Audio Link
He Fulfilled Scripture for You
John 19:16b-42, Remsen Bible Fellowship, 07-05-2020
Introduction
In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, the apostle Paul gives us a succinct gospel definition. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
Twice in those verses, in connection with both the death of Christ and the resurrection, Paul highlights this fact: these things took place in accordance with, in agreement to, or we might say, in fulfilment of the Scriptures. Why does this matter? Jesus has told us over and over in John’s gospel that he does nothing apart from the will of his Father. That he came to carry out the charge he has received from the Father. He came to carry out the plan of God. This plan, insofar as it had been revealed to human beings, was contained in the pages of the Old Testament, or what the New Testament writers simply called “the Scriptures.” If Jesus didn’t carry out his mission in accordance with what was written, then he wasn’t really the Christ, he wasn’t really from God, and his death is just another tragedy of the mountain of tragic experiences in human history.
But if he did fulfill the prophecies, if he did do all that was written in the book for Messiah to accomplish in his first coming, then we have a different story. We have a heaven and earth shaking story. We have the most important news in the world.
And it’s this truth that John focuses our minds on in his account of Jesus’ crucifixion. While the agony Jesus experiences is real, and we get some taste of it both in its physical and spiritual elements in the other gospels, John continues to focus our mind on this fact: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He controls all things, even down to the details of his own crucifixion. Not one detail of this event is by accident. He’s not a victim. He’s the good Shepherd, willingly laying down his life for the sheep.
Read the Text
Ruling from the Tree, v16-27
We pick up where we left off: Pilate has turned Jesus over, and the soldiers take him out
But note how John phrases this: he went out. John doesn’t mention the soldiers leading him, he just says, he went
Note also the emphasis that John makes in regard to the cross: bearing his own cross. We know from the other accounts that somewhere along this journey, likely at the city gate, Jesus’ body gives way under the cross. So Simon of Cyrene is enlisted to carry it the rest of the way. But all during this meandering walk of shame through the city, typical for a Roman execution, Jesus is carrying the cross-bar on which he will be hung.
To gain some concept of this, realize that though this isn’t the whole cross (the vertical stake would already be in the ground), this beam still probably weighed in excess of 100 pounds. An 100 pound, rough cut beam, strapped to a back already stripped to the bone.
They take Jesus out, to Golgotha, the Place of a Skull, and there crucify him. This would have consisted of laying him down on the cross-piece, nailing his hands down (though crucifixion sometimes entailed tying rather than nailing, we will see in 20:24-25 that is was nails in Jesus’ case), lifting him up to just above eye-level, and then nailing his feet in.
As Jesus is lifted up (does that phrase take your mind back to 3:15?), we are told in v18 that there are two others, one on either side of him. The other gospels tell us that these men were guilty of the same crime as Barabbas, which can simply be translated as robbers, but more likely means they were tied into insurrectionist movements, hence being crucified to make an example of them.
And here, though John doesn’t draw our attention to it, we hear an echo of Isaiah 53:12, he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors
What was his transgression, according to Pilate? Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. He is crucified for being the king.
Though we know from his own repeated statements that Pilate believes in Jesus’ innocence, he has almost certainly talked himself out of believing in Jesus’ divinity, otherwise he wouldn’t be doing this.
Most likely what we have here is Pilate rubbing in the faces of the chief priests and the Sanhedrin the claims of Jesus, as a way of getting back at them for essentially blackmailing him.
Would this be petty? Yes. Pilate was petty.
V20-22 tell us that this sign was read by many. This is because the place of crucifixion was near the city, right beside the road. Further, as Jesus was led to the cross, one of the soldiers leading him would have carried this sign.
It would have been readable by all, because in large black or red letters, the sign was written in three languages: Aramaic, the language of the region (your Bible might say Hebrew, they are related languages; the Hebrews at this point spoke Aramaic); Latin, the language of the soldiers and official language of the empire; and Greek, the lingua franca, the universal trade language which functioned much as english does in the world today.
This offends the leaders, Pilate, change the words for us! Say this is what he claimed, not that this is what is!
Pilate refuses. What I have written I have written. Again, this is most likely out of petty spite. But notice the irony here, because it is rich (understanding John is a lot easier if your eyes are open for irony): Pilate, this spineless and cruel ruler, hangs a sign out of spite-and yet the sign is absolutely correct. The sign is meant to be a burr under the Sanhedrin’s saddle, instead it renders judgement over all who look to the cross and fail to see that this is the King of the Jews.
