John Lesson 48

Introduction

Have you ever considered how close the Bible came to being made wrong, or that his prophecy proven to be inaccurate? It had to do with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the prophetic statement in Psalm 34 and verse 20 that not a bone of Jesus would be broken. When Jesus hung on the cross as he came close to the end of that day and before the Sabbath, the Jews went to Pilate and asked that the legs of those from the cross might be broken to hasten their death. But when they came to Jesus, they found him dead. And instead of breaking his legs as they had of the two thieves on either side of him, they took a spear and cast it into a side. Not only was the scripture upheld, that is, the word of God was proven to be true.

A thousand years before it happened, it predicted that not a bone should be broken. And also Zechariah had said they shall look on him whom they have pierced. Both of these prophecies prove, first of all, that Jesus indeed is the Christ, the Son of God, for he fulfilled the scripture. And secondly, they proved that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Won’t you take your Bibles and open with us to the 19th chapter of John and study together with us this touching scene in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as we let the Bible speak? Very pleasant, good day to you. I hope you’ll get your Bibles open to John chapter 19 as we continue our verse-by-verse study of this beautiful story about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

1. Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews

We’ve actually come to a very sad scene in the life of Christ because we’re talking about his trial and his crucifixion. In our last study, we studied from John chapter 19, the first seventeen or eighteen verses, where Pilate finally yielded to the plea of the Jewish leaders and allowed them to crucify him. Actually, he yielded to them, but it was the Roman soldiers who led Jesus away and who actually carried out the crucifixion. Now, as we continue in our verse by verse study, we’re reading from John nineteen, beginning in verse 19 and reading through verse 22. And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. This title then read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city.

And it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin. Then said the chief priest of the Jews to Pilate, Write not the King of the Jews, but that he said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written. Pilate had been intimidated or pressured at least by these Jewish leaders to crucify Jesus Christ. He had tried to evade passing any kind of death sentence upon him. Pilate had said three times, I found I find no fault in him. Pilate had sent him to Herod, thinking that perhaps this king of the Jews would do something with Jesus, but Herod sent him to Pilate. Pilate tried to save Jesus through Barabbas, but the Jewish rulers cried to release Barabbas and crucify Christ.

They had said he was a king. But Jesus explained that his kingdom was not of this world. Pilate could find no fault in Christ. There was no reason to crucify him. Finally they said, Well, he said he is the Son of God, and that frightened Pilate somewhat, and when he inquired of Jesus, Jesus responded not. He did not answer him. He indeed was the Son of God, and that was a true charge. But Pilate sought the Lord to release him when this statement was made about the Christ. But they finally pressured Pilate by saying, What will Caesar think? If the word comes to him that you’ve let a Jew go, a Jew who claimed to be a king. And so finally Pilate yielded to them and allowed them to take him and to crucify.

But he needles them somewhat, or he sort of gets back at them. He knows they’ve made some perverted charges against the Christ. And so now he writes an inscription. Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. And he nails that to the top of the cross, above the Lord’s head, it will appear. And all who go back and read it, all who are in that area, because it’s written in three languages, and all in that area could read either the Greek or the Hebrew or the Latin. And so finally the chief priests, they come to Jesus and say, Look, come to Pilate and say, Change that sign. Make it say that he claimed to be the son of uh claimed to be the king of the Jews, not that he is.

2. The Soldiers Cast Lots for His Coat

Pilate would not budge. He said, What I have written, I have written. He sort of gets back at them and gives them some of their own medicine, really, by this by this writing. But then now, continuing in verse 23, then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts to every soldier a part. And also his coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be, that the scripture might be fulfilled, which said, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things, therefore, the soldiers did. It is an astounding fact at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, that several prophecies are fulfilled.

Who could have guessed a thousand years before this scene that the soldiers would cast lots for his coat? And yet the psalmist, in Psalm 22 and verse 18 had so written. And now these Roman soldiers really, they were not familiar with the scripture, and they were not trying to fulfill the scripture out of knowledge, that is. But it was it was the Roman law that the executioners would divide equally the clothing of the victims. And so being four soldiers there, they divided his clothing into four parts. But they came to this tunic, uh sort of an undercoat that that was woven as one piece without seeing. And rather than cutting it into four different parts, they they cast lots for it. But in so doing, they fulfilled the scripture of Psalm 22.

