We now come to the last part [Chapters 19- 21] of John’s Gospel.
The hour has come (see Jesus’ high-priestly prayer in John 17:1[1]).
This is what Jesus was born for and for this truth Jesus came into the world (John 18:37). His 33 odd years of life now
come to a climax. “For this purpose I
have come to this hour…” (John 12:27)
Here we find the grand purpose of Jesus’ earthly life. It is here that we find the heart of the gospel – the sum and
substance of the Christian faith. Here we find all our hope. Here we find the
solution to man’s greatest problem, ever since the fall in Genesis 3. Here we
find the King on the Cross.
The
apostle Paul writing to the Corinthian church, says that these events, the crucifixion, the death and burial, the
resurrection are matters of first importance.
“3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day pin accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
Today we shall consider the
first -the crucifixion
OUTLINE
(i)
Vv. 17- 22 The King is enthroned on the
cross. Jesus is lifted up
(ii)
Vv. 23 - 24
The King is dis-robed.
(iii)
Vv. 25- 27 The King’s care for His own.
(i) Vv.
17- 22 The King is enthroned on the cross. Jesus is lifted up
16. He (Pilate)
delivered him over to be crucified. So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out,
bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place
of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
Jesus
is delivered over (handed over) to be crucified by the Roman soldiers. The
grand truth here is that those that handed Jesus over are in reality handed
over by God (see Acts 2:23). They
are doing what they want to do, but only because God allows them to do it. We
shall see this when we come to verse 24.
John
doesn’t repeat all of the details that you have in the other Gospel accounts.
He says nothing about Simon of Cyrene[2],
who, at some point carried the cross because Jesus had become simply too weak
from the pain and loss of blood. The explanation for this lies in John’s
focus. His focus is now entirely on the
King and His work of the cross.
18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.
Again, John bypasses the dialogue[3] between the two other men (robbers) crucified with Jesus. His focus is on the inscription:
19Pilate
also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was
crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in
Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The
King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” 22
Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”
The Jews were offended by this inscription. They had opposed Jesus claims to divinity[4], His claims to be the Son of God, and his claims to possess a kingdom not of this world (John 18:36-37). But since this in itself provided no proof of guilt in the Roman system they framed the charge in terms of Christ being a king[5], in opposition to the Roman Caesar. Pilate knew their hypocrisy (see 19:15,16 – “We have no king but Caesar”), and so, to irk the Jews he had the charge, written in the Aramaic (language of common use in Judea), and in Latin (the language of the Romans) and in Greek (the Lingua Franca or street language of the Roman empire). The Jews wanted to change the inscription, “This man claims to be the king of the Jews”, but Pilate obstinately refuses to oblige and says, “What I have written I have written.”
And so the inscription bears the truth. The one on the cross is the King of the Jews. He is the long awaited Messiah and Deliverer of the OT, but in so many ways He is profounder than Jew and Roman were able to understand.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life….” (see John
3:16-21). Here on the cross, Jesus is lifted
up (see John 12:32). Here is the
beginning of the exaltation and the enthronement of Jesus the King! The King
who is the Lamb and the Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep (John 10). He frees them from
bondage and makes them subjects of His
kingdom. Look to Him!
(ii) Vv.
23 - 24 The King’s is dis-robed.
23 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 fulfil
the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. ”So the
soldiers did these things.”
Now we read of the division of Jesus’ clothes as He is left to die a slow agonizing death on the cross. Prof. F.F Bruce says that the clothes of an executed man were legally made over to the executioners[6]. His outer garment/cloak (the himation), they divided into 4 parts, along the seams (4 soldiers crucified him). His inner garment/ tunic (the chiton) was seamless. Such a garment was difficult to divide, and instead of tearing it up, they cast lots among themselves to see who would get it. Now please see this. At the beginning of Jesus’ trial they robed him mockingly in a purple robe, with a crown of thorns (John 19:2), but now they disrobe him. Now do you remember in John 13, in the upper room, when the disciples were arguing as to who would be the greatest? Jesus disrobed Himself. He took a towel and wrapped it around His waist, and He washed the disciples’ feet as a symbol of what He was going to do on the cross. Well here we are! John sees here the fulfilment of Scripture with reference to Psalm 22:18[7] - a Messianic Psalm, which begins with the cry of forsakenness from the cross[8]. In fact, we observe that the closer John gets to the cross, the more ‘that the Scripture might be fulfilled’ passages he inserts[9].
