John 19 Verses 31 to 37 The Blood and Water May 28, 2023

John 19 Verses 31 to 37 The Blood and Water May 28, 2023

Class Presentation Notes AAA

Background Scriptures:

· Jeremiah 17:13 (NASB) 13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the LORD.

· Isaiah 53:4-6 (NASB) 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.

Main Idea: Jesus’ heart was broken in the process of dying for us.

Study Aim: To understand that Jesus did not die from a broken heart but with one.

Create Interest:

· Last week we looked at the last seven things said by Christ before he willingly gave up His Spirit to God. This week we focus on the prophesy of the last moments of Christ’s life. Peace be with you.

Lesson in Historical Context:

· One of the most unsettling aspects of death is the element of surprise. Death frequently comes suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving words unsaid, plans unfinished, dreams unrealized, and hopes unfulfilled.

· That was not the case with Jesus, however. Death could not surprise Him, for He controlled it. In John 10:17–18 He declared, “I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

· The previous section of John’s gospel closed with Christ voluntary giving up His life as He had said He would. Having accomplished the work of redemption, Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” and, after doing so, “He bowed His head and gave up His spirit” (19:30). Death had tried unsuccessfully to take His life on many occasions (e.g., 5:16–18; 7:1; 8:37, 40, 59; 10:31; 11:53; Matt. 2:16; Luke 4:28–30), but He would not die until the precise moment called for in God’s predetermined plan. His was not the death of a victim; it was the death of a victor.

· As noted in the previous chapter of this volume, Jesus died much sooner than was normal for victims of crucifixion. He was crucified at the third hour, or 9:00 a.m. (Mark 15:25) and died at the ninth hour, or 3:00 p.m. (v. 34).

· Thus Jesus was on the cross for only about six hours. Most people who were crucified lingered for two or three days; both the robbers crucified alongside Jesus, for example, were still alive after He died (19:32).

· When Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus, the governor “wondered if He was dead by this time and summoning the centurion [the commander of the execution squad], he questioned him as to whether He was already dead” (Mark 15:44). It was only after “ascertaining this from the centurion, [that] he granted the body to Joseph” (v. 45). The reason the Lord died so soon is that He gave up His life to death when He willed to do so.[1]

o Let’s now move on in our introspection of Christ’s victorious day.

Bible Study:

John 19:31 (NASB) 31 Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would 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.

· Death by crucifixion would normally have been a long, slow process, and it appears that neither “the Jews,” wherever they might be, nor the Roman soldiers on the scene are aware that Jesus has just died.

o They seem not to have heard him say, “It is finished,” or seen him bow his head, nor could they know when he “handed over the Spirit.” Death by crucifixion was a long, slow process, and they did not have time for it:

o “Now the Jews, because it was the preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath—asked Pilate that their legs be broken, and that they be taken away.

· According to biblical law, “If anyone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole, you must not leave the body hanging on a pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse” (Deut 21:22–23, TNIV).

o That law was made when the punishment by crucifixion was unknown, and when those who were suspended would almost immediately expire. In the punishment by crucifixion, life was lengthened out for four, five, or eight days. The Jews therefore requested that their death might be hastened, and that the land might not be polluted by their bodies remaining suspended on the Sabbath-day.[2]

§ Because of the Law (Deut. 21:22–23) a person so executed was under God’s curse and his body if left exposed would defile the land (cf. Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13).

John 19:32-33 (NASB) 32 So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; 33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

· The smashing of the lower leg bones was called in Latin the crurifragium. This caused death to occur fairly quickly by shock, loss of blood, and inability to breathe (the chest cavity would bear the pressure of the body’s weight after the legs were broken). Without this procedure, a person could live for many hours or even days. This crurifragium was done to the two thieves on each side of Jesus.[3]

o Obviously “the Jews,” as a people subject to Roman authority, were in no position to enforce biblical law.

§ It was the Roman custom to leave bodies hanging on crosses for extended periods of time as a warning to potential criminals, and a grim public reminder of imperial authority.

§ But the circumstances here are exceptional. It is not just a matter of “overnight,” but of the “preparation” for the Sabbath, and not just any Sabbath but a “great,” or special, Sabbath, probably in the sense that it would fall on the fifteenth day of Nisan, the first day of the Passover festival.

§ Even so, Pilate was under no obligation to accede to the request, yet certain concessions were customary at festival times (John 18:39). Pilate evidently grants their request, for it is promptly carried out.[4]

John 19:34-36 (NASB) 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. 36 For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, "NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN."

· Jesus died willingly and quickly. He probably died from the pressure of a broken heart and of being separated from God on behalf of mankind (1 Pe. 2:24; 3:18).