Now that really tells us something about the crucifixion of Christ, that it was by the foreknowledge of God. God knew beforehand what would happen. And also tells us that the Bible itself is inspired of God. No man could have guessed that. It comes from the mind of him who has indeed revealed the Word of God by his Holy Spirit. And as the Bible is written, so it did predict about Jesus Christ, not only about his crucifixion, but even what the soldiers would do at the scene of his crucifixion. I say to you that Jesus had to be the Christ, for he fulfilled every scripture. And secondly, the Bible has to be the word of God, because the scripture cannot be broken. There are no mistakes in it.

3. Woman, Behold Thy Son

Indeed, Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, who loved us and died for us, that cruel death on the cross. He died on the cross not because these Jews were so wicked and Pilate was so powerful, but Jesus Christ died by the plan of God in order that men today may be saved. And yet these men out of hatred and out of their own wickedness, they did crucify him. From their point of view, they were doing wrong. But from God’s point of view, Jesus Christ was being given as the gift of God, that men today and all men who’ve ever lived might be saved by his precious blood. Now continuing in John nineteen, verse twenty five through twenty seven. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Cleopus, and Mary Magdalene.

When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciples standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then saith he thy mother, and from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. John does not give all the details that that we read in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In fact, in those other texts we read how that during this period of time that Jesus hung on the cross, that the soldiers even came and mocking Jesus. The Jewish rulers, the priests, the mob who were gathered about, all mocked him. He saved others, came out saved him of God come down, and they spit on him, they smote him, they ridiculed him. But Jesus, in response, accord recorded in Luke chapter twenty three, simply said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Indeed they did not understand what they were doing, that he died in the place of others who were sinners. But from their point of view, they mocked him and ridiculed him, they hated him. They did not believe him to be the Son of God. But in one of the touching scenes of Jesus Christ is is this one that John does record, which which the others do not, and that is, as he beheld his mother standing there with these other women. And John, or he says the disciple whom he loves standing nearby, and the disciple whom Jesus loved is a familiar statement in the Gospel of John, chapter 13, and particularly in the last few verses, you read chapter 21 about verses 20 through 25, you know that he’s speaking about himself.

John, who writes this book, does not ever call himself by name. And he’s the disciple whom Jesus loved, or that other disciple is the way he’s referred to. And so here the disciple whom Jesus loved is generally agreed that it is John the apostle who wrote this book. And Jesus, seeing John standing nearby, one of his close companions and apostles, he then sees his mother and he says, Behold thy mother, and woman, behold thy son. A touching scene. And a scene where you see a faithfulness of a disciple, whom Jesus says, treat her as you would your own mother. You take care of her. And to his mother he is given a friend to be as her son. So Jesus Christ indeed says to John, Woman, behold, uh to John, behold thy mother.

4. I Thirst; It Is Finished

Now beginning in verse 28, after this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now they will set a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon Hyssop and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished, and he bowed his head, and he gave up the ghost. John, again, does not give us all the details about the crucifixion of Christ. He simply says at this point, as they gave him vinegar, or probably a vinegar wine mixed with water to drink, that he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. Matthew and Mark and Luke indeed record other scenes. For example, they record how that at this scene or at this point in time, Jesus said, Eli, Eli Lama, Sabacani.

That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Perhaps some think that that signifies that the death of Jesus Christ in some way was a separation from God, just as sin separates us from God. And in that sense, that Jesus was torn even from the Father for in some means, in some measure. We cannot fully understand deity, and I do not comprehend in what sense totally that statement means. But there was agony, and there was a pain in the death of Christ. He suffered death for you and for me. Him who knew no sin was made to be sin for us. 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21. And then it also shows these other, Matthew 27 and Mark 15 and Luke 23, talk about how that the veil of the temple was rent in two from top to bottom.

It talks about an earthquake. It tells us that some of the saints were raised from their graves. And it also says that even as one of the centurions standing by, as they beheld Jesus when he died, said, Surely this was the Son of God, or this is the Son of God. Indeed, there are other scenes that do fit in and certainly make the picture more alive than what John records here. But Jesus Christ, at this point, John simply says that he said, I first, fulfilling the scripture. Again, here’s another prophecy. There are four different prophecies in this account, in John’s account of the crucifixion of Christ, that are all unique and they fulfill they are fulfilled in his death. Indeed, the scripture had predicted, Psalm 69 and verse 21, that he would be given vinegar to drink.

