You know the cross of Jesus Christ is where people find new life. It is where their lives are entirely changed, transformed, renewed, and this change can be described as a resurrection from the dead. “When we were dead in our sins…God made us alive with Christ.” This is what a Christian is, a resurrected one. Matthew 27 tells us that when Jesus died on the cross many dead people came to life and went into Jerusalem. Can you imagine at the very moment Jesus said “It is finished” tombs burst open all over the country and dead people were given life and came out of those tombs. You can see many people who used to be dead, not walking along the road to Jerusalem. And surely this is designed to teach us about the power of the cross to give new life, resurrection life. And today one of the things we will notice is two people whose lives are entirely changed; both were secret disciples until the cross happened, and now they are have become transformed; the Bible calls this being “born again”, and Jesus says unless we are born again we will never see the kingdom of God. So keep a watch out for these two people and notice the transformation that has happened to them.  

So far in John 19 we’ve seen the Jews hand Jesus over to Pilate who declared Him innocent three times and then sentenced Him to be crucified. He was beaten and mocked and scourged and flogged and then crucified between two criminals. And last week we noted that He became like us in every way. On the cross He was naked, in darkness, and thirsty which describes the spiritual condition of every human being by birth.

Possibly you saw this past week where Prince William spent a freezing night, sleeping on a cardboard box out on the streets of London, because he wanted to visit the homeless and know what they were going through. And that was wonderful, I don’t know if a prince has ever done something like this. But one night by the prince pales in comparison to the life of King Jesus, Who didn’t just visit us but became like us in every way. Hebrews 2:17 says: “¹⁷ For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way…that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” In other words Jesus became naked in order to clothe us in His righteousness, He entered our darkness to rescue us out of darkness, and He became thirsty that He might quench us eternally. This would be like Prince William coming to where the homeless were and not just seeing how they live but putting on their torn clothes for the purpose of rescuing them out of their pit and taking them to his palace to live with him forever.

And having made full atonement He said “It is finished”. And we looked last week in Daniel 9 and saw that what Jesus finished was transgressions. That is, He made an end of sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness. He also made an end of Satan–crushed that serpent’s head, and He paid the price for our salvation. And then, having finished the work God gave Him to do, vs. 30 says He bowed His head, it doesn’t say “His head fell”, no, in a deliberate act of worship He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit.

Today what we see from this passage is that there were three prophecies fulfilled, there were two disciples changed and there was one Body prepared.  

Now there has been much written about what day of the week Jesus died on, and I’m not going to get into that, but rather say, according to vs. 31, the day after Jesus died was the Sabbath. In fact, it was a special Sabbath because it was Passover week, and that Sabbath began the first day of the feast of unleavened bread.

The Jews didn’t want the bodies left on the crosses overnight because it would defile the land and pollute their Sabbath day. So in an act of blatant hypocrisy vs. 31 says “they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.” Look at these hypocrites. They were so careful to observe the details of the law, while at the same time killing the Author of the Law; they were very concerned that the land not be defiled, but were not concerned at all about their own defilement from murdering the Son of God. And we have to watch out for legalism, and focusing on the minutia, so that while we are being careful to strain out the gnat, we swallow a camel.

Now as I said, these Jews were focused on the Law here, and I’d like to look with you at the Book of Deuteronomy chapter 21. This is the law that the Jews were following when they requested to have the bodies taken down before the Sabbath. Deuteronomy chapter 21 vs. 22: “²² If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, ²³ you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” So the Jews, in obedience to the Law, requested to break the legs of the criminals, to get those bodies off the cross, because those three people on those three crosses were all under God’s curse: two for their own sins, and one for ours. 

John 19:32 tells us about the soldiers who were assigned to break the legs. It says: “³² The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.”

Now this is extremely important, the soldiers noticed that Jesus was already dead. It was their business to make sure about these things, and they were sure He was dead, so they disobeyed a direct order from Pilate, and didn’t break Jesus’ legs. Why? Vs. 36 gives us the answer: ³⁶ These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” You see, if the soldiers broke Jesus’ legs, you could just take this Bible and throw it away, for not only would they have broken His legs, they would have broken God’s Word. And the Scripture can never be broken. These soldiers could not have broken His legs, the whole Roman army couldn’t have broken His legs.

Now John is quoting two Scriptures here. The first one is Psalm chapter 34 if you’d look there with me. Psalm 34 talks about a righteous man, and God’s protection over the righteous. It says in Psalm 34:19 “¹⁹ A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; ²⁰ he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.” And so look at that righteous man, Jesus, hanging on the cross: He has been brutally flogged, whipped so that His flesh was torn away from His bones, beaten on the face with a rod, nails pounded into His hands and feet and a Sword is about to be thrust into His side. Now an adult human has 206 bones, yet not one of His were broken, thereby perfectly fulfilling the prophecy.

 But there is another passage that is being quoted here, if you would turn with me to Exodus chapter 12. This is the story of the Passover, when God sent a destroying angel to judge the Egyptians. And He told the Israelites to kill a lamb and put its blood on their doorposts, and when the destroying angel saw the blood on a certain house, He passed over that home. So the Israelites were taught that they were saved from death by the blood of the Passover Lamb. And in Exodus chapter 12 God gave the regulations for the Passover. Starting in vs. 43 “⁴³ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover: “No foreigner is to eat of it. ⁴⁴ Any slave you have bought may eat of it after you have circumcised him, ⁴⁵ but a temporary resident and a hired worker may not eat of it.” ⁴⁶ “It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house.” There’s only safety in the house, under the blood, surrounded by the family.” You go outside the house of God, and away from the family of God there is no safety, we will be destroyed. And finally, “Do not break any of the bones.” And so for 4,000 years the Jews celebrated the Passover and were careful not to break any bones of the Passover lamb.

Isn’t it amazing to think of Jesus, hanging on the cross, and from up on the hill called Golgotha, Jesus could look out over Jerusalem, and He would see the smoke rising from the Passover sacrifice, because He died at the very hour when the Passover Lamb was being sacrificed. And as they were careful not to break the bones of the lamb, so they did not break the bones of Christ, our Passover Lamb Who was sacrificed for us. And the first prophecy was fulfilled.

But the soldiers in John chapter 19, not only disobeyed the command to break His legs, they also did something they were not commanded to do. You can see it in John 19 vs. 34. It says “³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.” Wait a minute, the soldiers had already found Jesus was dead, and they weren’t commanded to pierce Him with a spear, but notice vs. 37 “³⁷ and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.” This was the second prophecy they fulfilled.

