John 19:16-42: “Jesus Is
Crucified, Dies, And Is Laid To Rest In A Tomb”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked at verses 1-22 of chapter 19.
1.1.1.
We looked
at the history of crucifixion.
1.1.2.
We saw
that Jesus was “led” to crucifixion and not forced or dragged, for He
was willingly laying down His life for the sins of mankind on this day.
1.1.3.
We saw a number of prophesies of the scripture
fulfilled in Jesus on this day when He was crucified.
1.1.4.
We saw that Pontius Pilate had allowed the Roman
soldiers to punch Jesus in the face after they wove a crown of thorns and put
it on His head, put a purple robe on Him, and put a reed for a scepter in His
hand and then mockingly hailed Him as king.
They did this not knowing that they were fulfilling the scripture in
doing so: Micah 5:1, “…With a rod they will smite the judge of
1.1.5.
We saw that even though
Pilate was convinced of Jesus’ innocence he had Jesus scourged, which meant
that Jesus received 39 lashes with a leather whip consisting of several strands
of leather with pieces of bone or metal tied in its ends. This scourging alone would often kill even a
healthy man. Pilate did this though
hoping to get the Pharisees and chief priests to have compassion on Jesus and
not insist on executing Him, but they demanded Jesus’ crucifixion anyway.
1.1.6.
Finally, we saw that
Pontius Pilate went ahead and finally gave permission for the Jews to crucify
Jesus because though he was convinced of Jesus’ innocence, the Jewish leaders
had accused and threatened him with treason for not executing a man who claimed
to be a king when there was only one king, Caesar. So, for pragmatic reasons and to avoid any
further trouble with the Jews Pilate chose against his own conscience to turn
his back on Jesus and sanction Jesus’ crucifixion.
1.1.7.
Pilate was a man who had the chance to make a
difference and stand up for the truth and for Jesus but lacked the courage and
moral resolution to do so.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at verses
16-42 of chapter 19.
1.2.1.
We will review verses 16-22 which we discussed in
detail in our previous study and look at what Jesus went through on this day
when He was crucified, taking our information from what a medical doctor has
written concerning the medical aspects of death by crucifixion.
1.2.2.
We will see more Old Testament prophesies concerning
the Messiah fulfilled on this day, and be amazed that hundreds of years before crucifixion
was even used as a form of punishment that dozens of very specific prophesies
were made concerning the events of Jesus’ crucifixion that would occur when the
Messiah would come as the suffering servant to die for the sins of mankind. We do not have time to cover all of these
prophesies but we will look at many of them in this study.
1.2.3.
In the Old Testament there were many prophesies which
describe what Jesus was doing for mankind on the cross on this day:
1.2.3.1.Isaiah 53, “3
He was despised and forsaken of
men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men
hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He
carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He
was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we
are healed. 6 All of
us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him…11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it
and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will
justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And
He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to
death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of
many, And interceded for the transgressors.”
1.2.4.
The blood of Jesus Christ was being shed in order to
make an atonement and covering for the sins of mankind, and His body was
beaten, bruised, and broken to pay the full debt of the sin of every man, woman
and child who ever will live upon the earth.
2.
VS 19:16-17 - “So
he then delivered Him to them to be crucified.
They took Jesus therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to
the place called the place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew
2.1.
We saw in our last study that only the worst of
criminals who had committed heinous murder or vicious treason would be killed
by crucifixion, and no Roman citizen could ever receive the sentence of
crucifixion.
2.2.
John does not detail very graphically nor specifically
the depth of the suffering and humiliation Jesus went through on this day,
though the other gospel writers give us more of these details. In the Old Testament there are a few places
that speak to the depth of suffering that the Messiah would go through in
paying for our sins, for instance :
2.2.1.
Isaiah 50:6 mentions that those who would torture and
punish the Messiah would even pluck out his beard and spit in his face, “6
I gave My back to those who
strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not
cover My face from humiliation and spitting.”
2.2.2.
