It Is Finished - John 19:17-30
Notes
Transcript
What is something that you looked forward to - and never thought would come?
Christmas?
Driving?
Graduation?
John 2, first miracle - vs 4 “What has this concern of yours to do with me, woman?” Jesus asked. “My hour has not yet come.”
John 7:30 “30 Then they tried to seize him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come.”
John 8:20 “20 He spoke these words by the treasury, while teaching in the temple. But no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.”
We now see that Jesus’ hour has come
1. Lifted Up
1. Lifted Up
17 Carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him and two others with him, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate also had a sign made and put on the cross. It said: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The king of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the king of the Jews.’ ” 22 Pilate replied, “What I have written, I have written.”
v.17 “carrying the cross by himself” - remember, the cross was an instrument of death
No one in ancient times wore cross jewelry
“my cross to bear” as a reference to burdens is not very accurate
“Place of the Skull” - we are unsure of the meaning: a place that looked like a skull? a place where skulls could be seen?
Where is Golgotha?
Outside the city
Close to the city
Close to traffic, in a place of prominence, on a hill?
Noted church historian of antiquity, Eusibius, journeyed to Jerusalem to discover the site of the Lord’s crucifixion. The great church father and scholar went there with Queen Helena (A.D. 246-330), the Roman Empress and mother of Constantine the Great (A.D. 272-337). The local Jerusalem Christians led Eusibius and Helena to a site outside of the gates of the old city (the walls were enlarged in the sixteenth century), a site where liturgical celebrations had been held until “A.D. 66”
The Church of the Sepulchre?
v.18 The two men, “guerilla fighters”, as was Barabbas - not someone Pilate would have expected the Jews to want freed
The Gospel according to John 7. Jesus Crucified (19:16b–30)
Aramaic (cf. notes on 5:2) was the language in common use in Judea; Latin was the official language of the army; and Greek was the lingua franca of the Empire, and well known in Galilee
The Gospel according to John (7. Jesus Crucified (19:16b–30))
The wording is Pilate’s last act of revenge in the case. He has already taunted the Jews with Jesus’ kingship (vv. 14–15); here he does so again, mocking their convenient allegiance to Caesar by insisting that Jesus is their king, and snickering at their powerless status before the might of Rome by declaring this wretched victim their king. Doubtless his own sense of powerlessness before their manipulation (v. 12) contributed to his unyielding insistence that the wording remain as he prepared it. The protest of the chief priests shows they feel the sting of Pilate’s savage irony; but their suggestion of an insertion, ‘I am the King of the Jews’, to make the matter one of Jesus’ claims and no more, would strip the governor of his last revenge. And so he stands firm. Thus Pilate’s firmness is not motivated by principle and strength of character, but by the hurt obstinacy and bitter rage of a man who feels set upon. Pilate is determined to humiliate those who have humiliated him.
2. Planned
2. Planned
23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24 So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it.” This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled that says: They divided my clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing. This is what the soldiers did.
“the clothes of an executed criminal are the perquisite of executioners”
belt, sandals, robe, head covering, outer robe + inner robe (tunic) - seamless
Ps 22:18 “18 They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.”
3. Honored
3. Honored
25 Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
v.25 Mary (the mother of Jesus) was not alone in her grief
v.26 “Woman, here is your son”
What about the other brothers? They may not have been in Jerusalem
The Gospel according to John (7. Jesus Crucified (19:16b–30))
It is most natural to see in vv. 26–27 an expression of Jesus’ love and care for his mother, a thoughtful provision for her needs at the hour of supreme devastation
How should we view Mary?
The Gospel according to John 7. Jesus Crucified (19:16b–30)
In John 2:1–11, Mary approaches Jesus as a mother and is somewhat rebuffed. If she demonstrates the first signs of faith, it must be the faith of a disciple, not a mother. Here she stands near the cross with other disciples, and once she has assumed that stance she may again be assigned a role as mother—but not as mother of Jesus, but of another fellow-disciple. The blessing she receives is a peculiar manifestation of a truth articulated elsewhere: ‘And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life’ (Mt. 19:29).
4. Finished
4. Finished
28 After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now finished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he said, “I’m thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it up to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.
v.30 “It is finished”
What does this mean?
The Gospel according to John 7. Jesus Crucified (19:16b–30)
The verb teleō from which this form derives denotes the carrying out of a task, and in religious contexts bears the overtone of fulfilling one’s religious obligations
The Gospel according to John 7. Jesus Crucified (19:16b–30)
And so, on the brink of death, Jesus cries out, It is accomplished!
Mark - a loud cry, a cry of victory
What did Jesus finish?
The work of the Father
The work of redemption
“he gave up his spirit”
Everything in the timing was according to God’s plan
Is it any wonder that the centurion said, “truly this man was the son of God”
This the pow’r of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross
What should be our response to this?
Gratitude
Tell others