The Lamb, the Man, and the King
Text: John 19:23-30
Go ahead and open your Bibles up to John chapter 19… and while you’re turning there, I just want to remind you of something we read in John’s Gospel… all the way back in chapter one. If you remember… And I know it’s been quite a while since we were in chapter one… but if you remember, John’s Gospel account starts off by giving us a glimpse into John the Baptist’s ministry. How John was baptizing people and telling them to repent, and “make straight the ways of the Lord.”
And then Jesus came to John, and you’ll remember this when I say it… in John 1:19 John says, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”
I wanted that in your remembrance as we look into God’s Word this morning, and I’ll just give you a roadmap of where I’m going today… We’re going to read John 19:23-30, but we’re going to be talking a lot about the crucifixion in general, and about how Jesus is the Lamb of God. So I might have you looking at several passages…
Let’s read John 19:23-30 (READ TEXT).
So the other day I came across a book… and the title of that book is “Futility”. And in this book, it describes a massive ocean liner – deemed “unsinkable”. And. it sets sail from the UK to North America, but on its way it hits an iceberg and sinks, and almost everyone on board perishes, because there weren’t enough life boats… Now can you guess the name of that Ship?
No, it’s not the Titanic… The name of the ship in that book was “The Titan”. And it was written 14 years before the Titanic ever set sail.
Well that sent me down a research rabbit trail about the actual Titanic… I know… I’m a nerd… let’s just get it out in the open. But I am going somewhere with this… I came across a collection of writings of the survivors… accounts of the events of that fateful night. And it was very interesting… because unanimously, the survivors said, that when the ship began going down, and people started boarding the life-boats, the men on the ship instinctively held back and overwhelmingly were reported to have said, “The women and children should go first.” Including John Jacob Astor, who at the time was one of the richest men in the world. So if you ever watch the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, and you see the scene where the men are all pushing the women aside, trying to get on the life boats… that’s just not true. It’s not accurate at all. It’s not what happened.
And in an interview, they asked the director why he did that. Why he changed the facts of history, and portrayed men in such a bad light… and he said, “Because if we had shown what actually happened, how men willingly put the women and children before themselves, no one would believe it.”
In other words, what that director was saying was, “No one would believe that an affluent man would willingly give his life… if he had an option… so that someone else could live.”
Now you can take that however you want. But the concept… the idea… and the reality of someone dying, so that another might live – is the whole story of Redemption and Atonement that we see in the Bible. Theologians use the phrase, “Substitutionary Atonement.” In other words, making us right with God, by taking our punishment, in our place. But that’s exactly what the Bible teaches that Jesus did for us. 1 Peter 2:24, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.”
So, only by Jesus, bearing in Himself the penalty for sin, in the place of believers – do we have any hope of salvation! There is no other way! And so, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us… That’s Romans 5:8.
Now like I said, that’s the story of Redemption. Its’ the story told over and over, and over again, down through history. All of the Old Testament is pointing to that. And that’s what John the Baptist was referring to when he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
In Genesis, Adam and Eve sin. They rebel against God. They break His clear command. And God covers their sin with the death of an animal. That’s the very first instance we get of a substitution. Something else dies in that instant, so that Adam and Eve don’t have to.
And of course, there’s the Passover. The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, but God raised up Moses and sent him to Pharoah. Of course you guys all remember the story… Pharoah was hard hearted. He wouldn’t let the people go. So finally, God says He’s going to send the angel of death to kill all the first-born sons in the land of Egypt. The only way to escape this judgment is by putting the blood of a lamb on the door posts of your home. The people of God were to kill a lamb, roast its meat – that’s why Jesus says, “You must eat my flesh, and drink my blood. By the way…”. And they were to put the blood on their door posts, and when the angel came, it would pass over the homes with the blood of the lamb.
It wasn’t that the Israelites were smarter, or better, or less sinful than the Egyptians… All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Every Israelite was just as guilty of sin as every Egyptian. The difference was that Israel had a substitute. Another died in the place of the firstborn. A lamb was slain so that they might live. The blood of the lamb was the sign that sin had been covered. And that’s what they celebrate when they celebrate Passover.
Now is that what John is saying… Well… In John’s Gospel, he mentions the Passover 9 different times, and every time, there is a reference to the sacrificial, substitutionary atoning death of Jesus.
And here in chapter 19, if you go back up to verse 14 we read, “Now it was the day of Preparation - of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’”.
Now let me explain that to you really quickly… “It was the Day of Preparation” – That’s Friday – “of the Passover”, so we would say it like this – “The Friday, when the preparation for the Sabbath was being made, during Passover week… around 6 AM”. And John says, “It was about the 6th hour…” How do I know that the Day of Preparation is referring to the Sabbath – look at verse 31. An again, that’s not your typical 6th hour in Jewish time keeping… Which is noon… that’s the 6th hour in Roman time keeping… so about 6 or 7 AM.
Basically what John is doing here is saying, that Jesus was turned over to be crucified, and then WAS crucified, at about the same time, the sacrificial lambs were being led up to the temple and being sacrificed.
John said, “Behold the Lamb.” Pilate said, “Behold the man.” And then later said, “Behold your King.” And all three of those statements are correct.
Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes aways the sins of the world. He is the man – 100% man, 100% God… that’s why Paul says to Timothy, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
And Jesus is the King! He’s the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
So what does all that mean to us?
Well, for starters it means that either you and I pay for our sins, or Jesus is our substitute. And people say, “Did Jesus really do that? Did He pay for my sins? Did He do everything that needed to be done to reconcile me with God and make me righteous before Him?” And I would say, “Look at verse 28 from our text in John 19, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was NOW finished…”. Look at verse 30.” “When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished,’ and He bowed His head and give up His Spirit.”
It is finished! It is tetelestai. That’s the Greek word there. Tetelestai it literally means to finish, to complete, and conclude an operation – a mission. The Roman generals, when they would go to battle, would sit in their chariots, and direct their troops. “Center column fent back! Right and Left Flank, perform the pincers move.” You get the idea… And when the battle was won, they would shout out Tetelestai! Tetelestai! THE BATTLE IS OVER VICTORY IS OURS!
It is finished!
Romans 4 tells us that… Jesus was delivered up… He died on the cross… for our trespasses… But He was raised up because we have been justified.
The resurrection is the proof that IT IS FINISHED. And of course we’ll get into that a lot more in a few weeks when we celebrate on Resurrection Sunday…
So either the eternal Son of God pays for our sins, or we pay for them eternally. That’s the first thing. But also… He is the Man… and I don’t mean that the way some of our younger folks would use it… when they say, “You ‘da man!”… Or maybe I do. Jesus is the man the last Adam… the One who died for us. He has to be 100% man to die. But He was the man without sin. Who perfectly kept the Law in every and all aspects. So that when He dies on the cross, our sins are placed on Him, and His righteousness becomes ours. Let me take you back to 1 Timothy 2:5 and read it to you again, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
That’s how Paul says it… but here’s how Jesus says it, “I AM the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). Jesus is the One Way. He is the One who died for our sin. He is the One who reconciles us to God. He is the One who justifies us before God. He is the door we enter to go into God’s presence. He is the bridge between man and God. He is the One who sits at the right hand of the Father and makes intercession.
ITS JESUS! Jesus is the only way!
And finally; He is King. And we can bow to Him now in humble submission… or we can bow to Him when He comes again as conquered foes.
Church, when I say, “It’s all about Jesus!” That’s not just a slogan. It’s the truth! It really is all about Jesus. He must increase and we must decrease. He is Lord of all, and I pray that you know Him today!
CLOSING
