The Death and Burial of Jesus (John 19:28-42)

Announcements

Don’t forget that this Sunday is a little different, we do have our regular worship time at 10:30am, but we do have an added breakfast for anyone who cares to join us at 9am. This is really just a fellowship opportunity for all of us and it provides a good reason for people who haven’t been to our church before to visit. You can feel free to invite your friends and family, we’ll have a great time before we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ during the morning worship service.

I do want you to be aware, that we will have our Wednesday evening Bible Study & Prayer time this coming Wednesday, but note that we won’t have a Bible Study & Prayer time the following Wednesday.

For those of you that ordered t-shirts, I have some bad news. UPS has assured me that our t-shirts would be here today, but the last time I checked, they guaranteed that the shirts would arrive today by 11:59pm. So, there’s a possibility that the shirts will arrive sometime in the next few hours, but I’m doubtful. So, I’ll have them available on Sunday morning for you to pick up.

Let me remind you to continue worshiping the Lord through your giving. To help you give, we have three ways to do so, (1) cash and checks can be given at the offering box. Checks should be written to Grace & Peace; debit, credit, and ACH transfers can be done either by (2) texting 84321 with your $[amount] and following the text prompts or (3) by visiting us online at www.gapb.church. Of course, everything you give goes to the building up of our local church and the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now let me talk to you just briefly about tonight’s service, which I’m sure you’ll realize is a bit different from our normal midweek services. This evening is a little different from our regular midweek services in that we’re meeting on a completely different day and you know that we’re meeting today for a very specific reason. Today is Good Friday and it is traditionally the day set aside by the universal church to reflect on the death and burial of Jesus Christ. Every church does this differently and the range of different traditions is wide. Some churches choose to watch a movie on Good Friday, last year, we offered a dinner, the Lord’s Supper, a brief sermon, and then we watched Sight & Sound’s production of Jesus. Many churches do what’s called a Tenebrae service, which is a service filled with singing, very similar to our Carols & Christmas service that we do in December. The difference would be that Carols & Christmas is focused on the birth of Jesus, whereas a Tenebrae service is focused on the death of Jesus.

Consider this evening’s service a little bit of a Tenebrae light service. We aren’t going all out with a long singing service with candles candles, but we are very much focusing this evening on the death of Jesus Christ. All of this evening’s songs our focused on Jesus’ death, we’ll be partaking in the Lord’s Supper, which is focused on Jesus’ death, the sermon itself is focused on Jesus’ death.

Tonight is meant to be a somber reflection of the death and burial of Jesus Christ. Keep this in mind as we worship together.

Prayer of Repentance and Adoration

Congregational Singing

The Communion Hymn 343

The Lord’s Supper

As we move into the Lord’s Supper this evening, let me just start with a little bit of housekeeping.

At Grace & Peace Bible Church, we practice an open communion, which simply means that it doesn’t matter if you’re a member of our local church, all that matters is that you genuinely believe. If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, please feel free to partake with us.

As the communion plate is passed, please note that each cup has two cups stacked with the bottom cup holding the bread and the top cup holding the juice. Please take both cups so that you can take part of each part of communion.

As you grab your elements, please hold them until everyone receives them, after which, we’ll pray together and take the elements simultaneously.

Before we pass out the elements, let me remind you of the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians.

He warns the Corinthians to not take part in communion in a way that is unworthy because doing so makes you guilty of the death of Jesus and it can make you physically ill. Instead, he warns them to check their hearts and repent from sin prior to taking communion; and I’m calling you to do the same this evening.

If you are holding onto unrepentant sin, repent before taking communion. If you’re refusing to repent or you don’t believe, please let the plate pass in front of you. No one is watching to see what you’re doing, this is between you and God alone.

At this time, we’re going to take about a minute for you to quietly reflect and pray; after which, I’ll pray for the elements and they’ll be passed around.

Prayer for the Lord’s Supper.

“On the night when [our Lord, Jesus] was betrayed, [he] took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’”

“In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’”

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Congregational Singing

My Jesus, Fair 300

Lead me to Calvary 305

Sermon

Introduction

If you have your Bible’s with you this evening, please turn it to John 19:28-42.

I don’t want to spend a tremendous amount of time in introductory material tonight because I think we’ve been very intentional and clear that this evening is focused on the death and burial of Jesus Christ. So, I think it is pretty obvious then, that our text would be an account of Jesus’ death and burial, which it is. I do want to make you aware, that John doesn’t give a significant amount of detail concerning Jesus’ death, but he does that intentionally. Much like this past Sunday in which he didn’t give us a significant amount of detail concerning Jesus’ crucifixion, this evening, we don’t have too much detail about the death itself.

