John
19:16-37 (At the Cross)
Intro:
Valentines day: Little
A)He
didn’t always fit in with the other kids – easily left out.
B)
That is why it broke his mother’s heart when
C)
His mom – was afraid –
D)
For 3 weeks
1)
Valentines arrived – he went off to School excited to bless his classmates
His
mother prepared herself for the worst –
A)Made a special desert and
was waiting when
B) Hi Honey mommy made
special desert for you
1)But he hardly heard her
words. He just marched right on by, his
face aglow, and all he could say was:
"Not a one -- not a one." Her
heart sank.
But
then he added, "I didn't forget a one, not a single one!"
When it comes to the Love of Christ and His
work of Redemption – He didn’t miss a single one –
A)His
love demonstrated in the Work of the Cross Stretches out to every generation in
History
B) Every
nation / tribe / and people group. There is not one who cannot be touched and
changed by His Love.
C)Not
only that – but in the Crucifixion – Jesus didn’t miss a single prophecy that
needed to be fulfilled
1)Like
As
we look at John’s account of the crucifixion
I want to remind of the purpose of John’s gospel.
A)His
purpose is to present Christ as God in majesty, beauty, and glory.
B)So
John doesn’t focus so much on the agony of the Cross -
1)Instead
He magnifies who Jesus is in the prophecies
He
fulfilled
C)how
Jesus handles himself in the midst of this suffering and by the reaction of
those who are there at the scene.
D)
I believe that one of greatest ways to know that the Bible is true is thru
Fulfilled Prophecy
1)
Many that were fulfilled in His death – John gives us some clues
Tonight
I want to break down these verses into 6 sections
1)V.16-18
Jesus is led to the cross.
2)V.
19-22 Pilates inscription
3)V.
23-27 At the foot of the Cross – two groups
4)V.
28-30 The cries from the cross
5)V.31-37
Proof of His death
6)V.
38-42 The affect of His death on two men.
As
we go thru this tonight I want to highlight – the Prophecies that were
fulfilled
A)Start
with Jesus being led to the cross. RD V.16-18
16 Then he (Pilate) delivered Him to them to be
crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away. 17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place
called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew,
B) Now there
are at least 5 prophecies that were fulfilled in these verses.
1st ) Prophecy
Fulfilled:
The last three words of
C)According
to historians, crucifixion was often so terrifying - Dragged thru the city to the cross
1)Idea
was they went kicking and Screaming { After being beaten.
D)But
it says of Jesus - "led Him away." That means He willingly,
without resistance, followed.
1)There
was no panic, there was no struggle; they led, He followed.
The Prophecy
Foretold
A)In
B)
Sheep go to the Slaughter meekly quietly – they don’t know the difference.
C)In
this we see the Love of Christ magnified in that He willingly went to cross –
1)
He wasn’t forced – He didn’t go kicking
and screaming –
D)
True love willingly without hesitation gives of itself
2) BORE HIS CROSS The Prophecy Fulfilled
A)In
Type:
B)
Abe Declaring – God will provide Himself a Sacrifice. – Same place 2000 yrs
before.
3) SUFFERED
OUTSIDE THE CITY
a. The
Prophecy Fulfilled
A)John
19:17 says, "And He, bearing His cross, went forth...." What
does that mean?
B)He
"went forth" out of where?
The Prophecy Foretold
A)One
of several examples
1)
B)In
other words, the sin offering had to be removed outside the camp of
4) The Prophecies Fulfilled He was Crucified
The Prophecies
Foretold in type
A)Numbers
21 Plague serpents – Moses Serpent on a Pole –
Look up
B)Jesus
Himself acknowledged that the serpent on the brass pole was a type of Him.
And as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up, 15 that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have eternal life.
5) The Prophecy Fulfilled V.18b
A)He was numbered with the transgressors -
B)John
19:18b also fulfills prophecy: "...and two others with Him, on either
side one, and Jesus in the center."
C)Jesus
wasn't even crucified alone; He was crucified like a common criminal.
1) He was stuck up there with two criminals. You
say, "What's the significance of that?"
The Prophecy Foretold
A)
B)
Jesus was to die with evildoers. He was to die a criminal's death with other
criminals.