Look with me at Zechariah chapter 12. Here Zechariah is seeing into the future, and He is seeing what is going to happen to the Messiah. And in vs. 10 he says “¹⁰ …They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him.” This soldier fulfilled the prophecy in every word. And again we can say that if the soldier had not pierced Jesus side, you could just throw this book away. So the soldiers didn’t do something they were commanded to do, and they did something they weren’t commanded to do, all so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

And as they pierced Jesus’ side, John 19:34 says it brought a sudden flow of blood and water. And this wasn’t just a little bit, the word here means “continuous flow” or “fountain.” The soldier opened up a fountain of flowing blood and water. And there are several things we can learn from this piercing of Jesus’ side. And some of the commentaries get really fancy, symbolic, metaphysical, in talking about the blood represented justification and the water sanctification, so that this fountain saves from wrath and makes me pure. And that is true, but there is one main thing we are supposed to learn from the blood and water flowing out of Jesus? Now I know this isn’t very deep, but what we are supposed to learn was that Jesus was really truly dead. I know it’s not very profound, but that’s the main point.

You see, later the enemies of Jesus would say “oh He just swooned, He fainted, He wasn’t really dead” thereby trying to do away with the doctrine of the resurrection. See if Jesus didn’t die then He didn’t rise from the dead, and if He didn’t rise from the dead we are still in our sins and we have no hope beyond the grave. But listen, that spear went right through the Pericardium, the sac of fluid around the heart and it went into the heart itself and brought out blood and water. Jesus said in Psalm 22 “my heart has melted like wax”. What the soldier said was true, Jesus was fully dead. That’s the first thing the blood and water teach us.

But there is something else that this flow of blood and water is supposed to teach us. That flow of blood and water is God testifying to us. So look at that fountain of flowing blood and water, and listen, do you hear it? God is testifying about something. Look with me at 1 John chapter 5 and let’s see what God is testifying to us through the flow of blood and water.

^“6 This is the one who came by water and blood–Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. ⁹ We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. ¹⁰ Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:6-12

This flow of blood and water is God’s testimony to us, that if we believe in the Son and if we have the Son, we have eternal life. In other words, the blood and water speak to us that Jesus died for us so that we can live with Him. This fountain speaks, it testifies to us if we will but listen. The blood of Abel cried out from the ground, crying for justice and revenge against the wrong-doer, but the blood of Jesus speaks a better word, testifying of forgiveness and pardon and eternal life for the wrong-doers who believe. So now the question is, having heard and seen God’s testimony, do you believe Him? No, I mean have you forsaken every other way of getting eternal life, turning from your own works and just trusted what God says is true?

Well we’ve seen two prophecies fulfilled: they didn’t break Jesus’ legs, and they pierced Him with a sword. And let’s look at the final one. In vs. 38-42 Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two wealthy men ask for the body of Jesus and bury Him in a new tomb in direct fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9 “⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” Three prophecies fulfilled: His legs were not broken, His side was pierced through, He was buried with the rich in His death. Three prophesies fulfilled.

Next, let’s notice these two disciples. Notice what we learn about Joseph in vs. 38. “He was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews.” Well what a change, he’s not in secret anymore. He’s now uniting himself openly with the crucified Christ, caring for him, proclaiming his love for Him in very specific ways; showing publicly that he is a true follower and that he loves his Lord. If you read Mark 15 it says Joseph went into Pilate “boldly”, courageously, fearlessly. What a change from fearful to fearless, from timid to bold. Maybe he was listening when Jesus said, “if you are ashamed of me here I will be ashamed of you there”, and he took it to heart, or maybe he watched as Jesus prayed for those people who were crucifying Him, showing love for His enemies, and he felt the earthquake and saw the dead people raised to life, and he couldn’t contain it anymore. He just had to repent and submit to Jesus as Lord. Whatever happened, this much we know; at the cross Joseph was transformed, the old had gone, the new had come.

And how about Nicodemus? Notice in vs. 39 that Nicodemus had earlier come to Jesus by night, in secret, under cover of darkness. But not anymore. He’s now in the light of day! Look at the contrast between John 3 and John 19. In John 3 Nicodemus crept into the Lord’s presence under cover of night, and here, where he is not ashamed to openly show himself as one who loved the crucified Savior, who would give of his wealth to take care of His body! What a witness to the power of the Redeemer’s death to change and transform lives.

And how about us? Do we openly associate ourselves with the crucified and risen Savior? At work what do people know you for? Do they know that you are a Christian or are you under cover? When you pray publicly do you kind of wipe your brow and then start eating? Are you maybe a secret disciple for fear of man, coming to Him only when nobody can see you? Why not join the ranks of the bold Joseph and Nicodemus who were not ashamed of their Savior. Somehow the death of Jesus reached their heart and changed their lives. How about you? Can you honestly say that your life is changed through the cross? Because true Christianity is powerful and life-transforming.

And so we’ve seen 3 prophecies fulfilled, 2 disciples transformed, and now look at the 1 body prepared. It says in vs. 39 that “³⁹ …Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. ⁴⁰ Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.” They were preparing His body for buriel. And notice what day it was that they were preparing His body, in vs. 42 it was “the Jewish day of Preparation”. The  Jewish Day of Preparation was when leaven was removed from the houses, symbolizing the removing of sin. And here is Jesus, covered in spiritual leaven being removed from the house of God. The leaven was removed on the day of Preparation.

And I do want us to notice that their service done for Christ has never been forgotten. The names of these two are engraved in the Bible, and the weight of the spices that Nicodemus brought is even recorded. Listen, service done to Christ, or in His name, is never forgotten by God. “¹⁰ God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them” (Hebrews 6:10).  

And I just want to close by asking us to look at 2 Scriptures together that solidify what really happened here. The first one is Ephesians chapter 5. Paul is explaining how husbands and wives are to live together. And in vs. 31 he quotes Genesis 2: “³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” ³² This is a profound mystery–but I am talking about Christ and the church.” He’s referring to Adam and Eve, how Adam was put into a deep sleep and God opened up his side and brought Eve out of Adam’s rib. He’s teaching that man and wife are of the same body, they are one flesh. Eve was made of that which came out of Adam’s side. But the mystery is that this whole relationship between Adam and Eve is a picture of Jesus and us, the bride of Christ. And we are made His bride through blood and water, through forgiveness and cleansing.

Second Scripture. Please look at Zechariah chapter 12. Here is the prophecy that Jesus would be pierced, but I want us to notice the results, the effects of His being pierced. Zechariah 12:10 says ¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” But notice the effects. “¹ “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” Right after Jesus was pierced there would be a cleansing fountain opened. This fountain would wash sinners. The defiled could be cleansed. All the Naaman’s who have the leprosy of sin can dunk here and be perfectly clean. And so there is Jesus who was pierced for our transgressions, and what comes out of His side is a fountain of cleansing. And the way we get clean is just come to where the fountain is, and be washed.

So look at Him here on the cross, He died just like He lived, pouring out His very life for others. Here is the Last Adam, put into a deep sleep and His side is opened that He might have a bride. Here is the Rock that was struck, that the thirsty might drink of living water. Here is the fountain that was opened for sin and uncleanness. Here is the Rock of ages, cleft for me, and what pours out of the Rock saves from wrath and makes us pure.

So he died and was buried in a new tomb. In His birth He came from a virgin womb and in His death He is laid in a virgin tomb, showing that He was separate from sinners from His birth to His death.

