I do not believe this, I believe what it says "those who pierced him", That generation.
Who is the audience of John 19?
What is the audience of Zachariah 12, from which the prophecy statement came.
It cannot mean "that generation, exclusively."
For the Cross was on a public highway in which all who passed by could gawk (any nationality) at the spectacle.
Also, look at the prophecy of Zachariah. One cannot escape (typical of many prophetic statements concerning the messiah) the dual imagery.
10“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
11“In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
12“The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves;
13the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves;
14all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves.
The piercing took place on the Cross.
However, the state of mourning, and the Spirit of grace and supplication was not poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem at that time, nor at any time to date.
How does one know that it wasn't? Look at the specificity of the prophecy.
“The
land will mourn, every
family by itself; the family of
the house of David by itself and
their wives by themselves; the family of
the house of Nathan by itself and
their wives by themselves;
13the family of t
he house of Levi by itself and
their wives by themselves; the
family of the Shimeites by itself and
their wives by themselves; 14all the families that remain,
every family by itself and
their wives by themselves.
At no time in history has such mourning of all Jews taken place over the piercing of the Messiah. It hasn't happened. Notice how that the family mourns, but the wives have even a far greater mourning?
Why?
In my opinion, it is because the heritage of the Jews is maternal, that is the mother's heritage is what determines if one is a Jew, not the fathers. This is unlike the typical Gentile thinking. Modern Jews can be by either father or mother, however, historically it was through the mother. So, the mother's mourn because the family heritage held in their trust demands such mourning.
Therefore, (irregardless of my opinion, above) the statement cannot be rendered as YOU would ascribe to be time limited to that generation.
