Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] I'm going to have you turn in your Bibles this morning. We're continuing our journey through John and we're already at chapter 19. We're going to finish chapter 19. Isn't it amazing? I'm preaching on the end of Jesus life and Christmas is coming. People might think I'm a little confused, but you know, I think sometimes it's better to understand the whole story. So when we go back to the beginning again around the Christmas season, it will have a lot more meaning to us. You know, I was thinking about this message today is taken from 19 John 19:16 down to verses 42. Big message. Lots of things are happening. First of all, Jesus is crucified. And then we can see that we are dealing with the death of Jesus and then the burial of Jesus.
[00:00:50] So when I was thinking about this message, you know, I could explain it just from the Bible. This is what Jesus did. This is what happened. That's it. But one of the things you have to ask yourself, the question is, so what difference does this all make? And as I reflected and prayed about it, the thought occurred to me that this is actually the key to actually experience the best out of life. How many here would like to say, I would really like to know how to get the best out of life.
[00:01:19] And I think you're going to have to be prepared for a little bit of a shock. So what we may think is the best may prove to be quite disastrous. Conversely, the life of self giving done for the right reason is generally the most rewarding and fulfilling life possible. And I've discovered over the years that people who are full of joy, and let me tell you about joy.
[00:01:42] If you know God, you're going to have joy because in the presence of God, there's fullness of joy. And what happens out of that joy, we move beyond ourselves and outside of ourselves. And our life no longer becomes directed towards us, but becomes directed away from us. And the people that are the happiest are the ones that focus on others and not on themselves.
[00:02:07] Consider the irony that the greatest symbol of Christianity is the cross. And I noticed when I walked in today, different people were wearing a cross. And you know, the cross today is a beautiful symbol of glory and victory. But in the past it was a tool of punishment and extreme torture and shame at the death of Jesus.
[00:02:35] So when we consider the great sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, I think it brings gratitude in our lives. And then I had a little thought. So why did the cross change its meaning? Well, I think the answer is obvious. Isn't it because of what Jesus did? Jesus took the most hideous, shameful form of death and turned it around and brought out of that death an amazing, beautiful thing called the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The good news of Jesus, what, He died for our sins. He was buried and he rose again so that you and I could experience eternal life. That you and I would be delivered from sin, its power, its penalty. We would be delivered from judgment and death itself, that we would have eternal life. So when we consider this great sacrifice, as I've already said, we could just focus on the whole message, on how grateful we should be. But I think there's more to it than that. And so then the question is raised in my mind at least, what effect should this have on our lives? And how can we get to that place that we're living the best life possible? So I thought a little bit back to what Jesus had said in another gospel. Mark said it this way in Mark, chapter eight and verse 34, he said. Then he called the crowd to him, along with his disciples, his followers, and he said to them, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. You know, I've read that verse many, many times, and, you know, I've heard different people say, what does it mean to take up my cross? Have you ever asked yourself that question? What does it mean to take up my cross? I know what it means, excuse me, for Jesus to take up his cross, but what does it mean for me to take up my cross? What is he alluding to here?
[00:04:40] Now we know that when Jesus took up his cross, the amazing result was, as I've already said, this incredible provision, not just for human beings, but for all of the universe. It says, even creation today is groaning under the weight of sin. That's why we have all of these terrible things. Hurricanes, tornadoes, all the rest of it. Our world is groaning and travailing until it will be redeemed and renewed. I've read the last book, and it talks about restoration on planet Earth. You know, major restoration, where we'll have real climate change.
[00:05:19] I mean, the real climate change, where we'll have amazing weather. I think Canadians could appreciate that.
[00:05:28] Right, so what does it mean? Well, Jesus goes on to say in the very next verse, and I think this is what it means, whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it, even as Jesus, willingly. And I'm going to highlight that word today, willingly. It's something Jesus chose to do it was an act of his will. It says he willingly was willing to give up his life for us. So we in turn must be willing to give up our lives by serving Jesus will and agenda. Because I think a lot of times Christians, we grow up, maybe generations we've been in the church maybe, or we've grown up around Christianity and we think we understand Christianity. But I think a lot of people think Christianity as, oh, I accept God, and when I do, God's going to do what I want.
[00:06:26] That's a corrupted form of Christianity, folks. It doesn't really work. I've had a lot of people say, well, I tried being a Christian, but it didn't work. And what I'm hearing is, I tried God and he didn't do what I wanted.