However, let me remind you that John has a purpose that drives the way that he writes his Gospel, he writes it so that people would read it and believe.

Please keep this in mind as we read our text for the evening, John 19:28-42:

John 19:28–42 ESV

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 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. 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. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 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. 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.” 38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

As we study this passage, we’re going to break it into three parts: (1) Vss. 28-30, Jesus’ Death; (2) Vss. 31-37, The Fulfillment of Scripture; and (3) Vss. 38-42, Jesus’ Burial. As you can tell, our primary focus is on Jesus’ death and burial, but we’ll spend a little bit of time, again, talking about Jesus’ sovereignty in his crucifixion, death, and burial because the passage reminds us, yet again, that all these events occurred to fulfill Scripture. We’re going to talk about the implications of Jesus’ death and his burial, what it means for us, and how we should reflect on his death and burial. This evening is a time of somber reflection that ought to cause us to well up in praise and worship of Jesus Christ.

Prayer for Illumination

Jesus’ Death (28-30)

Our passage for this evening starts off with a section of Scripture that we briefly spoke about on Sunday as well. “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said . . . ‘I thirst.’ A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.”

There are a number of details to note from these verses, but let’s start a bit with context. Whenever you see words such as “after this” it’s an indicator that this passage is inherently connected with the previous passage.

In this case, what that means is that Jesus’ death is inherently connected with his crucifixion on the cross, which might sound obvious, but we always have to keep every passage in its own context.

In this context, we just read about the crucifixion of Jesus this past Sunday and we came to the realization that one of the key details that John emphasizes in Jesus’ crucifixion is his absolute sovereignty even in the midst of his crucifixion—Jesus’ crucifixion was completely under his control.

With that in mind, we can rightfully conclude that his death and his burial were completely and utterly in his control as well. And John continues to emphasize how sovereign Jesus is even in the midst of what’s happening in the text.

We see this truth, within a parenthetical phrase in vs. 28, “Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I thirst.’”

We’re not going to spend a significant time on the fulfillment of Scripture yet because the text calls for us to focus more on it in vss. 31-37, but I do want to make you aware that Jesus’ sovereignty through his death, burial, and resurrection is a key theme in John’s record of Jesus’ life.

John wants us to realize that Jesus was completely in control, which means that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection was completely intentional and it was done with a purpose. Jesus is in control. And he’s in control as he makes the statement, “I thirst.”

There’s another phrase that I want us to look at before we continue, “Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said.” That does pose a question, what does John mean when he says that “all was now finished?”

It’s important for us to understand the answer to this question because the idea comes up again later in the passage. In vs. 30, Jesus says “it is finished,” just before dying on the cross.

What does John mean in vs. 28 when he says that Jesus knew that all was now finished? And what does Jesus mean when he says “It is finished?”

Let me remind you that multiple times through John, Jesus repeatedly states that it wasn’t time yet:

All the way back in John 2, Jesus tells his mother Mary, “my hour has note yet come.”

John 7:6, “Jesus said to them, ‘My time has not yet come”

John 7:8 “8 Go up to the feast yourselves; I am not going up to this feast, because My time has not yet fully arrived.””

John 7:30 “30 So they were seeking to arrest Him; and yet no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.”

John 8:20 “20 These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple area; and no one arrested Him, because His hour had not yet come.”

John 13:1 “1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that His hour had come that He would depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”

John 17:1 “1 Jesus spoke these things; and raising His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, so that the Son may glorify You,”

What makes John 13 and 17 than the previous four references? John 13 is in the last week of Jesus’ life as he’s preparing for his death, burial, and resurrection. John 17 is during Jesus’ high priestly prayer, he knows he’s about to be crucified.

It’s no longer that it isn’t time yet, it’s that the time has arrived—it has come.

And I think the author of Hebrews helps us to understand what Jesus means when he says it’s now time. Hebrews 9:11, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, . . . he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls . . .sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

When Jesus starts saying that the time is come, it isn’t just about him dying on the cross, it’s what happens because of his death on the cross and the author of Hebrews explains it succinctly. Through Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection, through his blood, those that genuinely believe are sanctified, we are purified to serve the living God.

When John points out that Jesus recognized that it was now finished, that’s what Jesus knew was to be finished.

