SERIES: The Gospel of John
SERMON: First Things First
SCRIPTURE: John 19:16-42
SPEAKER: Paul Stolwyk
DATE: March 27, 1994
Introduction: What is on your mind right now. What has first importance in your thoughts. Is it your children? Is it cleaning up your yard? Getting your taxes done? Getting a new outfit for Easter? Is it getting a project done at work, home, or school?
The details of Jesus’ crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection form the foundation of the Christian message. The Apostle Paul regarded these facts as “first in importance.” They remain just as important today because the facts show that through these events Jesus has accomplished our salvation. This morning we will focus our attention on the crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus. Next Sunday, Mike will teach about Jesus’ resurrection. If you will be unable to be with us next week, let me encourage you now to get the audio tape of next week’s sermon. Without understanding the resurrection, we are left with a dead man still in a tomb. The story may be heartwarming but lacks lasting power.
John’s purpose in writing in detail about this part of the life of Christ is to encourage us to believe that Jesus, the carpenter and teacher from Nazareth, was crucified on a Roman cross, that he died from that experience, and that he was laid in a tomb. Along with these facts, John’s aim is to prove to us that despite this fate, Jesus is the promised Savior, an eternal King who deserves our full allegiance.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
We pick up John’s account in chapter 19 verse 17. It is Passover week in Jerusalem. Jesus has been handed over to the Roman governor, Pilate, and the Jewish ruling council has called for him to be crucified. Pilate gives into their request even though 3 times in the previous chapter, we are told that Pilate found “no basis for the charges against [Jesus]” (18:38; 19:4,6).
John deals very matter-of-factly about the crucifixion of Jesus. We are told that Jesus carries his cross, to a hill outside Jerusalem called Golgotha. Golgotha was probably a very public place which people coming into Jerusalem could see. There Jesus was crucified. John does not dwell on the pain and suffering that Jesus endured. Instead, he focuses our attention on the significance of the event rather than the details of it.
The crucifixion identifies Jesus with sinners. (16-18) The first thing we notice is that in the crucifixion identifies Jesus with sinners. John makes a point to tell us that Jesus was not crucified alone. On each side of Jesus was a man crucified for his crimes. Since crucifixion was used extensively by the Romans to punish only slaves and the lowest types of criminals, it is safe to assume then that these other men were a bit on the shady side. Jesus is crucified with those who have a debt to pay not only society but to God as well.
This identification was not new for Jesus. This was the hallmark of his ministry. When the Jewish ruling council took exception to him spending time with the non-religious people of the day, Jesus told them in Matthew 9:13, “I have come not to call the righteous but sinners.” The crucifixion simply continues this emphasis in Jesus’ life. Jesus’ mission was to seek and save those who are separated from God. In order to accomplish that, he lived with them, ate with them, walked with them and now he died with them. Jesus didn’t love the lifestyle of those he identified with but he did love them as individuals created in the image of God. Though they had made mistakes, they were valuable to God, his father.
It is important to remember that Jesus identifies himself willingly with sinners, with people who have gone against his Father’s commands. Jesus to this day identifies himself with us, not because we are successful or influential, witty or kind, or because we are attending church this morning. Jesus willingly identifies himself with us today because we are sinners in desperate need of a Savior. And he fills the bill as an excellent savior.
The crucifixion proclaims Jesus as a universal king (19-22). We read in verse 19 that “Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH: THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Later in verse 20, we read that “the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek.” Aramaic was the local language, Latin the language of the governing authorities, and Greek was the common language used throughout the Roman empire, an empire that encompassed the entire known world at the time. Anybody in the known world could read the notice that Jesus was KING OF THE JEWS.
Now Pilate didn’t believe this. He had written the notice to get even with the Jews. They had backed him into a corner, threatening to blackmail him. But Pilate’s malice toward the Jews serves God’s end. By publishing his notice in the languages of the known world, Pilate is unwittingly serving as a prophet, proclaiming that Jesus is a King to the whole world. God knew that his promised King for Israel would first serve on a throne made from a tree. And his kingdom would extend past the borders of Israel and into the whole world. God uses Pilate to universally proclaim this truth.
The Death of Jesus
After Jesus is nailed to the cross, the slow, agonizing process of death begins. The death of Jesus shows us some important things.
The death of Jesus reveals his character and compassion. (25-27) Jesus is hanging nearly naked on the cross. The other gospel writers tell us that people are standing around mocking and taunting him. John tells us in verse 23 and 24 that the soldiers who crucified him were now gambling for his clothes. They don’t care what is going, they are just doing their job.
