The Cross

There is no event in human history which has made such a lasting impact as The Cross.

The reason the cross stands as such an iconic image is not because of a clever first century social media campaign, or that Matthew, John, or Peter were such marketing gurus but rather because the Cross stands as THE DEFINITIVE MOMENT when God offered the Son as the once and for all payment for the penalty of our sin. Fallen mankind, fallen from the time in the Garden and every subsequent generation, was redeemed. Sin and death were defeated and finally peace with God is something available by the grace and mercy of God. I cannot overstate the IMPORTANCE of the Cross.

Who was responsible? The Romans? The Jewish leaders? Us?

It wasn’t just the Romans, or only the sins of the Jews…It was our sin too.

Remember what Isaiah 53:6 says?

Isaiah 53:6 CSB

6 We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.

We are not off the hook for this…JESUS DIED BECAUSE OF OUR SIN. This is why I must always emphasize the CROSS. It is why Paul wrote to the Church of Corinth, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

But let us also remember that as John wrote his account, he didn’t just focus on laying blame for the Cross. No…John emphasized several times what Jesus said in John 10:17-18

John 10:17–18 CSB

17 This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

This death is precisely why He took on human life.

I want to walk you through the events of that “hour” from John 18-19.

The Arrest

John 18:1-12 - This is the tidal wave and it is about to crest as John’s Gospel arrives at the cross. This is the “hour” of sacrifice, first mentioned at the Wedding in Cana, but the wave was building long before that moment. In Matthew’s Gospel His earthly father, Joseph, is given the command to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. (Matt. 1:21)

The Betrayal happens in the garden. John doesn’t give us the name of the garden (Gethsemane), but it is significant as John as written at times with an interest in tying this back to Genesis. For instance John 1:1 sounds very similar to Genesis 1:1. So we have it that Jesus is arrested here in this garden.

Both gardens see the production of life and death, but the second one reversed the first one.

“The first garden was the place where death was born out of life; the second garden was the place where life was born out of death.” (Brian Brock, “Creation: Mission as Gardening”).

Jesus chooses a place well known to Judas, the one who betrays Him. Why? Because Jesus is laying down His life. We see in Judas, you’ll remember, the one who left the Light of the World, carrying a torch now to light his way in the darkness.

As Judas and the soldiers approach, Jesus, in charge, asks the men whom they are looking for. Now…when Jesus says, “I am he,” notice what happens…the soldiers stepped back and fell to the ground. It is common in Scripture that falling to the ground is a reaction to divine revelation.

Now, John doesn’t tell us what made them respond that way…but it isn’t about how but rather WHY? Friends, you need to remember that Jesus is not a helpless victim…He WILLINGLY LAID DOWN HIS LIFE. He is in control, He is sovereign here. John has made this a point from John 1 verse 1.

This is kind of life Jesus vs the World. From John 1:1, the world has been in opposition to Jesus but could not overcome Him. Even in this moment, just like Paul writes in Philippians 2:10-11, the NAME OF JESUS, THE “I AM”, BRINGS EVERY KNEE LOW AND EVERY TONGUE TO CONFESS THAT JESUS IS LORD.

Verse 10 - Now this garden is not a place of revolt, but it is a place of redemption. But Peter, you’ll remember, drew a sword and struck the High Priest’s servants ear off.

Matthew 16:23 - Jesus predicted time of suffering and death would come and that he would be raised on the third day, Peter stepped in and said, “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!” Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me Satan! You are a hindrance to me because you’re not thinking about God’s concern but human concerns.”

Jesus commands Him to put the sword away, and we know that Jesus heals the man’s ear. But notice what Jesus says to Peter, “Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given me?”

You’ll remember His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus prayed, Matt 26:39

Matthew 26:39 CSB

39 Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

That cup is the full cup of God’s divine judgment, and on the Cross, Jesus drinks every last drop of what is served.

At that, Jesus is arrested and bound and taken to trial.

The Betrayal & Jewish Trial

John provides us with a couple of different scenes happening at the same time.

You’ve got Jesus delivered over to the Jewish leadership in 18:13, while Peter is tagging along in the background.

Verse 15 - First, Peter. Earlier that evening Peter pledged his never-ending devotion to Jesus. John 13:37, “I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus told Peter that he would deny knowing Jesus three times.

Peter’s intentions were good, but that isn’t the source of our spiritual life is it. We all have good intentions when it comes to discipleship, or following Jesus. But our source of spiritual life and growth is found only in Jesus. Not our intentions.

Some of you have good intentions of trusting Jesus for salvation, but you want to know everything there possibly to know before you trust. Or you want to have all your fun before you trust and “can’t have any fun.” FUN=SIN. Sin isn’t fun, its deadly. Joy comes from knowing Jesus, so don’t let your intentions be the foundation of your faith. Peter had good intentions.