Isaiah 52:14 tells us that people would be shocked and
stunned at the great suffering that the Messiah would go through and that he
would go through so much that even his body would be so disfigured and marred
that it would be worse than what any man had ever experienced, “14 Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So
His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of
men.” Chuck Missler suggests that Jesus’
disfigurement may have been one of the reasons that Jesus was not easily recognized
by His disciples after His resurrection from the dead.
2.3.
In order to publicly humiliate Jesus, He was forced to
carry His cross 650 yards right through the streets of
2.4.
David Terasaka, an MD, writes the following about
Jesus carrying His cross on this day:
From the
beating, Jesus walked on a path, now known as the Via Dolorosa or the "way
of suffering", to be crucified at
The present
Via Dolorosa was marked in the 16th century as the route over which Christ was
led to His crucifixion (Magi). As is the location of
3.
VS 19:18-22 - “There
they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus
in between. And Pilate wrote an
inscription also, and put it on the cross.
And it was written, “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews”. Therefore this inscription many of the Jews
read, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and
Greek. And so the chief priests of the
Jews were saying to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews”; but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews’. Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have
written’.” - John tells
us that they crucified Jesus in between two men and that Pilate forced those
who crucified Jesus to write on His cross, “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the
Jews”
3.1.
We saw
previously that Jesus’ being crucified in between two thieves fulfilled these
two Messianic prophesies of the Old Testament:
3.1.1.
Isaiah 53:12, “12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And
He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to
death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of
many, And interceded for the transgressors.”
3.1.2.
Psalm 22:16, “16 For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has
encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.”
3.2.
Also, with Jesus crucified in the middle in between
the two thieves, attention would be drawn to Him. All that Pilate did to draw attention to
Jesus, God used for promoting the gospel.
Though Pilate had hoped to humiliate and squelch any insubordination of
the Jews by publicly crucifying their “King,” as a result of Jesus being
a public spectacle many of the masses were later converted after Jesus raised
from the dead and the church began preaching the gospel.
3.3.
John doesn’t include in his gospel what the other
gospel writers say of the taunting of Jesus upon the cross that came from the
Roman soldiers, the chief priests, and even the thieves crucified next to
Him. These men mocked Jesus and His
claims, and the chief priests even told Him to come down from the cross and
then they would believe in Him. Some
said, “He saved others, but He can’t save Himself.” This ridicule and taunting of Jesus upon the
cross was done in fulfillment of Psalm 22:7-8,
“7 All who see me sneer at
me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, 8 “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He
delights in him.””
3.4.
Several medical doctors in the last several years have
written about the medical aspects of what Jesus Christ went through on this day
when He was beaten, tortured, and crucified.
For instance, Dr. David Terasaka has written about the method by which
Jesus was crucified on this day:
The procedure
of crucifixion may be summarized as follows. The patibulum was put on the
ground and the victim laid upon it. Nails, about 7 inches long and with a
diameter of 1 cm ( roughly 3/8 of an inch) were driven in the wrists . The
points would go into the vicinity of the median nerve, causing shocks of pain
to radiate through the arms. It was possible to place the nails between the
bones so that no fractures (or broken bones) occurred. Studies have shown that
nails were probably driven through the small bones of the wrist, since nails in
the palms of the hand would not support the weight of a body. In ancient
terminology, the wrist was considered to be part of the hand. (
3.5.
Dr. David Terasaka writes more about the physical
suffering Jesus endured on the cross:
Having
suffered from the beatings and flogging, Jesus suffered from severe hypovolemia
from the loss of blood. The verses above describe His dehydrated state and loss
of His strength.
When the cross
was erected upright, there was tremendous strain put on the wrists, arms and
shoulders, resulting in a dislocation of the shoulder and elbow joints
(Metherall). The arms, being held up and outward, held the rib cage in a fixed
end inspiratory position which made it extremely difficult to exhale, and
impossible to take a full breath. The victim would only be able to take very
shallow breaths. (This may explain why Jesus made very short statements while
on the cross). As time passed, the muscles, from the loss of blood, lack of
oxygen and the fixed position of the body, would undergo severe cramps and
spasmodic contractions
3.6.