All is foreknown by God. Nothing catches Him off guard. The humiliation of His Son, the cross is all part of God’s plan for our salvation. Jesus, on the cross, is disrobed and exposed for the purpose of our redemption- that we may be clothed in His righteousness. Chris Anderson has written a hymn that illustrates this truth,
“His robes for mine: O wonderful exchange!
Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered ‘neath God’s rage.
Draped in His righteousness, I’m justified.
I Christ I live, for in my place He died.”
And
as for the Jews and their priests and Judas and
Pilate and the soldiers we must ask – what does all the dress and cloth matter in the world if they
and we are not dressed in the righteousness
of Jesus when we must appear before the throne of the Judge of all the earth?
(iii) The King’s Care for His Own (19:25-27)
25… 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.
This
section forms a huge contrast to the previous scene of the executioners - the
soldiers, who had to do the actual horrible job of killing Jesus. The focus now shifts to those that deeply
care for Jesus. They are gathered before the cross, and they are watching this
horrible scene. In his excruciating pain Jesus does an extra-ordinary thing. He
says to Mary, His own mother, “Behold
your son!” And to John (the beloved disciple), the writer of this gospel, he
says “Behold your mother.” He is now
speaking to her and John as the King. He
has completed the work on earth, and now He must finish the work of the cross.
He must die, be buried and rise again … and after that ascend back to the
Father. He must finish the work which His Father has given Him to do (John 17:4). Things will change from now
on. He must leave behind that very
personal relationship that He had with His mother. He must leave His mother behind
in the care of others, and He commends her to John, His beloved and
trustworthy disciple: “Behold your mother!”
You
may remember Mark 3:31-35. There
Jesus was told that His mother and brothers had come to see Him. He then took
opportunity to explain the nature of true family ties and bonds. You will
remember that Jesus answers the question, “Who
are my mother and brothers”, by pointing to those sitting around Him on
that occasion. He said, “whoever does the
will of God… is my brother and sister and mother”. And here is the great l truth. In and through
the cross the King creates a new family - a new set of brothers and sisters and
mothers and fathers. He creates the church – the forever family of God.
CONCLUSION
Dear people. We are living in days of great distress. We have lost 1414 people in 28 days[10]. Much is said about medical solutions, and these will be a part of God’s answer. The greater truth is that our Creator is speaking to this sinful world. I don’t think that there is much said about this, because people do not like to connect God and pain.
But every pestilence and
plague in the Bible is ultimately sent from or permitted by God. A great illustration is found in Numbers 21:4-9. The people grumbled for
the umpteenth time against Moses and God. “And
the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people… so that many people of Israel died.”
After the people had been thoroughly afflicted, they confessed their sin
and asked Moses to pray that God might remove this plague. In response Moses
made a serpent and lifted it up on a
pole. The promise was that everyone that looked to the serpent would live.
Jesus
uses this picture when He speaks about being lifted up on the cross. Let
us lift our eyes to the King on the cross. It is to God that we must turn and
forsake and confess our great sin which translates in all sorts of ways:
stubbornness, pride, idol worship (replacing God with man- made things and
solutions)…
God
has spoken in His Word. He has told us what our sin accomplishes – eternal death
and separation from God. And He has
spoken again. In His mercy and grace He has offered us a solution. In
the cross, in the death and in the resurrection of Christ, God offers those
that look to Him and trust Him full
pardon from sin and eternal life.
[1] The hour has not yet come: 7:6,8,30 ; 8:20 ; The hour is coming 16:25,31; The hour has
come : 12:23, 13:1; 17:1
[2]
Matthew 27: 32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26
[3] Matthew 27:44 ;Luke 23:39-43
[5] Luke 23:2
[6] FF Bruce : The Gospel of John,
Eerdmans,p.369
[7]
All 4 Gospels record the division of the clothes : Matthew
27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John
19:23,24
[8] Psalm 22:1
cf. Mark15:34 ; Matthew 27:46
[9][9] John 17:12; 18:9,32; 19:24,28,36
[10] President’s speech , 30th
July 2021
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