In the midst of this ugly scene, John tells us beginning in verse 25 that five friendly faces join the crowd of people near the cross. Jesus’ mother Mary is there with three friends. Along with them is John, the author of this gospel and one of Jesus close friends. All five are near the cross despite the ridicule that might invite upon themselves. What happens next is astounding.
During the last hours of his life, we see the sacrificial love that were characteristics of his life. Though he is in great pain and humiliating circumstances, we find Jesus focus his attention not on himself but on his mother. Despite the fact that the salvation of the world hung in the balance, Jesus is able to consider the needs and interests of his mother ahead of his own. His consideration was not his own sorrow but hers. With great love and compassion, He commits her to the care of his beloved friend, John. When the pressure is intense and the pain white hot, we see that Jesus’ character and compassion are no different than what he had displayed before.
The death of Jesus marks the completion of his work on earth. (28-31)
Biblical lands are very arid. Thirst was a constant reality. Hanging on a cross in the heat of the day would only intensify that need. Jesus makes known his thirst. A soldier soaks a sponge in some cheap wine, places the sponge on a stick, and lifts it to Jesus’ mouth. He takes a drink. It is his last act. With that done, Jesus cries out, “It is finished.” In the language Jesus spoke, he uttered just one word, which is translated, “It is finished.” The word used describes the fulfillment or accomplishment of an obligation to another person. It is a word of completion. It carries with it a sense of triumph. We would use the same word after completing a long project knowing that we have done so with excellence. Jesus’ cry marks the completion of his work on earth.
But what has been finished? What had Jesus accomplished with his death on the cross? What had he completed that would lead him to cry out a word of triumph? To answer that question let me highlight three things that Jesus accomplished or finished on the cross.
First, Jesus finished bearing the weight of our sin against God, so that we can experience God’s forgiveness for our violations of his holy law. In a letter to the church in the ancient city of Colossae, the Jewish convert and missionary Paul writes:
“When you were dead in your sins … God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Col 2:13-14)
The type of notice that Pilate had nailed to Jesus’ cross was often hung around a criminal’s neck as they were paraded through the streets to their execution. This custom is still practiced in parts of the Middle East today. What Paul is saying here is that from God’s perspective there is a notice hanging around each of our necks. On it are all our crimes against a holy God, all our intentional and even unintentional violations of his standard of conduct. Also on the notice are the penalties we are to pay for those violations. Paul is saying that God can forgive us because He has taken the notices from our necks and nailed them to cross. He nailed them next to Pilate’s notice. When Christ was nailed to the cross, all the fines for all our crimes were paid by his death.
Second, Jesus finished bringing reconciliation to God’s relationship with sinful men and women back to God. Reconciliation is the word that describes bringing two parties in conflict with one another into harmony. Many marriages today need reconciliation because there is no harmony in the relationship. We have the same need in our relationship with God. We have violated his standards and that violation has put an incredible strain on our relationship with him. In that same letter to the church in Colossae, Paul later wrote in Chapter 1, verse 21:
“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” (Col. 1:21)
The relationship that we strained by our sin has been reconciled by the Christ’s death on the cross. His death, paying our indebtedness, clears our balance sheet with God forever. In God’s sight we are holy, without sin, no longer open to accusation. So, when Jesus died on the cross, the sins that caused us to be estranged from God were taken away. Reconciliation is complete. It is finished.
Finally, Jesus finished the task of making payment to redeem men and women from enslavement to sin. To redeem means to “purchase again” or “to buy back”. Soda bottles used to be redeemable. The store would buy them back. In ancient times, prisoners and slaves could be redeemed. Their freedom could be purchased if a ransom of gold or silver was paid. In a spiritual sense, you and I need redemption. We need to be bought back. From the time of Adam’s first act of rebellion against God, every man and woman has inherited a way of life that continues this pattern of rebellion. It is a way of life that makes us slaves to sin.
We see this reality today by the plethora of support groups that exist seeking to help people overcome addictions of every sort. Addictions are enslavements to thoughts or behaviors. And there are plenty of sins that people are enslaved to but have no support group to help them—jealousy for what other people have but I don’t have, anger that cannot be controlled, greed for money or power that drives me to sacrifice my family for the applause of people who may eventually fire me. Without Christ we are slaves to the master called sin. In a letter he wrote to a group of churches, Peter, another close friend of Jesus, wrote:
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down by your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:18)
Peter is saying here that Jesus’ death is the ransom that God paid to purchase us out of our enslavement to sin. So, when Jesus died on the cross, he completely paid the ransom in full. We can be set free. It is finished.