Dr. David Terasaka writes more about how a person who
has been crucified would have died:
·
Shallowness
of breathing causes small areas of lung collapse.
·
Decreased
oxygen and increased carbon dioxide causes acidic conditions in the tissues.
·
Fluid
builds up in the lungs. Makes situation in step 2 worse.
·
Heart
is stressed and eventually fails.
The slow process
of suffering and resulting death during a crucifixion may be summarized as
follows:
"...it
appears likely that the mechanism of death in crucifixion was suffocation. The
chain of events which ultimately led to suffocation are as follows: With the
weight of the body being supported by the sedulum, the arms were pulled upward.
This caused the intercostal and pectoral muscles to be stretched. Furthermore,
movement of these muscles was opposed by the weight of the body. With the
muscles of respiration thus stretched, the respiratory bellows became
relatively fixed. As dyspnea developed and pain in the wrists and arms
increased, the victim was forced to raise the body off the sedulum, thereby
transferring the weight of the body to the feet. Respirations became easier,
but with the weight of the body being exerted on the feet, pain in the feet and
legs mounted. When the pain became unbearable, the victim again slumped down on
the sedulum with the weight of the body pulling on the wrists and again
stretching the intercostal muscles. Thus, the victim alternated between lifting
his body off the sedulum in order to breathe and slumping down on the sedulum
to relieve pain in the feet. Eventually , he became exhausted or lapsed into
unconsciousness so that he could no longer lift his body off the sedulum. In
this position, with the respiratory muscles essentially paralyzed, the victim
suffocated and died. (DePasquale and Burch)
Due to the
shallow breathing, the victim's lungs begin to collapse in small areas causing hypoxia
and hypercarbia. A respiratory acidosis, with lack of compensation by the
kidneys due to the loss of blood from the numerous beatings, resulted in an
increased strain on the heart, which beats faster to compensate. Fluid builds
up in the lungs. . Under the stress of hypoxia and acidosis the heart
eventually fails. There are several different theories on the actual cause of
death. One theory states that there was a filling of the pericardium with
fluid, which put a fatal strain on the ability of the heart to pump blood
(Lumpkin). Another theory states that Jesus died of cardiac rupture"
(Bergsma). Another says the cause of Jesus' death "may have been
multifactorial and related primarily to hypovolemic shock, exhaustion asphyxia
and perhaps acute heart failure" (Edwards). A fatal cardiac arrhythmia
may have caused the final terminal event (Johnson, Edwards).
4.
Finally,
Dr. David Terasaka speaks of how that the gospels are very clear in showing
that Jesus’ death by crucifixion did not occur in the way that was typical in
Jesus’ day for those who died by crucifixion:
John 10:17-18 "The
reason my Father loves me is that I lay
down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord. I
have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I
received from my Father."
Luke 23:46 "Jesus
called out with a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit'."
When he had said this, he breathed his last.
The average
time of suffering before death by crucifixion is stated to be about 2-4 days
(Tenney). There are even reported cases where the victims lived for 9 days
(Lipsius). Jesus died a relatively quick physical death. In fact, Pilate was
surprised that He had died so soon (Mark 15:44). While many of the physical
signs preceding death were present, Jesus did not die from physical causes.
Jesus gave up His life of His own accord.
All of the final statements that Jesus makes on the cross leave one with the
impression that Jesus chose His time to die. His last statement, "Into
your hands I commit my Spirit"
shows that Jesus' death occurred by giving Himself up. John's gospel records
Jesus' death in this way: "With that He bowed His head and gave up His spirit" (John
19:30b). Matthew writes: "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud
voice, He gave up His
spirit" (Matthew 27:50).
Earlier in Jesus' ministry, Jesus made
it clear that only He has the power to lay down His life (John 10:17-18). He
proved His power over death by His resurrection. Jesus gave up His life of His
own accord.
5.
