The Veil is Torn

KEY TAKEAWAY

To rejoice fully in the good news of Jesus, we must hear the bad news first.

SCRIPTURE FOCUS

John 19

INTRODUCTION

Nobody likes bad news.

Bad news is inevitable, and most of the time, it comes as a direct result of bad behavior.

On the flip side, everybody loves good news!

Good news is also inevitable. You’ll eventually receive some and whether it is good news, or bad, it can change the way we think, feel, and act.

Illustration: Share a time when you received some bad news OR some good news (perhaps both?).

During Easter, we tend to focus primarily on the Good News that Jesus rose from the grave as promised, and while that makes sense, I’d say to fully understand the goodness of that news, we need to look at the severity of what Jesus went through on our behalf leading up to His celebrated resurrection.

TENSION

We’d probably all agree that we tend to not enjoy thinking about and dwelling on the hard things of life. Right?

This is what psychologists call “selective ignorance.” Selective Ignorance is all about intentionally choosing what to pay attention to and what to ignore. We are all guilty of this.

Some examples are choosing to not pay attention to the homeless person as you walk by them, choosing to not enter into a confrontation, or even dismissing a personal problem you do not want to face.

SCRIPTURE

Today, we are going to take our blinders off and look pretty deep into the hard things. We tend to pass up things because they are too difficult to read, imagine, and even process. Turn to John 19.

Chapter 19 is a long passage that includes many details about Jesus’s death and burial, all of which can be hard to read and imagine, but I would encourage you to feel the weight of what Jesus went through. John writes in chapter 15 that Jesus calls us His friend, so shift your mindset and your heart and know that what we read today happened to a friend. The closest friend you could ever have.

Context

Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane with his disciples to pray. Jesus prays to God, expressing his distress and asking for the cup of suffering to be taken from him, but ultimately submits to God's will.

Judas arrives with a crowd to arrest Jesus. Judas identifies Jesus with a kiss, fulfilling the prophecy.

Jesus is then taken into custody and is seen before the High Priests who ultimately lead him to Pontius Pilate, the Roman official over Jerusalem

Read John 19:1-3

Just before Jesus is flogged (whipped severely), Pilate meets with Jesus.

A lot was going on here as Jesus journeyed to the Cross. His enemies were religiously motivated sure, but some were also incredibly politically and socially motivated.

Here Pilate is trying to keep the peace, but only so he doesn’t end up getting in trouble with his bosses. Jesus was physically tortured just to send a message and in an attempt to calm the crowds enough to keep Pilate out of trouble.

Jesus took the blame and bore the punishment, and you would think whipping would be enough.

Then, Jesus is mocked. Made fun of for His claims of being the King of the Jews. The soldiers gather some stems from a *Euphorbia Milii* plant and twist them in a way to resemble a crown. They don’t just place this on Jesus’ head, they force it on, piercing Jesus’ skin.

Picture

Today, the more common name for the plant is “The Christ Plant,” or “The Crown of Thorns.”

Again, you would think whipping and piercing Jesus’ head with thorns would be enough, but in V.3, the soldiers continued to mock, calling Jesus “The King of the Jews” and beating him with their fists.

Calling Jesus a King and then beating Him more than likely gave them some sickening satisfaction that they had power over a King.

Jesus is worn out. Bloody, bruised, and beaten. His body is literally being broken.

Read John 19:4-7

Pontius comes out and addresses the mob. He doubles down at this point saying that He has found no guilt in this man, again hoping that the mob would be satisfied with the punishment Jesus had already received. He fails.

“Crucify him! Crucify him!” The Jews are not satisfied, and scripture reveals a little bit more about Pontius Pilate in this section. He hears what the crowd wants and tells them to do it! Pilate is the highest government official in the region, and only he can approve this kind of punishment. Instead of making an authoritative decision, he waivers. He knows that Jesus is innocent, but he also wants to please the mob.

Don’t think too highly of Pilate for not wanting to harm Jesus. Pilate shows us here exactly what leadership and courage is not. Pilate was a coward and chose to give in to the pressure of the crowd instead of his own convictions.

It would seem that Pilate tried to reason with the mob, but they would not budge. Breaking Jesus’ body was not enough. They wanted Him dead, but again, they wanted the worst form of punishment; to be crucified.

Read John 19:16-17

Jesus was officially sentenced to death on the cross. In all four Gospels, it is recorded that Pontius Pilate attempted to release Jesus but the crowd, so blinded by hate, chose to release a murderer named Barabbas. He was a man who deserved the punishment of the cross, but Jesus eventually took his place.

High officials in the 1st Century, and even today, have people to carry their luggage as they travel. Criminals who would be crucified were said to carry just the arm of the cross, and typically, they were not whipped and beaten.