But just before proclaiming the accomplishment that he had made while suffering on the cross, he does one more thing “to fulfill the Scriptures.” He says “I thirst” And the soldiers give him some sour wine.

Now much has been said about the sour wine and many have attempted to draw theological conclusions from the wine, but let me explain what’s really going on there.

John only mentions the sour wine, but if you think with me about Mark 15:23 when someone offered him wine mixed with myrrh. It’s important for us not to get those two different events and different wines mixed up.

The wine mixed with myrrh was utilized as a sedative to ease pain, but Jesus refused to drink it and chose to endure the sufferings appointed for him.

The sour wine offered in John 19 is different and it has a different purpose. Some have argued that this sour wine was a cruel jest—that they were essentially taunting him by offering him something that was bitter, but historically that’s not what sour wine was in the Old and New Testaments.

Numbers 6 and Ruth 2 both speak of sour wine vinegar as a refreshing drink. Sour wine is actually mentioned in many Greek and Roman writings as a common beverage that soldiers and laborers enjoyed because it was able to relieve thirst more effectively than plain water and it was inexpensive.

They weren’t taunting him, they were genuinely trying to relieve pain.

But the wine itself isn’t the important part of this text, it’s the fact that Jesus stated that he was thirsty to fulfill the Scriptures, which if you remember from Sunday, was a key idea that was presented to us as we studied through the crucifixion itself—the fact that Jesus’ death and his burial fulfilled the prophecies within Scripture is why we worship him as the Messiah, but we’ll come back to that idea in vss. 31-37.

The last verse for the first section is vs. 30, which simply states the death of Jesus. “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up the spirit.

We’ve already talked a little bit about Jesus’ statement that it is finished, but let’s take a little more time to dig into that statement before moving on.

Jesus receives this drink and he cries out what in English is three words, but in Greek is one word. And in that one word, there’s actually a significant amount of unpacking that can be done.

DA Carson in his commentary on the Gospel of John points out that our English translation “it is finished” captures only part of the meaning of the Greek word.

It focuses on the fact that Jesus’ work was finally complete, but this isn’t a cry of defeat and it isn’t just an announcement of death.

The Greek word carries the connotation of the finishing of a task and “in religious contexts bears the overtone of fulfilling one’s religious obligations.”

Or in other words, if we remember how Jesus spoke of a mission that he had to accomplish in John 17 during the high priestly prayer. That he would give eternal life to all who given by the Father, that they would know God and Jesus who was sent by God. Jesus says that he glorified God on earth, having accomplished the work that the Father gave him to do. And if you skip ahead to vs. 6 of John 17, you read “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.”

When Jesus cries out that it is finished, he’s speaking of that mission that he had to accomplish. To give eternal life to all who were called by the Father, to all who would believe. To manifest or make known God’s name to the people.

That’s what Jesus’ mission on earth was and again, I can’t help but to think of Hebrews 9 as an expression of what the accomplishment of this mission meant—that there is redemption through the blood of Jesus because Jesus completed his mission during his first earthly visit.

And it is after making the statement that it was completed or finished, that he “gives up his spirit” or “gives up the ghost” as the King James says. Jesus was tried unfairly and unjustly. He had been beaten, tortured, and crucified. He endured the suffering of the cross while still fulfilling Scripture; and he gives up his life and he dies. But the text continues and it gives us two more sections to look at, which let me assure you won’t take nearly as long as this first section. Let’s re-read vss. 31-37.

The Fulfillment of Scripture (31-37)

John 19:31–37 ESV

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

The mid-section provides us the immediate events that occur directly after Jesus’ death on the cross. We’re told that the Jewish people had asked for Pilate to break Jesus’ legs so that they could be sure that he was dead and so that they could take him off the cross.

The Jewish people asked this for a purely pragmatic reason. John says in vs. 31 that “it was the day of Preparation,” it was the day before the Sabbath and it was a special Sabbath because it was also the day that the Passover fell.

And the Jewish people had a special request to Pilate they “asked Pilate that their [meaning the men on the cross] legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.”

Normally, during Roman crucifixion, they would leave crucified men and women on the cross until they died. This could take days and then they would leave the decaying bodies hanging on the crosses as a deterrent against crime.

If they had to speed up the process for whatever reason, the soldiers would break the legs of the people on the cross and that would speed up the process by bringing about asphyxiation.

And according to the Torah to leave a person hanged overnight would be to desecrate the land, you can find that in Deuteronomy 21. Since this was the Day of Preparation of not just the Sabbath, but also the day before the Passover, they wanted the body of Jesus to be pulled down because of the event itself. They were being pragmatic in their request to Pilate that the deaths of these people on the cross would be sped up.

