“A little girl in a mission school sat on the front seat; and when the superintendent was telling about how they hanged Jesus on the cross, tears came to her eyes, and she had to get up and go out. In the afternoon, she came back, smiling; and the superintendent asked her, “Mary, where did you go this morning?” And she said, “O teacher! I could not stand it when you spoke to us about Jesus being nailed on the cross; for I felt just as if I helped to pound the nails in; and I went off a bit from the school, and got down on my knees, and told Jesus that my sins helped to hang him on the cross; and I asked him to please forgive me for helping to kill him; and I was so sorry! But now I feel so happy.”
And I hope today, as we examine the crucifixion of Jesus, we will respond as this child did so long ago, by seeing ourselves as part of these events, not simple bystanders, or distant studiers. These events we are a part of, even today. May we respond like a child, whose heart was touched so simply, to ask Jesus to forgive her.
After the triumphal entry of Jesus, he came into Jerusalem, and came to the temple. The next day he made a whip out of cords, and drove the money changers and merchants out of the temple. For much of his time in the city, he taught in the temple, engaging in fierce debate with the religious leaders, at the same time, one of his followers, Judas Iscariot began conspiring with the religious leaders to betray Jesus to them. On Thursday, Jesus celebrated his last supper with the disciples, after which he was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus was then brought to trial before the high priest, then brought before Pontius Pilate, the roman governor. Pilate attempted to free Jesus, believing he was innocent, but the religious leaders, with the help of the crowds at the trial, were able to pressure Pilate to turn Jesus over to them to be crucified.
Jesus was scourged by roman soldiers, with a device called a flagrum, a whip with multiple ends, embedded with pieces of metal and bone, meant to rip into the prisoner’s back, to weaken them in preparation for their execution.
He was then made to carry his own cross to the execution area, called Golgotha, the place of the skull, there, Jesus was put upon the cross, and nails were driven through his feet and wrists. Then, the cross was lifted up, and the base of it dropped into a hole in the ground. And there Jesus, along with two others on his left and right, would face a slow and agonizing death.
Today, on what we call “good Friday” we remember the events around the death of Jesus. This is a solemn service, a service of mourning, reflective, and gratitude for all Jesus accomplished for us.
So Jesus had been nailed to the cross at approximately 9am that Friday morning. And from 9am to noon, he remained on the cross, in unbearable suffering. Then, from noon to 3pm, the sky went dark over the area.
And it would’ve been during this time of profound darkness, that the events of our scripture today took place.
We are studying today, John 19:28-37. And I want us to see these events from three angles:
1. What actually happened on that day
2. What it means for our salvation (how this event saved us)
3. How we can mirror Christ’s actions in our daily lives.
Let’s begin.
Verse 28 says, “Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
The sky has gone dark. Jesus is near death. The crowds around this event grow quiet. And they hear the voice of Jesus, whisper, "I am thirsty."
Through the unbearable pain, the torment of this suffering, still the passion of Jesus remains.
Theologians believe this statement of I am thirsty, points to Jesus love for us. He longed to bring us to safety, so completely, that the cup of suffering, that he asked to be taken away from him in the garden of gethsemane, he drank until it was dry, while nailed to the wooden cross.
Verse 29 says, “A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.”
He did it for His Father. He did it for love. He did it for us. And there was no other way. Our sins had separated us from God. Only Jesus could make the way for us. And sin can only be paid with blood. The blood of Jesus became our forgiveness.
Next, verse 30: When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
At that fateful moment, Jesus died. Yet he made a mysterious statement before he passed. He said, it is finished. I’m sure many who were there wondered what this meant.
The most important truth here, is that Jesus died for a purpose. It wasn’t the sad death of another good teacher who was slain by bad people. Jesus understood completely, he had accomplished something through his death. It is finished. It wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t a misfortune. It was the intent from the beginning, for him to do this; complete this work.
What a profound mystery. His task, completed. His task… was, in the end, to die.
I never could understand this growing up Catholic, the ash Wednesday, the stations of the cross, Easter, I never really understood what it had to do with me, and my life.
My sins can’t be that bad right? It’s all in the past right? No big deal. I stole a few times, I got drunk a few times, I mistreated my family. Used someone. Made someone feel less than. But, I’m basically a good person. But that isn’t true. We may have good intentions. But our actions miss the mark. We have to understand how awful sin is, before we can understand how important Jesus’ death was.
There are four kinds of people I’ve known, someone who thinks their sins are too bad for God to forgiven, someone who thinks their sins are so few they don’t need a savior, those who think they can outweigh the bad stuff with a bunch of good stuff, and those who just kind of ignore it and hope for the best.
I want to address each group.
First, no sin is too big to be forgiven by God, look at the thief on the cross, he did something so bad he was sentenced to die, yet Jesus said today you’ll be with me in paradise.
