- What Will You Do With Jesus? -
Will You Desert Him?
Introduction
John 19:28-30 - the last moments of Jesus’ life.
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Here he is not surrounded by his band of disciples. He hand picked them. He believed in them. He instilled within them a vision for who they could become. He instructed them in the ways of discipleship. He prayed for them and with them. He washed their feet. In the moment of conflict, they deserted him.
But Jesus wasn’t alone at the cross. John tells us of others who were there.
1. People At The Cross
-Those Who Ignored Him: Soldiers
John 19:23-24 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things...
Barclay: No picture so shows the indifference of the world to Christ. There on the Cross Jesus was dying in agony; and there at the foot of the Cross the soldiers threw their idea s if it did not matter.”
John reminds us that this is the fulfillment of prophecy from Psalm 22:18. The soldiers had no real interest in Jesus - he was just another criminal being crucified. It was a regular day at work.
-Those Who Loved Him: Mary
John 19:25-27 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
Four women are here at the cross.
Mary, the wife of Clopas - we know nothing about her.
Jesus’ mother’s sister - Salome, the mother of James and John. (Mark 15:40; Matthew 27:56).
Mary from Magdala. We know Jesus cast 7 demons out of her (Mk 16:9; LK 8:2). Barclay: “She could never forget what Jesus had done for her.”
Mary, Mother of Jesus. In John’s Gospel we only see Mary at the first miracle, wedding at Cana, and here at the cross. She is present at two crucial moments - at the beginning and end of his ministry. John records few of Mary’s words, her presence in this Gospel is minimal.
Johan Gerhard: “She sees Him suspended, but cannot touch Him, she sees Him nailed, and can not loose Him. She sees Him dripping with blood but cannot remove it. She sees Him wounded upon the entire body, but cannot bind up his wounds. She hears him cry ‘I thirst,’ but may not give Him to drink.”
Jesus commits the care of his mother into the hands of “the disciple whom he loved” - presumably John.
-Those Who Abused Him: Jewish Leaders
John 19:31-37 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”
The Jewish leaders were more concerned about the Passover, purity, law keeping, than the murder they had called out for and arranged. Not satisfied with crucifixion, they asked for his legs to be broken - John tells us that the fact that they were not broken is also a matter of prophecy. (Numbers 9:12; Zech 12:10). It is important to note that when his side was pierced, both blood and water came forth - evidence that he truly was dead.
-Those Who Served Him: Joseph & Nicodemus
John 19:38-42 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus[b] by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds[c] in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus. Nicodemus in Chapter 3 was a secretive disciple of Jesus. Both of them step into the light to take care of the body of Jesus - at great personal expense. At the cross we see those who ignored him, those who loved him, those who abused him, and those who served him.
2. Because of the Cross…
-We know the awfulness of sin.
“When I stand at the cross, I am permitted in my measure to
see sin through the eyes of my God. The cross is the place of
great awakening for sinners.” (John Henry Jowett )
-We know how greatly He loved us.
1 John 3:16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us…
-We know that a great price was paid for our sins, paid completely.
Colossians 2:14 by canceling the record of debt that stood
against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it
to the cross.
-We know we can find ultimate peace in a conflicted world.
Colossians 1:20 and through him to reconcile to himself all
things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the
blood of his cross.
Conclusion
At the cross there were those who ignored him, those who loved him, those who abused him, and those who served him.
John 19:28-30 - the last moments of Jesus’ life. (After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.)
John tells us that it was on a hyssop branch that they put the sponge containing the vinegar. Centuries before, at the first Passover in Egypt, remember how the Israelites were to slay the Passover lamb and were to smear the doorposts of their houses. The ancient instruction was: Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood and touch the doorposts with the blood… the blood of the Passover lamb which saved the people of God. This was John’s way of saying that Jesus was the great Passover Lamb of God whose death was to save the whole world from sin. (Barclay)
John alone tells us that Jesus’ last words were “It is finished.” Swindoll: After drinking the wine, Jesus drew in one last breath and cried out with a word that means “paid in full.” With Jesus’ last breath on the cross, He declared the debt of sin canceled, completely satisfied.
As we leave this text, I hope we are impressed deeply on our hearts the great love of God that paid the greatest price for our great sin.
There is more to the story of the Cross, but for now, I pray we are humbled and moved to love Him because He loved us so much.
In the moment of conflict, his disciples deserted him. What will you do with Jesus? Will you deny him? Will you dismiss Him? Will you dethrone him? Will you desert him?
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Video of this message will be available on our YouTube Channel located at
https://www.youtube.com/c/ForsytheChurchofChrist
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Resources
Barclay, William. Daily Study Bible, John Volume 2. Westminster Press, Revised Edition, 1975.
Jowett, J. H. The Power of The Cross, in Classic Sermons on the Cross of Christ. Hendrickson, 1990.
Swindoll, Charles R. Swindoll’s Living Insights: John. Tydale, 2014.