But as vs. 32-33 tell us, they came to break the legs of the men hanging on the cross and they succeeded in doing so to the other two, but when they came to Jesus, vs. 33 says they “saw that he was already dead, [so] they did not break his legs.”

That seems like such a small and insignificant detail, but its importance is made apparent at the end of this section.

We’re told that since he wasn’t dead, a soldier pierced his side with a spear and “at once there came out blood and water.”

Now, I’ve heard sermons that mention that this is indicative of a body that has gone through severe trauma, particularly one that has gone through asphyxiation. The trauma of asphyxiation causes fluid to build up around the heart, so when they thrust into his side, they pierced the build up of fluid around his heart.

And I’ve heard sermons in which the preacher tries to make a profound statement of what this means.

That the blood is for redemption and the water is for imparting life, but while Scripture does utilize those elements for those symbolic meanings elsewhere in Scripture, in John 19, that isn’t the point.

The reality is that there’s a very real physical reason as to why there’s blood and fluid coming from his body, you don’t need to symbolize it to gain an understanding of the passage.

The point is that Jesus was physically dead and the proof of his death is the fulfillment of Scripture.

And before we can even ask the question, “how do we know this is true?” John answers it in vss. 35-37 “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.”

Vs. 35 acts almost as like a parenthetical phrase or what we might call a footnote today. It isn’t the main point, but it’s there to add validity to what was written. “He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth.”

I think, for most people, the first question that they have in reading that verse is “who is this witness?” Remember that John is writing this after-the-fact and he’s writing it for one specific reason—and he reiterates that reason at the end of vs. 35, “that you also may believe.”

What vs. 35 is is a round-a-bout way of making the point that John could write about all this and he could make the claim that blood and water came from Jesus’ side, and he could write about Jesus’ crucifixion, because he watched it happen.

He is the witness who saw the death of Jesus and he’s the one who is testifying of the truth so that those who read it would believe.

He’s speaking about himself as the one who watched the events take place and is now bearing witness or testifying of the truth.

And he again, reiterates the purpose for the entire book, “that you also may believe” before explaining how these details of Jesus’ death are to help in our belief in vss. 36-37. “For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: ‘not one of his bones will be broken.’ And again another Scripture says, ‘They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

Clearly John is quoting Old Testament passages, but it’s notable that he’s not quoting passages that we typically think of as Messianic.

The first quote in vs. 36 “not one of his bones will be broken” is actually quoting from Exodus 12 and Number 9, which are both about the Passover lamb, whose bones were not to be broken. John clearly has in mind the fact that Jesus is the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world.

The second quote in vs. 37, “They will look on him whom they have pierced comes from a passage in Zechariah 12, which speaks of the mourning of Israel that precedes the restoration of Israel. The author was looking at the death of Jesus as fulfillment of Scripture, which he saw as proof for the future restoration of Israel.

The fact that all these events were foreshadowed in Scripture in John’s mind provides definitive proof that all these events occurred in accordance with the divine plan of God. None of this was accidental, it was all intentional to bring about God’s plan. Our application is derived from this truth, so keep it in mind. In the last few verses, we see the burial of Jesus and it is the burial of Jesus that sets us up for the resurrection on Sunday, but our focus this evening is purely on the death and burial of Jesus Christ. Let’s re-read vss. 38-42.

Jesus’ Burial (38-42)

John 19:38–42 ESV

38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

Vs. 38 tells us of a man who comes to Pilate to take away the body of Jesus.

We aren’t given many details about this man, but by harmonizing the four Gospels, we get a phenomenal idea of who Joseph of Arimathea is.

Gerald Borchert, “The picture of Joseph from Arimathea in the various Gospel accounts provides a fascinating collage. He was said to be rich (Matt 27:37), an important member of the Sanhedrin (Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50) who apparently was both a good and righteous person (Luke 23:50) and one who lived with the expectation of God fulfilling the promise of the coming of the kingdom (Mark 15:43; Luke 23:51). But beyond these descriptions he was also said to be a disciple of Jesus (Matt 27:57; John 19:38), whom John adds was a closet or secret disciple because he apparently feared reprisal from the Jews (John 19:38).” (NAC, 280)

What we see when we combine the Gospel accounts is a man who by all humanly standards was extremely successful in life. He was wealthy, he was powerful, and he was highly educated (all the members of the Sanhedrin were). We see someone who had everything, but the most important descriptors of the man had nothing to do with his wealth, power, or education.