[00:06:39] I'm reinterpreting it, but that's really what it comes down to. Because biblical, genuine Christianity always works. Because what it does is brings about a transformation from within us and changes us so that we no longer have our dream that comes from outside of ourselves and pushed into us by our culture and aspirations. And we think this is what it's all about. We rediscover, I believe, the God dream that he puts inside of every one of our lives. But sin has a way of crushing that God dream so that we never experience the reality of it. And what God wants to do is release us to fulfill his divine will, which in the end will make us extremely joyful and happy. But not only that, it will bring much blessing to many other people in the process and we will be enriched. And that's what I mean by living the best life. So as we look at Jesus, I think we're going to discover the pattern or the steps that produce this God life within us and how it begins not only to enrich ourselves, but it enriches the people around us. And it's really a life of laying our lives down for a reason greater than ourselves. And let's take a look at the steps. I'm going to look at three the steps that produce the Christ life within us. The first one is being willing to suffer to advance God's kingdom. Now everybody's now going, that doesn't sound like the best life to me, Pastor. Being willing to suffer. But let me stop you and say this. Anything worthwhile in life comes at a cost. How many say that is true and anything of value has great price to it. That which is valuable, costs. Does everybody agree with that? Things of great value cost. One of the great things in life is actually raising A family. How many know that is a great thing to raise a family and you know, having those meaningful, caring relationships and there are great moments of joy in doing it. But how many also know there are moments of stress and challenge? Let's be honest. Come on now, isn't that true? Okay, so the great thing, but it's also with a price. It costs something. And that's what I'm trying to get at. You know, when I was a young Christian, I came to a place in my life where I wanted to know God's will. I was maybe a Christian for maybe a little over a year. And I really, you know, I was uncertain as to my future. I was young at the time and I was talking to some of my friends and one of the guys said, you know, what we should really do is I live near the mountains, let's go up in the mountains, take a week off and we'll just seek God and we can pray. And he kind of challenged me along that way and I said, hey, that's a great idea. And so I took a vacation time off and I booked some place and so I'm heading up there. But he backed down. So I was on my own now. But I decided to do it anyways because I was desirous to know the mind of God for my life. That's a good thing to see the One who creates us. Why don't we ask him what he has in mind? And so when I went up there, God didn't answer me the way I thought he would. How many have ever had that happen to you? That you're praying and you're looking for an answer and God doesn't answer just the way you think he would. Anybody have that experience Instead, what God did, I had my Bible. I was reading through scripture, lots of it. Five days you can write yourself. There's no distractions, just me and God. And I slept a little bit and rested. But I also read a lot and prayed. And some people would be stir crazy, I'm sure, but it was a good experience. And this is what I got from God. Because everywhere I looked in the New Testament, I'm going to summarize God's message to me. And it wasn't really what I asked for. It was unlike anything I asked for. This is what came to me. It says, therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourself also with the same attitude. How many go, I don't like that answer.
[00:10:48] That's not what I was expecting. I don't want to be told by God you know, be prepared to suffer. I go, what?
[00:10:57] This is not what I want to hear, God.
[00:11:01] But I'm going to tell you a little secret. I've been a Christian now for almost five decades. This was a good word because it helped me to understand something. A lot of people are freaked out when problems come their way or there's difficulty or there's struggle or there's suffering. We think it's like it's an anomaly. Why is God allowing these bad things to happen to me when I'm trying to do everything right?
[00:11:22] And the answer is, because God is going to use suffering as a tool to help you grow and develop and mature and get stronger and become the person he wants you to become.
[00:11:39] It works that way. And to give you an idea, you can't read the Scriptures or the great biographies of Christians and not find that they struggled and there was suffering and there was difficulty in their lives. Think of Old Testament Joseph. He was sold into slavery. He was falsely accused. He was imprisoned. He spent 13 years wondering what was going to happen to him. And then eventually God elevated him and he became the prime minister. But it was out of that suffering that he became the kind of person that could handle the pressure of being that kind of a leader. And so we need to understand God is not opposed to us. As a matter of fact, I remember reading the Scripture and it hit me with such impact. It says in Hebrews, chapter five, eight, though he were a son speaking of Jesus, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. And I went, wow, Jesus, the sinless son of God, had to learn obedience by the things which he suffered. And then I thought to myself, hey, I am not sinless. And I got a lot of growing up to do. I'm sure I'm going to have to go through that same school and learn obedience by some of the challenges that have come across my life. And so we need to understand that. You know, a lot of us, we think, oh, there's something wrong. No, there was nothing wrong. Job didn't do anything to deserve what he went through. Bible said God said he was blameless. But Job, as he went through that great trial, became a different person at the end. He became a person who knew God far better. And I think we need to understand that God will bring us through things to teach us powerful lessons. Here is the thing I want you to get. As we look at the story today, Jesus willingly suffered. That is a very powerful underline. Because a lot of times when we are suffering, we begrudgingly suffer or we are complaining while we are suffering, or we get tired of suffering. Jesus willingly suffered for us. Isn't that amazing?
