Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me
Notes
Transcript
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31 It was the day of Preparation, and the next day was a High Sabbath. In order that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed.
32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and those of the other.
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
35 The one who saw it has testified to this, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.
36 Now these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.”
37 And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”
38 Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus (but secretly for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and removed His body.
39 Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
40 So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.
41 Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
42 And because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus there.
Blood and Water
What does John mean for us to understand by saying that blood and water flowed from Jesus’s pierced side?
Jesus Really Died
When we put this verse together with the following section on Jesus’s burial, it is very clear that Jesus actually died. He might have been able to survive crucifixion, but when we hear from an eyewitness that his heart was pierced by the soldier’s spear, we know He surely died.
D.A. Carson in his commentary on John tells us why this detail of water and blood is important for John’s account: “in many strands of both Jewish and hellenistic [Greek] thought at the time, the human body consists of blood and water.” So for John’s original readers this meant to them, Jesus really died. His whole life was poured out - the water and the blood.
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, Vol. LVIII The Water and the Blood (No. 3,311)
if Jesus Christ had not died, you and I must have perished. It was of no avail for our expiation that he sweat great drops of blood unless he had perfected the sacrifice. The law required life; if Christ had not laid down his life, the law would have required ours. In due time, our souls must have been cast into the second death on account of sin, if Jesus had not died, actually and truly died. But we are quite sure about it now, for his heart was pierced.
Other symbolism:
Beyond the clear meaning that Jesus died, other interpreters have seen other meanings that John may want us to consider as well.
Initial and ongoing cleansing from sin
“The flow of blood and water from Jesus’ side may be a ‘sign’ of the life and cleansing that flow from Jesus’ death. The blood of Jesus Christ, i.e. his sacrificial and redemptive death, is the basis of eternal life in the believer (6:53–54), and purifies us from every sin (1 Jn. 1:7), while water is symbolic of cleansing (Jn. 3:5), life (4:14) and the Spirit (7:38, 39).”
Blood as atonement for sin
22 According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation.
12 He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,
14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
15 Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
Water as ongoing cleansing through the Spirit by the Word
5 He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
6 This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
26 to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
Scriptures Fulfilled
Christ as the Rock, the Source of Living Water
6 Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
Jesus Himself claims to be the source of life-giving water:
14 But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
37 On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’ ”
39 He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Jesus’s Side Pierced
10 Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
A Fount of Cleansing Opened
1 “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
‘Near the cross’ - hymn by Fanny J. Crosby (1820–1915):
Jesus, keep me near the cross:
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calv’ry’s mountain.
Jesus really died. Because He really died, you do not have to die spiritually and be separated from God forever.
A perfect atonement has been made; His priceless blood has been shed. The blood and the water flow from His side, and even today this precious fountain flows as a healing stream to all who will come and trust Him.
The Burial of Jesus’s Body
The burial account reinforces the idea that Jesus really died. This sets the stage for the awesome miracle of His resurrection in chapter 20. But we need to feel the weight and sorrow of this moment first. Verses 38-42 tell us,
38 Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus (but secretly for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and removed His body.
39 Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
40 So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.
41 Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
42 And because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus there.
Jesus’s Burial as Fulfillment of Prophecy
The bodies of those convicted as criminals (like Jesus was - though not truly a criminal) were typically cast into a common grave, not given a special burial place, and especially not a nice brand-new tomb. What happens here is again a fulfillment of prophecy:
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.
The rich man Isaiah described 700 years earlier is none other than Joseph of Arimathea, whom Matthew tells us was a rich man:
57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself was a disciple of Jesus.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus
Joseph of Arimathea
The only mention of Joseph of Arimathea in Scripture is in connection with Jesus’s burial. (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and here in John 19, as well as the prophecy from Isaiah - though Isaiah doesn’t mention him by name)
He was a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 27:57) - but secretly (John 19:38)
He was a prominent Council member and was waiting for the Kingdom of God (Mark 15:43)
He was a good and righteous man who had not consented to their decision or action [of killing Jesus] (Luke 23:50-51)
Nicodemus
This is the third mention of Nicodemus in John’s Gospel (chapters 3, 7, & now 19)
He was a well-respected Pharisee and Teacher of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night (John 3:1-2)
He defended Jesus before the Sanhedrin (John 7:50-51)
He helps with the burial of Jesus’s body (John 19:39)
Three Sacrifices They Made
Risk of reputation / danger of backlash from Jewish leaders (John 9:22; 7:45-52)
22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.
45 Then the officers returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring Him in?”
46 “Never has anyone spoken like this man!” the officers answered.
47 “Have you also been deceived?” replied the Pharisees.
48 “Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him?
49 But this crowd that does not know the law, they are under a curse.”
50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who himself was one of them, asked,
51 “Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?”
52 “Aren’t you also from Galilee?” they replied. “Look into it, and you will see that no prophet comes out of Galilee.”
They were risking exclusion from the Sanhedrin and possibly from being allowed to worship at the Temple, perhaps even danger to their lives. But their love for Jesus was stronger than their fear of the cost of following Him.
Financial sacrifice - 65-ish pounds of burial spices, a new tomb (John 19:39-40; Matthew 27:59-60)
39 Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
40 So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.
59 So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away.
Ritual defilement
Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea (and their servants?) made unclean by handling a dead body?
11 Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days.
They were willing to become ceremonially unclean for Jesus, unlike the Jewish leaders who would not enter the Praetorium lest they defile themselves (John 18:28).
28 Then they led Jesus away from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. By now it was early morning, and the Jews did not enter the Praetorium, to avoid being defiled and unable to eat the Passover.
40 So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.
All of these sacrifices demonstrate a genuine faith in Jesus and love for Him, despite the fact that they certainly didn’t understand what God was up to.
You can look at the next section right now and see what happens - Jesus didn’t stay in the grave. He’s alive!
But they had to wait until the third day to find out what would happen. So we’ll wait too until next week to talk about that.
Application:
Because Jesus really died, you can really live - free from the penalty of sin, and increasingly free from its power in your life. He has freed you from the punishment your sin deserves, and He is working to make you pure. Trust Him, then trust Him more!
What sacrifices are you willing to make to show your love for Jesus? He loved you enough to give His life for you. As the song When I Survey says, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”