· Apparently, His heart burst, and the blood mingled with the water-fluid of the pericardium surrounding the heart. The spear pierced the pericardium causing the blood and water to flow.

o The heart, which the universal language of mankind has spoken of as peculiarly affected by the play of the passions, has been found in such cases to have been rent or torn by the violence of its own action. The blood issuing from the fissure thus created has filled the pericardium, or sac, by which the heart is enclosed, and by its pressure has stopped the action of the heart” (Dr. Hanna).

o Common sorrow can, in its sudden extremity, break hearts; why may not that sorrow, deep beyond all other sorrows, have broken His?

§ We believe it did. Now, when blood escapes from its vessels, within a short time it coagulates, its watery part separating from the rest; and there would be, so science tells us, within an hour or two after death such a flow of blood and water from a piercing as that which John saw.

§ The late Sir James Simpson has said on this matter: “It has always appeared, to my medical mind at least, that this mode by which death was produced in the human body of Christ intensifies all our thoughts and ideas regarding the immensity of the astounding sacrifice which He made for our sinful race on the cross.

§ Nothing can possibly be more striking and startling than the appalling and terrific passiveness with which God as man submitted, for our sakes, His incarnate body to all the horrors and tortures of the Crucifixion.[5]

· John insisted upon the accuracy of his account. He said, “I saw it and bare record; my record is true.” Note: He also said that God knew he was telling the truth. Why was this stressed? John told us: he stressed his truthfulness that “you might believe”.

o Note another point. John said we are without excuse if we fail to believe. Why? Because the crucifixion and its events were a fulfillment of Scripture. (See Ex. 12:46; Nu. 9:12. Ps. 34:20 predicts that not a bone of His body would be broken. See Zec. 12:10which predicts the spear. Also see Is. 53 which predicts so much of the crucifixion.)

§ John 20:31 (NASB) 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.[6]

Thoughts on the Fulfillment of Prophesy

· The death of Jesus is the initial fulfillment of the promise. The promises of salvation and justice in the Old Testament include a truth the religious leaders overlooked.

o The coming King was sovereign and righteous, but he was also afflicted.

§ The prophecy of the coming King could only be fulfilled if the King suffered and died for our sin.

o John records four different prophecies of the King’s suffering and shows how they’re fulfilled in the death of Jesus.

· The Prophecy of the Garment

o After the soldiers gamble for Jesus’s garments, John records a quotation from Psalm 22, which is the cry of an afflicted king. This psalm was written by David, who stands as a picture of the Messiah in the Psalter. The Messiah would come from the house of David, be a son of David, and be like David.

o When we read the Psalms, we’re instructed to look for a King, righteous and just, and similar to David. David’s reign wasn’t easy. He had great victories, but he also experienced tremendous affliction. Psalm 22 records some of David’s affliction.

o One particular affliction David suffered reveals what we should expect to happen to the Messiah:

§ “They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing” (Ps 22:18). At the foot of the cross, four Roman soldiers divide up Jesus’s sandals, cloak, and belt. Then they cast lots for his tunic, so that it wouldn’t need to be torn in pieces.

§ In their greed and cruelty, they confirm Jesus is the righteous, afflicted King that Psalm 22prophesied. The apostle John records their actions and then points us to the prophecy to strengthen our faith.

· I watched a debate between a Christian pastor and an atheist. When the pastor mentioned fulfilled prophecy as a reason for faith, the atheist scoffed. His comment was that Jesus knew the Old Testament, so he intentionally did things to “fulfill” prophecy. “That’s not prophecy. That’s manipulation,” he said. I love R. C. Sproul’s response to that suggestion:

o 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.”

o No, this is John’s editorial comment, pointing out that the soldiers, when they went through this act of gambling for the garments of the Christ, unknowingly and involuntarily were fulfilling the precise details of the Old Testament prophesies concerning the death of the Messiah.

o 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 sovereign Providence. (John, 367)

§ If these men are attempting to fulfill Scripture, would they really crucify the Messiah and then divvy up his belongings right in front of him while he dies?

· The Prophecy of the Drink

o Psalm 69, a beautiful Palsm of God’s salvation and deliverance, includes these words of affliction from David—words that prepare us for the Messiah:

§ Psalm 69:19-21 (NASB) 19 You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor; All my adversaries are before You. 20 Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick. And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, And for comforters, but I found none. 21 They also gave me gall for my food And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

o John describes the events of the cross in chapter 19, verse 28, and makes a reference to Jesus’s thirst and how the soldiers give him sour wine to drink—another perfect fulfillment of messianic prophecy from a thousand years earlier.

· The Prophecy of the Bones

o John writes, “These things came to pass” (v. 36). He’s referring to the request by the Jewish leaders to break the legs of the three men hanging on crosses. But when the soldiers get to Jesus, he’s already dead, so they don’t break his legs.

o This fulfills the prophetic words of David in Psalm 34:

§ Psalm 34:19-20 (NASB) 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORDdelivers him out of them all. 20 He keeps all his bones, Not one of them is broken.

o The Messiah—righteous and afflicted—would suffer, but not one of his bones would be broken. Though the soldier approaches Jesus with hammer in hand to crush the bones in his legs, the promise of God is fulfilled. The hammer does not strike; every prophecy comes true.

o Why is this so important? Because where is blood continually produced in the body? It’s produced in the bone. Therefore, God mandated not a bone of His would be broken, ensuring a perpetual and inexhaustible supply of blood. That’s why Paul could later declare, “Where sin abounds, grace abounds yet more,” (Romans 5:20).

