The Crucified King

If You have your bibles open them up to John 19.

I have tilted the message this morning, “The Crucified King”

The gospel of John is wrapping up. Where Jesus is going to his place of Death. Remember the last couple of weeks we have seen the Jews brought Jesus to Pilate to Judge him for these false crimes. They claimed to Pilate that Jesus was claiming to be a king that poised a real threat to Rome, but as Pilate really began to inquire about Jesus Pilate did not see this real threat that the Jews claimed he was, so he wanted to release Jesus.

So he presented this option to the people hey do you want me to release this notorious prisoner who is a robber and a murder. Or your King? And as we saw they said give us barabbas. So Pilate beat Jesus embarrassed him, mocked him they gave Jesus a crown a thorns, and he told the Jews behold the man? and in there passion to kill Jesus they yelled crucify him, crucify him, and Pilate still did not want to do that.

So The Jews came clean saying this guy is claiming to be God, and according to our Law we are called to put this man to death, and that scared Pilate, and in one last conversation with Jesus he is like who are you?

And Jesus remains silent, and through this silence Pilates says do you not know who I am… I have the authority to make this all go away, and Jesus as you remembered said you only have that authority because I gave it to you..

So Pilate really wanted to release him, and so the Jews threaten Pilate and they say if you do this you are not a real friend of Ceasar and in fear he crumbles and gives them there very own wishes…

Which leads us to the text today…

Now what I want you to see this morning is this…

The crucified King died on the cross to fulfill the scriptures and save his people.

Let us read todays text and then get into the message…

John 19:17–37 (ESV)

17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 19 Pilate 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.”

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 fulfill the Scripture which says,

“They divided my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.”

So the soldiers did these things, 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.

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

Now I have three things I want you to see from this text and the first is this…

Jesus is King of the Jews.

now before this is said we see Jesus is bearing his own cross. Now the other gospels say that a man named Simon carried his cross probably because he was so fatigued and in so much pain because of the beating he got prior to his crucifixion.

Now one might think that Jesus carried a literal cross to his place of death but that is a common misconception. Usually they would only carry the horizontal beam of the cross. The vertical piece would be placed by the soliders at the place of crucifixion.

For those who were crucified they would be placed flat on the ground and would either be nailed or tied to the crossbeam. Scripture tells us that Jesus was nailed to the cross. And most likely he was raised up and attached to that vertical beam. What they did on that vertical beam was place a small platform where they were nailed or tied to, and that platform would allow them to push themselves up to catch a breath of air when they needed it. It would prolong there lives sometimes days depending on the status of the person hanged on the cross.

See what most people would die of on the cross was as·phyx·i·a·tion which is the process of being deprived of oxygen.

John says this is the kind of death Jesus died. Now during the crucifixion John tells us that Jesus was Crucified next to two prisoners the other gospels give a better account of those prisoners, but John does not see the purpose in his gospel to do that very thing. But he does highlight something he has been highlighting the last several chapters and throughout the book.

That is that Jesus is King of Jews. Jesus is the king of the Jews. And as many Jews saw that they were upset. And I will get to that point in a moment.

Now a detail that I dont believe we can miss is that Pilate wrote this in three different languages. Now it was common during that time for the prisoners charge to be written on something and put above the prisoners head so when people walked by they could see the charge they were being put to death for. In the case of Jesus it was just a true fact. But what is fascinating to me is that the three languages that were written down were languages that all people who walked by would know. Now different translations such as the King James have Hebrew instead of Aramaic, but many believe that most if not all Jews knew Aramaic well. Which was the language that dominated that area. Greek was the language what sweep the known world after the conquests of Alexander the Greek 300 years or so before Christ was born, and Latan was the language that the Roman soldiers knew. So like I said everyone who walked by could read the title. Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

The Jews did not like the fact that this title was put above Jesus head though, because it says… Do not write, “The King of the Jews, but rather, This man said I am king of the Jews. Pilate had none of it because he said I have written what I have written.

The Jews did not want the watching world to say or see this man was king of the Jews, but in a way to mock them, because of what they put pilate through Pilate makes one last jab at them but putting that very statement, little did he know that that was the very truth.

Jesus is King of the Jews.

2nd thing I want you to take note of today is this…

Jesus crucifixion fulfills prophecy.

If you add the other gospels you can really find even more prophecy than just John presents in this gospel.

One example is the The two criminals that are next to Jesus were prophesied in the book of Isaiah. But John focused on four specific prophecies. They are Jesus Garments, Jesus asking for a drink, Jesus bones not being broken, and Jesus being Pierced.