The fact that he was good and righteous according to Luke, who looked forward to the coming Kingdom of God according to Mark, who was a disciple of Jesus according to Matthew, are the only details that really mattered.

So much so, that John doesn’t bother with mentioning his wealth, power, or education, he only focuses on one description of Joseph of Arimathea, he was a disciples of Jesus.

Because of Joseph’s belief in Jesus and his knowledge of the Torah, he sought to bury Jesus properly.

Remember that the Roman people didn’t bother to bury criminals who were crucified, they left them to hang on the crosses indefinitely.

Only the Jewish people believed in the necessity of a proper burial, which was the reasoning for speeding up the crucifixion. The Roman people would’ve left Jesus to hang on the cross, but Joseph in his belief, sought to do what was right.

So Joseph, goes to Pilate for permission to remove the body of Jesus from the cross and bury him properly. “So he came and took away his body” and vs. 39 tells us that “Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.”

We might be tempted to read vss. 39-40 and think that these are just random details to get through, but there’s actually a significant point being made here concerning belief.

The Jewish custom was for a body to be buried according to a certain way, but typically since Jesus was crucified as a criminal, the typical policy was for a criminal to be buried among the bodies of those who were rejected and shamed in a valley called Gehenna.

The fact that Nicodemus and Joseph take Jesus’ body and utilizes the mixture of myrrh and aloes to prepare the body for burial speaks of their belief of who Jesus is.

In fact, the mixture of myrrh and aloes was common, but the amount was significant. So, significant that most commentators point out that the large amount of myrrh and aloes speak of their understanding that Jesus is truly the king.

The only time in first century Jerusalem that that amount of spices were utilized for burial was when a king was buried royally. And the people would recognize this truth.

The last two verses tells us where exactly they laid the body of jesus, “Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.”

Now, I’m sure that as you’ve listened to John’s account of the death, burial, and resurrection, you might be asking yourself, “what exactly do I do with a passage like this?” It is narrative in nature so you might have a difficult time trying to piece together an application from it, so let me help you with this. And as we move into our application, we’re going to look at it in two primary sections. We’re going to look at Jesus’ death and the fulfillment of Scripture as one section and then we’re going to look at Jesus’ burial in a separate section.

Application

Jesus’ Death and the Fulfillment of Scripture (28-37)—in the bulk of the passage, we witnessed through the text the death of Jesus and the piercing of his side to validate his death. We talked at length details that are presented by John, the sour wine, the hyssop branch, the proclamation that “It is finished.” We spoke about the significance of Jesus’ legs not being broken, of the water and the blood coming from his pierced side, and the eye witness account of John of the crucifixion. And much like any other passage, we can get caught up in all the details and try to assign symbolic reasons behind everything, but the reality is that the passage tells us what the purpose of John’s witness is in vs. 35-37, “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. For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” The question is, how do we apply this text?

And much like Sunday’s application, we would be remiss or negligent if we neglected the author’s original intent behind the passage. He wrote this so that people would believe; and he explained that the reason people should believe is because Jesus’ death and his burial fulfilled the Scriptures. Thus, our first application is really geared towards those that don’t believe.

I mentioned on Sunday, that the conservative estimate to how many Scripture verses that Jesus fulfilled sits right around 300, but some estimates are above 500.

And of course, you wouldn’t really pick up on them if you haven’t bothered to read the Scriptures for yourself, but let me help you see the passages that Jesus fulfilled just in his death and burial beyond what John has already told us this evening:

John has already mentioned that there were multiple prophecies concerning the Passover lamb not being kept overnight and that the lamb’s bones were not to be broken. John 19:31-42 speak of both of those prophecies.

Psalm 22 mentions the physical torment of someone being crucified, which matches the description of Jesus’ crucifixion in John 19.

The same psalm mentions that “dogs” will surround him and pierce his hands and feet. That people will divide his clothing and that the bones of the righteous wouldn’t be broken. All of which are fulfilled in John 19.

In Psalm 69, David talks about being fed gall and vinegar, Jesus was given wine and vinegar on the cross in John 19:29.

Jesus himself prophesies that he will suffer and die in Matthew 16 and Mark 8, which of course is fulfilled in John 19. In Matthew 26, Jesus says that he will be handed over on the Passover, which is fulfilled in John 19.

And these are just the prophecies that John mentions in John 19 concerning Jesus’ death and burial. That’s not including the hundreds of prophecies concerning Jesus’ birth, his life, his teaching, his ministry, and his miracles.