[00:13:42] And so it is very impactful here. As a matter of fact, let us pick up this approach here as we see the story of Jesus willingness to suffer on our behalf starts in John, chapter 19. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus carrying his own cross. He went out to the place of the skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha, and there they crucified him. And with him two others, one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Merrill Tenney, insightful comment regarding the death of Christ, says the crucifixion was mentioned in the fewest possible words. John, who alone, of all the disciples, witnessed it, and he said the least about it. All the other gospels say a lot more about it. John just says, and he was crucified.
[00:14:29] Interesting. The paragraph merely states the act, the place, and the fact that two others shared the same fate as Jesus. The reticence of the writer indicates that he did not lay great value upon stressing the physical suffering. I know there's a whole group of Christians. That's what they do. They focus on the physical sufferings. That's not true here. Not true biblically, it says. Besides, in a day when crucifixion was still a current method of execution, it would have been too familiar to need description and too horrible a thought to deserve elaboration. It's true. DA Carson, commenting on the Gospel, John points out a very important omission that the other gospel writers state, and there's a reason for it. It's important to ask why John omits mentioning Simon of Cyrene. For those of you that don't know the story, Jesus was carrying his cross heading to Golgotha. But eventually, because of the torture he had suffered and the loss of blood, he couldn't continue the journey. He stumbled, he fell. The Romans conscripted someone named Simon. He picked up the cross and helped Jesus take that cross to Golgotha. So why doesn't John mention this? And Da Carson says it's real simple. The brief answer is that it does not lend support to his central theme. We're going to see what the central theme is now in John 19 here, and that would be therefore distracting, goes on to say, John, even though he makes room for suffering, greatly emphasizes the sovereign plan of the Father and the Son's obedience. And so he reports rightly that Jesus carried his own cross. The point is he's modeling for us what he expects from us. That we as well will be as willing as he is to take up our cross and follow in his footsteps.
[00:16:32] Now, Gerald Bouchard says the scene John wants us to focus on is Jesus on the way to the cross. Although Jesus has been whipped and condemned as a criminal, here's the part you want to understand. He's not a helpless victim. He's the shepherd king willingly laying down his life for the sheep. That's the point. If you walk away with nothing else from the sermon, the willingness of Christ to die for us and our willingness to embrace that model, that's the heart of this message.
[00:17:07] It goes on to say here the king was carrying his own cross to crucifixion and to his glorification. This carrying of his own cross may be reminiscent of a story found in the old Testament, Genesis 22, where Isaac is carrying the wood that he himself is going to be sacrificed on. Isn't that kind of a foreshadowing of what we're seeing here on this hill called Golgotha?
[00:17:30] Now, let's move on here. This crucifixion, being one of the most cruel forms of execution, was only reserved for those who had no rights and was used only in severe cases yet to be a very bad criminal to be crucified.
[00:17:52] Now, it's interesting that Isaiah 700 years wrote about what Jesus is now about to experience. He said because he poured out his life unto death, he was numbered with the transgressors, for he bore the sin of many and made intercession or prayer for the transgressors. In other words, he's saying that Jesus, the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, which we know as Jesus, he's literally pouring out his life unto death, and he's now going to be killed with criminals. That's what he's telling us. So let's take a look. Here's the execution notice. We know that, and this will help us a little bit. You know, we sometimes sing hymns or songs, but we don't always sing them theologically. Correct. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross. Let me explain something. This was neither far away, and it wasn't on a hill. It was on a pathway. And you know, the distance. I'm standing between myself and the ground here. Jesus was probably this far off the pathway, and so people could look right up at him. And there was a placard there, a sign, and it was designed by the authorities to let the people walking by so everybody could see it. This is what happens to people who do these Kinds of crimes. We crucify you. And then they put the actual criminal charge against them. So here is what we read.
[00:19:15] Pilate had a notice prepared, and he fastened it to the cross. It read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this sign. For the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. And the sign was written in three languages, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek.