VS
19:23-24 - “The soldiers therefore, when they had
crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every
soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one
piece. They said therefore to one
another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be’;
that the Scripture might be fulfilled, ‘They divided My outer garments
among them, and for My clothing they cast lots’.” - John tells us that the soldiers who crucified
Jesus divided up His outer garments into four parts, and also His tunic, and
cast lots for who would get them
5.1.
One of the humiliating aspects of crucifixion was that
a man was first stripped of his clothes and then crucified. This is what happened to Jesus, they did not
put the groin cloth around Him as the crucifixion paintings typically have
depicted. Jesus was stripped naked to be
crucified.
5.2.
The scripture in Psalm 22:18 was fulfilled in that the
soldiers gambled for Jesus’ robe, and that each of the four received a part of
His inner garments, “18 They
divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.”
5.3.
Jesus tunic or robe was a
seamless garment and more valuable than the rest of His clothes and therefore
they cast lots to see which one of them would get the garment. In a number of places in the New Testament,
we as Christians are exhorted to “put on” something, using the language
for putting on clothes, “the Lord Jesus Christ,” “the breastplate of
righteousness,” “the armor of light,” etc. In this case we see that that which
surrounded the Lord Jesus was of one piece and without seam. This seems to picture the fact of the
perfections of Jesus Christ as being complete.
He is perfect in holiness, righteousness, love, etc.
6.
VS
19:25-27 - “Therefore the soldiers did these
things. But there were standing by the
cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the
disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold,
your son!’ Then He said to the disciple,
‘Behold, your mother!’ And from that
hour the disciple took her into his own household.”
- John tells us that at the cross there
was present Jesus’ mother and His mother’s sister Mary, and Mary Magdalene, in
addition to the disciple whom Jesus loved, and that Jesus directed this
disciple to take care of His mother
6.1.
We know from the cumulative record of the gospel
writers that there at the cross were the Roman soldiers, some chief priests,
possibly Pilate, Mary Magdalene, Mary the wife of Clopas and mother of James
the less who is also believed by many to be a Jesus’ aunt the sister of Joseph,
Jesus mother, and the apostle John (referred to in his gospel as ‘the
disciple whom Jesus loved.’
6.2.
As He was hanging on the cross in incredible agony and
exhaustion, Jesus was not thinking of His own suffering and dilemma, and this
is proven by the utterings that He made upon that cross. Here He has the presence of mind and concern
to assign the apostle John, author of this gospel, to take His mother into his
own house and take care of her.
6.3.
The apostle John may have been young at this time
because Jesus first assigns Mary to be his mother, then assigns John to take
care of her as his mother. John records
that he took Mary into his home from that time forth and took care of her.
6.4.
This assignment of Mary to John intimates a few
things: Joseph was now dead, at this
point in time Jesus’ brothers did not afford a proper protection and care for
His mother, and that spiritual relationships and families are greater than
earthly or fleshly ones.
6.5.
There are only two times in this gospel when Jesus
calls His mother, ‘Woman,’ here and in the early part of this gospel before
He turns water into wine at the wedding of Cana. In both instances, Jesus is revealing to Mary
through calling her this that He is Her Lord and Savior, and He is now going to
be His own man and not live in submission to His earthly parents. Here we have to realize that Jesus is cutting
the family ties at death because family will not be the same in the next life
for their will be no marriage and therefore families will not exist as they do
on earth. Jesus will relate to His
earthly mother now only as her Lord and Master as is the case with each and
every other disciple.
6.6.
The fact that Mary now enters into a new relationship
with Jesus is seen in her disappearance from the pages of the scripture after
this day only to be seen once at a prayer meeting. Contrary to Catholic teaching, Mary’s role is
now just that of any disciple.
6.7.
Mary the mother of Jesus had become a woman of
incredible fortitude for none of the gospels record that she uttered a single
word throughout as she witnessed what Jesus went through on this day. She suffered quietly. The prophetic word given to Mary by Simeon
was fulfilled on this day for a sword did pierce Mary’s heart as she watched
her son upon the cross: “Luke 2:34-35, “34
And Simeon blessed them and said
to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and
rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— 35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end
that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.””
