IT IS FINISHED! (John 19)
INTRODUCTION:
As I have done a few times on Good Friday, I am just going to read through John 19 and make a few comments as I do. I will be looking especially at those who are mentioned in this chapter and how they responded to Jesus. Starting two weeks ago on Sunday morning we looked at two events that took place during the last week leading up to the crucifixion. We looked at a meal put on in honor of Jesus by His friends in Bethany and we looked at Jesus’ final and most public presentation of Himself as the Messiah as He made His triumphal ride into Jerusalem. In each of these events we have looked at how those involved in the events reacted or responded when confronted with Jesus.
This evening we come to the end of the week. Thursday evening which by Jewish time keeping would be the beginning of Friday. Jewish days began at sunset . It was that evening that the Passover began and Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples and then went out to the Mount of Olives. While they were there, Judas and a cohort of soldiers and officers sent from the chief priests and Pharisees, came and arrested Jesus and took Him to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. He was questioned, then sent to Caiaphas and was put before the Sanhedrin and accused of blasphemy for saying that He was the Son of God. The Sanhedrin condemned Him to death. Early in the morning they delivered Jesus to the Romans since the Sanhedrin did not have the authority to put someone to death. The end of John 18 we have Jesus before the Roman governor Pilate. At the end of chapter 18 Pilate declares Jesus as not guilty. This could have been the end of it, Pilate could have released Jesus and let Him go as an innocent man. Let’s pray and then pick up this event in verse 1 of chapter 19.
--PRAY--
SCENE ONE – PILATE’S JUDGMENT (John 19:1-16)
Turn in your Bibles to John 19. I will begin reading verse one.
John 19:1-7,
“Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and to give Him slaps in the face. Pilate came out again and said to them, ‘Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.’ Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Behold, the Man!’ So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, ‘Crucify, crucify!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.’ The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.’ ” (John 19:1–7, NASB95)[1]
Even though Pilate had told the Jews that he could find no guilt in Jesus, that he was an innocent man, he had Jesus scourged. This scourging would be done with a leather whip with several thongs that had embedded in them pieces of bone and metal that would tear your back to shreds. Once Jesus had been scourged the soldiers led Him inside and placed a crown of thorns on His head and a purple robe on Him and in mockery hailed Him as king of the Jews, and slapped Him in the face. Pilate did this to try and satisfy the desires of the chief priests and Pharisees to have Jesus charged. Pilate comes outside to the Jews again and says that he is bringing Jesus out to them so that they know that he finds no guilt in Him, but that he punished Him for them. Jesus comes out with the crown of thorns on His head and the purple robe stained with His own blood from being scourged. Pilate declares, “Behold the Man!” hoping that seeing Jesus in this state might cause them to be satisfied and Pilate could release Jesus. The chief priests and officers have no sympathy and demand that Pilate crucify Him. Pilate tells them to take Him and crucify Him themselves because he finds no guilt in Him. The Jews know that they cannot crucify Him because the death penalty can only be carried out by the Romans. They tell Pilate that by their law Jesus should be condemned to die because He says that He is the Son of God. They finally tell the truth that this is a religious issue, not a political issue. As governor, Pilate could have been done right here, he could have released Jesus and that would have been his judgment and his judgment was final. Let’s read on, picking up in verse 8.