[00:19:33] The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, do not write the King of the Jews. But that this man claimed to be the King of the Jews. And Pilate said, hey, what I've written, I've written. I'm not taking it down. So the sign was produced so that first of all, the common Jewish people who spoke Aramaic knew what the reason why this man was being crucified. And then we see that it was written in Latin. Latin was the language of Rome, and it was a legal language. And so they had that language on the cross saying the same thing. And then they had. The final language was Greek, because Greek was the universal language of the time, just like English is to. And so people spoke a very common form of Greek. And that's one of the reasons why the New Testament was written in Greek, so everybody could understand it was the common language of the day.
[00:20:22] Carson says the reason for such linguistic enthusiasm is obvious. The Romans had a vested interest in publicizing the nature of the crime that resulted in such punishment as a warning to every segment of the populace. In other words, misbehave. This is what's going to happen to you. They wanted them to be a deterrent to people rising up against them.
[00:20:46] Now, Gerald Bouchard says there was a little interchange between Pilate and the religious leaders. And he said there's little doubt that John saw in the entitlement. That's the placard with the title on it, an ironic declaration that Jesus was in death, being declared universally the expected Messiah, the King of the Jews. And so how many know? Many times the writers are putting words in people's mouths that are actually profound. I mean, Pilate is actually making a declaration, a universal declaration. Here is the King of the Jews. And he was absolutely right, though he did it in mockery of the religious people of that time. So what was happening at the crowd at the cross of Christ? John immediately brings us to the different people at the cross. And the first group he mentions are those that are executing him. And there are four soldiers there. And these soldiers are now fulfilling their role, but they also receive a little bit of extra pay by dividing the Spoils of the executed person. And so we pick up when the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and they divided them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven into one piece from top to bottom. Let's not tear it, they said to one another. Let's decide by lot who will get it. So this happened that the scripture might be fulfilled, that they divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. And so this is what the soldiers did. You know, it's so amazing that this text is actually fulfilling Psalm 22. Psalm 22 is written 1000 years before this event happened and before even crucifixion was a known form of punishment. Very fascinating how this is all being described exactly as God allowed it to be planned out. DA Carson also mentioned something fascinating about the seamless garment. And you know, there was so much discussion by different scholars on the meaning of it. But I think one that's really powerful and that fits really with the theme of the chapter is he says one association that has some merit precisely because Jesus clothes and Jesus death come together in two passages. One is the one we're reading and the other is the foot washing experience in chapter 13 of John where Jesus actually lays aside his garments, his outer garments, when he washes his disciples feet, which is an act in anticipation of cleansing that would issue from his death which we're now reading about. So here he loses not just his outer garment, he loses all of his clothes. And I think we need to understand something, that this crucifixion scene is a scene of shame, it's a scene of humiliation. We got to get this right in our heads. We have lifted it up as Christians because we know what Jesus did produces something for us. But at that moment it was a terrible, terrible situation. The same self humbling operates, but here to the last degree as he lays aside his glory. And by this act is a divine paradox, he is glorified. Isn't that amazing? Jesus throne is actually a cross. It's the further down you go, the further up you go kind of a thing. Jesus humbles himself even to the point of dying a shameful death on the cross. And Paul says in Philippians, therefore God has highly raised him above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
[00:24:34] So Carson continues, while his last earthly possessions are stripped from him, he remains under his Father's sovereign care, even as his tunic is not torn nor destroyed. And as I've already said, these are all fulfilling certain scriptures here from Psalm 22. I'm going to move along just because I'm going to run out of time. In contrast to the executioners and mockers, now there are the faithful followers and there's these women standing at the cross along with the writer John, who is the beloved disciple. He's there standing with these women. And we read near the cross of Jesus stood his mother Mary, his mother's sister. Her name was Salome Mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. He names two of them there, but there's four women mentioned. There might have been more, but these are the ones that John is mentioning. So while the soldiers are exploiting the contributions of Jesus earthly possessions, the other group around there are mocking and jeering Jesus. The other gospel writers talk about that. John doesn't even mention that he focuses in on the scene here. Even in his death, Jesus is going to do something beautiful. It says when Jesus saw his mother there and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, woman, here is your son. And to the disciple, here is your mother. And from that time on, this disciple took her into his home. Now Jesus was in death here. He was the firstborn of Mary. That's her firstborn child. And most likely Joseph had now been deceased. And Jesus was responsible for her care. And so what does he do? He has these half brothers, siblings from Mary and Joseph, but none of them are going to take responsibility. He's entrusting his mother to John, who I forgot to tell you, is actually his cousin.
