Dead on the Cross -final

SERMON 055a – Dead on the Cross

4.6.25

Main Scripture: John 19:31-37

Introduction: Dan

Worship: Brittany/Art

Scripture Reading: Kat

Prayer: Donnie

Message: David

Communion: Eric

Other Scripture: Matthew 27:51-56, Mark 15:38-41, Luke 23:45-49

Featured Locations: The Cross and The Temple

Memorization Verse: John 19:35

RECORDING STARTS

[Dan gives introduction and welcome…hands off to Brittany]

[Brittany gives worship devotion and Art cues music]

[David takes the mic…]

Greetings, Servant Warrior Church! Welcome back to another blessed Gathering!

This week we are going to be continuing our expositional survey of John and today we will be focusing our attention on John 19, verses 31-37.

Before we do that though, please grab your Bibles and turn to our Scripture for John 19 now.

Deaconess Kat, would you do us the honors of reading our passage for today?

[Kat reads John 19:31-37]

Thank you, Kat!

Please join us in prayer as Donnie prays over today’s message.

[Donnie prays]

Alright, SWC… there we have it… We are picking up where Clyde left off last week in John Chapter 19. As you should recall, Jesus has JUST yielded His spirit up to the Father and breathed His last (that is until we get to Resurrection Sunday); but now we have to ask: What happened next?

I mean, if we are honest, I feel like too often churches get to the cross, Jesus dies and then we just get to the Good News on Sunday morning.

Don’t get me wrong – Sunday morning is EVERYTHING; but there is SO much more that happens from Jesus saying it is finished until the stone is rolled away by the angels!

We are going to pray again because this is so very important we need to make certain that we call on God to bless us…[David prays].

So… let’s dig in and see what we find, shall we?

[Pause]

To help us understand the full context of things, I am going to read to you a quick harmonized structure of all the Gospels; for as we know ALL of Scripture is God-breathed and not a single word is out of place. Luckily, we have a formal scholar and author who gave us a synchronized version of all four Gospels. So, with our pens out, let’s annotate Matthew 27:51-56, Mark 15:38-41, Luke 23:45-49, and John 19:31-37. Keep your pens handy, you will want to take more notes and write down more scriptures.

I’m going to read a seamless meshing of those passages for you now. Please listen in:

[Take time reading this…]

WHEN THE CENTURION standing nearby heard Jesus cry out and saw how He died, he gave glory to God and said, “Truly, this was a righteous Man!”

At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks broke in pieces, and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had died rose again. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection, entered the holy city and appeared to many people.

The centurion and those with him who were standing guard over Jesus were struck with fear when they saw the earthquake and the things that took place. They said, “Surely this Man was God’s Son!” The crowds who had come to see this spectacle [the crucifixion] also saw these things and returned home, beating their breasts.

Those who knew Jesus and the women who had followed Him from Galilee all stood at a distance and saw these things. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome the mother of the sons of Zebedee—women who had followed Him and ministered to Him in Galilee (along with many others who came up with Him to Jerusalem).

Since it was Preparation Day (for that Sabbath was a special day), the Jews, in order to keep the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath, asked Pilate to have their legs broken and then have them taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men who were crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He had already died, they did not break His legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

The one who saw this has given this testimony (his testimony is true, and he knows he tells the truth) so you may believe. These things happened so the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.” And another Scripture says, “They will look on the One they pierced.”

[Pause]

Whew – I told you there was plenty that happened after Jesus breathed His last, didn’t I!?

I mean we have Roman Centurions crying out this was a righteous man. We have the veil – a thickly woven curtain that measure 60 feet tall 30 feet wide by 4 inches thick. The sole purpose was to partition off the holy of holies in the Temple… It was torn from TOP to bottom – proving God was moving.

We have an earthquake of epic proportions.

We have rocks splitting in two.

Tombs opening up…

BODIES of saints coming alive – which eventually made their way to the city! Do we have your attention yet?

And then we have many at Jesus’ feet crying out “Surely this Man was God’s Son!”

Talk about chaos, right!?!? O, my!