Now lets break those down. The first is the prophecy of the garments.. To add to the humiliation of Jesus people who were crucified where naked. This was something the Romans often did when they were humiliating others. So in this humiliation and death on the cross the soliders who crucify him are going to take his garments.

It was a tradition that most Jews wore 5 pieces of clothing. A tunic next to the skin, an outer garment like a robe, belt, sandals, and head covering. So it appears that the soliders got 1 item and then cast lots for the others, now one must go back to the 22nd Psalm to find out where this originated form and the Psalmist says in the 18th verse this…

Psalm 22:18 ESV

18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

R.C. Sproul would say… John does not say that the Roman soldiers got together and said, “We should gamble for His garments because it says in the Jewish Scriptures that someone is going to cast lots for His clothes and we want to make sure that the Scriptures are fulfilled down to the last detail.” No, this is John’s editorial comment, pointing out that the soldiers, when they went through this act of gambling for the garments of Christ, unknowingly and involuntarily were fulfilling the precise details of the Old Testament prophesies concerning the death of the Messiah. John is zealous to help his reader understand that what happened on the cross was not an accident of history, but it came to pass through the invisible hand of a sovereign Providence.

God was in control from the very beginning of this, not the Jews, not Pilate but God, he always fulfills what he says he is going to do.

A second prophecy fulfilled was the prophecy of the drink. In verse 28-29 We see Jesus say I thirst. And he drank from this sponge full of sour wine on this hyssop branch.

This was predicted all the way back in Psalm 69:19-21

Psalm 69:19–21 ESV

19 You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you. 20 Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. 21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

Jesus hanging on the cross fulfilled prophesy from years before by asking for a drink, but there is even more.

Another prophecy fulfilled was the prophecy of the bones. In the text I read you saw that not one of Jesus bones were broken. John uses some irony in this text like he has all throughout the gospel of John.

The wanted to make sure that these bodies were not in the land prior to the passover starting, because of what is said in Dt 21:23

Deuteronomy 21:23 ESV

23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

They wanted to not be guilty of violating the law in the death of Jesus. What irony.

now what would happen is if the crucifixion did not kill you they would often come and break your legs so you could no longer push up to get breath, and what this did was lead to the suffocation of those on the cross and lead to their death.

But Jesus already being dead did not have that same fate, and this was predicted in Psalm 34. and Psalm 34:19-20 says…

Psalm 34:19–20 ESV

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. 20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

Jesus did not meet the same fate as the other prisoners, but something different happened to him.

His side was pierced and the text says that blood and water came out… When the gospel of John was written there were a large group of people that began to teach that Jesus was not a man that he was just a spirit. Gnosticism was beginning to gain popularity. And John makes note of this so we can see the fact that Jesus is a real man, and he died a real death. And most likely where he was pierced was in the lower chest cavity. thats where medical experts have tested and seen this happen before their very own eyes.

Now this piercing was prophesied in Zech 12:10 which says..

Zechariah 12:10 ESV

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

None of what happened on the cross, was just by chance it was always God’s plan, though he used others to accomplish it everything happened according to plan. All this happened to full the scriptures as John says..

I love what John says in verse 35. John 19:35

John 19:35 ESV

35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe.

John is writing to those who reading it saying. I saw this with my very own eyes… Everything that the scripture said would happened happened in Jesus Christ. So believe in what I am saying to you… All the things that happened to Jesus did not come out of nowhere he predicted it, and he was in charge of it, so he is telling you and I and everyone who reads these words believe it. Believe it.

Now we cannot miss the words of Jesus in verse 30 that say it is finished…

third thing I want you to see this morning is this…

Jesus finished all the work he was called to do.

Now before I hammer that point home, I want you to see the love Jesus has for his mother… Because he entrusts the disciple whom he loves the writer of his gospel to take care of his mother. And Jesus calling her women was a term of tenderness he cared deeply about what was going to happen to her as all this happened.

Remember his brothers as we learned in this gospel did not believe in him yet.... So Jesus wants to make sure in his final moments she is taken care of, before he says It is finished.. What love God has for those he truly cares about...

Shortly after this… Jesus says It is finished… It is finished, and the word in the greek was often used in the Greek world as something that was written on purchased because it mean paid in full.

R.C. Sproul says.. Jesus said: “I’ve done it all. I’ve drunk the cup to its dregs. The sin debt of My people has been paid in full.”

With nothing left to do, Jesus “gave up His spirit.” He had said, “I lay down My life that I may take it again” (10:17b). When His mission was accomplished, when the atonement was complete, Jesus made the decision to die.

