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JOHN - The Light Shines in the Darkness
A Bible Study Course on the Gospel of Christ according to John
PART 4 - Light Overcomes Darkness
A - Events From the Arrest to the Burial (John 18:1 - 19:42)
4. The cross and the death of Jesus (John 19:16b-42)

a) Crucifixion and the grave clothes (John 19:16b-22)


JOHN 19:16b-18
16b ... So they took Jesus and led him away. 17 He went out, bearing his cross, to the place called “The Place of a Skull,” which is called in Hebrew, “Golgotha,” 18 where they crucified him, and with him two others, on either side one, and Jesus in the middle.

A company of troops was about to leave and crucify two robbers, when Pilate handed them Jesus as a third "felon". The soldiers placed crosses on all three, for each to carry the instrument of death. Christ did not reject the cross, and did not drop the wood along the way. The three passed through the city lanes, until, panting for breath, they reached the north western gate. Then they arrived at a hill known as Golgotha, because it resembled a rocky skull, rising a little above the city walls. The inhabitants were able to view the condemned men hanging on their crosses outside the city.

John does not explain the details of the cross, his pen refusing to record the fearful scene. Men had rejected divine love, and the hatred of hell rested on them. They brutally did away with One born of the Spirit, and by their sin, the completed sacrifice of Christ which atoned for their sins. He did not bear a golden halo on the tree of shame, but in the depths of his humiliation he revealed his glory through patience and holy self-denial.

What ignominy that Jesus should hang between two robbers. They were twisting about, cursing as they hung.

The merciful and pure One revealed himself even in the last moment of life as companion to sinners. For this reason the Son of God was born as the Son of Man, so that the wayward children of men should become the justified children of God. He descended to the depths of degradation so that no one should say that Jesus could not have fallen to his level. Wherever you are and however you may have fallen, Christ can forgive your guilt and wash you and sanctify you to the full.

JOHN 19:19-20
19 Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. There was written, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 20 Therefore many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.

The soldiers hanged Jesus between two criminals as a sign of mockery for his claim to kingship. Pilate meanwhile, persisted in ridiculing the Jewish Council who had forced him to sentence Jesus despite his conscience. Above the head of the Crucified, Pilate placed a title repeating the Jewish accusation.

God used this title at the head of the cross to judge the Jews, for Jesus was truly their king. Jesus is genuinely the King, who comes in righteousness, love, meekness and humility. He established heaven on earth. The Jews preferred hell, rejecting their divine King driving him outside their society. He thus became the King of Nations, but do nations accept the crucified King today or do they reject the Lord of love again?

JOHN 19:21-22
21 The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘he said, I am King of the Jews.’” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

The chief priests understood the meaning of Pilate’s scorn and threat, veiled as it was. They had rejected their King and saw in his weakness the contrary of what Pilate claimed. They hated the Crucified even more.

Pilate felt sure that the title was in accord with Caesar’s wishes, so that he wrote it in three languages for all literate folk, citizens and visitors to read and understand that any rebel against Rome would share a like fate. When in 70 AD Jews rebelled against Roman rule, thousands were hanged on crosses round the wall of Jerusalem.


b) Dividing the garments and casting the lots (John 19:23-24)


JOHN 19:23-24a
23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. 24a Then they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to decide whose it will be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which says, “They parted my garments among them. For my cloak they cast lots.”

The four soldiers who crucified Christ had the right to divide his garment. The centurion, however, did not stoop so low as to join them in this degrading task. So the four took away from Jesus the last of his possessions stripping him of dignity. The crucified felons were generally stripped naked further to debase them.

This humiliation proclaimed the majesty of Jesus. His seamless tunic resembled that of the high priest. Jesus himself is the divine High Priest the intercessor for all humanity. For this role he suffered and was tortured.

A thousand years earlier, the Holy Spirit had prophesied details of the crucifixion, and that in Psalm 22 where it is said, "They parted my garments among them", a matter familiar to the soldiers. The Spirit further predicted, that they would cast lots for the clothing. The spirit disclosed the fact of the cross accurately, declaring that Jesus’ crucifixion was God’s will. As Jesus had said: No hair of your head will fall without your heavenly Father knowing it. Whoever says that the cross never took place not only denies historic facts, but resists the Spirit of God who predicted this event a millennium earlier. The soldiers behaved in ignorance and in an unfeeling manner at the foot of the cross. They bickered over the remains of the tortured. They were devoid of pity; they never considered that the world’s redeemer was shedding his blood on the cross.

Brother, have you been crucified with Christ, in union with his death? Or do you run after riches and fame? Do you love the Crucified? Have you received divine righteousness and true holiness by his death? Or are you a superficial observer, uncaring as you gaze on the Crucified? The Holy Spirit unites us with God’s Son in faith, love, and hope, so that we might share in his death, resurrection, sacrificial life and glory.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for bearing the cross. We worship you for your patience, love and blessings. We praise you for the forgiveness of our sins and the sins of the world. You took away my sin when hanging on the tree of shame, and reconciled mankind to God. You are our redeemer and intercessor.

QUESTION:

  1. What is the meaning of the title placed over the cross?

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