And so it was. At an earlier time, the soldiers had given him vinegar mixed with gall, as recorded in Mark chapter 15, and Jesus had refused to drink that. That gall is the bitterness. But now they gave him vinegar to drink. He says I thirst, and he receives this. There are two different times he’s given something to drink. This time the gall is not mentioned. Perhaps it was the same type of wine mixed with that the soldiers and others would quench their thirst with, and they filled it with a sponge and gave it to him, and he drank. And then he yielded up the ghost. That is, he died. The body separated from the Spirit. Jesus Christ gave himself to die for us, for you and for me.

Have you lived for him? Are you willing to stand up and be counted as one of his who loved you and died for you? We’ll be back in just a moment and continue our study of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Jesus actually hung on the cross for a total of some six hours. Now John does not tell us the time frame, but but in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we we’re able to gather the time that Jesus was crucified. In fact, Mark chapter 15 and verse 25 says it was a third hour, and they crucified him. And according to the Jewish time, which Mark usually follows, that the third hour would be something like about 9 a.m. The third hour is their day began at 6 a.m.

and would end would end 12 hours later at 6 p.m. So counting three hours from 6 a.m. it would be 9 a.m. that Jesus was crucified. He went on the cross for some three hours until at the at the the scripture says at the sixth hour, that’s in verse thirty-three of Mark, darkness was over the whole land. So darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And then it was in the ninth hour that Jesus said I first, and they filled the sponge with vinegar and gave him to drink, and he died. A total of some six horrible hours. Actually, crucifixion many times took longer than that. Many times it is said that those who were nailed to their cross would hang there for even days.

They they could not live and they could not die. It was a painful, agonizing death. But Jesus Christ, the Son of God, hung for six long hours. And as he hung there and they mocked him and then ridiculed him, he gave himself willingly.

5. A Bone of Him Shall Not Be Broken

But he yielded up the ghost. He died on the cross. The scripture says, beginning in John 19 and verse 31, the Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was an high day, besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and broke the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they broke not his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith there came out blood and water. And he and he that saw it bare record, and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.

For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken. And again, another scripture saith, they shall look on him whom they pierced. Now, in in that the scripture says it was the day of preparation, and that simply means it was the day before the Sabbath. Even from Exodus chapter 16 and verse 5, they were to prepare for the next day. They would gather up enough manna for the Sabbath day so that they would do no work at all on the Sabbath. And so it came to be known that the day preceding the Sabbath was called the preparation day. And so this was the day on which Jesus Christ was crucified, the day before the Sabbath. And the Jews, while they were unscrupulous scrupulous in their crucifixion of Christ, their uh charges before uh Pilate about the Christ, they could be very scrupulous about cer certain matters.

And so they were about about this matter of one hanging on the cross. For the law of Moses did forbid that they should leave one hanging on a tree overnight. And they especially thought uh that uh that it would be a defilement if if on the Sabbath day that one should hang on the cross. So they get somewhat bothered as the sun begins to go down and and they see the Sabbath drawing nigh. At the ninth hour they really needed only just uh you know three more hours, and their day would have been ended, or the Sabbath would have begun. And so they go to Pilate and beseech Pilate to hasten their death. They asked for permission to break the legs of those who are on the cross, and Pilate grants it.

And so when they they come to the cross, they break the legs of the thieves on either side, and they come to Jesus and they are ready to break his legs, and they behold that he is dead already. He has given up the ghost. And a soldier takes a spear and and thrusts into his side, and from that wound gushes forth blood and water. Not only did that soldier put to silence forever those who have doubted that Christ died, these Roman executioners knew how to put one to death. And they certainly knew whether Jesus was dead or not. But to really confirm that fact, as he thrusts that spear into a side, it certainly confirms that Jesus Christ was dead. But also we see a lesson in this.

How close the scripture came to being broken? Or how close it came to being made wrong. Would the prophet have been wrong had they broken the legs of Jesus? Indeed, the prophet had said earlier in Psalm 34 and verse 10 that no bone shall be broken. And how close the soldier came to breaking his legs, only to find that he was dead and there was no need to break his legs. But while we may say it came close to breaking the scripture by breaking his legs, at the same time, look how strong it makes the word of God and convincingly proves that Jesus had to be the Christ, the Son of God, and convincingly proves that the Scripture had to be from the mind of God.