SLOW DOWN IN THIS MOMEMT…

Everything Jesus did… Was so intentional… As Jesus has said over and over again I have come to do the Fathers will on earth. I hope you have seen that during our study, but what I want you to not miss is those last words before he breathed his final breath it is finished…

the question is what is finished? What is finished?

All the way in back in John 1:29 we see John the baptist say this…

John 1:29 ESV

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Jesus went to cross not as a helpless victim, but a king with a clear purpose to take away the sins of the world. WE all have this serious problem and that is sin, and because of sin, Jesus had to die. Had to if we have any hope. And the words that reigned from the mouth of the Lord before he died can give us comfort knowing he paid the price.

Remember what I said about that greek term. Jesus paid the price for those who are his… He paid it in full. Jesus didn’t come saying I put a large down payment for you, and you have to put up the rest of the tab, no he said it is finished.

Hebrews illustrates for us how this really works…

Hebrews 9:24–28 ESV

24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

three things I want you to see.

First. Jesus went to the cross one time to pay for the debt that his owed. He does not go to the cross over and over again to accomplish that purpose, but he went to the cross in order that his act of sacrifice would once and for all pay the penalty for the guilt of sin, and purify those who are his.

Secondly all face the penalty death because of sin, every single of us in this room, listening online will stand before God one day and be judged by him, and the basis of that judgement is did you believe that Jesus Christ came and died for your sin, and have you commited your life by repenting of your sin, and believing that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Meaning acknowledging that I am a sinner, and I need a savior who came and died for my sins so i could be set free, if you don’t believe that you will perish into the depths of hell.

Finally, Jesus is coming back again.. Jesus is coming back again, he dealt with sin on the cross, and he is coming back to take all his come, because at the cross all are judged, and belief in him =eternal life, and non belief = eternal punishment.

So do you believe in the finished work of Christ? I read this story this week studying for the sermon I cannot help but close this message out with it..

It says this… Frieda van Hessen was one of Holland's foremost opera singers, but during the Nazi invasion she, as a Jew, was forced into hiding. In the providence of God, her life was spared. After the war someone told hee he should convert from Judaism to Christianity, Just in case something she was to happen. This suggestion nagged at her until she finally gave hand spoke to a minister. He set up a meeting for her with a Christian hidy named Elizabeth who had converted from Judaism. Their Bible study turned into an argument. Frieda just couldn't believe what she was reading from the Gospels. She accused Elizabeth of believing fairy holes. After six weeks of fruitless arguments, they decided the next week would be their last meeting. Elizabeth asked Frieda to read two chapters from the Old Testament before their last meeting -Psalm 22 and Isaiah

53. Frieda writes about that week:

Six days went by, and I could no longer procrastinate. I went to a small room in the house, closed the door, and opened up the Bible... God, in His wisdom, had said to Elizabeth, "Tell her to read Psalm 22." . . . I found it, and what did I see: "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" I . . . remembered that in Bach's "St. Matthew's Passion," the basso, portraying the Lord, sings, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" Still in my rebellion, I said, "What do you know, they stole this from Bach!"

Oh, God is so wise! This finally got my attention. Now I wanted to continue reading to see what else had been "stolen" from Bach! Then I came to verse 16, and read, "They pierced my hands and my feet." Almost in shock, I literally yelled out

"That's Jesus!"

I knew that Jesus died in that devastating way. The Jews stoned people to death but did not crucify them. Crucifixion was a Roman death penalty. Yet David wrote Psalm 22, prophesying this form of death hundreds of years before crucifixion was ever invented and practiced by the Romans.

Then I reread Isaiah 53, and clearly understood that it described the whole crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

Instantly, God had taken the blinders off my eyes and Satan was defeated! I called Elizabeth, who came over immediately, and together we read Isaiah 53. Then, all of it became very clear to me: how "He was despised and rejected of men," how He was a"man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," how "we hid our faces from Him," how "He had been afflicted and wounded for our transgressions," and how "with His stripes we are healed." I realized how "all of us, like sheep, have gone astray," and

how "He died for our iniquities." Yes, for my sins too.

I reasoned that if David . . . and Isaiah .. both knew Him, and Paul, a Pharisee, saw Him and knew Him, then I needed no further proof. I accepted Him too, as my Lord and Savior.

Proof, not speculation, not blind leaps in the dark. God has graciously given us his Word so we might believe on Jesus Christ.

Do you believe in him today? Let us pray..