Note a parallel with John 11:49-52. God uses the sinful and hateful actions of men to carry out his good and saving purposes.
As we come into v23-24, the camera pans as it were, from from the big, important seeming people (Pilate, chief priests, etc), to the soldiers.
The soldiers, four of them, sit beneath Jesus' body and are gambling for his clothes. It was typical for the executing officers to split up the prisoners belongings at a crucifixion.
While John doesn’t spell out what they’ve already divied up, it’s probably his sandals, belt, headpiece, and outer robe. The logical thing to do with the last and most valuable piece, this chiton worn next to the skin, would have been to split it down the seams-but Jesus’ chiton had no seams. So they say, let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.
While this scene at first seems to be a simple human story of dividing things up in the most equitable way possible, mundane as can be, John wants us to see something greater at work.
This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, Psalm 22:16-18
It’s as if John says, look at this tiny detail! Something so mundane, so part of every crucifixion, and yet in Jesus’ case it fulfills a greater purpose: filling up, completing those things which are predicted of Christ in the Old Testament.
It’s worth saying here in parenthesis, that when we look at the Old Testament sometimes we get clear predictive prophecy. An easy example of this in Jesus’ case is a prophecy like Isaiah 53. But other times there are themes which are picked up, filled out, or brought to completion by Jesus in the NT. In Psalm 22 David is telling of his own struggles with persecution and feeling abandoned by God. But as David’s greater Son, Jesus is more righteous, therefore his suffering is even more unjust. And his suffering is greater, to the point where the language that David uses metaphorically for his suffering becomes literally true of Jesus. Jesus fulfills what David wrote.
The camera now pans slightly from the soldiers who did these things (v24b) to those standing next to the cross in v25. Here we find four women: Jesus' mother (Mary), her sister (probably Salome, the mother of James and John), Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
A couple of quick notes on the names (or the unnamed) in this verse:
Mary is left unnamed, as she is all throughout this gospel. Roman Catholic interpretation of the verses that follow often spiritualize Jesus’ entrusting the care of Mary to John and flip it around, saying that John, representing the church, is cared for by Mary, just as she had cared for Christ. But this is not sustained anywhere in the NT text, and in fact seems to be the opposite of what John tells us in these verses. Mary is an important figure in biblical history: she gave birth to the Messiah! And she is certainly a model of faith. But here, at the foot of the cross, we shouldn’t see some superhuman saint-like figure. We should see a mother, whose heart is broken by the unjust murder of her oldest Son. Simen prophesied in Luke 2:34-35, Behold this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that the thoughts from many hearts will be revealed.
The soul of Mary has been pierced, and she stands at the foot of the cross as the grieving Mother, and a confused follower, of Jesus.
The other person not explicitly named in the verse is Mary’s sister, and this has led many to assume that, given John’s reticence to name himself or his family members in his writing, that this could be his mother. This would make sense of a number of passages we don’t have time to look to today, but in especially the one before us, v26-27
Jesus looks down and sees his mother and the disciple whom Jesus loved, almost certainly John, and says, woman, behold your son, and to the disciple, behold, your mother! From that day forward John takes Mary in to care for her as his own mother. This seems less out of place if we assume (based on the biblical evidence) that none of Jesus’ brothers were around, because they didn’t believe in him yet and wouldn’t want to be associated with him in his death; and that John isn’t just a disciple, but also a younger cousin of Jesus. He’s the closest male relative whom Jesus can trust.
Jesus is the King of the Jews, and what we see as he hangs on the tree is that he still is in control of the circumstances as he both fulfills Scripture and cares for the future well-being of his mother.
We will look more briefly at a few more ways in which Jesus fulfills the OT Scriptures in his dying.
He Completed the Work, v28-30
In v28, Jesus asks for a drink. The context is both that he is thirsty (remember Ps 22:16?), and that he knows that all is now completed. Finished in v28 and 30 means more than just “over with”. It means that he has completed the work given to him, to bring something to perfection. Jesus has carried out the Father’s plan (see 17:4).
John also uses a different form of the word fulfill in v28 than he did in v24. In v28, the word is teleioo, which might sound familiar to you if you know that in v30 Jesus says, tetelestai (also same as 28, now finished). Same root, three times in three verses.