Second, even if you’ve lived a really good life, and you’ve only sinned here and there, you need a savior as much as the worst sinner, because God doesn’t grade on a scale, it’s either totally forgiven, or a sinner.
Third group, no amount of good deeds can outweigh the bad things we did, no amount of religious activity can either, only what we’re talking about today, Jesus death, can satisfy the cost for your sins.
Fourth group, massive group out there, just ignore it, hope for the best, I’m a pretty good person, God will let me into heaven. So many people think, well the past is in the past. But the amount of time that passed since your last sin doesn’t change anything, it’s still there, written in books in heaven, I know we want to ignore the problem, have fun in life, but this issue is too important to ignore. Face it head on and find the redemption available.
The fifth group, which I hope you’re part of today, is the group that has said yes, I’m a sinner, I can’t fix that myself, and I won’t ignore it, I need a savior, and I’ve embraced Jesus Christ, to be the lord and savior of my life, and he has forgiven my sins.
What "it is finished" means, is Jesus completed the necessary death, the sacrifice for our sins to be forgiven. If we will repent of our sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you believe what Jesus did is sufficient for the forgiveness of your sins? If the answer is yes, that’s a beautiful start. But, have you also repented of your sins, allowed Jesus to be the Lord of your life? Jesus said it is finished. But Jesus also wants us to finish our race, to keep the faith, to endure to the end, to abide in the victory he won for us. Jesus said if you want to be my disciple, you must take up your own cross and follow Him. Are you willing to do that?
We talk about death to self in the church, and Jesus accomplished that in full. Now because of Christ within us, we can carry our cross as well, and die to the things that once controlled us, our past sins, our desires, our wants, our plans, and let those things fade away, pass away, and bow to Him, and give our whole lives over to Jesus, to do with what he wants. That is real surrender. Jesus paid it all for us, are we willing to follow Him? If you want to be my disciple, Jesus said, lay down your old life, pick up the new life, of the cross, and follow, thankfully he also said, my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Let see what happened next, verses 31-32: “Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.”
We see the religious leaders preparing for their religious activities, they didn’t want the bodies of the three men on the crosses left there, so the order was given for the soldiers to break the legs of the men on the crosses. Why was this done?
See, when someone was crucified, they would hang from the nails in their hands and feet, and they wouldn’t be able to breathe, so they would lift themselves with their legs, on the nails, which was extremely painful, to be able to draw breaths. The soldiers broke their legs, so they wouldn’t be able to keep lifting themselves for oxygen, and then they would die.
Next, verses 33-34: "33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water."
The soldiers found that Jesus was already dead, but one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side, to make sure he was really dead. And blood and water flowed out. What does this mean?
First, this proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was really dead. This could’ve been due to hypovolemic shock, which is severe fluid loss, or pleural or pericardial effusion, which is a build up of water around the lungs or heart, after severe trauma to the body.
This is also symbolic for the blood atonement of Jesus, as well as the living water we received through Jesus gift, in the Holy Spirit. By Jesus’ blood, we receive the Holy Spirit, who causes springs of living water to flow from within us.
It’s also a good reminder for us today, that Jesus gave his all, and we should also give our all in serving Him, blood, sweat, and tears.
There’s a beautiful song this reminds me of, called "Give me the Faith which can remove" written by Charles Wesley.
It says, “Enlarge, inflame, and fill my heart
with boundless charity divine,
so shall I all my strength exert,
and love them with a zeal like thine,
and lead them to thy open side,
the sheep for whom the Shepherd died.”
Let us lead others to the open side of Jesus, the blood that cleanses, the living water that bursts forth from within those who believe in Jesus, the whole world needs this message, Lord use us!
Next, verse 35: “The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.”
The man who saw it, never references himself once in his own gospel, he only called himself “the man whom Jesus loved.” His name of course was John. But he was so humble, he wanted all the attention on Jesus.
He testifies for us, that he saw these things happen. John was there, when all the other disciples had fled, and he saw the blood and water flow from Jesus’ side that dark day.
In 1st John, another piece of the bible that John wrote, he said, "the Spirit, the water, and the blood testify." The Holy Spirit helps us believe it. The blood shows us he died. The water is the new life we receive.
His purpose in writing all this was simple: So you today would believe it. And that you would then tell others, it’s really true! It really happened! And Jesus has changed my life.
Next, verse 36: These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken...”
Each year over the Passover celebration Israel would sacrifice a spotless lamb, in celebration of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The spotless lamb had to be perfect, no blemishes, no defects, and it had to have no broken bones.
Which is why when John the Baptist (different John) saw Jesus, he said, “There is the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”
Jesus became our spotless, perfect sacrifice by being slaughtered on the cross for us.