John 19:8-16,
“Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, ‘Where are You from?’ But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Him, ‘You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?’ Jesus answered, ‘You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.’ As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, ‘If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.’ Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, ‘Behold, your King!’ So 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.’ So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.” (John 19:8–16, NASB95)[2]
To hear that Jesus was saying that He was the Son of God made Pilate more afraid and ready to be done with this situation. He returns inside and tries to question Jesus again asking where He is from. Jesus was silent. Why did Jesus not answer Pilate? I believe He would have if Pilate truly wanted to know the truth. But as we have seen Pilate is weak, and gives in to the Jews. Three times already he has said that He finds no guilt in Jesus and yet Jesus is still in his custody. Pilate does not like the fact that Jesus did not reply to his question. Pilate then tries to show his authority by telling Jesus that he is the only one who can release Him or condemn Him to death, so He better speak. Jesus tells Pilate that all authority comes from God and Pilate would have no authority over Him if God did not want him too. Because of this, Jesus said, those who delivered me over to you have the greater sin. Jesus seems to be saying that there are differences in guilt, and He is saying that Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin who had handed Him over to be judged by Pilate bear greater guilt, they have committed the greater sin. From then on Pilate tried to release Jesus. But he seeks to release Him in a way that pleases the people. He is not ready to do the thing that he knows is right because it is right. Pilate does not believe, he is not truly interested in the truth, he just wants to be rid of this situation. In trying to release Jesus the Jews accuse Pilate of being no friend of Caesar because he is trying to release a man who is opposing Caesar. Were these Jews true supporters and admirers of Caesar? No, they hated the very name of Caesar and hated being under subjection to the Romans. But they knew Pilate’s weak point. They knew he wanted to keep in favor with Caesar. Yet these Jews are saying he is a traitor to Rome if he releases Jesus. Pilate did not want this word to get back to Rome, he wanted to keep his position, he was a political opportunist more than a just judge. So he brought Jesus out and he sat down on the judgment seat and said to the Jews, “Shall I crucify your King?” And the Jews answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Showing their utter contempt and hatred of Jesus by declaring their allegiance to Caesar.
Pilate’s last effort to save Jesus has ended. He handed Him over to his soldiers to be crucified. Pilate has sold his soul for the approval of the world. Jesus said in Mark 8:36, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36, NASB95)[3] Take care that you do not do the same.
SCENE TWO – THE CRUCIFIXION (John 19:17-37)
Let’s read on this evening, picking up in verse 17 where we left off. Listen as I read.
John 19:17-22,
“They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, ‘JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.’ Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews”; but that He said, “I am King of the Jews.”’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’ ” (John 19:17–22, NASB95)[4]
John does not go into all the details of the crucifixion; he just writes that they crucified Him with two other men. One on each side, Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote a sign to be hung on the cross, he wrote it in the three official languages so everyone passing by could read it. This charge was saying that Jesus is being crucified as a rebel, as an insurrectionist against the Roman government. Pilate did not believe that for one moment, that was clear in the previous verses. He did it to taunt the chief priests and Pharisees who had made his life miserable until at last he had condemned an innocent Man to die. The chief priests came to him, asking him to change the sign to say, “He said He was the King of the Jews.” Fed up with the Jews and their demands, Pilate finally shows a little backbone and tells them that what he has written is what will remain.
Let’s read on a little more, in this next section we will meet several different people who were witnesses to the crucifixion.
John 19:23-30,
“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be’; this was to fulfill the Scripture: ‘They divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.’ Therefore the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ From that hour the disciple took her into his own household. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” (John 19:23–30, NASB95)[5]
The cross of Christ brings out all that is in the heart of man, shows men as they really are. In the light of the cross we saw Pilate in all his cynicism and lack of conscience. We see the chief priests in all their hypocrisy and bitterness and their hatred of the holy, spotless Son of God. Next, we come to the soldiers, we see their callousness, indifference, their greed and covetousness as they divide Jesus clothes among them and cast lots for His seamless tunic. Little did they know that that they were fulfilling prophecy written by David thousands of years earlier in Psalm 22. Then we see Mary, the mother of Jesus, her sister, and Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene, and the disciple whom Jesus loved, John, all standing near the cross, loyal and faithful to the end. They are looking on with breaking hearts as their Savior is dying on the cross to glorify the Father and to save a guilty world. Jesus seeing His mother and John His disciple, He takes the time to care for His mother and make sure that she is cared for after He is gone. He gives her into the care of John. Even in His suffering we see the tender, compassionate care that He has for His mother.
Jesus then knowing that all has been fulfilled says, “I thirst” to fulfill one last prophecy from Psalm 69. When they offer Him a drink of sour wine, Jesus raises Himself up one more time and declares, “It is finished.” This was His cry of triumph. He had finished the work the Father gave Him to do. He had finished the work of redemption, and had glorified God to the full in the place where He had been so terribly dishonored, and now because of that finished work God can “be just, and the Justifier of him who believes in Jesus.”
