Jesus Is Crucified

John 19:16-37

Jesus’ crucifixion is the focal point of the plan of salvation.......Hebrews 9:22 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

In Jesus’ scourging and crucifixion was for our iniquities, transgressions, our sin. This wasn’t evil men getting the best of Jesus, this wasn’t the devil executing Jesus, this was God using these men’s hate to serve justice for sin, except Jesus knew no sin but became as sinful man to atone for our sins.

One thing, that we must note and we will see more as we go, that no one took Jesus’ life, He gave it freely, that we might live!

Prophecies all throughout this gives an assurance that this was God’s doing not man’s. Prophecies would prove that God used the evil of satan to fulfill His redemptive purpose in Jesus Christ.

Scriptures like Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” It was satan’s hour but it really wasn’t........Isaiah 53:10 “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise (crush) Him (Jesus); he hath put him to grief: When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”

John doesn’t get into a whole lot of detail, even though he and the women was the only ones left with Jesus at this time.

John’s purpose for us is for us to understand as he says in verse 24&28......to fulfill the Scripture.

Verse 16......Pilate delivered Jesus to be crucified to the executioners. Typically they would use 4 men to crucify someone.

Scripture tells us that they led Jesus away. Some commentators say that historical accounts of crucifixion tell of men being dragged to their crucifixion kicking and screaming. It is said that they would develop some kind of insanity as the went to the cross.

Some historians report that some had to be driven like animals.

We do not see that here with Jesus, no panic, no struggle, no dragging, no prodding!

The other 3 Gospels say that Jesus He was led away, John states they took Jesus and led Him away.

They led Jesus to His death, Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, Yet he opened not his mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth.”

One writer stated that he has literally watched a shepherd lead his sheep straight to the slaughter, with a total willingness to follow the shepherd. Jesus went on to His death as faithful servant to HIs Father and us.

Verse 17..........Tells us that Jesus went forth,........

Bearing His cross......He went right from judgement to the execution........this process would normally took 2 days.

Isaiah 53:8 “He was taken from prison and from judgment: And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living: For the transgression of my people was he stricken.”

He went forth straight from Gabbatha to Golgotha (the skull)........this place looked like a human skull.

The cross some say would weigh 200-300 lbs. Dragging that cross out of the city up the hill, was not only excruciating, but also exhausting.......

Eventually, Simon of Cyrene would come along and help Jesus carry the cross.

Essentially, Jesus was bearing His own cross, to His slaughter.

Genesis 22:1-14..........Genesis 22:6 “And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.”

This is a beautiful picture of what is happening to Jesus at this point, I do not care to listen to anyone misuse this event in OT history.......everything in the OT is leading us to Jesus!!

In this account we also see that Jehovah-Jireh (God our Provider) provides a ram in place of Issac.......do you understand????

It also says that Jesus went forth or went out.......in the twenty-ninth chapter of Exodus, there is a command by God with regard to an offering, and this is what it says: “the flesh of the bull and its hide and its refuse, you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering. Burn it outside the camp.” Later on in Leviticus, chapter 4, you have another offering: “Burn it outside the camp.” Later in Leviticus 16 you had the Day of Atonement: “Take the sacrifice, burn it outside the camp.” The sin offering was to be outside. And here God makes sure that the ultimate and only true offering for sin is outside the camp, outside the city.

Hebrews 13:11 “For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.”

Another fulfilling of Scripture declaring the Messiah and redemption of man.

Verse 18.....Jesus was crucified......Crucified at Golgotha, Calvary in the latin.........

Remember in Numbers 21 when the serpents were biting the people and God told them to make a brazen serpent and put it on a pole and lift it up and those that would look upon that serpent would live...........Jesus said this about Himself....John 3:14 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:”

If the Jews would of done this they would of stoned Jesus to death.......however horrific the crucifixion is stoning puts people down literally and it has also a representation of putting someone down, but Jesus was lifted up for us to live!!!!!

That is hard to miss if you apply OT Scripture rightly!!!

Jesus said in John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

Crucified.......Psalm 22 shows some glimpses of Jesus’ suffering on the cross...

Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?”

Psalm 22:14-16 “I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint: My heart is like wax; It is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; And thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: The assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: They pierced my hands and my feet.”

Psalm 22:17-18 “I may tell all my bones: They look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, And cast lots upon my vesture.”