Jesus did so many things that fulfilled Scripture and proved his divinity that John estimates that if they were to all be written down, the world couldn’t contain them all.

Scripture repeatedly shows us that Jesus is the Messiah, it’s just a matter of if you want to believe the truth or not. I don’t know where you are spiritually, but let me encourage and exhort those of you that may not believe, to consider who Jesus is and actually read the Scriptures and see what the Scriptures have to say about Jesus.

Hopefully, you’ll connect the dots in Scripture and realize that Jesus is who he says he is and you repent and believe in him.

Your application is to search the Scriptures for Jesus and when you understand who he was and is, repent from your sins and believe in him.

For those of us that do believe, we might have a tendency to sort of skim passages like this because we know that they’re written specifically to unbelievers, but let me encourage you not to do that. We can and should still apply this passage to our lives and there’s two ways that we should do this:

First, during this weekend, seriously consider all that Jesus had endured for your sins—he was arrested in the middle of the night, he was tried unjustly and unfairly, he was beaten, he was scorned, he had a crown of thorns thrust upon his head. He suffered a tremendous crucifixion and he died.

Of course, it’s difficult for us to separate his death and his burial from his resurrection, but let me encourage you to reflect on his death on the cross and recognize that if Jesus hadn’t done this for you, then your sins would’ve had to have been paid by you through death.

He provided a propitiation for your sins and our reflection on Jesus’ death on the cross should compel you to give thanks, to praise, to worship him.

Good Friday is only good because he redeemed you through his death—so thank him, praise him, and worship him.

Second, during this weekend and everyday, consider how Jesus’ fulfillment of Scripture during his earthly ministry is evidence that he will fulfill the Scriptures that he hasn’t fulfilled yet.

His eventual return, the judgment of all mankind, the destruction of earth and heaven and the new earth and the new heaven are all prophesied in Scripture and they have yet to happen.

On a personal level—when you believed, Jesus set you up on a process in which the Holy Spirit progressively sanctified you (he makes you more like him). That process continues throughout this lifetime until you’re on the other side of eternity, in which he makes you complete. That is a prophecy in Scripture that has yet to happen.

The Scriptures have promised us several different things through prophecy and we can have hope not because of the prophecies themselves, but because of the one who makes the promises—he who has promised is faithful.

Good Friday is a reminder that God keeps his promises and we can have hope and trust in him to fulfill his other promises because he has already.

Reflect on Jesus’ death and his burial and thank him for what he has done for you, praise him, and worship him; then have hope because he is faithful.

Jesus’ Burial (38-42)—in the last five verses we see Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea respectfully burying Jesus as their king. Now arguably, I don’t think Nicodemus and Joseph understood that Jesus was going to rise from the tomb, I think that’s indicative by the large amount of spices that they brought—spices were used to cover the smell of decay. But there is something that we need to learn from Nicodemus and Joseph, which provides our last bit of application.

Up to this point, as far as we know, no one knew that Nicodemus and Joseph believed in Jesus. Thus, Jesus’ death prompted them to action.

A lot could be said about their relative lack of action up to this point. They claimed to believe and yet, they were hiding their faith. They were fearful of what other would think, but I don’t think that’s what John is highlighting here.

I think what John is actually highlighting, is the fact that Jesus’ death prompts them to show that they genuinely believe or in other words, they stopped hiding their faith, they lost that fear of man, and they responded to Jesus.

John writes of them to show us what genuine belief looks like—that they’re willing to lay aside their own personal life, their wealth, their power, and their standing among men to do what was right and follow Jesus.

What John is telling us by mentioning Joseph and Nicodemus is that genuine belief in Jesus results in action regardless of the cost.

Which brings us to our last application of the evening. Reflect on the death and burial of Jesus and then do something about it.

Jesus commands us to proclaim the Gospel to the whole world. If you reflect on the death and burial of Jesus, but still don’t obey his final command, you’ve missed the point.

Tell others about Jesus, seek to serve him, and worship him openly regardless of the consequences.

Put simply, what we can learn from John’s account of Jesus’ death and his burial is this: because of his death, (1) we need to praise him, worship him, and thank him for his sacrificial atonement, (2) we can have hope because his death was fulfillment of Scripture, which proves that he will fulfill the rest of his promises, and (3) we should be motivated to action because of his death—tell others about him and serve him however he has gifted you to do so.

Pastoral Prayer

Congregational Singing

The Power of the Cross 272