Crucifixion and Prophecy • John 19:17-42
Teaching begins 15:43
Notes
The Scriptures testify that Jesus is the Son of God. Especially they testify in His crucifixion. In this one account in John there are seven prophecies fulfilled. Some of these are two-part prophecies, fulfilled at different times, sometimes far apart.
The seventh prophecy John shows us has two parts but only one half is fulfilled. From the rest of the New Testament we can see that it won’t be fulfilled until Jesus returns to the earth.
So what?
Prophecy shows us that the word of God must be fulfilled, even if the fulfillment takes place two thousand years later.
The first part fulfilled at Jesus’ crucifixion is the promise that the second part will be fulfilled at His second coming.
I’m reading in John 19, beginning at verse 17.
1. Jesus is crucified and fulfills prophecy.
A. Notice that Jesus goes outside the city to be crucified. A prophecy is fulfilled in typology.
1. In Hebrews 13:11-12 the writer points out that the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
2. The sin offering was consumed entirely by fire. Jesus was consumed with death, outside the city. He fulfills the typology of the sin offering.
B. Jesus bears His own cross.
1. Luke 14:26-27 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
2. It is true for Jesus and it is true for everyone who follows Jesus. It is first death to self, then life with Christ. It is first humility with Christ, then honour with Christ.
C. Jesus is crucified between two robbers.
1. It is a fulfilllment of prophecy. Isaiah 53:9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, Isaiah 53:12 says He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors;
2. These robbers stole from people and killed. They deserve death. That’s what one of them says, we deserve this. We are worthy of this execution, which means we are worthless, useless, deserving of death.
3. But this man has done nothing deserving death. Jesus is at the opposite end of the scale. He is serving every person who has ever lived or ever will live. He is suffering in our place. He is taking upon Himself all the punishment of the Father in heaven for sin. He is worthy of all praise and glory, the complete opposite to these robbers, these criminals.
2. Pilate writes the inscription.
A. Pilate himself writes the title of the execution.
1. This is a Roman word brought into Greek that is the technical word for the inscription above a dying criminal.
2. Pilate writes the name of the accused, where He is from, what He has done: Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.
3. He also writes it in the three major languages so no one can miss it. Hebrew is the language of the Jews, actually, Aramaic. Latin is the language of the Romans, the occupying force and rulers over the Jews. Greek is the language spread all over the world by Alexander the Great. Everybody, everywhere speaks Greek. Nobody can miss what this sign says.
4. And everybody is reading the sign because it’s close to the city. Many of the Jews are reading this sign.
B. And the Jewish religious leaders have a problem with this. It looks like the Romans are acknowledging Jesus’ claim to be King of the Jews.
C. They come to Pilate and want him to change it. Make it say Jesus claimed to be King of the Jews but He wasn’t. He took this to Himself but it is not so. He is dying for a crime. Jesus is wrong.
D. Pilate refuses to change what he has written.
1. He meant to annoy and provoke the Jewish leaders. They pushed him around to get Jesus condemned even though Pilate knew Jesus was innocent and that the leaders were envious of Jesus.
2. At this point Pilate digs in his heels and won’t be pushed around anymore. What I have written, I have written. He’s daring them to push him further and they back down.
E. It means that Jesus is not dying for any crime of His own. He is dying for the truth. He really is the King of the Jews. He is sealing this witness with His life.
3. The soldiers divide up Jesus’ clothing and fulfill prophecy.
A. These four soldiers get to have everything belonging to the condemned man and they separate everything out: head gear, sandals, outer cloak, belt.
B. But it’s not an even split. There’s a fifth item, and it’s real nice.
1. It’s an inner garment woven in one piece. In fact, the garment of the high priest was woven like this. Jesus is wearing what is very much like a high priestly garment. Appropriate, because He is a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. This is the promise of God about the Messiah in Psalm 110. The Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 7, explains the significance of this, which we’ve looked at. The videos are up on YouTube.
2. The point here is that because it’s a fifth piece and it’s nice, everybody wants it. It’s not divisible, nobody wants to take a nice woven garment and rip it into four pieces. Nobody is crazy. So the smart solution is to cast lots for it. Gamble for it. Gives you something to do while you wait. Somebody wins something nice for a change. Great idea.