 

This is a season when the whole world is remembering the birth of the Lord Jesus, and celebrating it by giving gifts. I like this time of the year, as the world in some ways must acknowledge the birth of a baby boy who changed the world. And so it’s a wonderful season to consider the Lord of glory, the God of all the universe, the Creator of everything being born to a virgin and laid in a manger: pure, harmless, undefiled. But you know what? In general most people would rather leave Jesus in the cradle, an innocent, helpless child, rather than acknowledge that the new born baby lying in a manger was born to die on the cross for their sins. You see, while the world’s focus is on the birth of the Lord Jesus, the Bible’s focus is on His death, and all that He accomplished for us at the cross. In fact, the birth of Christ is described in only two of the four Gospels, but when it comes to His death on a cross that is recorded in all four gospels. Even at His birth there were signs pointing forward to His death. An old man, Simeon held the precious child in His arms and said to Mary, “a sword will pierce your heart too. Also.” What Simeon, you mean Jesus is going to be pierced in His heart? And so right at His birth is a forecast of His death.

And it just so happens that on the very week when others focus on the birth of Jesus, we have come in our study of the Book of John, to the death of Jesus. This is not a coincidence, this is the divine timing of Almighty God Who is in control of even how we study His Word.

Now what we’ve seen up to today in John chapter 19 is that Jesus has been led by the Jews to Pilate, the Roman governor. Pilate interviewed him and stated 3 times that Jesus was innocent, and then to appease the Jews he had Jesus beaten. The Roman soldiers put a crown of thorns on Him, mocked Him, and they struck Him in the face with a rod, and then Pilate brought Jesus out, covered in blood, beaten very badly and said to the Jews, “behold the Man”. But that only increased the blood-thirsty appetite of the Jews who then demanded Jesus death, and so Pilate, having declared Jesus innocent, handed Him over to be crucified. The soldiers took charge of Jesus and led Him down the Via Dolorosa out the East Gate of Jerusalem, and up to a hill called Golgotha, the place of the Skull. And there they crucified Jesus, which means they laid Him down on a wooden cross bar and pounded nails into His hands and feet, and raised up that cross and sunk it down into the socket.

And now the soldiers have taken Jesus’ clothing off of Him, He is stark naked, and vss. 23-24 tell us they gambled for His clothing. And why did this happen?

As we have seen many times, everything that Jesus did and everything that happened to Jesus, was in order to fulfill the Scriptures. And as we have been getting closer to His death more and more things are happening in order to fulfill the Scriptures. Notice the middle of vs. 24: “This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled” and look at vs. 28 ²⁸ Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” And then look at vs. 36 ³⁶ These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled” and finally vs. 37 “and as another Scripture says…” In other words, God wrote it, God would fulfill it! He told the end from the beginning. Isaiah 46:10 “¹⁰ I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”  And so we marvel at the absolute sovereignty of God over all people and all events at all times. Everything that happened in John chapter 19 happened to fulfill God’s plan, right down to the smallest detail.

So we can learn from this that God Himself is the Master of this whole situation, directing every detail of it. We can also notice that no word of God can fail. A thousand years before hand it had been predicted that these soldiers would divide the Savior’s clothes among them, and cast lots for His coat, and this was literally fulfilled to the very letter. You can trust every Word in this Book.

Well let’s notice next who is near the cross as Jesus is dying. Verse 25 says “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” Those women near the cross got to hear words from Jesus that the crowd didn’t. Jesus preached 7 sermons from the cross, and they got to hear them. They got to see the love in Jesus’ eyes and hear the compassion in His heart that others didn’t. Let’s learn from this: those closest to the cross always hear and experience things that the crowd doesn’t. Isn’t this an invitation from God, to come to the cross. May our prayer each day be:

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadows o’er me.

So the first woman there is Mary, Jesus’ mother. Imagine you are Jesus’ mother, standing at the foot of the cross of the son you gave birth to. You’ve watched as the soldiers beat Him, you’ve seen them pound nails into His hands and feet, and you’re about to see Him die and the soldiers will plunge a sword right into His heart. Now tell me, is that not a sword to your own heart too? When they pierce Him are you not pierced also? Now turn with me to Luke chapter 2, and let’s notice what the old man Simeon said, as he was holding baby Jesus. “³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” So notice the prophecy, Jesus would bring down the prideful people (Pharisees, Experts in the Law, etc), and He would lift up the humble (tax collectors, demon possessed, transgressors), but then He would die and be pierced with a sword. And when He was pierced with a sword, Mary’s soul would be pierced also. And all of that is fulfilled right here in John 19 as Mary stands near the cross of Jesus, a sword piercing her heart.

And notice what Jesus said right at this time. Look at vs. 26: “²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” Now understand what is going on here: right now, Jesus is doing the most important work He has ever done—He is buying back the world from the control of Satan. He is also under a burden which is unspeakable, the burden of carrying our sin, He is right now the object of Satan’s hatred, Satan is bruising His heel, Jesus is drinking the awful cup of God’s wrath and draining it dry, and yet His thoughts are for other people. He provides a home for His mother and a mother for His disciple. When you and I are hurting and going through a lot in our lives we tend to become self-centered, not Jesus. No He prays to forgive His crucifiers, He is concerned about the thief next to Him, He makes arrangements for His mother and His disciple.

And vs. 28 says ²⁸ Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.” How amazing to see the Maker of heaven and earth with parched lips; the Lord of glory in need of a drink! He’s thirsty. He’s thirsty because the beatings and the crucifixion have exhausted Him, and it’s now the heat of the day, and He has lost a lot of blood. Of course He’s thirsty.

But there’s another reason why He’s thirsty. The Bible tells us that Jesus took our place, that He entered into our condition, that He was made in all things like His brothers. Us. See the reality is that the whole human race is born thirsty. We have unmet cravings, unsatisfied longings; deep yearnings of the heart that are not met. Like the Israelites in the wilderness of sin who craved water, all of humanity is craving to have their spiritual thirst satisfied.  

Look with me at John chapter 4. And here Jesus begins to speak with a woman at a well. And they begin to talk about that well, and the water in it, and Jesus makes an interesting statement in vss. 13-14 “¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Well yes, of course anyone who drinks physical water will thirst again, but that’s not what Jesus means. He tells her what He means in vss. 16-18: ¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” ¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” Well what does drinking water and being thirsty again have to do with her having 5 husbands and 1 live in boyfriend? Putting the two together you see that the lady kept drinking of relationships, one right after another and found no satisfaction. She kept looking to men to satisfy her, to quench her thirst, saying “oh this man will meet my needs” and when he doesn’t you say “oh this next man really loves me, he’s the one to satisfy all my desires” and he doesn’t either, and so you keep thirsting and keep looking. That’s spiritual thirst.

And this is the basic condition of the whole human race, as people turn to this and that to fulfill their longings and quench their cravings. And we could just label this “thirst” as discontentment, and longing for something more, something better. If we’re discontent with our present situation and we want something different, that simply tells us that we are thirsty. And Jesus took our place on the cross. He took our place, and took our sin and said “I thirst.” His lips were parched because our lives were parched.