Verse 24 of John 19 is quoted directly from Psalm 22:18.

Crucified between 2 malefactors.....Isaiah 53:12 “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the strong; Because he hath poured out his soul unto death: And he was numbered with the transgressors; And he bare the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”

Verses 19-22 Pilate made a sign King of the Jews, to mock the Jews.......Pilate actually out of spite for the Jews, fulfilled the truth of Jesus Christ.....He is the King of the Jews!

Pilate wrote in all languages for everyone to read......the Jews did not want that at all! In their hate for Jesus they drove Pilate to state the Truth that they have denied! It was staring them and everyone else there right in the face!

They begged Pilate to change it and there was no way Pilate would ever do anything for them.

Verses 23-24........Another prophecy fulfilled......They cast lots..........

For Jesus’ garments just as it said in Psalm 22:18..............

This coat which could be called a “tunic” which was without seam......Let’s see whose garments was supposed to be without seam? The priests...........

In latin priest means “pontifix” which you might have heard in the Catholic faith. I think the Pope is called the “Pontifix Maximus” .......Pontifix means “Bridge Builder”

The function of a priest was to build a bridge between God and man. Jesus here wears the seamless garment as did the high priest, because He is the true bridge builder.

They did not tear the True High Priest’s tunic!

“Therefore the soldiers did these things.” Everything the soldiers did was fulfilling prophecy, fulfilling Scripture. Herein lies the glory of Christ in this scene of horror. It’s one fulfillment after another, after another, after another, down to the most minute detail. God is unfolding His purpose in Christ with magnificence.

Verses 25......The women.......Mark tells us that there was many women there.......

John names a few......

Mary the mother of Jesus

Her sister which is up for debate, some say it is Salome, because as he never referred to himself by name, he did the same with his mother.

Mary, wife of Cleopas....Cleopas is actually a form of Alpheus which means she was the mother of James the son of Alpheus better known as James the Less.

Mary Magdelene........the woman Luke 8 says who was delivered from eight demons by the Lord.

Verses 26-27........all these folks here, but Jesus focuses now on His mother..........He told John to be her son and she to be John’s mother!

Keep each other in the faith is how I like to think about this transfer! Nurture one another in the faith of Jesus as not the son of Mary but as the Christ the Son of the Living God.

Mark 3:31-35 “There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”

Verses 28-30.........More prophecy fulfilled......

I thirst.....Psalm 69:21 “They gave me also gall for my meat; And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

Jesus in His omniscience knowing all things were fulfilled.....This had to be fulfilled before it was finished!!

Just so they know that this is the Lord’s doing!

They had tried to give Him gall, but He didn’t take it, because gall, which is different, was a sedative to try to diminish the pain because it was so horrifying. He refused that, because he wanted the full impact of the suffering.

In the 15th chapter of Mark, 36th verse, Mark writes, “Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, a hyssop reed, gave Him a drink.” Why? Because the promise of the Old Testament was that this would occur at the death of Messiah, “And they gave Him sour wine to drink.”

Notice that they put a sponge on the end of a hyssop reed, put it up to His mouth. Anybody reading that would immediately think of Exodus 12 – any Jewish person – Exodus 12, Passover night in Egypt. When the angel of death came you had to have blood on the door posts and the crosspiece or the angel of death would kill your firstborn. They were told to sacrifice the lamb, and take the spread it on the doorpost and the crosspiece using hyssop, using hyssop.

Here is the true Passover Lamb, and hyssop again plays a part in the scene. The Jews would have to think back to the saving blood of the Passover lamb. But here is the final and only true Passover Lamb. “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘Tetelestai, It has been finished, it is finished!’ He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

No sin, no corruption, and it’s important for you to know that when He died, He died because He willed Himself to die, and He gave up His spirit. It says in Matthew 27:50 and Mark 15:37 that when He said, “It is finished,” He was shouting.

Not only did people on a cross die of dehydration, but asphyxiation. But it’s too soon for that for Him, and He’s just been given something to drink. He is still strong. He shouts at the top of His voice, and then He bows His own head – no violent jerk, no slump. The verb has been translated in other places, “He pillowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

John 10:17-18 He said, “No man takes My life from Me; I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down; I have power to take it up again.” And He’ll do that Sunday morning: “It is finished!” And then Luke says that He cried, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit,” and He willed His own being out of that body into heaven.