6.8.
Other gospel writers have included that of the six
hours while Jesus hung on the cross, for the 6th hour until the ninth hour the
sun was obscured and darkness covered the land:
6.8.1.
Perhaps God darkened the land because He could no
longer look upon His Son who had been “made sin.”
6.8.2.
Perhaps God was wanting to limit the humiliation of
Jesus upon the cross and thus darkened the land.
6.8.3.
It could be that God just intended to show some sort
of supernatural phenomenon to accompany and validate what Christ was doing upon
the cross.
6.9.
Matthew records that when Jesus yielded up His spirit
that there was a big earthquake and rocks were split and the veil of the temple
was torn in two, and many of the saints of old were opened and these saints of
old walked into town and were recognized by many: Matthew 27:50-54, “50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded
up His spirit. 51 And
behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the
earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who
had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they
entered the holy city and appeared to many. 54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping
guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were
happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”” A Couple of
observations can be made about this passage:
6.9.1.
The veil of the temple separated men from the Holy of
Holies where the Lord dwelt and the Ark of the Covenant was located. The book of Hebrews tells us that this veil
symbolized that man could not enter into God’s presence in that covenant. However, now when the Lord miraculously
splits the veil from top to bottom when Jesus breathes His last this symbolizes
the fact that the Lord had now nullified the Old Covenant and brought in the
New Covenant which is through the blood of Jesus shed for mankind’s sins. Mankind can now come into the presence of God
through Jesus Christ and the blood of His covenant which has made atonement for
their sins.
6.9.2.
It is amazing to see that as all of the events occur
while Jesus is on the cross that the very Roman soldiers who nailed Jesus to
the cross began slowly realizing who it was whom they had crucified on this
day. Also, Luke 23:48 tells us that
after seeing all of these things that happened that many returned beating their
breasts as they realized what men had done to God’s Son.
7.
VS
19:28-30 - “After this, Jesus, knowing that all
things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture might be
fulfilled, said, ‘I am thirsty’. A jar
full of sour wine was standing there; so
they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop, and brought it
up to His mouth. When Jesus therefore
had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head, and gave up His
spirit.” - John tells
us that there upon the cross that Jesus said He was thirsty and that a sponge
was put into a jar full of sour wine, then after this He bowed His head and
said, “It is finished,” and gave up His spirit
7.1.
The only time during His crucifixion that Jesus says
anything relating to His own suffering and condition is here after it says that
He knew that ‘all things had already been accomplished.’
7.2.
Psalm 22:15 was fulfilled in that Jesus became thirsty
upon the cross, “15 My strength is dried up
like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust
of death.”
7.3.
In requesting the wine, the messianic prophecy in Ps.
69:21 was fulfilled, “They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst
they gave me vinegar to drink.” In
Matthew chapter 27, verse 34 and 48 tell us that at first they tried to give
Jesus some vinegar mixed with gall which was a pain killer that was sometimes
given in mercy to those who were hanging on a cross, but because Jesus had to
experience the full pain of crucifixion to pay the full debt of our sins, He
refused this first offer. However, He
later then accepted the offer to drink a little vinegar, that Ps. 69:21 might
be fulfilled.
7.4.
In each account of the crucifixion, the gospel writers
describe Jesus as “giving up His spirit” as opposed to saying that He
died. Even in His death itself, it was
Jesus who willingly gave up His life for us.
7.5.
Wescott has placed the seven utterances of Jesus upon
the cross which the four gospel writers chronicle in the following sequential
order:
7.5.1.
Before the
three hours of darkness:
7.5.1.1.“Father,
forgive them for they know not what they do,” Luke 23:34.
7.5.1.2.“Today thou
shalt be with Me in Paradise,” Luke 23:43.
7.5.1.3.“Woman,
behold thy son ... Behold thy mother,” John 19:26.
7.5.1.4.“My God,
My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?” Matt. 27:46, Mark 15:34.
7.5.2.