There’s a lot we could explore there, isn’t there!?

But here’s the thing… we need to see how much of prophecy was CONTINUING to be fulfilled in all of this… because remember… GOD IS SOVEREIGN, right? All we need to do is jot down verses like Exodus 12:46, Psalms 34:20, and Zechariah 12:10 and 13:6 to see some of that… but don’t worry about that right now. We’ll flush that out in a bit.

So, let’s do this… Let’s turn to John 19:31-37 and really look at each verse there so we can understand what the LORD has for us today:

John 19: 31 reads:

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.

Let’s talk about this a little: Three questions:

· The first question is what was the Day of Preparation?

o This is an important day in the Jewish culture. DAY OF PREPARATION (Exod 16:23). On this day, the Jews generally purified themselves, prepared their food, and carried out their chores since they could not do so the following day (Matt 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 31, 42).

§ My mother worked for an amazing Jewish family, she would help with the Day of Preparation, just like the Jewish families of Jesus’ day they would go through the house and clean and make certain that everything was set for the Sabbath. Our stove has a Sabbath setting to allow us if we want not to have to do the work of cooking on the Sabbath.

· Why wouldn’t the bodies remain on the cross on the Sabbath?

o If it were up to the Romans the bodies would have remained on the crosses, but to appease the Jewish population Pilate conceded to their demands.

o The Jewish leadership even though they had not followed the law throughout these events wanted to remain ‘religious’ and uphold the appearances.

o Deuteronomy 21:22-23: "If a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 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".

o Context: This law was given to the Israelites to prevent their land from being desecrated and to ensure proper respect for the dead.

o Fulfillment of prophecy

· Why would the Jewish leaders ask Pilate to break the legs?

o It would speed up the dying process, in a short time the men would eventually suffocate and die.

Ok, with all of that in mind, let’s move on to verses 32 and 33.

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.

· Another question, interesting, why didn’t they break Jesus’ legs? Oh, and how did God trump this and why?

· And, if they did not break His legs what did they do? Lets move on to verse 34…

· Some place prior to this point Jesus died.

o He had cried that it was finished…

34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came blood and water.

After the crucifixion there was a lot of stuff going in and around Jerusalem including what was going on at calvary. There were many things going on in the community at the foot of this hill. Being the Day of Preparation, all the households were making preparation for the sabbath celebration, making extra food for the next day making certain everything was set. Setting things in order for the Sabbath. What about on the hill outside of town? For the Roman soldiers it was another day after receiving the orders to dispatch the criminals on the crosses they started to break the legs of the criminals. To ensure that the victims of the execution died quickly the Roman soldiers set about the process of speeding up the job. On the scene walks the biggest, strongest-looking man carrying a large wooden mallet. He looks at each person on the three crosses and deliberately takes the huge wooden mallet. It appears to be what the crew at the carnival would use to drive the huge wooden stakes into the ground to support the big top. Spitting on his hands to ensure that he gets a good grip, he raises the mallet and with his eyes fixed on the legs of his victims. Just remember the legs of his intended victims are likely just above eye level, he takes his swing and even though the people watching know what is about to happen once he swings the mallet. He connects with the legs the onlookers noticeably cringe as the mallets connect with the lower legs of the crucified victims. He swings and hits once, twice, and even a third time for good measure. The onlookers are convinced they heard the crunch of the bone break. He moves to the third cross and repeats the process. Finally, he reaches Jesus. The executioner had saved Jesus for last, considering that Jesus was the main attraction, and he wanted to put on a good show. But as he was preparing to swing, he took a last look at Jesus and stopped. He called to his partner in a whisper, and his partner took the 4-inch oval-shaped spear and thrust it upward just below the rib-cage into the side of Jesus. Out comes blood and water. The blood and water are significant; they are the forensic indications that Jesus is already dead. When the body suffers excessive trauma, the lymph nodes in the body go into overdrive and produce massive amounts of lymph fluid which is mostly clear and resembles water. In today’s world, the medical examiner would be on the scene and verify the death of the person being executed. Now, we recognize that what the Roman soldier did was a simple test to confirm the presence of death. Just incase there is any concern about the cause of Jesus’ death, the spear test confirmed that Jesus died from the crucifixion and not from the spear.