And so look at Jesus right now and you will see the condition of the human race. He is hanging there naked under the wrath of God. As Adam found out sin is equated with nakedness and exposes us to God’s wrath. Secondly, He has just endured 3 hours of darkness, and the Bible says all humans are born into the kingdom of darkness. He is captive, His hands and feet nailed to a cross, as all humans are born in bondage, in captivity. And He is thirsting, because all humans are born in sin and sin causes thirst.

But notice He said, “it is finished.” Not “I am finished” but it is finished. He had fully entered our condition, becoming like us in all things, and now He is going to die in order to change all of that. He had become naked in order to clothe us. He had entered darkness in order to rescue us. He had became thirsty so that we could drink the water of life and not thirst anymore. He had become captive in order liberate us from bondage. And it was all finished now.

But more than that, when He said “it is finished” He meant that He satisfied all the requirements of the Law, for us. The Law required obedience, and Jesus was obedient unto death, so He purchased all the blessings of the Law for us. But the Law also required death for any sinner, and so Jesus took that curse of the Law upon Himself and died in our place. He purchased the blessings of the Law for us and He took the curse of the Law away from us, so it was finished.

But more than that, He drank up all of God’s wrath against sin. Because God hates sin He must punish it, and when you look at the cross you see God punishing His own Son in our place. When Jesus said “it is finished” you could say that all of God’s hatred toward believing sinners was finished.

But more than all this, I want us to see what was really finished. If you would turn with me to the Book of Daniel, chapter 9. Here Daniel is having a vision of the last days, and Daniel is told what needs to be done and is even given a time-line to do it. Notice Daniel 9 vs. 24: “²⁴ “Seventy ’sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.” Now if you study out the timeline of this prophecy, you will see that this timeline ends the very year that Jesus’ died. When Jesus said “It is finished” He had finished our transgressions, He had put an end to our sin, He had atoned for our wickedness, He had brought in everlasting righteousness, He had sealed up vision and prophecy because He was now the revelation of God to mankind and He anointed the most Holy place with His own blood.

But more than all this, through Jesus death He completely reconciled God to man. If any person comes to God confessing His sins and turning away from them, they are accepted and welcomed and pardoned and forgiven because Jesus finished the job of reconciliation when He died on the cross. But also, He paid the ransom price in full. Mankind is described in the Bible as being taken captive to sin and to Satan and a price had to be paid for our freedom. At the cross the ransom of mankind was finished. Israel longed for this. “Oh come, oh come Immanuel, and ransom captive Israel.” It is finished. You are free. The price has been paid and you are released. In fact the words “it is finished” were found in the 1^st century on some tax receipts indicating “paid in full.”

But more than all this, these words “it is finished” reminds us that God did the work of creation in 6 days and the Bible says “it was finished” and then God rested on the seventh day. And on the cross Jesus is doing the work of salvation, creating the new man in true holiness and righteousness, and when His work was done He said “It is finished” and guess what the next day was? Sabbath. Vs. 31 tells us it was Sabbath. Jesus finished His work and then brought in an eternal Sabbath of rest for all who believe in Him.

Can you imagine standing at that cross and hearing Jesus declare “It is finished”? I mean this was not the despairing cry of a helpless martyr, this was a cry of victory. It was not the last gasp of a worn-out life. No, it was the declaration that all that Jesus came to do was now done; everything necessary to put away the sins of His people had been done, all that was required to make us acceptable to God was now finished, and all that was needed to secure for them an eternal inheritance had all been completed. All the culmination of history and all the prophecies of the Old Testament were completed. It is finished! Sin is finished. Satan is finished. Sorrow and sickness are finished, death is destroyed and eternal life is purchased.

Now the daylight flees
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the victory cry.

Yes in vs. 30 it says “He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit.” It doesn’t say “His head fell”, No, this was an act of worship, Jesus bowed His head in worship. And He didn’t have His life taken from Him, notice it says He “gave up His own Spirit.” Earlier He said, “¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” John 10:17-18

And now, the Last Adam is put into a deep sleep and had His side opened that He might have us for a bride. Now the Passover Lamb died to save us from death and liberate us from bondage. Now the Rock had been struck and had poured out His life unto death so that anyone who is thirsty can drink of the wells of salvation. Now the serpent had been lifted up for the healing of all who have the venom of sin in them. Now the Lion had been killed and out of His death comes the sweet honey of forgiveness and eternal life. The wood of the cross had now been thrown into the waters of humanity so that you and I, who were sunk and lost in sin, would be found and raised and restored by the power of that cross. It was now all completed, at Calvary.

And I want to close now with this thought. How is it that we can receive all the benefits of what Jesus accomplished at His death? Jesus said, “If anyone wants to come after Me, He must deny Himself, take up His cross and follow Me.” There is only one way, and that is through turning from our sin in brokenness, and leaving all of our own self-righteousness and religion behind, and just go to Jesus as a helpless sinner in need of a powerful Savior. Jesus said that at the judgment many would say “Lord, Lord” who are not saved.  

And I’m going to close with just a few contrasts: at His birth angles were singing and there was great joy, at His death there was no singing, only deep agony and sorrow. At His birth wise men gave Him gifts, at His death foolish men stripped Him of everything. At His birth He was laid in a manger, at His death He was laid in a tomb. At His birth He was given life, at His death, we are given new life. If we accept the baby Jesus, sweet and in a manger, we must also accept the crucified Savior.  

Years I spent in vanity and pride, Caring not my Lord was crucified, Knowing not it was for me He died…..On Calvary. Mercy there was great, and grace was free; Pardon there was multiplied to me; There my burdened soul found liberty, At Calvary.

 

John 19: 16-24 Today we want to look at where Jesus was crucified, with whom Jesus was crucified, and why Jesus was crucified. Where, with whom and why.

As an introduction, if you have ever been to a symphony or heard an orchestra play, you know that the crescendo is the high point of the song. Usually the song starts with just a few instruments, and then a few more are added, becoming more and more intense, building anticipation, until finally every instrument in the orchestra is at full volume, and the drums are beating in unison, and the sound is full and rich and deep…it has reached the crescendo, the whole point of the song, the point that makes you want to stand up and shout.

Well since the beginning of time, the universe has been pointing forward to something. God created the world and Adam and Eve and they would have lived forever, but the devil came in the form of a serpent and tempted them and they sinned and a curse came over the world, and we all became subject to death. Well right after they sinned God in His mercy gave them a promise that a descendant of the Woman would crush the head of that serpent. And so from that point on, they began looking forward to Someone Who would come and destroy the devil. And then down through history more promises were added about the one Who would come and the work He would do: promises that He would right all wrongs, and forgive all sins, and liberate all people, and heal all diseases, and remove the curse from the land, and would be King over the whole world. And with each generation the anticipation built. Who is He? How would He destroy the devil? How would He forgive all sins? How would He remove the curse? How would He free all people? How would He become King over the whole world?