Our growth in Christ is a response to God and His work.

By God’s grace, Peter will be restored. So can you.

Verse 17 is the first denial.

Scene change - Verse 19 - Back to the trial - The High Priest questioned Jesus about the disciples and His teaching.

But Jesus asks the questions here. His response is plain and simple. John 18:20-21

John 18:20–21 CSB

20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus answered him. “I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews gather, and I haven’t spoken anything in secret. 21 Why do you question me? Question those who heard what I told them. Look, they know what I said.”

Then Jesus is struck by an official standing next to Him. He responds in verse 23. Then Jesus is sent to the Caiaphas.

Again, Jesus is innocent, but He is not a victim. The victim has no control over the given situation, but Jesus was in control. His message was the Gospel. He came to give His life as a ransom.

Verse 25 - Back to Peter, he denies knowing Jesus two more times, and then just as Jesus told Peter, the rooster crowed. (Where’s the Kamanele park rooster when you need him?)

The King of the Jews

In verse 28, John makes it a point to put the timing of these events front and center. He points out that the Jewish leadership would not enter the governor’s residence for they didn’t want to be defiled for Passover. (They could go into the courtyard of a Gentile building so long as it was open to the sky, but could not go inside where it was covered or else they’d be unclean.)

The irony is thick, as careful as the religious leaders are about their own piety and purity for the ritual of Passover, they are actually delivering the TRUE PASSOVER LAMB to be put to death.

This is one of John’s objectives, the main objective in writing this Gospel. That you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

Jesus is the Lamb of God, the sacrificial Passover Lamb. The meaning of the Passover was forever changed because of the timing of this one event. No longer is a lamb needed to sacrifice to God and to remember what He did for the Israel out of slavery. For NOW the Greater Passover Lamb, Jesus, has come to free us from what was really enslaving us all along. OUR SIN.

Now we observe the Lord’s Supper and honor Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away our sins as a means of Thanksgiving.

Recognition of the King

18:29-38 - Pilate struggles to find anything to accuse Jesus of doing. No accusation could be brought against Him, and there was no authority in the world that could match His. 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Here is how God uses Pilate to declare Jesus as King. 18:37.

A sign will be hung above Jesus on the cross that reads “King of the Jews” and this King will bring men and women from every tribe and nation into His kingdom. The pen of Pilate is the instrument God uses to announce to the world that Jesus is King.

The soldiers will dress Jesus like a king in 19:1-5, with the Crown of Thorns put on His head, and they clothe Him in a purple robe. Mocking Him and slapping Him after they flogged Him.

He is indeed the humble King who rules through His suffering. This suffering and mistreatment of Jesus gives us confidence in God’s promises and serves to remind us that Jesus is our ultimate treasure, for only the death of the Lamb of God could satisfy the debt of sin we owed.

Rejection of the King

18:40 - The crowd rejects Jesus as their king and they choose Barabbas. A revolutionary John wrote. That means he used force. But Jesus is not a revolutionary, He is the Redeemer. There is a HUGE difference.

Why do they despise Him so? Jesus challenged what was most precious to them, their religion. They wielded control over the nation, they had power. Power and control through guilt and fear. But Jesus came to offer God’s grace and mercy.

This King offers a changed heart. Too often our hearts are like pigs in the pigsty. We get washed off once a week at the church only to return to the pigsty. Our hearts are just like theirs, filthy and defiled. We need our hearts changed and it doesn’t happen through moral reformation. It comes through Jesus Christ. It doesn’t happen by what we do, that would just be putting a fresh coat of paint on the pigsty.

19:1-5 - Pilate has Him flogged, and the soldiers put the crown of thorns on His head. Mocking Him. As the crowd presses on, mob rule, Pilate presents Jesus to the crowd, now bloodied from the flogging, wearing the crown of thorns and robe, “Here is the man!”

Led by the religious leaders, they began to chant, “Crucify! Crucify!”

19:6 - Pilate tried to let the Jewish leadership take care of the matter, but they wanted to remain clean. We can’t do it.

19:8-11 - So Pilate questions Jesus one more time. I love Jesus’ response, “You would have no authority over me at all if it hadn’t been given you from above.”

Once and for all, Pilate is afraid he will lose his own power if he doesn’t give into the demands of the leadership(19:12)…and perhaps the final “figurative” nail to be driven in by the Jewish leadership reveals why they are in the saddest of all places, “WE HAVE NO KING BUT CAESAR.”