The emphasis in these verses is that Jesus completed his work, and he knew it. But even in this moment, he continues to fulfill the little details.
When he asks for a drink that soldiers give him sour wine, probably a wine vinegar, to drink. This would have been there for the soldiers’ own use, but they would have been happy to give it to a man on the cross-it would prolong his suffering. Psalm 69:21
After taking this drink, something unexpected happens: the soldiers likely expected Jesus to continue on for hours (or even days). Instead, he gives a loud cry of “It is finished!”, bows his head, and gives up his spirit. No one took his life from him. He laid it down of his own accord.
Sovereign Even in Death, v31-37
Even in the post-death period, more Scripture continues to be fulfilled. We read in v31-33 that the Jewish leaders want these bodies off the cross by the Sabbath, especially the Sabbath during Passover.
The way the soldiers acquiesce this request is by breaking the legs of the victims. When you broke the legs of the person on the cross they could no longer push up and gasp for air, clearing their lungs of fluid. Because crucifixion killed by asphyxiation, removing this ability to gasp meant a speedier death.
But when they get to Jesus, he is already dead. So they don’t break a bone.
They do pierce his side, and out pours blood and water. There are a couple of possible physiological explanations for this, but John’s point is simply to help you see that Jesus is really dead. The Word became flesh, and when he went to the cross, that flesh really suffered toture and death. There is no swooning here, no “looks like he died but didn’t”. Jesus really suffered and died.
If there is any doubt, John assures us of his eyewitness status in v35. He records all of these details, these things which he has seen, and in doing so he is forcing the question on us: do you believe? Do you believe that the one hanging there on the cross is indeed the king of the Jews? Perhaps more pressing, do you believe he is the king of you?
If you have doubts, keep considering all he has fulfilled:
Not one of his bones will be broken. Psalm 34:10 refers to the Lord’s care for the righteous and says that he keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken. Even more to the point, here is the perfect Passover Lamb, and as Number 9:12 says, not one of the bones of the Passover lamb was to be broken. He fulfills the specific text, he fulfills the theme.
They will look on him whom they have pierced is a direct quote from Zechariah 12:10. In context the people seem to be looking at him with great sorrow, for they are about to face his judgement. John doesn’t seem to have a timeline in view for when they will look at Jesus in this way, but he does want us clearly to see that the one whom they have pierced is Christ Jesus, from whose side poured forth blood and water. In the words of Isaac Watts, did e’er such love and sorrow meet?
There is also this truth, tied from v35 to v37: only those who look to Jesus as the crucified one, the one lifted up and pierced, are genuinely believing. Looking to Jesus as a mere prophet or good teacher won’t save you. Looking to him as a moral example won’t save you. Only looking up at the Son of Man crucified on the tree can we be saved. We need Jesus to the one who bears our sins away.
How Will You Respond? V38-42
Finally, we see Jesus buried. We see yet another Scripture fulfilled in this text.
Joseph of Arimathea, who we know in the gospels only from this incident where he asks for Jesus' body, goes to Pilate. He probably had some leverage in doing so, given that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, rather than one of Jesus’ brothers or someone who was openly a disciple.
This is a huge risk taken socially by both Joseph and Nicodemus. John tells us in v38 that Joseph had been afraid of the repercussions of coming out as a follower of Christ, and we know that Nicodemus (likely also on the Sanhedrin) had those same fears.
But in taking Jesus’ body they openly associate themselves with him. They don’t understand it all yet, but they have clearly moved from being on the fence to being in the open with their association to him, their belief in him.
Nearby there is a new tomb, belonging to Joseph, and unused. They (probably, given their wealth, assisted by their servants) took the body, wrapped it in spices as would be customary, and lay him in the tomb.
And so we find the final fulfillment in this passage: Isaiah 53:9, And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death. Had Jospeh not taken Jesus’ body, it would have been hauled to the common grave for criminals outside the city. But instead, Joseph intervenes, and Jesus is laid to rest in the tomb of a rich man.
We will see next week that this rest which Jesus takes is a brief one. He will rise from the grave, and that has implications for each of us. But this morning we are left staring at the facts: Jesus died, and he did so in your place. Your sins need paid for, and he paid the full price, It is finished!, was his cry. All along the way he proved who he was by fulfilling Scripture after Scripture. John recorded it all that you might examine the evidence, that you might behold the man, and respond rightly. Do you believe? Do you trust, do you worship, the King of the Jews, crucified for you?