And in John chapter 19 the crescendo has arrived. All the promises and all the prophecies, and all of human history has reached its fulfillment. Well what is the crescendo? What is it that is so full and rich and deep, that makes you want to stand up and shout? The crescendo is that the King has been hung on a Roman cross, right between two thieves, and He has bowed His head and died. What kind of a crescendo is this?

This is how the world is forgiven of sin, how the devil is destroyed, how the curse is removed, how people are set free, and how Jesus Christ set up His Kingdom. Today and next week we have reached the crescendo of our study in the Book of John, the climax of the whole Bible and all of human history. Let’s pray before we begin:

Let’s notice vss. 16-17: ¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. ¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). John 19:16-17

Jesus had just been beaten, scourged, flogged, crowned with thorns and hit on the face with a rod. Now the soldiers placed a wooden cross on His shoulders, and He carries that cross along the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Suffering. This route would take Him from the city of Jerusalem, out through the Lion’s Gate to the East (this gate was said to be a very narrow gate), toward a hill which in Hebrews is called Golgotha, in Latin Mt. Calvary. There He would be crucified. And it is highly significant, very important that He would die there.

Consider with me why Jesus had to go outside the city and to this specific place called Golgotha. Turn with me in your Bibles, if you would, to Hebrews chapter 13, and here the writer is going to describe the sacrifices of the Old Testament. What did the High Priest do with the blood and the bodies of the sacrificial animals? In vs. 9 he writes:

¹¹ The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. ¹² And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.

And so the High Priest took the blood of the sacrifices into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, but He took the bodies of the sacrifice outside of the camp, away from the people. These bodies symbolically had the sins of the nation on them, they represented impurity and defilement, sin and shame, and so they were taken outside the camp, symbolizing the removing of sin from the people. In essence, they were taking out the trash, removing the sin from camp, thereby making the people holy.

And in that same way we can see the soldiers leading Jesus down the Via Dolorosa, leading Him outside the gates of Jerusalem; He’s being treated as so much trash; the Pure and Holy, Spotless Lamb being taken out of the city like garbage, because He is actually, not symbolically but actually taking away our sin. The result is “that we might be holy in His sight, without blemish, and free from all accusation” (Colossians 1:22). Hallelujah.

But there is another reason why Jesus went outside Jerusalem to die. He had to get to Golgotha. Golgotha means “the place of the skull”, because if you look at this hill it has the exact features of a skull. The word literally means “a circle” like a skull. It is the place of death. Now all of the church fathers taught that this is the very place where Adam died. The first Adam died here because of his sin, the last Adam died here because of our sin. The first Adam received the wages of his sin, which is death; the Last Adam paid the wages of our sin and gave us life. The first Adam died here in total defeat, having lost it all; the Last Adam died here in glorious victory, having won it all.

But let’s look at why Jesus died in this very place! Turn with me to Joshua chapter 5. In this chapter all of the people who were wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years have died, and now their children are going to inherit the promised land. But before they do, Joshua has to do something, he has to circumcise all the males. Look at vs. 7: “⁷ So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. ⁸ And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. ⁹ Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. Joshua 5:5-9

See the name Gilgal means “circle” and sounds like “to roll away”, and that is where God “rolled away the reproach (or the shame) of Egypt” from them. What a wonderful place, this Gilgal. Now I’m about to speculate, so stop taking notes. A young man asks a question, “Joshua, why were we circumcised here?” Joshua answers, “Oh my son, that’s a picture of what God has done for us, He has cut off our past, He has rolled away our sin and disgrace.” “Wow, Joshua, I’m going to remember what happened at Gilgal for the rest of my life, and thank God for it.”

The reality is that what was started at Gilgal was finished at Golgotha; geographically, they are one and the same place. If you look in your minds eye and you see the cross where Jesus is dying, you will see that He is dying to cut off our sin, to roll away our disgrace, to remove the guilt and slavery of our past. Listen to Colossians 2:11: “¹¹ In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ…” And we should remember what happened at Golgotha for the rest of our lives, and praise God and thank Him for it! So why did Jesus die at Golgotha? To take away our sin, and to roll away our disgrace.

But also, because Golgotha was the very place where Isaac was taken to be a sacrifice. You remember that Isaac was under the death sentence for 3 days as they walked to a very specific mountain that God showed them. And when they get there we see the father putting the wood of the sacrifice on his beloved son and Isaac then walks the via dolorosa carrying the wood of the altar on his back. Of course Jesus had to die here too, to fulfill the Scriptures.

And finally, Golgotha was the place where King Solomon built the first temple. The first temple was founded on the very place where shame and reproach were rolled away; even as today the Last temple, the living temple is founded on forgiveness and the removal of sin.

So Jesus was taken to Golgotha and we notice in John 19 vs. 18 that He was crucified: “¹⁸ Here they crucified him, and with him two others–one on each side and Jesus in the middle.” Now crucifixion was reserved for the worst of criminals; it was where they would take this murderer or thief and they would strip him naked, lay him out flat on a cross board, and they would pound nails through His hands and feet into the board, and then they would raise the wood up and drop it into a socket. Signs were put up on the cross indicating the crimes they had committed, and the condemned would die an agonizingly slow death by suffocation, gradually becoming too exhausted to pull himself up by the nails in his hands, or push himself up on the nail in his feet, so as to be able to take a deep breath of air. It would usually take anywhere from 24-48 hours for them to die. Crucifixion was a repulsive, demeaning form of execution, and it was saved for the lowest dregs of society.   

As Luke tells us Jesus was put right in the middle of two criminals, as if He were one of them, as if He were the worst of them. And so we have the sinless Son of Man, the One who never did any wrong hanging right between two evildoers. But that’s the way He lived His life; He lived His life hanging around with sinners, and in His death He hung with sinners. In His life He said, “I’ve not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” And there He is in death, calling yet another sinner to repentance and taking him to paradise.

Turn with me to Isaiah 53 because Isaiah 53 tells us exactly why Jesus died in the middle of two criminals. Start in the middle of verse 12: It says “^12…he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.” You could stand there and look up at Golgotha and count “1 criminal, 2 criminals, 3 criminals”. Jesus was counted with them. Why? “For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” He was “numbered with the transgressors…made intercession for the transgressors.” That’s what He is doing there, He is coming right between sinners and God and He is interceding for them, “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing. Father, my life for their lives. Father, take me let them go!” He died with them because He died for them and interceded for them.

Oh how my heart broke this past week to read on Tiger Woods’ website, “I have committed great transgressions.” Everything within me longed to say to Tiger Woods, “there is Someone Who liked to hang around with Transgressors, and He was called a Lion, Tiger, and the Lion paid for your transgressions Tiger, and He forgives your sin and makes you brand new, Tiger.