After the
three hours of darkness:
7.5.2.1.“I thirst,”
John 19:28.
7.5.2.2.“It is finished,”
John 19:30.
7.5.2.3.“Father,
into Thy hands I commend My spirit,” Luke 23:46.
7.6.
We have seen over and over how that each of he gospel
writers emphasizes a different aspect of Jesus’ life in their biography. Matthew emphasizes Jesus as the promised King
and Messiah of the Jews. Mark emphasizes
Jesus’ work and always show Him in action.
Luke shows the humanity of Jesus and therefore we see Him in His
weakness as well as the many personal interactions which resulted in healings
for people. John emphasizes Jesus as the
incarnate Son of God and His divinity is seen throughout. We saw that in John’s recalling of the events
of Jesus’ life this last day that John didn’t re-tell anything having to do
with Jesus’ huge suffering and agony in the Garden of Even because that would
reveal His humanity. Here upon the
cross, John tells us of only three of Jesus’ last words, “Woman, behold thy
son…behold thy mother, “I thirst,” and “It is finished.” Each of these statements reveal Jesus in His
divinity.
7.7.
The Messianic Psalm 22, in Psalm 22:1, we find these
words which were Jesus first utterance upon the cross, “1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my
deliverance are the words of my groaning.” Jesus said these words not only because the
scripture foretold them but also because since He had been made to be sin the
Father could not look upon Him, and one of the consequences Jesus endured on
this day when He was paying the full debt of our sins was separation from the
Father.
8.
VS
19:31-37 - “The Jews therefore, because it was the
day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the
Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day),
asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of
the other man who was crucified with Him;
but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did
not break His legs; but one of the
soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood
and water. And he who has seen has borne
witness, and his witness is true; and he
knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things came to pass, that the
Scripture might be fulfilled, ‘Not a bone of Him shall be broken’. And again another Scripture says, ‘They shall
look on Him whom they pierced’” - John tells
us of the events off this evening when Jesus was taken off of the cross and
laid in a tomb belonging to a disciple named Joseph of Arimathea
8.1.
The Jewish leaders had just murdered Jesus, yet they
did not want to break an Old Testament law.
Deut. 21:22-23 stated that a dead body was always to buried before
sunrise and not to be left hanging overnight on a tree, “22 “If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is
put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you
shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of
God), so that you do not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance.” The chief
priests and scribes therefore wanted to make sure they took the bodies off of
the cross before sundown and sent the soldiers to take care of this.
8.2.
The soldiers who were commanded to break the legs of
those who had been crucified that day to make sure they were dead, and they
went from man to man breaking legs.
However, when they got to Jesus they discovered He was already dead, so
they chose to disobey their orders because being executioners they knew a dead
body when they saw one, so they instead just pierced His side, cutting into His
heart, to make sure He was dead. Psalm
34:20 was fulfilled through the disobedience of these Roman soldiers though in
choosing to pierce Jesus’ side rather than break His legs, for not one bone of
Jesus was broken during the crucifixion, “20 He keeps all his bones, Not one of them is broken.”
8.3.
Another type that was fulfilled through none of Jesus’
bones being broken on the cross had to do with the regulations for the Passover
Meal for Exodus 12:46 states that the Israelites were not allowed to break any
bone of the Passover Lamb when they ate it, “46 “It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to
bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house, nor are you to break any
bone of it.”
8.4.
These soldiers by their disobedience also fulfilled a
second prophesy in scripture when their pierced Jesus’ side with a spear. Isaiah 53:5 prophesied that the Messiah would
be “pierced through for our transgressions,” “5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was
crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon
Him, And by His scourging we are healed.” Likewise, the first half of the prophesy in Zech. 12:10 was
fulfilled that the Jews would pierce their Messiah, “10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they
will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one
mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter
weeping over a firstborn.’ During the 7 year Tribulation of the book of
Revelation the Jewish nation shall fulfill the rest of this prophesy when they
realize that Jesus was their Messiah and that they crucified and pierced Him,
as the nation turns to accept Jesus as their Messiah. At that same time
8.5.
