The Fulfillment of the Law

John 19:28–38 NIV

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.” Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.

John 19:28-

John 19:28–37 NIV

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

Jesus was not a martyred for the faith. His death was purposefully orchestrated. Jesus died to fulfill the work of our faith. He died to complete or fulfill the law. The events that took place, big and small, were all done with perfect intention. Jesus was not accidentally killed nor was He the victim of a corrupt judicial system. Every step of Jesus arrest and crucifixion occurred just as had been foretold so that He might fulfill the law.

John make reference to this over and over again in His gospel.

John notes that He protects His disciples to fulfill His own words.

- Jesus is to be executed by Roman law, crucifixion, and not Jewish law, stoning, to fulfill His words concerning the kind of death He would face.

- Jesus clothes are torn and divided among the men who also cast lots for his undergarment in fulfillment of

- Jesus drinks in fulfillment of

- Jesus gives up His Spirit before they come to break his legs in fulfillment of His eternal position as the Passover lamb. Number 9:12 instructed the Israelites that their Passover sacrifice of the lamb should be one without blemish. You were not to break any of its bones in the offering process. In the same manner, while the Roman custom was to speed up death on the cross by breaking the legs of the criminals so they would asphyxiate more swiftly, this act is changed as they reach Jesus. As they see that Jesus is dead, they pierce His side. John again sees this as a fulfillment of . This whole process was also seen by John as to more fully fulfill the words of the Lord in .

Every action of Jesus, the soldiers, Pilate and the Jewish leaders was in perfect orchestration by the Lord to show clearly that Jesus is the Messiah and that God’s plan since the very beginning was being fulfilled. Jesus fulfilled over 4000 years of promise. From the fall when the Lord promised that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent to the Passover lamb who would give its life for the lives of each household to the sacrificial system where an animal give its life for the sins of the world. All of this was fulfilled in its fullness in the person of Christ and in His sacrifice on the cross.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. He is the atonement that covers forever all that stands between us and God, all of our sins, past, present and future. Upon His death, the veil was torn from top to bottom. No longer were God’s people to be kept from His presence. The law which was given to draw His people into holiness was now fulfilled perfectly as Christ imputed upon each one of us His perfect holiness. John saw very clearly that when Jesus stated it is finished, He was speaking about the law and the work that Christ came to complete is fulfilling the demands of the law on us.

The Response

John 19:38-

John 19:38–42 NIV

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

The Passover meal was not the highlight of the celebration for the Jewish Community in Jerusalem. The Passover just marked the beginning of a week of celebration. Each day of the festival grew in the excitement and joy. The Sabbath during the Passover week was a special Sabbath, set apart from all the others. The movement of the Jewish officials to speed up Jesus execution were fueled by this celebration.

Deuteronomy 21:22–23 NIV

If someone 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 the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

According to the law, to have a criminal hang from the tree was to place the curse of God upon them. Jesus took our curse. In showing that even in their sin, the grace of God extends to life, the Jews were called to remove the body and bury the criminal before sundown. This moved the Jewish officials to fulfill this act to prevent the land from being cursed.

While the religious leaders sought to act quickly to prevent themselves from being unclean on the day of this holy celebration, those that believed in Jesus saw the fulfillment of the law. No longer are our lives consumed with the need to be seen as holy and clean before God. Jesus’ sacrifice had covered all of our sins. We were now and forever holy and clean before the Lord for Jesus had fulfilled the law.

In response to this truth, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two members of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of Israel, took Jesus’ body down from the cross. To touch a dead body was to defile one’s self and to now be removed from taking part in worshipping God. .

Joseph and Nicodemus willingly defiles themselves for the rest of the celebration because they came to see the truth, the law no longer bound them. Their worship of God had been set free.

The same truth is our reality. We have been set free to truly worship God in all things. We no longer have to be put together in order to come before the King. We don’t have to have all of our duck in a row. We can worship God in tattered sweatpants just as we can in three piece suits. We can worship God in our mess and in our victory. We can come to God just as we are with confidence that He will embrace us. Joseph and Nicodemus came to see that their position of cleanliness in regards to the law no longer mattered. They were set free to worship God in Spirit and truth.