[00:26:37] Actually Salome is actually Mary's sister. And her boys are John and James, the sons of Zebedee. Most scholars believe that this is a very interconnected story. So Jesus now is entrusting Mary really to John to care for her as he had been caring for her, which I believe sends another message to all of us. Number one, that our spiritual family takes on huge significance in our lives. And many times they become closer to us than even our biological family. And that happens over and over again. We can also surmise that one of the most important responsibilities of a follower of Jesus is to care for our families. And the Apostle Paul points this out to us. Anyone who does not provide for his relatives and especially for their own household is denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. So our first ministry begins in our home. If we're going to follow Jesus, that's where it starts. Let me move on to the second step that produces the Christ life within us. The first one is being prepared to suffer to advance God's kingdom. The second is being willing to die to our earthly dream in order to advance God's eternal kingdom. Now, I alluded to this and stated it already. God's plan for each of us is ultimately greater than any human dream. But I'm going to challenge something about us. I believe there is a God dream inside of each of us. But we never get to know what that is until we address the sin issue in our life. Because sin keeps that God dream buried inside of us. We never come to know it. But the moment we give our lives to Jesus and we surrender ourselves fully to him, and we begin to say, lord, I want to just follow you and seek to do your will. When we start moving in that direction, a dream starts to emerge in our lives. That's a God dream, and it's far greater and far more glorious and far more significant than the one we had. But usually it requires us laying down our lives to accomplish it. It means giving ourselves away. It's not about us anymore. It's about a greater good. It's about serving a higher purpose, like Jesus. We need to understand that before resurrection comes death and before glory and exaltation comes humiliation and death. And so there's this process inside of us. And that's why God utilizes the challenges and the afflictions and the difficulties in our lives to bring us to a new place and a new understanding. Because, you know, selfish purposes do satisfy for a season, but they're going to eventually prove quite hollow and at the terrible expense to ourselves and to the expense of others. So we got to realize, you know, I'm either going to try to serve myself and have my own dream and do my own thing, or I'm going to surrender my life fully to God and say, okay, you have a dream for me, Lord, you created me. You're the designer. You had a purpose in mind. As a matter of fact, when you come to faith in Christ, there's a beautiful verse in Ephesians 2:10 that says God even prepared good things for us to do in advance. Isn't that beautiful? And I want to fulfill what God's dream is for my life. Because when we're doing that, it's amazing some of the beautiful things that start emerging from us, fulfilling what God had in mind. And this is how we begin to fulfill our purposes. It says here. Later, knowing that everything had now been finished and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, I am Thirsty.
[00:30:09] A jar of wine vinegar was there. So they soaked a sponge in it. They put the sponge on the stalk of the hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus lips. And when he had received the drink, now that he had quenched that little bit of thirst, this was not medicating him. This was not. Earlier he had been offered some sort of a sedative, but he refused it. No. Now he takes this little bit and he can speak. It's finished. And with that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. That's an important statement by John. He's not saying that Jesus was a victim. It wasn't that Jesus, he literally released himself to the Father. He gave himself up. This is a beautiful concept that we need to understand. I want you to go back to the garden scene. Do you think Jesus didn't know that he was going to be betrayed in the garden? Of course he did. He had already foretold that he didn't have to go to the garden. How many times had he slipped away from people over and over again? But Jesus willingly gave himself up. Jesus willingly died for us. And here we see he willingly gives himself over to death because he knows that's the doorway for you and for me to have eternal life.
[00:31:21] So the wine vinegar here is not to lessen the sedative, is not the sedative design to lessen the pain, which was the wine mixed with myrrh, but it was the wine vinegar, the cheap sour wine that the soldiers were drinking. DA Carson goes on to say here John wants to make his readers understand that every part of Jesus, passion or suffering, was not only in the Father's plan of redemption, but a consequence of the Son's direct obedience to it. Are we seeing it? If the Father planned it, but Jesus is executing it right down the line. He's willing to do this.
[00:32:02] And so Jesus ends with it's finished. You know that word in the Greek means complete.
[00:32:08] I've accomplished what I needed to do. It's all done. There's been nothing left unattended. Everything's been done. I'm ready to go back to heaven now. And with that he bowed and gave up his spirit.