The fact that water and blood came out of Jesus side
is proof that Jesus was dead, for the blood had separated inside of His heart,
or perhaps the stress of being crucified had caused a great buildup of water in
the sack around His heart.
8.6.
The New
Testament intimates a spiritual significance to the blood and water that came
out of Jesus’ side in 1 John 5:6-8, “6 This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus
Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is
the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are
in agreement.”
8.6.1.
The ‘blood’
of Jesus is applied God-wards for it makes atonement or covering for our sins
so that we can have a relationship with God not separated by the offense of
transgressions we have committed against Him.
8.6.1.1.Romans 5:9,
“9 Much more then, having
now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God
through Him.”
8.6.1.2.Hebrews
9:14, “14 how much more will the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish
to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”.
8.6.2.
The ‘water’
that poured from Jesus’ side symbolizes that which is applied on our
behalf in cleansing and purification of
our sins.
8.6.2.1.Psalm 51:7,
“7 Purify me with hyssop,
and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
8.6.2.2.Ezekiel
36:25, “25 “Then I will sprinkle
clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your
filthiness and from all your idols.”
8.6.2.3.Zechariah
13:1, “1 “In that day a
fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of
8.7.
John tells us in this passage that we can depend upon
the accuracy of this story because he was an eye-witness of the events. Also, since “the disciple whom Jesus’
loved” was the only disciple mentioned by any of the gospels at the cross
on this day, this statement by John assures us that he is that disciple whom he
mentions by this title in a few places in his gospel.
9.
VS
19:38-42 - “And after these things Joseph of Arimathea,
being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one,
for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of
Jesus; and Pilate granted
permission. He came therefore, and took
away His body. And Nicodemus came also,
who had first come to Him by night;
bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.
And so they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen wrappings with
the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 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.
Therefore on account of the Jewish day of preparation, because the tomb
was nearby, they laid Jesus there.” - John tells
us that Joseph of Arimathea who was a secret disciple obtained permission to
take the body of Jesus along with Nicodemus, and they took the body of Jesus
and covered it with spices and a burial wrap and placed it in a tomb nearby
9.1.
Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Sanhedrin, and
he had been a member of the ruling Sanhedrin, however he was a secret disciple
of Jesus. He had voted against the
crucifixion of Jesus when Jesus was tried, however.
9.2.
In this section, these secret disciples who previously
had acted fearfully, Joseph and Nicodemus, suddenly became bold and asked for
the body of Jesus so that they might give Him as much of a proper burial as is
possible. The death of Jesus is already
having an impact on men! Having taken
the body of Jesus, Joseph places Jesus in a tomb which he had owned which was
by a garden.
9.3.
Joseph of Arimathea’s giving Jesus a burial tomb and
Nicodemus’ bringing 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes to anoint Jesus’ body were
both very costly sacrifices and show the genuine love that these men had for
Jesus.
9.4.
Jesus was not dismembered and disemboweled and then
filled with embalming fluid as was the habit of the Egyptians, instead He was
buried according to the style of the Jews.
They placed 100 lbs. of myrrh and aloes all over the outside of the
body, and then wrapped burial clothes around each limb and then around the
torso. Then they wrapped the clothes
around His head. They laid Jesus in the
tomb on Friday afternoon, and in that tomb He laid all through Saturday (the
Sabbath), only to rise early Sunday morning.
10.
CONCLUSIONS:
10.1.
When we
see so many prophesies of the scriptures written hundreds of years before being
fulfilled in Jesus’ crucifixion, how could we ever doubt the truth of God’s
word nor His faithfulness to fulfill every promise He has made to us in His
word?
10.2.
When you
see the extent that God went to in sending His Son to die for your sins upon
the cross, how can you ever doubt His genuine love for you? How can fail to trust that He always has only
your best in mind in all that does in your life?
10.3.
When you
consider all that Jesus suffered for you in order to obtain your pardon,
forgiveness, and justification, can you not be willing to serve Him with all of
your heart and life and suffer for Him if He calls you to do so?