How can we live this today? First of all, we want to believe it, and live from this victory. We can’t be a spotless sacrifice like Jesus, but we can be faithful examples to others, reflecting the light of the cross to the community around us, by making sure our conduct matches what we say we believe.
Verse 37 says, “… and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
The crowd stood around the crosses, it was 3pm, yet it had gone completely dark in the area, there had been an earth quake, and strange things were happening.
And the people began to mourn. Those who had been mocking and jeering, suddenly began to feel mourning and sorrow.
This scripture is a reference to Zechariah 12:10, “They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”
Did you catch that? They will look on me, God speaking, whom they pierced. Who was pierced on the cross for our sins? The Lord himself.
As the roman soldier said, who saw all these things happen: "Surely this was the Son of God."
The one who said of himself, “I am.” The one who said, "I and the Father are one." The Lord died for us on the cross.
In Zech 13:1 it says, “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.”
A fountain of life was opened that day, that the Lord of glory died for us. The mourning and grief of the death of Jesus, leads us… to reflect. To consider. To make a change.
So in conclusion today, What shall we do? Perhaps you feel cut to the heart today. What actions can we take in response to this horrific yet glorious moment?
We join the crowd that day two thousand years ago, and look in our hearts on the one they pierced. Jesus our beloved one. Understand that every sin you committed, makes you part of this moment in history.
But as you look, believe, as John did, that what Jesus did was effective for your sins to be forgiven. You don’t need to understand exactly why that is, but believe it is true. Believe what Jesus himself said, "It’s finished." Your sins are forgiven by believing on His name.
For those of us who are already believers today, what can we do? We can embrace Jesus in a deeper way. We can allow these events to touch our hearts. We can die to self in a deeper way. We can mourn our sins, repent of our sins, and lower ourselves, to be made into servants for Him in a new way.
As we conclude today, we know from history that Joseph and Nicodemus, two Pharisees who supported Jesus, requested his body. They anointed his body with spices, in accordance with Jewish customs, and placed him in a new tomb, near a garden, and there, Jesus’ body lay, the Son of God slain. And the world waited…
Verse 28 says, “Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
The sky has gone dark. Jesus is near death. The crowds around this event grow quiet. And they hear the voice of Jesus, whisper, "I am thirsty."
Through the unbearable pain, the torment of this suffering, still the passion of Jesus remains.
Theologians believe this statement of I am thirsty, points to Jesus love for us. He longed to bring us to safety, so completely, that the cup of suffering, that he asked to be taken away from him in the garden of gethsemane, he drank until it was dry, while nailed to the wooden cross.
Verse 29 says, “A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.”
He did it for His Father. He did it for love. He did it for us. And there was no other way. Our sins had separated us from God. Only Jesus could make the way for us. And sin can only be paid with blood. The blood of Jesus became our forgiveness.
Next, verse 30: When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
At that fateful moment, Jesus died. Yet he made a mysterious statement before he passed. He said, it is finished. I’m sure many who were there wondered what this meant.
The most important truth here, is that Jesus died for a purpose. It wasn’t the sad death of another good teacher who was slain by bad people. Jesus understood completely, he had accomplished something through his death. It is finished. It wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t a misfortune. It was the intent from the beginning, for him to do this; complete this work.
What a profound mystery. His task, completed. His task… was, in the end, to die.
I never could understand this growing up Catholic, the ash Wednesday, the stations of the cross, Easter, I never really understood what it had to do with me, and my life.
My sins can’t be that bad right? It’s all in the past right? No big deal. I stole a few times, I got drunk a few times, I mistreated my family. Used someone. Made someone feel less than. But, I’m basically a good person. But that isn’t true. We may have good intentions. But our actions miss the mark. We have to understand how awful sin is, before we can understand how important Jesus’ death was.
There are four kinds of people I’ve known, someone who thinks their sins are too bad for God to forgiven, someone who thinks their sins are so few they don’t need a savior, those who think they can outweigh the bad stuff with a bunch of good stuff, and those who just kind of ignore it and hope for the best.
I want to address each group.
First, no sin is too big to be forgiven by God, look at the thief on the cross, he did something so bad he was sentenced to die, yet Jesus said today you’ll be with me in paradise.
Second, even if you’ve lived a really good life, and you’ve only sinned here and there, you need a savior as much as the worst sinner, because God doesn’t grade on a scale, it’s either totally forgiven, or a sinner.
Third group, no amount of good deeds can outweigh the bad things we did, no amount of religious activity can either, only what we’re talking about today, Jesus death, can satisfy the cost for your sins.
Fourth group, massive group out there, just ignore it, hope for the best, I’m a pretty good person, God will let me into heaven. So many people think, well the past is in the past. But the amount of time that passed since your last sin doesn’t change anything, it’s still there, written in books in heaven, I know we want to ignore the problem, have fun in life, but this issue is too important to ignore. Face it head on and find the redemption available.
