The most significant event in history is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. We are saved by His death. Because He died, we live. But there IS a condition. We have to believe, and it’s the necessity for belief that John stressed throughout his gospel. He was an eyewitness of the crucifixion, and he closed his account of the crucifixion by saying “the man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true…that you also may believe.”
Tonight we are going to divide this passage into 8 events to get a better understanding of what is happening. This is not an unfamiliar story to most Christians but maybe we can learn yet a little more about it.
EVENT 1: READ 16-17. Last week we saw how Pilate was so undecided about his decision. He went back and forth from the people to Jesus, back to the people, back to Jesus. Eight times he went back and forth. The first event of tonight’s passage was that of Jesus’ bearing His cross. Verse 17 shows us that Jesus willingly went forth. Pilate delivered Him to the people. The soldiers took and led Him. But it was Jesus who bore the cross and went forth. This gives us a picture of Jesus being the majestic victor, not the victim. He was bearing the cross and going forth for a specific purpose—to save man.
John said earlier in his gospel, (Jn. 3:14-15) – “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
(Jn. 10:11) – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
(Jn. 10:15) - “Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
EVENT 2: READ 18. The second event is Jesus being crucified between two sinners, two unjust thieves. This gives a picture of two things.
1. It’s a picture of the preeminence of His sacrifice. He was surrounded by a world of unjust men, yet He was dying for them.
2. It’s a picture of preeminent guilt. Jesus Christ was being counted as the King of Sinners.
EVENT 3: READ 19-22. The 3rd event of the cross was the title on the cross.
The people read the title but were indifferent to it. It had no effect on them. There was no mass movement of sorrow and repentance, no final acceptance of Him. The religionists objected to the title. But they didn’t ask that it be removed. They asked that the wording be changed to read “This man CLAIMED to be the King of the Jews.” Theirs was an obstinate unbelief.
Jesus DID claim to be the King of the Jews, the promised Messiah. Notice that the title “King of the Jews” was written in three great languages of the world—Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. This providentially symbolized His rightful rule as King of the universe.
EVENT 4: READ 23-24. The 4th event of the cross was the soldiers’ gambling for Jesus’ clothes. Did you notice the insensitivity of these worldly-minded men? They had no compassion for Jesus, that’s for sure. But also they had no compassion for Jesus’ mother who was standing by the cross.
It mentions the seamless coat or outer garment and that it was one piece of cloth, woven from the top to the bottoms. The garment or robe was identical to the robe of the High Priest. It symbolized Christ, the Mediator, the Pontifex, which in Latin means the bridge builder between God and man.
The event fulfilled Scripture. Ps. 22:18 says, “They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.” God was in charge of the cross because it was the fulfillment of His great plan of salvation for man.
EVENT 5: READ 25-27. The 5th event of the cross was Jesus’ great love for His mother. There are two touching scenes here.
1. The women at the cross. There were there at great risk. Jesus was a revolutionary in the eyes of Rome. He was a heretic in the eyes of the religionists. Any supporter of Jesus who stood at the cross ran the risk of ridicule and arrest. Nevertheless, the women stood there because they loved Him. He had done so much for them that they were willing to stand by Him no matter the cost.
2. The other scene we see is Jesus’ care of His mother. His thoughts were on others, not Himself. Every fiber of His being existed for others. Even in death, His mind and being were set on taking care of others.
He was touched with the feelings of Mary’s hurt and pain. In the last moments of His life on earth, He made arrangements for her care. He is touched with the feeling of our hurt and pain, so He takes care of us.
EVENT 6: READ 28-29. The 6th event of the cross was Jesus’ agonizing thirst and deliberate effort to fulfill Scripture. Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” It had been hours since He had had a drink of water. But note: the stress of Jesus’ words was no that He was physically thirsty. He was not complaining of thirst, not even asking for a drink. The stress was upon His fulfilling Scripture. Ps. 69:21 – “They also gave me gall for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
The stress was upon His fulfilling Scripture
- To show that Jesus was truly the Promised Messiah, the One who fulfilled Scripture.
- To show that Jesus’ mind was set on fulfilling the Scriptures of the promised Messiah.
- To show that Jesus had come as the Promised Messiah to do the will of God, dying as the sacrifice for man. He refused to do God’s will unthoughtfully, with deadened senses and a semi-conscious mind. He had work to do in sacrificing His life for man: He was to taste death for all men, and He would taste it in full consciousness, being as mentally alert as possible.
EVENT 7: READ 30. The 7th event of the cross was Jesus’ great shout of victory. Salvation and reconciliation were now possible for man.
Jesus cried, “It is finished.” The Greek word used in the original manuscript was “tetelestai” which was the shout of victorious purpose. Jesus had completed His work, His mission, and His task. He was not crying the cry of a defeated martyr. He was crying the cry of a victorious conqueror.
Jesus gave up His spirit. It needs to be remembered that Jesus WILLINGLY died. He willingly came to this moment of yielding and giving up His spirit unto death. Both Paul and Peter cover the Lord’s work during the 3 days immediately following His death until the resurrection.
1. Paul says that on the cross this happened: (Col. 2:15) “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
2. Peter says that on the cross and after death this happened: 1 Peter 3: 18-20) – “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 After being made alive,[a] he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,”
3. Paul says that after death, this happened: Eph. 4: 8-10 - “This is why it[a] says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”[b]
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions[c]? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)”
EVENT 8: READ 31-37. The 8th event of the cross was that of the spear being thrust into Jesus’ side. The first thing we need to notice here is the religionists’ concern for the trivial rituals. Religious ceremony and ritual consumed the minds of the religionists and actually became more important than the suffering of a man.
But not so with Christ. He was hanging there because He was concerned for man. He felt for the suffering of man, so He had given His life for man.
The crucifixion happened the day before their special Sabbath. Their rituals didn’t allow bodies left on crosses. At this point in the crucifixion, a person on the cross could only take a break when he pushed with his feet. (DEMONSTRATE).
If they broke their legs, they would smother to death.
Christ died prematurely, much sooner than a man was supposed to die from crucifixion. One of the reasons Rome chose crucifixion as the State’s method of execution was its slow, lingering death. By law the criminal was to hang upon the cross until he died from thirst, hunger, and exposure. Sometimes a man lingered for days under the heat of the broiling sun or the cold of the winter nights.
Such suffering struck fear into the hearts of the captured and helped to curb severe crime. Because Jesus died so quickly, He probably died from the pressure of a broken heart and of being separated from God in behalf of mankind. Apparently His heart burst, and the blood mingled with the water fluid of the pericardium surrounding the heart. The spear pierced the pericardium causing the blood and water to flow. Maybe John stressed this incident because he saw the symbol of the two ordinances pictured: baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
a. The water symbolized baptism, the washing of regeneration which Jesus was to bring.
b. The blood symbolized the Lord’s Supper, the partaking of the blood of Christ which cleanses men of their sins.
John insisted on the accuracy of his account. READ v. 35. He also said that God knew he was telling the truth. Why was this stressed? He told us, “So that we might believe.”Note that John said that we are without excuse if we refuse to believe. Why? Because the crucifixion and its events were a fulfillment of Scripture. Further passages that predict these things are:
Ps. 34:20 – Predicts that not a bone of His body would be broken.
Zech. 12:10 – Predicts the spear.
Isaiah 53 – Predicts so much of the crucifixion.
I close with John 20:31 – “but these have been written (A)so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, (B)the Son of God; and that (C)believing you may have life in His name. “