[00:32:20] So it's very interesting that Paul picks up on this in his letter to Timothy because he's coming to the end of his life. This is what he says. I'm already being poured out like a drink offering. How many can see that? Paul understands. He's been carrying his cross. He's been self giving since he's been a believer. He's just giving himself to advancing God's kingdom, no matter what the price he suffered and all those things he's been pouring out his life. And then he says, and the time for my departure is near, the time for my death, basically. My exodus off the planet. It's right at hand here, now you can see it, this is the end of his life. And then he says this. I fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. How many think those are powerful statements he's given himself to doing the will of God right to the end. You know, I thought a little bit about this. My prayer for us, not just for me, for all of us, is that we will all run the race, we will all keep the faith, we'll finish well, we'll get to the end and we'll be able to look back on our life and not live with regret and sorrow and anguish. But say, you know what? From the moment I gave my life to Jesus, from that point on, I'm just going for it. I'm giving myself fully to God to do his will. I picked up my cross, I'm serving him. I'm going to be obedient to the word of God. I'm going to do what he wants me to do. Because then he says now there stored up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me, but also all who have longed for his appearance. Can I just say this? You know, life goes by very quickly when you're younger. You don't believe that. But when you're older, you're sitting there going, man, where did it all go? It just goes by so fast. It just races by just like that. You know, one minute you got these little kids in your arms and the next minute they're full grown and they have their own kids.
[00:34:17] I'm serious. Just like that. It just goes by so quickly. And I'm just trying to tell you something. No matter what you have to endure in this life, compared to eternity, it's minor. Paul says he counts all of the things he suffered. Light affliction to be compared with the greater weight of God's glory awaiting him. Do you understand that when we get to heaven, there will be no more suffering, no more sorrow, no more tears, no more problems, no more hassles. That's all gone, folks. We've hit the finish line. We're just moving into the presence of God. There's eternal bliss and joy and we're going to have eternity, all of eternity. And you know, Sometimes we're fooling around here with a little bit of time and we're making poor decisions. And I talked about that last week. Why do people make bad decisions? You want to find out the reason? Listen to that sermon. It'll help you understand it. Why did Pilate condemn an innocent person? Why did Pilate four times say he's not guilty of this charge and condemned him anyways? I'll talk about. Why do people make bad decisions? Well, here you need to make a good one. Here's the ironic request and the certainty of Jesus death. This is the point John's trying to make. It says now the day of preparation, the next day was to be a special Sabbath. In other words, the day before the Sabbath, they had to kill these lambs, get ready to have the sacrificial meal, because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the cross during the Sabbath. That would be a violation. That would be a ceremonial impurity. They asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. In other words, if you break their legs, they can't live live much longer because they're constantly pulling themselves up to breathe. If you break their legs, they can't do that immediately. They asphyxiate relatively quickly and they die. That's why he wanted them to break their legs. But the soldiers therefore came and they broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Christ, and then those of the other one. But when they came to Jesus, he found he was already dead and they did not break his legs. Rather, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. John is trying to tell us Jesus is dead.
[00:36:23] And in a minute we'll see why that's important. 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. Here's the reason, John. John is there. I saw all of this, he said, and I want you to know this is the truth. And I am telling you this so that you will believe what I am telling you about who Jesus is. That is the point of the whole book that he has written. These things happen so that the scripture would be fulfilled. Not one of his bones were broken. That is back in Psalm 22, another scripture says they will look on the one whom they have pierced. That is Zechariah, chapter 12, verse 10. That is another scripture being fulfilled. I want to just point out four quick thoughts regarding this death of Jesus. First of all it struck John that the very day that the Passover lambs were now being slaughtered in Jerusalem was the very time that Jesus, whom he had said was the lamb of God, was now dying as the Passover lamb. And to give you an idea of the significance of this, I remember reading a number of years ago, when they did the Passover, there were times they would slay up to a quarter of a million lambs for the crowd that was there. Is that shocking to you? A quarter of a million lambs were slaughtered on that day. So while Jesus is dying, a quarter of a million lambs are dying.
[00:37:49] Can you imagine the smell in the city? Terrible.
[00:37:53] Death was raining everywhere. And why was that? Because that's what sin produces. Sin always produces death. Now Jesus is dying as a substitute, so we no longer have sacrificial lambs. Jesus died as a substitute so you and I would not have to suffer death, which means separation from God for eternity. But you and I could have this amazing life. And then we see once again the irony, these religious leaders asking that the bodies would be taken off the cross so they wouldn't defile this day ceremonially. How many think that's ironic? And here they are, guilty of allowing this innocent one to die in their place. Another idea that John is conveying is the actuality of Christ's death.
