John 19: The Cross Made the Difference

John 19 ESV

1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” 6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. 9 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” 12 From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” 13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’ ” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” 23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things, 25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. 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.

What does the cross mean to you? What change has the cross of Christ brought to your life?

in our world, Crosses have taken on an identity that would stun a believer from the 1st century church,

People wear them for jewlery,

We put them on our cars

We have nice clean ones in our churches

But a first-century believer, or anyone living during that time, would probably not have displayed the cross like we do

The cross was an instrument of a death that was almost unthinkable in its horror

Let’s be reminded of what Jesus was facing and about to face

At the beginning of the chapter, Pilate, finding himself in deep, hot political water is searching for a way to appease the Jewish authorities.

He doesn’t want to kill Jesus, really, but on the other hand, the situation is getting out of control.

And so he has Jesus flogged. Maybe this will appease the Jews.

Because flogging was in itself a punishment almost to horrible to speak about

One which many men did not survive

Because the way in which it was done nearly flayed people alive

Parents can talk to their children about it when the time is right

And after Jesus is flogged, they throw a purple robe on him, and they weave together a crown made out of thorny branches and they smash it down on his head.

These probably aren’t just any kind of thorns. We have a rose bush with thorns, but they are just little short thorns

We had these kind of thorns in Africa.

The Acacia tree has thorns which can be close to two inches long, and are razor sharp at the end.

Believe me, you don’t want to get tangled in those thorns, much less have them driven down on your head.

But this is what they did to Jesus. They flogged him to a bloody pulp, drove this mock crown down onto his head,

They mock him, beat him with their hands,

And then Pilate marches him back out to the crowd and says, “Behold the man”. I think hoping that this will appease the crowd.

But they cry out all the more for his death, and so Pilate sends him out to be crucified.

Again, a means of death mean to horrify, humiliate, and cause absolute suffering to the condemned.

It was meant as a warning to all who would dare defy the Roman empire

Because a man didn’t die from having spikes driven into his hands and feet.

He died slowly from asphyxiation. From not being able to breathe properly. And this could take days.

The cross, for a first century Christian was not be taken lightly.

There is a reason that Paul says, 1 Cor. 1:18-24

1 Corinthians 1:18–24 ESV

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

The cross is foolishness for those who are perishing.

They don’t understand the power of the cross or the message of the cross.

They don’t understand why such an instrument of horror, torture, and shame should be so precious to the Believer

The cross is a stumbling block and folly to both Jews and Gentiles who don’t believe

But for those of us who DO believe, it represents the power and the wisdom of God

The question in front of us is, what difference has the cross made in your life?

If we preach and proclaim the cross of Christ, is it make a difference to you?

The cross represents the ugliness of man’s sin, and the depth of God’s love

We see in these chapters, and we talked last Sunday about the betrayal of Judas, Peter, and the crowd

We see the depravity of the mob calling for his death, setting up a mock trial, leaning on the corrupt Roman empire to do their dirty work

The brutality of the soldiers toward Jesus

But in all of that, we see how far God was willing to go in order to save us. To make a way for fallen mankind to be reconciled to Him

In the cross, we see the depth of God’s love for us

You know many people have speculated about “who killed Jesus?”

Was it the Jews?

Romans?

Did Jesus just not calculate the political risk in preaching like He preached and doing what He did?

You want to know the answer to that question? It was God.

Romans 8:31-32 “31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

Isaiah 53:10 says that it was the LORD’s will to crush Jesus. Why? Because God delights in punishment?

No, because of what the death of Jesus was going to bring about.

It was going to bring about a way for you and I, and millions of others to be reconciled back to our Father.

The cross shows us the ugliness of man’s sin, and the depth of God’s love

And By the way, Jesus came to earth, knowing what He would endure.

Jesus said, in John 10:17-18 “17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.””

And in John 18, as Judas is arriving with his lynch mob, it says, that “Jesus, knowing all that was about to happen to him, stepped forward and asked them who they were looking for”

Have you, have I, see the ugliness of our sin, and experienced the depth of God’s love for us?

The Cross represents sacrifice and discipleship

Again, Jesus knew all that would happen to him

He said, “I’ve come that they may have life and have it more abundantly

No one is taking my life from me. I’m laying it down because my Father has given me authority to do so

Yet in all this, Jesus did not flinch from what he was called to do.