No man could have guessed it. Who could have guessed any one of these four prophecies that we’ve we’ve already talked about in this crucifixion of Christ? The prophecy that Jesus Christ would they would cast lots for his coat. Who could have guessed that? The soldiers weren’t trying to fulfill the scripture. Or who could have guessed that they would give him vinegar to drink? Or now that no bone should be broken when they did break the bones of the fieves on either side of him. Or finally, that that a spear would be cast into the side, that he would be thrust through it with this by this the spirit of this soldier. Who could have guessed that? It was all done spontaneously by by these heathen soldiers.

It was not by some some disciple who was familiar with the word of God and came up and said, Now let’s see here, we’ve got to do this and we’ve got to do that. But rather, just as prophecy really is, uh, God says, Before it springs forth, I shall tell you, so God could know even a thousand years beforehand what would take place. These scriptures, therefore, being fulfilled, do two things. They prove that the Bible indeed is the word of God. It could not have been the work of men. Had man wanted to, he couldn’t all have guessed it. Indeed, man perhaps would have guessed stoning as the form of death, at least when the Bible was being written, the Old Testament scriptures prophesying about Christ, stoning was the method of putting a blasphemer to death.

And that’s the charge the Jews had against Christ. And so had they just been following the Jewish tradition when they wrote if it were written from the mind to man, they would have predicted a stoning. But Jesus Christ was crucified. That was a Roman method. And the Bible predicted crucifixion. Furthermore, the Bible predicted these different steps and procedures that would be taken at his crucifixion. It had to be from the mind of God. But not only is the Bible the work of God revealed by the Holy Spirit through holy men as they spake and as they wrote it, but also it proves Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is the Messiah. He who claimed to be the Son of God indeed by giving his life on the cross according to God’s foreknowledge and his determinant plan, as Peter preached in Acts chapter 23, Christ was delivered up.

Those who with wicked hands have crucified him. But Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. It’s a sad scene, but it’s also a glad scene. For Jesus willingly gave himself that you and I might live. And it takes us back even to the to the some of the early passages in the Gospel of John, like John 3 and verse 16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Indeed, God so loved the world.

6. Joseph and Nicodemus Bury Jesus

And Christ loved his Father, but he loved you and me also. And Jesus Christ willingly died that you and I might have eternal life. What will you do with Jesus Christ? Will you accept him? Are you convinced that the Bible is the Word of God? Are you convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? What are you doing about it? Well, as we conclude this chapter 19, we find that there are two men who come to bury Jesus, and they’ve not done anything with Jesus at the time perhaps they should have. It seems to be a paradox when you when you think about these two men who come to bury Jesus. I say a paradox because who would have thought that two rulers are the Jews?

Two members of the Sanhedrin Council, two members of that council that had agreed to take Jesus to Pilate, and that council that had agreed to seek his death, that two of its members would now come and bury Jesus. The scripture says, and the Bible says in John 1938, after this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus and wound it in in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden, and the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus, therefore, because of the Jews’ preparation day. Well, the sepulchre was nigh at hand. Joseph of Arimathea is here mentioned. And Mark he is described as a rich man, as a good and a just man. But he’s described as a counselor, and he had not agreed with the decision of the whole council. There were seventy members on the Sanhedrin council, and surely was outnumbered. But the key statement here is that he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly. He had not had the courage of faith to stand up at the time, perhaps he could have and should have. But now he openly is willing to come and to bury Jesus after his death.

Conclusion

There are others who perhaps will wait too late to stand up for the Christ. But Joseph comes and he seeks to bury Jesus, and now also Nicodemus, and this Nicodemus is a ruler of the Jews. Back in John chapter 3, it was Nicodemus who came to Jesus by night and questioned him concerning the new birth. It was Nicodemus who was told, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. John three and verse five. Perhaps it is the same Nicodemus, who, like a Joseph was, was a disciple, but secretly. And he brought a hundred pound of myrrh and aloes, spices, with which to prepare the body of Jesus for burial. Joseph and Nicodemus buried him. Are you a disciple of the Lord, but secretly, like a Joseph and a Nicodemus?

What do you believe of that Christ? Would you not stand up for Christ, believing in him? God so loved you that he gave Christ for you. Whosoever believeth in him should not perish. But that belief involves also obedience, just like he told Nicodemus in John three and verse 5. Except a man be born of water and the spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Won’t you accept Christ, obey him, repent of your sins, and be baptized? Christ died for you. Won’t you live for him? May God be with him, bless you. Until our next study.