[00:38:38] He's writing decades afterwards now, and there's a whole bunch of people springing up and saying, you know what? Jesus never died. Some have even argued that Simon, who took the cross part way, was substituting for Jesus. And some say, oh, when he was in the tomb down that coal slab, he woke up, he came back and left. You know, he was okay. He wasn't. Come on. John's going, no, he was dead. I was there. I saw it. Listen, you guys, I was shocked. I saw these people dying. You know, I think some of these people need to see what a crucifixion looks like and how cruel it was and how tortured. A lot of these guys didn't even get to be crucified. They died just under the torture. And then the purpose of John's testimony is to help us come to experience eternal life by believing. But let me move on to my last point.
[00:39:28] It's being willing to openly identify with Jesus despite the cost.
[00:39:33] You know, there are many people today claiming to be Christians but are ashamed of the Gospel.
[00:39:39] They're afraid that being open about their faith may cost them and cause them ridicule, prestige, position.
[00:39:48] Others fear hostility, persecution, and financial loss. It's true. A lot of people are just silent, you know. Now we read 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 he took the body away. I'm going to come back to that little segment. There he was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus. Why did he visit Jesus at night? Probably didn't want to be seen. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds. Taking Jesus body, the two of them wrapped it with the spices and strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. And the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden. 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.
[00:40:43] Now we know that Jesus was going to die among the rich. Interesting. Died among the criminals and among the rich in his death. And Isaiah said that 700 years earlier, he was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich. In his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
[00:41:06] Colin Cruz explains God's provision for Jesus even in death. According to Roman custom, the bodies of executed criminals generally were not buried, but left to be devoured by vultures. Nice group of people, right? The Mishnah, which is a Jewish writing, indicates that it was Jewish custom to bury criminals bodies in common graves provided by the Sanhedrin. But also family members could ask for the bodies. But now we have these two outstanding leaders in the nation. Wealthy people came to Pilate and asked for the body. I don't know if you know, Nicodemus ran home and got the spices, while Joseph went to Pilate and asked for the body. But it seems like they were collaborating in the burial of Jesus. But we read that little statement, remember that back In John chapter 12 it said, yet at the same time, even among the leaders, yet at the same time, many even among the leaders, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the human praise more than praise for men. So I think these guys, and we get the picture, they were afraid to lose out in their position. Because to be cast out of the synagogue in that day and age meant you were pushed outside of the mainstream of society. You were ostracized, you would lose all of your connections.
[00:42:30] You would be in trouble from a human standpoint. And they were not willing to do that. But now, all of a sudden, now they recognize Jesus is now being crucified. And so maybe they're understanding. These guys are smart people. Nicodemus is a religious leader. He's a scholar. They're thinking about it. They're saying, you know, I can see that maybe he was the Messiah. And I think they're starting to come to grips with the things that Jesus had did. Jesus had done. They saw those things. They saw Lazarus raised from the dead. They came to a conclusion, these two men did, that Jesus was who he really said he was. And maybe now these verses from Isaiah are popping into their mind. I don't even know. But something's happening to them, and they're moving in a whole new direction.
[00:43:12] As FF Bruce says about this burial, he said even the weight of those spices, one would be surprised if it were not for a royal burial. This is how they treated people of great importance. They'd use a lot of spices and maybe Jesus burial in the eyes of Nicodemus and probably of Joseph, too. To them, he what? Maybe.
[00:43:34] I think FF Bruce is right. They're recognizing that even though on the cross it says jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, in mockery, they're thinking, I think he is the king of the Jews. And they're responding to that. And I want to close with just this thought. Just think of the irony for a moment of the location. It says it was near a garden.
[00:43:58] Now we have to take the Bible and look at its totality. Go back to the very beginning. Adam. Adam. The name Adam, we think of it as a proper name, but Adam in Hebrew means man. It means humanity. And the first Adam, what did he do? He was in a garden. And God told him, do this or don't do this. And Adam failed. He disobeyed God and because of that, sin came into our world. And so now Paul, writing later in the book of Romans, says, the last Adam, the Lord Jesus, he did the very opposite. He also, in a garden, rather than fail, obeyed right to the very end and destroyed and undid the work that the first Adam created and caused, which is bringing sin and death and judgment into the world.
[00:44:48] Is that beautiful? I think it's beautiful.
[00:44:52] So how can we experience the best out of life? Three things. One, we need to personally accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and publicly acknowledge it. The Bible says, for with the heart we believe, but with the mouth we confess that Jesus is Lord. If we believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose again. And we confess it publicly. You shall be saved. Isn't that powerful? It's just that simple. We have to trust and believe. Second thing I could say is we have to pick up our cross and carry it. And that means we have to be prepared to suffer with Christ and for Christ in serving others. It's no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me now. And the life which I now live, I live by the Son of God who gave himself for me. Paul starts that verse with saying, I am crucified with Christ. I'm identifying with Christ's death and resurrection. And I live a life like that. I'm laying down my rights. I'm laying down my life. Why? Because I'm following the path of Jesus. I'm here to serve other people.