C. God already thought of that a thousand years before and wrote it down in Psalm 22.
1. What we notice about the prophecy is that it’s two parts. They divide the clothing and they cast lots for it. The fulfillment is exact, they divide the clothing and cast lots for it.
2. You could say on the one hand, well, it’s Hebrew poetry. The second line echoes the first line and they had to say it in a different way.
3. But look how exact the fulfillment is, not one or the other, but both.
4. Prophecy is why those soldiers did what they did. God said they would do that. Every word of God must be fulfilled.
4. Jesus provides for His mother.
A. The disciples had all scattered. John is here at the cross.
B. Here also are women close to Jesus. His mother is here. She was there at His birth, she is here at His death.
C. Jesus provides for His mother even as He is suffering and dying.
1. He could have been thinking about all His suffering for the sake of sinners and the pain and what it’s costing Him. He is about to die. He could be consumed with His own situation.
2. Yet He thinks of His mother and provides for her future.
3. This demonstrates the heart of God, that He is humble. He thinks of others rather than Himself. He thinks of you.
5. Jesus fulfills Scripture by being thirsty.
A. He knows that all things had already been accomplished. Salvation is accomplished. But a Scripture needs to be fulfilled.
B. The Scripture is Psalm 69:21 They also gave me gall for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
C. Half the prophecy was fulfilled at the beginning of the crucifixion. Matthew 27:34 they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink. The purpose of that was to deaden one’s consciousness and therefore be more merciful during crucifixion.
D. But this is the very end of the crucifixion, and the second half of the prophecy needs to be fulfilled. So Jesus says, “I thirst.” Somebody is there who has mercy on Jesus and puts some cheap sour wine on a sponge for Him to taste, and God’s word is fulfilled.
E. He says, “It is finished!”
1. His suffering is finished. His life is at an end. He has completed His earthly course. He has completely fulfilled the Scriptures. He has fulfilled the Father’s will.
2. He has finished the work of salvation. All the sin of the world, from Adam to the sins of today, have been paid for for all time. It is paid in full.
3. This eternal work of salvation has been accomplished in time. There was a beginning, and this is the end.
4. It is finished. It is perfect. Jesus did it all by Himself. There is nothing to be added. There is nothing missing; it is complete.
5. The devil is now condemned. He no longer has the keys of death and hell. Jesus came to destroy the work of the devil and to make him of no effect. Jesus has done that at this point.
6. This is a cry of victory, of success. This is saving uncountable millions of people. This is taking out a deadly enemy. This is good being established that will last forever.
F. Then Jesus bows His head and gives up His spirit. No man took away His life. He gave it up voluntarily on our behalf. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down His life for His friends. This is how you know that God loves you, that Jesus died for you willingly.
6. Jesus is really dead and more Scripture is fulfilled.
A. The Jewish leaders want the bodies taken down. They didn’t want them up on a holy day. This is Passover, the Sabbath is tomorrow, Unleavened Bread starts after that. So they want to move this on. The problem is that crucifixion could take days to kill the victims. They could live still for days.
B. So the soldiers break the legs of the first and the second robber on either side of Jesus.
C. But the soldiers see that Jesus is already dead. So the soldier makes sure about it. He jams up his spear into Jesus’ side. Immediately blood and water come out. Bodily fluids.
D. John makes a point of being an eyewitness. I saw this, it really happened, it’s true and I know I’m telling the truth.
E. The point is so that you may believe, says John. Believe what? That Jesus was really dead. Bodily fluids came out. There was no response from the body. The soldier knew that Jesus was dead.
1. Notice John doesn’t assign any meaning to this. We don’t want to get off on the blood and the water. This scripture does not teach anything about cleansing from sin or any symbolic meaning of blood and water.
2. The main thing to see is that Jesus was dead. That is what John is testifying to. Jesus really died.
3. He didn’t swoon, faint, and then in the cool of the tomb revived, somehow got out of the tomb, past the soldiers put there to guard the tomb, and appear to His followers as the risen Saviour. There are people who say that Jesus wasn’t really dead. And if He wasn’t really dead that means the resurrection wasn’t really a resurrection. Jesus isn’t really the Son of God.