And He used the cross as an illustration of the high cost of discipleship

Luke 9:23 “23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

This speaks to a daily renewing of our commitment to follow Jesus, giving up all that is precious and dear to us.

Jesus laid aside His glory and came to earth, to live like one of us, with the cross in front of Him

And He asks us, His disciples, to live the same way

1 Peter 2:20-24 “20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

This is written specifically to servants

But I believe that it applies to all who would be Jesus’s disciples because of His call to take up our cross daily

Taking up your cross means

Not retaliating when we are reviled

Not threatening those who cause us to suffer

Entrusting ourselves to Him (that’s God) who judges justly

Dying to sin, living to righteousness

The cross is a daily call for us to lay aside all that is important to the flesh, entrust ourselves to God,

The Cross breaks the power of Satan

Satan is “the accuser”. The one who makes his living, so to speak, from keeping people in bondage through shame and fear.

He makes a practice of reminding folks, even believers, of how bad they have been, how ashamed they should be of it, and how much they have fallen short of God’s perfect standard, and how much they deserve punishment

Jesus turned that whole thing on its head by taking all the sin, all the accusations, all the shame, and all the punishment on himself, carrying it willingly to the cross and paying for it there

Has someone hurt you deeply? By something they did to you, or said to you.

Words are powerful. That saying “sticks and stones my break my bones, but words will never hurt me”

That is a first rate lie. Words can and do hurt sometimes more deeply than a physical wound, and that hurt can last longer, much longer, than a physical wound

Maybe that person has never come back and made things right and asked for forgiveness. Maybe that person has no idea that what he/she said hurt you so bad, but it still hurts anyway

And when you think of that person, there is this knot of pain and anger that grips your chest.

It feels like it’s squeezing your heart

Some of us stew in that pain and think about all the things that we would like to say to that person

Others of us try to ignore it and stuff it down, saying to ourselves, “I have to move on.”

But it still hurts and it just won’t go away.

Satan loves to keep us there. It’s bondage. It’s control. Pain and anger controls us

But what difference does the cross make for us in this situation?

The cross means that there is a way of escape from Satan’s bondage of pain and anger.

The reason is that Jesus took upon Himself ALL of our pain, anger, sin, brokenness, and carried it to the cross, and paid for it there.

Isaiah 53:4-6 “4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Jesus was accused and mocked and shamed, tortured, and killed. The Jews were under the impression that they were doing God a favor

This man, Jesus, is getting what He deserves, they said

No, He was getting what THEY and WE deserve.

If we are hanging on to pain and hurt and anger that someone has caused us, (whether we are just trying to ignore it, or we are stewing in our anger) we are in effect saying, “That person deserves punishment for what he did to me”

And that’s right where Satan wants you. Because he knows you will never rest until that person gets what they deserve.

He’s got you in bondage

But here’s the thing. Jesus already took on Himself what “that person” deserves, and what YOU deserve. What I deserve.

He paid for it. There is no more payment needed. There is no basis for hoping someone gets what they deserve

The power of Satan to hold you in bondage was broken on that day.

You can take that pain that you’ve experienced, and whether or not that person who caused it comes back to you

In your mind’s eye, in your heart, You take that pain, you take that person who hurt you, and your own sin to the cross, and you lay it down there

You stop carrying it

Jesus already took it

Can we be honest with each other?

What I’m talking about here is something that I have had to live and do, and am doing at this very moment

I know that many of us, probably all of us are carrying pain. The question is, what are you doing about it?

Do you know what to do about it? What difference is the cross making for you?

Lord, I confess to you this evening that I am hurting

A while ago (this person) did something to me.

A while ago (this person) said something to me

And it hurt really bad

And when I think of that person, I wish that they would know how much it hurt. I wish they would get what they deserve

But this evening, Lord, I want to release that pain to you

Because you already paid for it. You paid for that person’s sin, and my pain

So this evening, Lord, I am carrying that pain and that sin back to the cross, and I’m laying it down there.

And every time that Satan brings this up, I’m going to carry it back to the cross and leave it there.

Because you paid for it.