[00:46:01] And Jesus said, you want to be great in my kingdom, you must be the servant of all. And so we come as servants to one another and we're laying down our lives. And the last thing that I want to mention is simply this, that when you and I finally accept God's will and purposes for our lives, when we begin to pursue his dream rather than our agenda, when that starts happening, things start changing in our lives. You say, how do I know God's dream from my life? I say, just start obeying God every day. Just put God first in every decision. And pretty soon God's going to do things with you that's going to blow your mind. He's going to open doors. You're going to become more effective, more fruitful, more impactful, more influential than you've ever been in your entire life. And what his plan is for you, because he's your designer, is a lot better than your plan is for you. How's that? So let's stand as we close in prayer.
[00:46:54] That was a lot of information.
[00:46:56] But when I was thinking about this text, I was saying to myself, as my good preaching teacher Donald Sanukian said to me, so what difference does it make?
[00:47:08] Well, that makes a big difference.
[00:47:11] I either live for myself or I live for Christ.
[00:47:14] How many can see that? You know what I'm asking you to do today? Think about it. You have to pick up. If you're a believer, you need to pick up your cross. If you're a believer today, you need to follow God's will. That's what I'm telling you. But maybe you're here today, say, I'm not a believer. What does that mean for me? It's real simple. If you want to experience the most that life has to offer.
[00:47:39] You need to surrender to Christ as Lord.
[00:47:42] And maybe you're here today. Just raise your hand, say, you know what? I want to be a follower of Jesus. I've never done it before.
[00:47:49] Never done it before. Okay, good. Okay, that's beautiful. Okay, this is what I'm going to tell you. We had one in the last service, two in this service. Let me explain this to you real quick.
[00:47:59] All you need to do right now is say, jesus, I want you to forgive me of my sin.
[00:48:08] And if you say that right now and say, jesus, I want you to come in and be the Lord of my life, and I will serve you unashamedly, I'm going to confess you to other people and I'm going to follow you. That's all you got to do. Because, you see, that's what repentance is. I'm changing my mind. I'm going to start following you. I'm going to do your will, not mine. You start to do that, you're now a follower of Jesus. He'll forgive your sin, and he's going to change something on the inside. Because the Bible says, the moment we ask Christ into our lives, we become a new creation. Old things pass away, all things become new. You are now forgiven what you once were, you're no longer. And what you want, what you will become.
[00:48:53] You're not there yet, but you'll get there. You're going to become more and more like Jesus. What a beautiful thought. What a beautiful person. Read the Gospels. You'll see how beautiful he is.
[00:49:04] How many here as believers, you say, you know, pastor, I want to take up my cross.
[00:49:10] Maybe you're already doing it. That's great. I feel like I've been doing it for a long time. I've picked up my cross. I'm walking, I'm just following. But you know what? You got to keep making that commitment.
[00:49:20] You got to do it every day. It's pretty easy to lay it down and go, I don't want to do it anymore. It's a pretty heavy cross, you know, I'm tired of serving these ungrateful people. Whatever it is that we're struggling with, come on now, be honest.
[00:49:35] Pick up that cross. Don't give up. Keep walking with Jesus. You know, live the dream, not yours, the God dream. And then God will see it come to fruition. He's not obligated to do your thing, but he's committed to doing his thing through you. You see the difference? So if you're frustrated with what God's not doing in your life. Maybe you need to take a hard look at what you're trying to accomplish.
[00:50:01] Maybe you need to bow down and say, okay, God, what is your plan? Because obviously mine's not working. So I'm going to just surrender right now to you. Maybe that's where you're at today, is that you. Just say, lord, I surrender. Two hands up. I surrender.
[00:50:17] I surrender. Just raise your hand. Just say, lord, your will be done, your agenda be accomplished in me. I want your kingdom to be lived out through me. And I'm going to just encourage you if you do that, it's going to get more exciting. I'm going to pray right now, Lord, in our lives, in these days, help us to be more effective, more fruitful than we've ever been before. I pray that your kingdom would come so powerfully in and through us. It will shock us, it will astound us. We will be overwhelmed by the magnitude of what you're trying to accomplish in our lives. And we just thank you for that. In Jesus name, amen. God bless you as you leave today.