4. Anybody who claims Jesus was not dead has to ignore the evidence. The soldier proved it beyond doubt. John saw the soldier prove it. Jesus was really dead.
F. There is Scripture fulfilled. Not a bone of Him shall be broken.
1. This is Psalm 34:19-20 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken.
2. This is also a fulfillment in typology. The lamb sacrificed for the Passover is to be roasted in fire and then eaten. In Exodus 12:46 and in Numbers 9:12 no bone of the lamb was to be broken. Why? Because God was going to keep the Lamb of God, because He is righteous. The Father is testifying that Jesus is righteous: not one bone of His shall be broken.
G. There is another Scripture fulfilled. They shall look on Him whom they pierced.
1. That’s Zechariah 12:10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
2. Part of this Scripture is fulfilled. Jesus has been pierced. But the rest of the Scripture is still future. The Spirit has not yet been poured out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In fact, this will not happen until the visible return of Jesus to the earth. We see this in Revelation 1:7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
3. We have seen two two-part prophecies fulfilled exactly and literally so far. Divide clothes and gamble for them, that happened at the same time. Gall for food and vinegar to drink, these were fulfilled at the beginning and at the end of the crucifixion, separated by six hours. With this Scripture the first part is fulfilled: Jesus is pierced. The second part, when the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and every eye will look upon Him, is still waiting to be fulfilled, two thousand years later.
4. Realise that because this is the word of God it must be fulfilled. Jesus was pierced as the Scripture said He would be, and every eye is going to see Him pierced, even those who pierced Him two thousand years before. The word of God must be fulfilled.
7. Jesus is buried and more Scripture is fulfilled.
A. Joseph of Arimathea has been a secret disciple of Jesus so far. But Joseph comes out at this point to request the body of Jesus to give it an honourable burial. Nicodemus comes forward at this time as well. At some point every disciple must go public and acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
B. Notice that in order for Pilate to grant permission for the body to be released he had to certify that Jesus was dead.
1. Mark 15:43-45 Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.
2. As I said before, crucifixion generally lasted for a few days. They had to break the robbers’ legs so that they would die. Pilate is surprised that Jesus is dead so quickly. The centurion says, yes, sir, we examined the body. He is dead.
3. So here we have the Roman government officially certifying that Jesus was dead. Pilate therefore releases the body to Joseph.
C. Joseph and Nicodemus would have noticed if the body they were wrapping was still alive. But they embalmed the body and put the body in the tomb that Joseph had made for himself. It was brand new, never been used.
D. This fulfills another two-part prophecy.
1. I have already read half of Isaiah 53:9, now I will read the whole quote. Isaiah 53:9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
2. Jesus was assigned to be buried with wicked men. But He didn’t end up in the same grave as they. He ended up being buried in a rich man’s tomb. Both parts of this prophecy was fulfilled exactly.
8. So what?
A. We have here the principle that Scripture is fulfilled exactly.
1. Suffering death outside the city.
2. Numbered with transgressors.
3. Divided garments, cast lots for clothing.
4. Gall for His food, vinegar for His drink.
5. Not a bone shall be broken.
6. His side would be pierced.
7. With a rich man in His death.
8. Scripture is true and it must be fulfilled. Even if there are parts of the prophecy, each part must be fulfilled exactly. Fulfilled prophecy proves that the Scriptures are true. They really come from God.
B. These Scriptures point to Jesus and authenticate Him as the Messiah of God.
1. It has been estimated that Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies in His life.
2. These bear witness that Jesus is who He said He was, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
C. Jesus said it is finished. That Greek word He used was also used to mark bills of debt as “paid in full”. This all points to a finished, complete work of salvation. All your sins are paid for. Past, present, and future.
D. In order for this to be valid, you must receive this forgiveness. If you receive Jesus, you receive forgiveness and new life. You are born again. There is no more punishment for you. There is nothing to add to this salvation. It is perfect apart from anything you do. You receive the very righteousness of God Himself.
E. Receive Jesus! Thank Him for taking all of your sins upon Himself! Do this every day. Enjoy Jesus greatly!
F. Then you come out and be public, that you are His disciple. Some people are secret disciples for fear of what people will say. If you need to go public and you have a problem with that, talk with me afterwards. Jesus said Mark 8:38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Let’s pray.