All three of these partially describe the biblical term “salvation.” When someone is “saved,” it means they have experienced forgiveness for their sins against God. It means they have experienced reconciliation with God. It means they have been freed from their enslavement to sin so that they can serve God and experience a life of purpose and meaning. All this was accomplished, completed, finished when Jesus died on the cross. It wasn’t almost finished. It wasn’t done halfway. We cannot add to it. We cannot subtract from it. Jesus accomplished our salvation by himself completely. It is finished.
The death of Jesus brings fulfillment to God’s plan for salvation (23-24; 28-29; 31-35). From the beginning of human history God has been working toward the completion of his plan to offer salvation to the whole world. As time went on, he revealed, through the Hebrew prophets, clues that would help Israel see God’s provision for human salvation. Three times in our passage today, John notes that certain events took place in order that the Old Testament Scriptures would be fulfilled, Scriptures written by those Hebrew prophets.
The first time John tells us this is in verse 23-24. Here the soldiers roll the dice to see who will get the seamless undergarment worn by Jesus. John sees them fulfilling a prophecy found in Psalm 22:18, which had been written nearly 1000 years before Christ.
The second time John tells us that an activity was a fulfillment of the OT prophetic Scriptures is in verse 28-29. John writes, “Later, knowing that all was now completed and so that the Scripture might by fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’”
John is telling us that as he hung on the cross, it is as if Jesus is running his mind through the Old Testament, making sure that all the prophecies concerning his life have been completed. He knows that all is completed but one, a prophecy from Psalm 69:21, which reads, “they put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” They had already offered him gall to deaden his pain, which he had refused. They had not yet given him vinegar to kill his thirst. So, to complete his responsibility he calls out, “I’m thirsty.” The soldiers respond with a sponge soaked in cheap wine vinegar.
It could be argued that these first two Scriptures tat John alludes to could be fulfilled simply by coincidence. But John lays this argument to rest as he notes an Old Testament fulfillment for a third time, a fulfillment of two completely unexpected events. Look at verse 31 with me, John tells us that:
“Now it was the day of Preparation and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.”
The Romans customarily would leave victims of crucifixion on a cross to die, even if it took days. When the criminals died, they would not take the bodies down but rather leave them for the vultures. Not so the Jews. According to Jewish law found in Deuteronomy 21:22-23, anyone who is put to death for a crime was to be buried the same day.
Because of this law, it was a standard Jewish custom to break the legs of crucified criminals using a heavy mallet. Without the use of their legs, those hanging on a cross would be unable to raise themselves up on the footrest to help them breath. With all their weight suspended from their nailed hands, the victims would suffocate in a few moments. This is what they did to the criminals on either side of Jesus.
When they came to Jesus, they were expecting to find him alive as well, but he was already dead. The common event that is to be expected doesn’t occur. John writes in verse 36, “These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled, ‘Not one of his bones will be broken.’” Finding him dead, one of the soldiers takes his spear and pierces Jesus’ side. This was not a standard practice. It was a random act of brutality. Another unexpected event. John writes in verse 36, “These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled, ‘They will look on the one they have pierced.’”
John’s emphasis on the fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures is significant for three reasons. He wants us to know that the Scriptures written by the Hebrew prophets pointed to this event and they are trustworthy. Second, John wants us to know that Jesus is the indeed the promised one of God, the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation. And third, in the darkness of Jesus’ death, God was sovereign over the events. He was still in control.
The Burial of Jesus
Out of the darkness of Jesus’ crucifixion and death, we begin to hear the first notes of hope. These notes are heard at the burial of Jesus. In observance of the Jewish laws regarding execution and wanting to be ceremonially pure for the Sabbath, two men come forward to claim Jesus’ body. What we see here is that the cross of Jesus transforms the hearts of two secret disciples.
The burial of Jesus transforms the hearts of two secrets followers. (38-42) John identifies these men as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both wealthy and prominent men. In the gospel of Mark we learn that Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish governing council that called for Jesus’ crucifixion. John tells us in verse 38 that “Joseph was a disciple of Jesus but secretly because he feared the Jews.” Nicodemus was also a member of the Jewish governing council and was a secret disciple also. He was the one who back in chapter 3 showed interest in Jesus and his teaching but came to talk to him under the cover of night.
Secret disciples were not described in glowing terms by John. In Chapter 12:42-43, he writes: “Yet, at the same time, many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men.” These two men were people pleasers. They had convictions about Jesus but squelched them because they were afraid of their peers.
Is there power in the death of Jesus on the cross? There is great power. The power of is seen in the transformed lives of these two men. These two men boldly step out of the shadows of secrecy into the open and request the body of Jesus. They are not ashamed any longer to be identified with Jesus. Imagine the looks they got from their peers as these two influential and wealthy men come and take Jesus’ body away and prepare him for burial. These men had had enough of themselves and their casual “closet Christianity.” What they had witnessed from the life and death of Jesus gave them the courage and strength to openly identify with Jesus.