There is a beautiful foreshadow of this in the Old Testament. Think for a moment of Joseph, who was greatly loved by his father but hated by his brothers. Joseph was sent on a mission of mercy to check on them, but when his brothers saw him coming they plotted to take his life. They sold him into the hands of Gentiles for pieces of silver. And then he was falsely accused, thrown into jail, and he was put right between two criminals. Joseph was numbered with the transgressors, counted as if he had done something wrong, even though he was innocent. And to one of these prisoners he brought a message of life, to the other death. Shortly thereafter he was raised up and seated at the right hand of Pharaoh where he became savior to all who came to him, literally saving the very lives of those who were starving. Yes, Joseph here is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who was numbered with the transgressors.

So where He was crucified: outside Jerusalem, on the hill called Golgotha. With whom He was crucified: two criminals, as He came to save sinners. And finally, why was He crucified? Look at vs. 19:

¹⁹ Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. ²¹ The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” ²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

Why did He die? He died to be the Savior of all nations. The sign above His head was a miniature Bible, written in the known languages of the day, all pointing to Jesus as the King. Not just the King of the Jews, but the King of all nations. In Numbers 24, Baalam said “the scepter will rise out of Israel” and there He is, King Jesus, rising out of Israel. The King Who would have the government of the world on His shoulders, first had the sin of the world on His shoulders, and He is doing exactly what Caiaphas has predicted: dying for the good of the people.

But notice that this sign is in 3 different languages, verse 20 says “²⁰ Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek.” So people from different countries and languages all came together to read this miniature Bible. Here, at the cross, languages come together around King Jesus. I mean at the Tower of Babel all languages were confused and people were divided and there were splits. But here people gathered together, reading the Word that points to the King, as He died on the cross. And doesn’t this give us a picture of a miniature church: that the church is to be unified around the cross, as we follow the Christ? Listen to Romans 15:5 “⁵May God…give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus.”

And finally, notice that this sign was written in Aramaic and Latin and Greek, the known languages of the day, the languages of the Jews and the Greeks and the Romans, and please remember that the Jews were into the revelation of God, they were special because they had the words of God. And the Greeks were all into wisdom and knowledge, and the Romans were all into power. Roman strength. And here is what this miniature Bible told them all. Jews, if you’re looking for God’s revelation, God’s Word, look no farther, there He is. He is the end of the Law for righteousness. Greeks, you who look for wisdom, “in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” And Romans, “Here is the power of God.” “¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).  In other words, this is a Savior for all nations, whatever anybody is looking for, it’s all in Jesus, He’s the revelation of God, the wisdom of God and the power of God.

And so Jesus walked the via Dolorosa, and went outside the city gates and died on Golgotha to make the people holy through His blood.  So what can we learn and apply from this story? Three things:

First of all, Jesus went outside the city, and went straight to the cross. And we are called to do the exact same thing, in order to be saved. In other words, we leave all of our sin and all of our past and all of our religion behind and just go to Jesus. Look with me again at Hebrews 13. This is the passage that said why Jesus went outside the city gates. Notice vs. 13. 13:13: “¹³ Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore” (Hebrews 13:13).  In other words, we are to go outside the camp of rules-based religion, and legalism and ceremonialism behind, and just go to Jesus Who is Mighty to save. True salvation is nothing less than a person leaving his entire past life behind, all of his sin and all of his religion; proceeding along a way of suffering, to a place of death to ourselves, and we just come to Jesus to be saved by His blood. Turn with me if you would to Matthew chapter 7, and let’s notice the requirements to be saved:

^“13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus said the gate of salvation is narrow, meaning it is constricted, it is a tight squeeze. We cannot take our pride, our self-righteousnesess, cannot take our religion in with us. Salvation is for us a Via Dolorosa, a way of suffering, a way of dying to our past life, of leaving behind all of that. Salvation for us is when we just go to a Person, Jesus, to be made holy by His blood.

Secondly, in life and in death, Jesus was the friend of sinners. He spent His entire life with sinners. He lived in the midst of sinners and He died in the midst of sinners. Thereby giving us a model of living in this world, among the impure and defiled, always seeking to win somebody to Jesus. Jesus told Peter, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” That’s one of the ways we know if we’re following Jesus, is we’re fishing for men. That’s what He was doing as He hung between two criminals, He was fishing for men, and He caught millions of us. If you are a believer, you are to live your life right in the center of sinners, pleading with God to turn them from the lies they are believing and the sin they’re enjoying, and convert them to Jesus the Truth.

Finally, the sign above Jesus head was read by all. All people could read Who He was. The King of the Jews. The King of all nations. Believers are to be known and read by everybody. Look at 2 Corinthians 3: “² You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.” Everybody in every language ought to be able to read you. “³ You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone” (not on a sign above our heads, not on a bumper sticker or a button on our chest) but on tablets of human hearts.” Can everybody read your heart as clearly as they could read that sign?

God has impressed upon me to memorize this verse this week, will you join me?

¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11

One of the most prominent character traits of our Lord Jesus was zeal. Other words that describe His life and death are passion, fervor, earnestness! When Jesus cleansed the temple He did it because “zeal for God’s house consumed” Him (John 2:17). It had literally “eaten Him up” (see Psalm 69:9 KJV). This word “zeal” means “red hot devotion” or “the passion of one’s life” or “earnest dedication.”

And we might view the cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus ministry as a picture of the cleansing of the temple at the end of His ministry. As He died on the cross He did so because zeal for God’s house (“we are God’s temple”—Hebrews 3:6 and Ephesians 2:21) had entirely consumed Him. He was “red hot earnest” to save sinners, to cleanse us from sin, to secure our pardon to purchase our eternal life.

So if we want to be like Jesus Christ one trait that we must develop is that of earnestness, zeal, or “spiritual fervor.” And the way to do that is to be continually repenting of sin, and to be continually seeking the Lord. If we will consciously turn from all known sin (that which douses the fire of God in us) and purposefully seek the Lord, coming to love our Bibles and our prayer closets, God will give us an earnestness to win souls to the Lord just as Jesus had.

¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11

Will you memorize this verse with me this week?

There has always been a danger, all down through history, of the church losing her appetite for Jesus Christ and His gospel. We must always be on guard against discontentment with Jesus, with growing longings and desires for other food, and seek to keep our soul in a state of constant hunger for Him. May we find each day that a fresh touch from Jesus only increases our appetite for Him and makes us hungrier to pursue more of Him, until our appetites become insatiable. 

 

There is a warning of what happens when the church loses her thankfulness for Christ and begins to long for other things, and we find that warning in the Book of Numbers chapter 11:

 

⁴ The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! ⁵ We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost–also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. ⁶ But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” Numbers 11:4-6

Notice they “began to crave other food” which led to their saying “if only we had meat to eat”, recalling all the other food they had while in slavery, and finally their declaration that they “lost their appetite” for manna.

