comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I came to GIVE LIFE-- Life in its fulness.” (John 10:10)
Sacrificial Lamb. Substitute for Mankind. Smitten Shepherd.
“FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS”...