§ Truly, the blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cleanse you from every sin you have ever committed or will commit because not a bone of His was broken.[7]

· The Prophecy of the Piercing

o The soldiers refrain from breaking Jesus’s legs, but one of them takes a spear and thrusts it into his side. As the soldier pulls the spear back, blood and water gush out of the wound. The combination of blood and water has spawned many interpretations, including that it represents the two ordinances—Communion and baptism. That’s reading too much into John’s description.

o Here’s the significance: Jesus is a real man who dies a real death. Bodily fluids don’t come out of a spirit; they come from the body. Jesus doesn’t fake his death. It isn’t an act or a hoax.

o The piercing also fulfills a prophecy made by Zechariah. The book of Zechariah is the message that the Messiah is coming, and when he comes, he will rescue his people from captivity. The Messiah will be both a priest and a king, and as King he will perfectly obey the will of God. Near the end of the book, the imagery of the Messiah changes from the perfect King to the Good Shepherd. God says the people will reject the Shepherd and follow evil shepherds into destruction. However, God will still deliver his people through the Messiah, the righteous King and Good Shepherd, rejected by God’s people. God says,

§ Zechariah 12:10 (NASB) 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

§ The Messiah, who brings salvation, will be pierced by the nation of Israel. This is fulfilled when the spear of the Roman, whom the Jews had employed, penetrates Jesus’s side and blood pours out.

o These details aren’t included to amaze us or disgust us but to help us believe (John 19:35). The apostle John acts as a witness climbing into the stand and placing his hand on the Bible. His solemn oath as an eyewitness is intended to cause belief. “I was there,” John says in effect. “I saw it all with my own eyes—the divided garment, the sour wine, the unbroken legs, and the pierced side. I saw each one. The reason I’m telling you is so you’ll know the Scripture has been fulfilled and will believe on Jesus as the Messiah.” Each fulfilled prophecy can strengthen our faith in the promise of God to deliver us from death and judgment through his Son.

· The cross of Christ cannot simply be a moment in history. Though we study it, we must do so differently from the way we would study medieval architecture. It’s fine for a Christian to be bored in a class on British literature, but it’s tragic if the cross of Jesus Christ produces nothing more than a yawn and a shrug of the shoulders.

o The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is a real, historical event, but it can’t be consigned to dusty shelves in the back of a library or cobwebbed corners or our minds.

o Nearly two thousand years after the fact, we read the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion and understand that they were written so we would respond in faith. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John didn’t record this event as a memento for their grandkids.

§ They wrote these Gospel accounts so people would read them and respond by believing in Jesus Christ.

§ We must guard against ever looking at the cross callously or flippantly.

§ Each glance should remind us that God has been faithful to his promises, and it should reinforce our trust in his sovereign grace and his unending mercy.[8]

John 19:37 (NASB) 37 And again another Scripture says, "THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED."

· The quotation is from Zechariah 12:10, and drawn from a passage that speaks of the mourning of Israel preceding their restoration.

o The evangelist probably had in mind the last day, when the tribes of the earth will look on the one who was pierced and lament (Rev. 1:7).

o For the evangelist, the fact that Jesus’ sufferings were foreshadowed in the Scriptures shows that all this took place in accordance with the divine plan; it was not simply a terrible miscarriage of justice.[9]

· Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee

Let the water and the blood,

From Thy riven side which flowed

Be of sin the double cure,

Cleanse me from its guilt and power[10]

· I sometimes wonder, What if Barabbas had said, “Freedom? I appreciate the offer, but I’d rather suffer the most excruciating death imaginable.” No one in his or her right mind would decline the offer to avoid death on a cross. So, why do people reject the opportunity to avoid a much worse fate: eternal torment in a place of eternal death? Why would anyone refuse to accept the free gift of eternal life, purchased for them by the suffering and death of Jesus Christ in their place? [11]

[1]John F. MacArthur Jr., John 12–21, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2008), 362–363. [2]Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: Luke & John, ed. Robert Frew (London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885), 373. [3]Edwin A. Blum, “John,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 340. [4]J. Ramsey Michaels, The Gospel of John, The New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 966. [5]Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator: St. John, vol. 3 (London: James Nisbet & Co., n.d.), 340. [6]Leadership Ministries Worldwide, The Gospel according to John, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2004), 372. [7]Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 590. [8]Matt Carter and Josh Wredberg, Exalting Jesus in John (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2017), 369–372. [9]Colin G. Kruse, John: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 4, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 367. [10]David Guzik, John, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Jn 19:31–37. [11]Charles R. Swindoll, John, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary (Tyndale House Publishers, 2018), 373–374.