WRONG!!! God was supposed to be their King! All the way back to the time of Samuel. They just wanted to be like everyone else. Here again, they’ve turned their back on God as their King.

Prophecy Fulfilled

John 19:16b-18 Now they take Jesus and crucify Him between the two thieves. Pilate once again pronounces Jesus as King with the sign above Him.

Christopher Hitchens, a self-proclaimed antitheist, was intereviewed a number of years ago by a retired Unitarian minister named Marilyn Sewell. Here’s one line of questioning...

Sewell: “The religion you cite in your book is generally the fundamentalist faith of various kinds. I’m a liberal Christian, and I don’t take the stories from the scripture literally. I don’t believe in the doctrine of atonement (that Jesus died for our sins, for example). Do you make and distinction between fundamentalist faith and liberal religion?”

Hitchens: “I would say that if you don’t believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you’re really not in any meaningful sense a Christian.”

Friend, the very foundation of the faith is to look at the death of Jesus Christ and BELIEVE on Him as the Messiah who takes away the sin of the world.

Biblical faith means you’ve found the truth and are confident in that truth. Our faith is informed by the Word of God. There are reasons to believe. In John 19, there are four prophecies fulfilled as Jesus is on the Cross.

The Garment - 19:23-24 - After they hung Jesus on the cross, and the sign is posted, the soldiers take His clothes and divide them into four parts. The tunic they cast lots for. This fulfills Psalm 22:18.

Psalm 22:18 CSB

18 They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.

The Drink - Psalm 69 is a song of God’s salvation and deliverance, and these words of affliction are included from David. Psalm 69:19-21

Psalm 69:19–21 CSB

19 You know the insults I endure— my shame and disgrace. You are aware of all my adversaries. 20 Insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. I waited for sympathy, but there was none; for comforters, but found no one. 21 Instead, they gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

The Bones - The soldiers are ordered to expedite the death of the three hanging on the crosses. They way they did this was to break their shin bones so they could not push up to catch their breath. But when the soldiers came to Jesus, He was already dead. Psalm 34:19-20

Psalm 34:19–20 CSB

19 One who is righteous has many adversities, but the Lord rescues him from them all. 20 He protects all his bones; not one of them is broken.

The Piercing - Though they don’t break His legs, they do pierce His side with the spear. Blood and water gushed out of the wound. Jesus is a real man who died a real death. This fulfilled Zechariah 12:10

Zechariah 12:10 CSB

10 “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn.

The Messiah, who brings salvation for the nation of Israel in Zechariah, will be pierced by the very people He came to save.

It is Finished

One last thing…Jesus speaks a one word statement, “It is finished.” John 19:30

The cross of Christ is the completion of the work of the Father through the Son, fulfilling all of Scripture to the smallest detail.

It is finished stands as a verb in the past tense yet its action carries with it a present-tense force.

This one word is the FINAL STATEMENT of God. He declared that everything He wanted to accomplish is completed to absolute perfection in the person and work of His One and Only Son, Jesus the Messiah.

Friend this is NOT a cry of defeat. This IS THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF VICTORY!

This is not a whimper, but Jesus, in full control of His faculties makes this statement. The Gospel of Mark says He let out a LOUD cry.

Jesus declared VICTORY over the forces of sin and death! His heal is struck by the adversary, but He strikes the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15). He wasn’t the VICTIM, HE IS THE VICTOR!

It is a VICTORY secured by the means of the CROSS.

With this word He brings LIFE - John 1:3

John 1:3 CSB

3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.

With this word His LIGHT shines into the Darkness - John 1:5

John 1:5 CSB

5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.

The divine rescue mission is finished. He doesn’t need to re-crucified each week during our worship. We must understand that Jesus, in this moment, purchased REDEMPTION once and for all time! Redemption means It’s paid for! It is FINISHED - There is no more payment needed. Salvation is completely paid for in Christ at the Cross. There is nothing left for me to do, so that I believe! I trust! I put my FAITH in Christ.

His glory bore our shame. He was despised, rejected, & endured suffering, He bore our sickness, and He carried our pains, He was pierced because of our rebellion, He was crushed because of our iniquities, He took our punishment…and even though we have all gone astray and turned to our own way, God laid on Him our punishment…thus because IT IS FINISHED, by His wounds, we are healed.

You can only trust in the Grace of God to save you.

You can only believe in His promise of salvation.

You can only place your faith in His Son, sent to purchase redemption.

How would your life be different today, if Jesus had not paid for your sin in full? Would anything be different?

John 19:41 - Isn’t it interesting they placed His body in a garden tomb. The very place where sin first entered creation, a garden, now contains Jesus’s body until Sunday morning? The resurrection hangs in the balance.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Go and be the Church.