 

Now this would not be so shocking, (after all it is indeed difficult to eat the same physical food over and over) if it weren’t for the fact that manna is said to be a physical representation of spiritual food—the Lord Jesus. Jesus said in John chapter 6:

 

⁴⁹ Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. ⁵⁰ But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:49-51

When the Israelites “lost their appetite” for manna it was a picture of the church becoming weary of Christ, becoming discontent with the gospel and instead desiring the food of the world, the food of slavery. This is a dangerous place to be as it will eventually lead to emptiness of heart and soul, as we begin to feed on the trash of the world. The rest of the story in Numbers chapter 11 shows that God granted them request for other food, filling their bellies, but sending emptiness to their hearts:

 

Psalms 106:14-15 (KJV)
¹⁴ But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
¹⁵ And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

May we be cautious not to lose appetite for our Lord Jesus and His precious gospel, but rather may we “open wide our mouths” that God would fill them (Psalm 81:10). We need to guard our ways carefully, to watch our intake and see if we are feeding on the True Bread of Life, or if we are beginning to lose appetite for Him and are instead filling ourselves with the world’s garbage.

 

Mary “chose the better part” when she simply sat at Jesus’ feet hearing His Word, worshipping her Lord, just fellowshipping with Him. May we take time today, and every day, to be still, to open our Bibles, to seek the face of Jesus, to feast on His Word, and to delight in the spiritual food we have in Him.

John 19: 1-15 All religions in the world have a common goal, and that is to elevate man to a higher plane of existence, or to make people better. Religions of the world usually meet in buildings with beautiful stained-glass, have colorful posters and fine art, so as to promote light and beauty and well-being. All religions have a common theme, which is to do good works (however they define “good”), to heal the problems of the mankind, and to live rightly so that we can live eternally. All religions except Christianity, that is. Christianity has at its very heart a beaten, bloodied, bruised and broken Savior, Whose wounds are said to heal the sin of mankind, and whose death guarantees the eternal life of all who believe. Oh this is entirely different from any other religion in the world. And today the focus of our passage is on this very difference, this unique aspect of Christianity; the beating, torturing and flogging of Jesus Christ.

And I want us to notice that while John has left out some of the details of Jesus life (such as Pilate sending Jesus to Herod) when it comes to the sufferings and the death of Jesus, John goes into detail. It’s as if he has decided to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified, as if John had learned to glory in the sufferings of the cross.

Now some sections of Scripture are graphic and difficult to read, and this is one of them. It’s like watching someone you love get beaten to death. And yet John focuses on the details of Christ’s humiliation, His shame, and His sufferings for a reason, and therefore we are going to take this one week in our study of John to look at the sufferings of Jesus in detail. Let’s pray.

Now as a backdrop to this chapter, it’s important that we remember the amazing sovereignty of God in all the events in John chapter 19. Listen to Isaiah 53:10 “it was the Lords’ will to crush Him, and cause Him to suffer”. So John chapter 19 simply shows that it was God’s plan from all eternity to “²¹ make Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). It’s important that we remember that as we read.

So let’s look at the first 3 verses: “¹ Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. ² The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe ³ and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face.”

And so, after declaring Jesus innocent 3 times, Pilate had Him brutally punished and openly shamed. And we know from history that Roman floggings were very severe. The victim was stripped and His hands were tied to a post and then 3 men would take turns beating Him. And while the Jews limited their beatings to 39, thinking that 40 could kill someone, the Romans had no such limitations; the beatings would continue literally until the torturers themselves were exhausted, or the victim died. The whip they used had jagged pieces of bone or metal attached to the end, so the body would be so torn and lacerated that the muscles, bones, veins, and even internal organs were exposed, the skin being literally ripped off the body in rows. This is why Jesus said through David, in Psalm 22, “I can count all my bones”. His flesh had been torn from His body. When someone was beaten in this way His back would look like a farmer’s field that had ploughed row upon row, because there were stripes up and down the back.

And then notice that they not only beat Him they mocked Him. They used Him for entertainment, trying to make a fool out of Him. “Oh, you’re a king? Let’s put a crown on you.” And so they twisted thorns together into a crown, and pushed the thorns into His flesh, causing blood to flow into His eyes, which would literally blind Him. Then they mocked Him saying “Hail, king of the Jews”. Oh they’re really enjoying this entertainment. They’re treating the God Who created them like a fool.

There’s a foreshadow of this very thing in the Old Testament. Turn with me to the book of Judges chapter 16. You remember that the Philistines finally captured Samson, the Leader of the Israelites, using Delilah to trap him, and it says in vs. 25: “²⁵ While they were in high spirits, they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.” This great and strong leader of the Jews! And they bring him out to make sport of  him, to mock him, to entertain themselves with him. And Samson had already had his eyes gouged out, and he came out to entertain them. They were mocking him. “Look, this is the leader of the Jews.” But notice what happened next.

Notice vs. 25: “When they stood him among the pillars, ²⁶ Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” ²⁷ Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.” This is a large crowd standing around watching this leader of the Jews be mocked.

But notice verse 29: “²⁹ Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, ³⁰ Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.” Judges 16:29-30  

Right after Samson was mocked and jeered at and made fun of, He stretched out one hand on one pillar of the house, and stretched out his other on another pillar; he prayed to God, and he pushed with all his might, and he knocked the house down! And the Bible says he destroyed the enemy through his death. And that’s exactly what’s going to happen to Jesus in John 19. They had blinded Jesus with the crown of thorns, and now they are mocking Him, using Him for entertainment, making fun of Him. But He’s about to stretch both arms out on the cross and die, thereby destroying the enemy through His death. Judges 16 and John 19 go together.

And let’s notice this crown of thorns for a moment. In wearing this crown of thorns, Jesus has taken the place of the wicked. What do we mean He has taken the place of the wicked? Look with me at Proverbs chapter 22. This passage contrasts wicked people and righteous people, and it shows that the way of the wicked is very dangerous. The path that the wicked man travels on is a dangerous path. Notice chapter 22 verse 5 it says “⁵ In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares, but he who guards his soul stays far from them.” The path of the wicked is dangerous. See when Adam sinned, thorns now grew in his path, and these thorns were painful reminders of what he had done. And here Jesus found that thorns were in His path, because while He was sinless, He took the place of the wicked, and so we see Him wearing our thorns, taking what was in our path upon Himself. In putting thorns on Jesus, God removed them from our path, and opened up all of heaven to us. In other words, Jesus wore our crown of thorns so that we might wear His crown of life.

And I want to take a second and just trace the word “thorns” back in the Bible because we find some amazing things. In the story of Jonah, when he was in the belly of the great fish he says, “seaweed (or thorns) was wrapped around my head”. So Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth, in the belly of the whale with thorns wrapped around his head. Jonah was a sign that pointed forward to Jesus. And tracing the word “thorns” back farther, brings us to the story of Isaac, because the ram that died in Isaac’s place had its horns caught in a thicket. That is, thorns surrounded the head of that substitute that died in the place of Isaac. And if you trace the word “thorns” back to the first place it’s used you see that as thorns are a direct result of sin. Thorns were part of the curse that came on mankind when Adam sinned. And so Jesus is wearing thorns as a direct result of Adam’s sin. Adam sinned, Jesus suffered for it.  