It is safe to assume that Jesus had suffered blood loss, shock, and even some broken bones, and yet, Scripture says that Jesus had not just carried the arm of the cross, but the entire thing.

This was another form of humiliation for prisoners. They would be paraded down the streets toward Golgotha, yelled at, spat on, mocked, and more. Yet, quietly Jesus continued.

Read John 19:18

The cross, now, is a symbol of what Jesus did for us. He brought salvation through His obedience and love, but the scene on that hill was far from bright. Crucifixion was not a death any person wanted.

Pain: The process of crucifixion was excruciatingly painful. Nails were typically driven through the wrists or hands and feet, causing severe pain as the weight of the body hung from them.

Inflammation and Infection: The wounds inflicted by the nails would quickly become inflamed and prone to infection.

Exhaustion: Hanging in a suspended position for an extended period would cause exhaustion and fatigue. The individual's muscles would gradually weaken, making it increasingly difficult to breathe and support their weight.

Hypovolemic Shock: The position of crucifixion, with the arms outstretched and the body suspended, made it difficult for the individual to breathe properly.

Asphyxiation: In some cases, death by crucifixion was hastened by asphyxiation. As the individual's strength waned and their chest muscles became too weak to support breathing, they would struggle to inhale properly, leading to suffocation.

Heart Failure: The combination of physical trauma, dehydration, and stress could ultimately lead to heart failure, resulting in death.

This is heavy. This is hard to read and imagine, but this is truth and as hard as it may be to understand, this was all meant for a purpose.

Read John 19:19-22

Written on the cross was the title “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.” For Pontius Pilate, this was the truth but the priests nearby said, “Don’t write that!” They asked for the title to be altered to add “This man said…”

Even after Jesus was sent to the cross, the high priests were still not satisfied. They wouldn’t even allow words to point to Jesus being who He said He was.

Read John 19:30

Jesus hangs on a cross, with His body broken and His blood being poured out (remember the institution of the Lord’s Supper?). We could not fathom what this day has been like for Jesus and the people closest to Him. Whether they fully trusted in Jesus being the Son of God, this was a friend whom they watched endure torture.

In John 19:30, we see the last words Jesus spoke before everything changed. He said, “It is finished.” What was finished?

Jesus has completed the work that God sent Him to accomplish

The righteous life has been lived with full obedience.

God’s righteous judgment had been handed out for the sins of the world.

The penalty for sin has now been paid for all of God’s people. Past, present, & future.

The Lamb has been provided as a substitute for sacrifice

The stain of sin has been cleaned through the Blood of Jesus

It is time to Awaken and recognize the gift of salvation that Christ gave you when He died on that cross. It would be nice to receive salvation without bloodshed, but this is how it has always been.

1 Samuel 11

Read John 19:38-42

Once the soldiers realized that Jesus had indeed died, they took His body off the cross to be buried. Wealthy and prominent figures in the 1st Century were usually not buried in the ground after death but instead laid in a tomb of stone. Because of Jesus’ reputation with the high priests, a tomb was not meant for Jesus.

However, there was a man named Joseph who was a secret disciple of Jesus who was also a very wealthy and powerful man. He had constructed a tomb for himself but found this to be the time to show his belief in Jesus.

So, He went to Pilate and asked that Jesus be placed in his tomb. Pilate, who again cared more for his reputation, allowed this. Keeping a highly, influential, and wealthy man happy would have been a good political call.

Jesus was taken, prepared for burial with a mixture of oils and perfumes, and laid down. His broken body was wrapped in linens, the disciples left, and stone was rolled in place, sealing the body of Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.

APPLICATION

The heaviness of Jesus’ death should Awaken you even more to what comes next!

HAVE YOU BEEN SELECTIVELY IGNORANT OF WHAT CHRIST DID?

We brush by the details of Jesus’ crucifixion and for good reason. It was a brutal experience. Brutal, but necessary.

We cannot look at scripture and pick and choose what we want to read and what we want to leave out. We must face the difficult passages to gain a clearer understanding of the most important question: why?

Choosing to disregard the gravity of what Jesus went through before the resurrection makes us unprepared for the goodness that is to come.

HOW DO I BECOME MORE AWARE?

To fully know God and His plan to save His people takes dedication to knowing God on a personal level. This means praying, reading His Word, and growing a relationship with Jesus.

Now is the time to understand the weight of what Jesus has done and tonight, you’ve taken a step in the right direction. You’re awakening to see that yes, what Jesus endured was horrendous and full of sadness. But Jesus will rise again and shine bright, making a way for us all to take full advantage of this gift He has given.

CONCLUSION

It is a heavy day. The weight of Christ’s final day as a man is over. His body is broken and His blood has been spilled. While sin led to the darkest day in history, we know that darkness is not where this story ends.

Next week we will explore the amazing beauty of Jesus’ resurrection

Let’s pray.