Fear of being ridiculed and a desire for popularity are still primary deterrents to openly identify with Jesus Christ. Some are afraid to openly identify as a follower of Christ because of fear that it might hurt their business or their reputation. Some people consider becoming followers of Christ but are afraid that their parents, friends, or coworkers might think they have become a little too fanatical. Maybe you are one of them. If you are, your fears are legitimate. Your identification with Jesus may do many of these things. It may be unpleasant and distasteful, but there is no real danger in it. In fact, the danger, comes in not openly confessing Jesus as Savior. Not confessing him has dangerous eternal consequences. Listen to the words of Jesus, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my father in heaven.”
On the contrary, openly confessing and identifying yourself with Jesus has significant eternal reward. Listen to the words of Paul,
“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Rom. 10:9-10)
Are you a follower of Christ but staying in the shadows because of fear. If so, follow the example of these two men. Forsake being a people pleaser. Are you considering Christianity but afraid of what others might think? Come out of the shadows into the open. Confess your sinfulness before God. Believe in your heart that Jesus died for you. Then tell someone else that from this moment you are willing to identify with Jesus. When you do, forgiveness, reconciliation, redemption, freedom, and eternal life are yours.
The burial of Jesus proclaims him as a personal King. (39-42) Just as Pilate unwittingly proclaimed Jesus a universal king, the burial of Jesus proclaims him as a personal king, through the actions of Joseph and Nicodemus. Jewish families were usually buried in a family tomb upon their death. But in the case of executed criminals, the custom was to take the bodies and place them in a common grave outside the city.
Joseph and Nicodemus do two significant things. First, Nicodemus brings 75 pounds of spices to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. That is the amount of spices that would be used for a royal burial, a funeral for a king. Second, they bury Jesus in a private tomb by himself. The gospel writer Matthew tells us that it was Joseph’s own tomb, the tomb of a wealthy influential man. Jesus may have been crucified in the manner of a criminal, but he was buried in the manner of a king. John wants to make sure we know that despite what the Jewish ruling council or the Romans might have thought, in his death Jesus was King.
The New Testament makes no distinction between Jesus as Savior and Jesus as King. Jesus wants to be our ruler. There are a lot of people and things that want to control our lives, our work, our play, our relationships. Unfortunately, we often allow them to have a status in our lives that they do not deserve. In the book of Revelation, Jesus is worshipped as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. “King of Kings” and “Lord of Lords” is how the Hebrew language expresses the superlative. In other words, Jesus is the Best Lord and the Best King. There is no one better.
Conclusion: The movie Schindler’s List narrates a story set in one of the darkest eras of human history. The movie is haunting and disturbing but also hopeful. Schindler’s List is the story of a man who sacrifices every penny he has to save the lives of over 1200 Jews from the Nazi holocaust. The history we have looked at this morning is also one of the darkest moments in human history. A righteous man is unjustly crucified. God’s Son is nailed to a cross. But in the middle the darkness there is hope. This too is a story about one man sacrificing everything he has to save the lives of people, not just 1200 but all people for all eternity. Oscar Schindler sacrificed his fortune. Jesus sacrificed his very self.
After the allies liberated Czechoslovakia, there is a powerful scene where Oscar Schindler breaks down and cries out, “I could have done more. If I hadn’t driven this car, I could have saved more.” When God came to earth to liberate men and women from their sins, His Son Jesus cried out, “It is Finished”
John tells us that his purpose in writing this particular account is that we also may believe. Belief to John would be understanding with our mind, our heart, and our life that Jesus died on the cross to bring us to God. By believing we can have life in his name.
Let’s pray. It would be unfair this morning not to give you the opportunity to respond to the truths we have looked at. The day Jesus died was a day of decision for two men. Is today a day of decision for you? Would you like to come out of the shadows and become a follower of Jesus Christ. If you want to put your faith in the fact that Jesus died for your sins and are willing to make him your King this morning, pray silently along with me.
Father, I am coming out of the shadows this morning. I admit that I have sinned against you. I believe that Jesus died in my place to pay the fines for all my crimes against You. I am trusting you to forgive me, reconcile me to you, and free me from sin. Amen.
If you prayed with me, I want you to know that you have been forgiven, you have been reconciled back to God. Jesus has paid your debts to God. You no longer stand condemned before God.
If you prayed with me, tell a friend who is a Christian about it today. Ask them to help you grow in your relationship with God. Have them call me and I will get them the tools that you can use together to help you grow.e
Tags:
Crucifixion of Jesus
Identification
Reconciliation
Burial of Jesus
Secret disciples