By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher
Text: John
19:17-42
John
19:35
And
he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows
that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.
(NKJV)
The crucifixion of Jesus
has been the highlight of movies and portrayed in Passion plays in churches
during Easter. This account in John represents John’s eyewitness account of the
event, referencing Old Testament prophecies that describe the event. These Old
Testament prophecies and their fulfillment at the crucifixion of Jesus provide evidence
that Jesus is the Messiah, King of Kings, and the Lamb of God come to provide
salvation for the world.
Jesus carries His cross to
Golgotha where he is crucified with two others one on each side with Jesus in
the middle (John
19:17-18), Pilate put a sign over Jesus that said, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE
KING OF THE JEWS.” (John
19:19). This sign was read by many Jews and caused the chief priests to
tell Pilate to change the sign and say that He said He was the King of the Jews,
but Pilate refused to change the sign (John
19:20-22).
When they had crucified Jesus,
the soldiers divided Jesus’ garments into four parts, one part for each soldier
but they cast lots for the tunic because it was woven without seam (John
19:23). This casting of lots for the garment was in fulfillment of Psalm
22:18 (John
19:24). Standing at the foot of the cross were Jesus’ mother, her sister,
and Mary Magdalene (John
19:25). John was also at the foot of the cross with Jesus telling His
mother to behold her son and then he told John to care for Mary as his mother
with John taking Mary into his home (John
19:26-27).
Jesus now knew all things
were accomplished and in fulfillment of scripture told the soldiers he thirsted
(John
19:28). There was a vessel full of sour wine nearby, so the soldiers took
and filled a sponge with the sour wine and gave it to Jesus (John
19:29). After this, Jesus said, “It is finished!” bowed His head, and gave
up His spirit (John
19:30). Since it was Preparation Day for the Passover, the bodies could not
be left on the cross so the Jews asked Pilate to break the legs of the men
crucified but since Jesus was already dead, they did not break His legs (John
19:31-33). One of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side, and blood and water
came out, confirming He was dead (John
19:34). John was an eyewitness to these events which fulfilled scripture
that not one of Jesus’ bones would be broken (Exodus
12:46; Numbers 9:12; Psalm 34:20) and that His side would be pierced (John
19:35-37; Zechariah 12:10).
Joseph of Arimathea, a
secret disciple of Jesus asked Pilate for the body of Jesus and Pilate permitted
him, so Joseph took Jesus’ body (John
19:38). Nicodemus also came bringing about a hundred pounds of myrrh and
aloes (John
19:39). These men bound the body of Jesus in strips of linen along with the
spices as was customary for the Jews (John
19:40). There was a tomb nearby to where Jesus was crucified and since it
was Preparation Day, and the tomb was nearby, they buried Jesus there (John
19:41-42).
Detailed prophecies of
the crucifixion of Jesus are provided in Psalm
22 and Isaiah
53. In those times, people did not have access to printed copies of
scripture and would memorize whole passages of scripture. On the cross, Jesus
quoted from Psalm
22 when he said, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” (Matthew
27:46; Psalm 22:1). Since people memorized scripture, they would have
recalled the rest of Psalm
22, which was unfolding before their eyes. They may have later recalled Isaiah’s
prophecy about the suffering Messiah and realized it was Jesus (Isaiah
53). These things, coupled with the fact that Jesus entered Jerusalem on
the exact day prophesied by Daniel (Daniel
9:20-27; Ezra 1), provide evidence of who Jesus is, the Messiah and savior
of humanity. The period of time between the proclamation of Cyrus and Jesus’
triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday represents the first 69 weeks of
Daniel’s vision. There is then a gap, the Church age that ends with the rapture
of the Church (Revelation
4:1). This ushers in Daniel’s seventieth week, the great tribulation period,
and the short seven-year reign of the Antichrist.
There are Christians who
do not believe it is necessary to study Old Testament scriptures, believing
they only apply to the Jews and have little to do with the New Covenant ushered
in by the birth of Jesus. However, without prophecies like Isaiah
53 and Psalm
22 that describe Jesus’ death by crucifixion long before crucifixion
existed, we would not have the assurance that Jesus' death was any different
from any crucifixion done by the Romans. We need the whole canon of Scripture
to have understanding and assurance of who Jesus is, the Messiah and Lamb of
God. Jesus is also the King of Kings who is returning to establish his Kingdom
on earth, something Christians have hope in (Revelation
19:11-16).
Since all people have
sinned and fallen short of God’s standard (Romans
3:23), all people need salvation provided by Jesus, the Messiah. If you are
reading this and have not prayed for the forgiveness of your sins, I invite you
to do so now by praying with me,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23)
and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse
me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe
you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now
declare you Lord of my life.
May God convict,
challenge, and bless everyone reading this post.