SCENE THREE – THE BURIAL OF THE KING
Let me just read to the end of the chapter.
John 19:31-42,
“Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, ‘Not a bone of Him shall be broken.’ And again another Scripture says, ‘They shall look on Him whom they pierced.’ After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 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. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.” (John 19:31–42, NASB95)[6]
John lets us know that two more prophecies concerning Jesus are fulfilled when His legs are not broken and His side is pierced. As long as our Lord was in the sinner’s place, as long as He was viewed by God as the great sin-offering, God permitted every kind of indignity that Satan could suggest to be heaped upon the body of His Son. They pressed upon His head the crown of thorns. They smote Him in the face with their hands, they spit on His face. They beat Him with the cruel scourge tearing up His back, causing the blood to flow. They took Him to Calvary and nailed Him to a cross. And then at last, they pierced His side, and God did not interfere. He permitted it all, and yet it was not what man did to Jesus that put away sin. It was not that which settled the sin question. It was what Jesus endured at the hand of God when His soul was made an offering for sin.
God did not interfere as long as Jesus suffered in the sinner’s place. But at the moment after the blood and water flowed forth from Jesus’ pierced side, it was as if God said, “Now, hand’s off!” The sin question is settled. My Son is no longer in the sinner’s place. And from that moment on, no unclean hand touched the body of the Son of God. Not one person was allowed to do anything that would in any sense dishonor that sacred corpse. Loving hands took Jesus from the cross, removed the nails from His feet and hands. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both who believed that Jesus was the Messiah came forward and asked for the body of Jesus. They took Jesus’ body and wrapped it with the linen and the spices. Then they laid Him in a tomb close to where He had been crucified. A new tomb that no one had ever been laid in. They made a bed of spices, and laid Him on them, giving Him the burial of a King.
CONCLUSION:
Pastor S. M. Lockridge once preached a simple message that I would like to share a part of as my conclusion:
“It’s Friday. Jesus is arrested in the garden where He was praying. But Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday. The disciples are hiding and Peter’s denying that he knows the Lord. But Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday. Jesus is standing before the high priest of Israel, silent as a lamb before the slaughter. But Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday. Jesus is beaten, mocked, and spit upon. But Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday. Those Roman soldiers are flogging our Lord with a leather scourge that has bits of bones and glass and metal, tearing at his flesh. But Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday. The Son of man stands firm as they press the crown of thorns down into his brow. But Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday. See Him walking to Calvary, the blood dripping from His body. See the cross crashing down on His back as He stumbles beneath the load. It’s Friday; but Sunday’s a coming.
It’s Friday. See those Roman soldiers driving the nails into the feet and hands of my Lord. Hear my Jesus cry, “Father, forgive them.” It’s Friday; but Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday. Jesus is hanging on the cross, bloody and dying. But Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday. The sky grows dark, the earth begins to tremble, and He who knew no sin became sin for us. Holy God, who will not abide with sin, pours out His wrath on that perfect sacrificial lamb who cries out, “My God, My God. Why hast thou forsaken me?” What a horrible cry. But Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday. And at the moment of Jesus’ death, the veil of the Temple that separates sinful man from Holy God was torn from the top to the bottom because Sunday’s coming.
It’s Friday. Jesus is hanging on the cross, heaven is weeping and hell is partying. But that’s because it’s Friday, and they don’t know it, but Sunday’s a coming.
And on that horrible day 2,000 years ago, Jesus the Christ, the Lord of glory, the only begotten Son of God, the only perfect man, died on the cross of Calvary. Satan thought that he had won the victory. Surely he had destroyed the Son of God. Finally he had disproved the prophecy God had uttered in the Garden and the one who was to crush his head had been destroyed. But that was Friday.”[7] But Sunday is coming.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[7]https://www.epiphanydayton.org/its-friday-but-sundays-coming/