There were other events taking place at this time, The tearing of the temple veil holds profound meaning in the context of the Gospels, as it symbolizes the separation between humanity and God. The curtain, which only direct descendants and Aaron's high priest could pass through on the Day of Atonement to offer atoning sacrifices, illustrates humanity's unworthiness to stand in God's holy presence due to sin. The remarkable tearing of the curtain, ripped from top to bottom by God, signified the path that God established through Jesus's death as the sole means to remain in God's presence.

The significance of the temple veil is also deeply rooted in the Old Testament and Jewish tradition, as it separated the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments. The thickness, 4 inches and size/length of the veil is about 60 feet by 30 feet. The veil was made of purple, blue, and scarlet material with fine twisted linen, underscore the momentous events that transpired when Jesus died.

The tearing of the veil symbolizes the shedding of Jesus' blood and His sacrifice as the adequate atonement for our sins. It signifies the opening of the path to the Holy of Holies for all, both Jew and Gentile, for all time. When Jesus died on the cross and the veil was torn, it marked a profound shift in God's dwelling place. God no longer resided in a temple made by human hands, as Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70, this is a historical event that was prophesied to us by Jesus.[i] Up to this point it has all been a nice history lesson. We know the events that took place at the mock trials. We know in graphic detail about the relentless beatings and humiliation received by Jesus.

· We learned about what happened when He was on the cross – but then at this point in our remedy He is still on the cross all be it He is dead.

· In the public execution of Jesus recorded in the New Testament, all of these Old Testament signposts (and more) find their ultimate destination and fulfillment. As one of the oldest recorded Christian creeds states it, “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3).

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.

            Up to this point what has transpired was in real time what John shares in verse 35 is somewhat reflective of the events that have taken place. It is at this point in that John qualifies himself as a witness of the events of this day but also the events of Jesus’ life.

            As a credible witness to the events as they transpired, and we have gone through the Gospel of John almost in its entirety. John has proven himself to be a reliable witness since as the readers of the Gospel account have now also become witnesses of the love of Jesus.

            The ‘he [John] who saw it has borne witness’ John, the author of the book, he has been telling the truth. Why? So, we 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.”

There is significance to the bones not being broken, John offers a remedy for the truthfulness of his statement by referring to Scripture itself for support (Ex 12.46 and Num 9.12). At the Passover meal none of the bones of the lamb were to be broken. Christ is the final offering, everything before was a shadow of what was to come just as the legs of the Passover lamb were not broken Christ’s legs were not broken; it bears witness to the Scriptures and the fulfillment of prophecy. That’s right… God is truly sovereign over it all and ALL of this is True because of verses like…

They will look on the One they pierced: Exodus 12:46, Psalms 34:20, and Zechariah 12:10 and 13:6. The Centurian was also a witness to the fact of the fulfillment of Scripture even if he did not realize it. This was done fulfilling that they looked on Him whom they have pierced.

Because of this there is a new set of witnesses to the event adding to the credibility of what the Scriptures promised. I think, in conclusion, that there are things we need to keep in mind when John wrote this narrative of the crucifixion. When Jesus screamed, 'It is finished," John was reporting what he saw; he was advocating the view that our Lord died to bring salvation to the world. The redemptive work of the Scriptures has been fulfilled. But wait, there is more, this is not the end. Join us next week at the same time and on the same channel as Pastor Dan takes us to the next component of the message, moving from the cross to the tomb. Beyond that, there is much more to come.

I want to leave you with one of the points that Clyde brought out is to make this your testimony of the sovereignty of Jesus and the truthfulness of His Word. Our responsibility brings us to the point that we must be able to make testimony of God’s Word in your life. How often would lives be changed by following the lessons taught by Christ? We should follow the words of Moses,” You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deut. 6:6-9). Making God’s Word a part of your life is critical

[Pray]

[Pass to Eric for Communion]

End recording

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