C)
Now we also see in the fulfillment of these Prophecies the Love of Christ in
detail
1)
He so much wanted us to believe and know that His death was sufficient – Done
in detail
Section
A)Now this is a definite
slap in the face by Pilate to the Jewish
leaders
B) Three times Pilate
declared – I find no fault in this man – but they forced his hand
1) Appeal to Caesar – Pilate
already had 2 strikes …
B)"What
was so bad about the title?" There were several things bad about it in the
eyes of the Jews.
1) JESUS OF
C)Pilate,
in obvious cynicism, put up on the title, "JESUS, OF
D)
1)
It was ridiculous to assume that any king could ever come out of
Adding to the insult Pilate called Jesus
- THE KING OF THE JEWS
A)The Jews didn't like that
a bit. Pilate definitely got some revenge with that.
B)He wanted to mock them by
showing them how debased they were in his eyes.
He hung a beaten, bloody, and ugly so-called
criminal on a cross, and then announced to the world that this man was "THE
KING OF THE JEWS."
C)If
He was their king, then what did that make them? This was an effort on Pilate's
part to lower, humiliate, and mock them.
1)
So, for a king he gave them a crucified criminal.
D)The sign written in 3
languages.
Hebrew
was the theological language; Greek, the intellectual language; Latin, the
political language.
A)Let
those who view things theologically; let those who view things intellectually;
let those who view things politically know this: Jesus is King.
B)Pilates
inscription reveals an aspect of Christ love – He wants to be King for everyone
1)
He is the king who suffered so his people could be blessed
Section
3 At the foot of the Cross – 2 groups RD v23-24
A)Prophecy
Fulfilled – Soldiers gamble for his clothes
B) Prophecy Foretold Psalm 22:18,
there is a very accurate prophecy that says, "They part my garments among
them, and cast lots upon my vesture."
C) They divided his things
among them – but His tunic without seam – cast lots
1) High priest wore a Linen
seamless garment
2)
That was the symbol of his total purity.
D)
Jesus is the final and faithful High Priest?
E)The
high priest was the liaison between God and man. 1) The Latin word for priest
is pontifex, which means "bridge
builder." The priest's job was to build a bridge from man to God.
F)
Jesus Christ was not Jus the Bridge Builder Becoming the Bridge –
Now
in this first group at the cross – See total indifference – World today
A)But in the second group
you see unending love.
RD V.25-27
B)In
the midst of all of this cruelty hatred and bitterness, we meet a little group of people standing at
the foot of the cross.
C)
3 Women and one man – The women are all named Mary –
1) Mary the Mother
2) Mary’s sister the wife of
Clopas { James/ John
3)Mary Mag
{ 7 demons cast out.
D)Jesus' own mother. Mary was
told by Simeon some thirty years before that someday her own heart would be
pierced through also (Lk. 2:35).
E)
That day had arrived as She watched her son beaten bloody – Her heart pierced
1)
The son-mother relationship has run its course; now it must be a
Redeemer-disciple relationship."
Special
courage to be there!
A)John was also there
B) Jesus asked John take
care of my mom !
1) ½ Brothers not saved yet
-
THE
CHARACTER OF CHRIST'S LOVE
A)Here
is a glimpse of the kind of love that is divine.
B)Human
love is preoccupied with its own no matter how great it is.
1)
We are so preoccupied with ourselves – our hurts our needs our pain
C)Jesus
in His darkest Hour is thinking about others
Imagine bearing all the sin
of all the universe and still being able to care about everybody around you. A)That is beyond
imagination. But that's what Christ did. That is deity, not humanity
B).
So Jesus commits John to Mary, bringing the two people who loved Him the most
together to strengthen each other.
Section
4 The Cries from the cross RD V.28-29
A)"After
this Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished..."
B)How did He know that? He
knew because He had omniscience--He knew everything.
1)Jesus
Christ was on a divine schedule with an omniscient eye looking to fulfill every
detail of prophecy.
C)He
knew exactly where He was in that schedule.
Prophecy
fulfilled: I thirst
A)In
total awareness of every fact in the universe, Jesus knew that according to
God's plan, everything was fulfilled except one scripture.
B)Psalm
69:21 said of Christ in His death, "...and
in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink."
C)He
knew that scripture had not yet been fulfilled.
1)At
the beginning of His crucifixion they had tried to give Him gall (Mt. 27:34),
which is a sedative, but He wouldn't take it so He could suffer the total pain
without any kind of deadness.
C)But
now He knows that this scripture needs to be fulfilled, so He says, "...I
thirst."