And then if you look in John chapter 19 that they put a purple robe on Jesus. This was a mocking imitation of the royal robes that kings wore. And verse 3 tells us they went up to Him again and again saying “hail, king of the Jews”. And Matthew records that they took the rod out of His hand and hit Him in the face with it over and over. And Matthew tells us that they spit in His face, adding to His shame and the humiliation.

Verse 4 and says “⁴ Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” And in saying this Pilate condemned himself. If he found no basis for any charge against Jesus, why did he have him beaten so badly? If he found him innocent he should have released him. And again we ask, who is really the criminal here?

⁵ When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!! So here comes Jesus out to them, wearing the crown of thorns, His head and face all bloody, having just been treated like a criminal, having been heaped with shame and abuse, and Pilate says, “Look, here’s the Man.” Pilate is trying to release Jesus. He’s saying, “Look at this Man, He’s not deserving of your hatred but your compassion. Look at this Man Who has been so badly beaten and have some pity.”

Pilate thought that if the Jews saw how badly Jesus was beaten it would pacify them and Pilate could release Him. And there is something we need to learn here: sometimes we think if we just give the flesh a little bit it will become quiet, and the cravings will stop. I’ll just indulge a little bit, and that will keep me from doing worse things. But the reality is that when we give our flesh a little bit it wakes up and becomes a monster and demands the whole thing. It’s blood thirsty. Look at vs. 6. “⁶ As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” The very sight of His blood made them crave His death! And the reality is that we cannot pacify our flesh with just a little sin to keep it quiet. No, sin leads to sin.  

So, here we have Jesus: flogged, bloodied and bruised standing before the people, with Pilate saying “Look at the Man.” Well what can we learn from this beating Jesus received? I want to give us just 5 things that we can learn from this event:

First, Jesus was beaten in order to fulfill Scripture. Turn with me to Psalm 129. Now Psalm 129 was part of the Hallel Psalms that were sung as the people went up to celebrate Passover. Jesus would have sung this song with His disciples as He was on His way to the Passover. So we can imagine Jesus walking with His disciples, going towards His death, singing this song. He sings, “¹ They have greatly oppressed me from my youth– let Israel say– ² they have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me. ³ Plowmen have plowed my back and made their furrows long.” Now David wrote this Psalm there was never a time in David’s life when He was striped and beaten like this so that his back looked like a farmer’s field. No, this Psalm finds its fulfillment in the flogging of Jesus Christ in John chapter 19.

Next turn with me to the Book of Isaiah, chapter 50, so that we can see how God foretold Jesus’ beating before it happened. Now this is Jesus speaking through Isaiah and He says in vss. 5-6 “⁵ The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. ⁶ I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.”  This tells us that Jesus was not a victim, but instead He offered His back to be beaten, He volunteered for His beard to be yanked out, and He offered His face to be spit on.

And then notice Isaiah 52 which tells us how severe the beating really was. “¹³ See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.” Here is the gospel, that God’s servant, Jesus, was raised and lifted up on a cross, He died and rose again, and then was highly exalted to the right hand of God. But look at vs. 14: “¹⁴ Just as there were many who were appalled at him– his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness.” In other words, by the time Jesus hung on a cross, so severe was He beaten and pulverized that you wouldn’t have even recognized Him as being human. What can we learn? In being beaten, Jesus fulfilled Scripture.

Secondly, we can learn that it is by His stripes that we are healed. Look with me at 1 Peter chapter 2. Because Peter gives us a commentary on the passage we are studying, and Peter tells us why Jesus was striped like this. Starting with vs. 24 Peter says, ²⁴ He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵ For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

So here are the sheep of humanity wandering away from their Shepherd; not listening to His Word, not following where He leads. This wandering is a spiritual sickness and the rod of God’s wrath is about to come down on us.

But here comes Jesus, and He volunteers to be beaten for our sin, to be punished in our place, and through His wounds we are healed: that is, through Him taking our punishment, we are forgiven, and justified, and pardoned, and reconciled to God, and made righteous in His sight and set free from our chains. See Pilate thought that, “if I just beat Jesus He won’t be condemned.” The reality is God said, “if My Son is beaten, the people won’t be condemned. They’ll be healed.” “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” “Who can lay any charge against God’s elect?” Isn’t it amazing that the Physician was beaten so that the patients would be healed! What can we learn from Jesus’ beating? By His stripes we are healed.

Thirdly, what can we learn from Jesus’ beatings? We can learn that that is how God treats sin, and that we are to do the same. Listen to the cry of the Jews, “away with Him” and let us say about our sins “away with them.” Listen to their cry “crucify Him, crucify Him” and let us shout to our sins, “crucify them, crucify them.” “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature, with its passions and desires.”

Fourthly, what can we learn? We are to make little of our sufferings when we compare them to Jesus’ sufferings. Jesus suffered horribly in His body, but He didn’t just suffer in His body, He suffered in His soul. He suffered the wrath of God, He suffered the penalty of sins, He suffered separation from God. And what is a little thorn in our flesh compared to the thorns He wore? We should not be people who are known for our sufferings (and I don’t say this flippantly; I’ve had 5 surgeries and a broken sternum). We’re not to be pointing to our sufferings and our pain, but rather we are to be pointing to His sufferings and His pain. There is an amazing verse in Acts chapter 5. After the apostles were beaten and flogged in Jesus’ Name, it says in vs. 41: “⁴¹ The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” Jesus’ stripes took the sting out of theirs.

Finally, what can we learn? Listen carefully: no believer will ever face God’s wrath because of our wrongs. We will be disciplined because He loves us, but because Jesus was beaten we never will be. Turn with me to Job chapter 9. Here Job has suffered much and he feels the need to have someone come between God and himself. He desperately wants God’s rod removed from him. And in Job 9 he speaks about God and he says: ³² “He is not a man like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. ³³ If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, ³⁴ someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more.

And here comes Jesus, as fully God and fully Man He puts His hand on us both. And He takes the rod of God’s wrath upon Himself in order to remove God’s rod from us. Now, the terror of God’s wrath does not frighten us anymore, because Jesus took it for us. Praise Him!

And let’s close right now with Pilate’s word to the Jews: Look at this Man Just look at the Man in his sufferings. Behold the King with the crown of thorns, behold the Innocent Man beaten bloodied and bruised. Look at Him, who took our sin, who bore our wrath, who took our punishment, who shed His blood to pay for our wrongs. “Turn to Me all the ends of the earth, and be saved.” Look at Him, and love him. All our life we are to do as Pilate said, and be “looking unto Jesus, the author and perfector of our Faith, Who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning the shame and sat down at the right hand of God.”

While religions of the world are about beauty and elegance and good works and righteous living, we are told to “Consider Him Who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Look at the Man!

After song:

^“30 Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being” (Proverbs 20:30).

Jesus’ wounds cleansed away our evil and His beatings purged our inmost being. Praise Him today. Just praise Him with all of your hearts. Worship Him.