1)
They give him vinegar – not water – not wine – not
juice – Vinegar
Now
it is also interesting to note that they put the vinegar on Hyssop The Significance
of Hyssop
A)It
is a long reed with a bushy end.
B)Hyssop
is very significant to all Jews because it takes them back to the scene of
1)The
angel of death…..
C) to the Jewish mind it is reminiscent of the
great sacrifice of the Passover lamb. How fitting
…..
We
see the second cry recorded here in v.30 It is finished [Gk. One word tetelestai];
A)Now
that is the climax. That's no groan and curse of a victim; that's the
proclamation of a victor, that's the shout of triumph: "It is
finished."
B)Jesus
knew everything was done because He knew everything. He had control of every
detail, He had mapped out every detail in eternity past, and every detail
occurred exactly as He had planned.
C)"What
does Jesus mean when He says, `It is finished'?"
1)
It means that the work of redemption was done.
2)All
things had been done which the law of God required;
3)all
things fulfilled which prophecy predicted;
4) all things brought to pass which the types
foretold;
5)
all things accomplished which the Father had given Jesus to do;
6)
all things performed that were necessary for redemption.
D)Everything
was done, nothing was left.
1) COMPLETE
E)The
ransom was paid, the conflict was endured, the wages of sin were paid, and
divine justice was satisfied. 1)There was nothing more to do, so He died to
rise again. Like
when a Painter signs his name
F)
Masterpiece that cannot be added to! Mona Lisa
1)
Not going to get my markers out – Ruin it
G)
Marvel at – Enjoy – don’t ruin the work of Christ
Section 5 The Proofs Of His Death V.31-37
A)So
because of the Sabbath the Jews wanted to speed up the Process – Break the
Bones
B)
Break = to Shatter – Mallet –
C)
Came to Jesus already dead -
Prophecy
Fulfilled Not a bone would be Broken
Jesus
Christ is the perfect Passover Lamb. In order to be the perfect Passover Lamb,
He could not have a single bone broken.
Psalm 34:20 He guards all his bones;
Not
one of them is broken.
Jesus
had to die before the soldiers arrived with the mallet to crush His legs in
order to fulfill prophecy.
Jesus
controlled His death down to the very minutest detail so that every tiny piece
of prophecy was fulfilled.
He
sandwiched His death between the prophecy of the soldiers giving Him vinegar to
drink and the next prophecy of the soldiers not smashing His bones.
If
His death had occurred at any other time, then the chain of God's prophetic
truth would have been broken.
Prophecy
Fulfilled V.34 They Pierced his Side.
A)The
soldiers could not believe that He was dead so soon even though they knew He
was.
B)They
decided to verify it. If there was any life left, it would surely have been
eliminated at that point. 1)Evidently, the soldier rammed the spear deep into
the side of Jesus as He was hanging on the cross.
C)
Prophecy Foretold
That
scripture is
Mixture of
Blood and water! ...and immediately came there out blood and water."
A)Doctors
tell us that blood flowing into the pericardium (the sac about the heart) would
coagulate and separate into the red clot (blood) and the liquid serum (water).
B)When
the spear was jammed into His side the separation would be visible, indicating
that the heart had indeed ruptured.
C) There have been many
physicians who have held this view.
Dr.
Stuart Bergsma of
D)This proves that Jesus did
not die from the spear wound, but that He was already dead when the spear went
in.
.
E)
Prophecy Foretold Psalm 69:20 Reproach has broken my heart.
F)
Love of Christ is seen in that He died of a Broken heart!
Section
6 The affect of His death upon two men.
A)Love brings these two men
out of the Closet
B) They were secret
disciples – Disciples from afar
1) Both members of the
Sanhedrin the religious ruling class
C) They were sure to lose a
lot if they came out acknowledged that they believed in Jesus
1) So all throughout the
earthly ministry of Jesus they kept silent –watched from afar
D) But now when those who
followed Jesus had fled these two who no doubt were present at the Crucifixion
– Step forward
Prophecy
Fulfilled V.41 A rich man’s tomb
A)Possibly reserved for
Joseph Himself
The
Bold Men
(RD 38-39)
B)
Prophecy Foretold In
C)You
don't bury a criminal with rich men, but with the criminals. But verse 9
continues, "...yet He was with a rich man in His death..."
(NASB).
He
not only controlled His dying and His burial, He controlled... Close
“garden” – A
garden is where sin had its debut, & now in a garden sin is defused!