The fifth group, which I hope you’re part of today, is the group that has said yes, I’m a sinner, I can’t fix that myself, and I won’t ignore it, I need a savior, and I’ve embraced Jesus Christ, to be the lord and savior of my life, and he has forgiven my sins.
What "it is finished" means, is Jesus completed the necessary death, the sacrifice for our sins to be forgiven. If we will repent of our sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you believe what Jesus did is sufficient for the forgiveness of your sins? If the answer is yes, that’s a beautiful start. But, have you also repented of your sins, allowed Jesus to be the Lord of your life? Jesus said it is finished. But Jesus also wants us to finish our race, to keep the faith, to endure to the end, to abide in the victory he won for us. Jesus said if you want to be my disciple, you must take up your own cross and follow Him. Are you willing to do that?
We talk about death to self in the church, and Jesus accomplished that in full. Now because of Christ within us, we can carry our cross as well, and die to the things that once controlled us, our past sins, our desires, our wants, our plans, and let those things fade away, pass away, and bow to Him, and give our whole lives over to Jesus, to do with what he wants. That is real surrender. Jesus paid it all for us, are we willing to follow Him? If you want to be my disciple, Jesus said, lay down your old life, pick up the new life, of the cross, and follow, thankfully he also said, my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Let see what happened next, verses 31-32: “Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.”
We see the religious leaders preparing for their religious activities, they didn’t want the bodies of the three men on the crosses left there, so the order was given for the soldiers to break the legs of the men on the crosses. Why was this done?
See, when someone was crucified, they would hang from the nails in their hands and feet, and they wouldn’t be able to breathe, so they would lift themselves with their legs, on the nails, which was extremely painful, to be able to draw breaths. The soldiers broke their legs, so they wouldn’t be able to keep lifting themselves for oxygen, and then they would die.
Next, verses 33-34: "33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water."
The soldiers found that Jesus was already dead, but one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side, to make sure he was really dead. And blood and water flowed out. What does this mean?
First, this proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was really dead. This could’ve been due to hypovolemic shock, which is severe fluid loss, or pleural or pericardial effusion, which is a build up of water around the lungs or heart, after severe trauma to the body.
This is also symbolic for the blood atonement of Jesus, as well as the living water we received through Jesus gift, in the Holy Spirit. By Jesus’ blood, we receive the Holy Spirit, who causes springs of living water to flow from within us.
It’s also a good reminder for us today, that Jesus gave his all, and we should also give our all in serving Him, blood, sweat, and tears.
There’s a beautiful song this reminds me of, called "Give me the Faith which can remove" written by Charles Wesley.
It says, “Enlarge, inflame, and fill my heart
with boundless charity divine,
so shall I all my strength exert,
and love them with a zeal like thine,
and lead them to thy open side,
the sheep for whom the Shepherd died.”
Let us lead others to the open side of Jesus, the blood that cleanses, the living water that bursts forth from within those who believe in Jesus, the whole world needs this message, Lord use us!
Next, verse 35: “The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.”
The man who saw it, never references himself once in his own gospel, he only called himself “the man whom Jesus loved.” His name of course was John. But he was so humble, he wanted all the attention on Jesus.
He testifies for us, that he saw these things happen. John was there, when all the other disciples had fled, and he saw the blood and water flow from Jesus’ side that dark day.
In 1st John, another piece of the bible that John wrote, he said, "the Spirit, the water, and the blood testify." The Holy Spirit helps us believe it. The blood shows us he died. The water is the new life we receive.
His purpose in writing all this was simple: So you today would believe it. And that you would then tell others, it’s really true! It really happened! And Jesus has changed my life.
Next, verse 36: These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken...”
Each year over the Passover celebration Israel would sacrifice a spotless lamb, in celebration of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The spotless lamb had to be perfect, no blemishes, no defects, and it had to have no broken bones.
Which is why when John the Baptist (different John) saw Jesus, he said, “There is the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”
Jesus became our spotless, perfect sacrifice by being slaughtered on the cross for us.
How can we live this today? First of all, we want to believe it, and live from this victory. We can’t be a spotless sacrifice like Jesus, but we can be faithful examples to others, reflecting the light of the cross to the community around us, by making sure our conduct matches what we say we believe.
Verse 37 says, “… and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
The crowd stood around the crosses, it was 3pm, yet it had gone completely dark in the area, there had been an earth quake, and strange things were happening.
And the people began to mourn. Those who had been mocking and jeering, suddenly began to feel mourning and sorrow.
This scripture is a reference to Zechariah 12:10, “They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”
Did you catch that? They will look on me, God speaking, whom they pierced. Who was pierced on the cross for our sins? The Lord himself.
As the roman soldier said, who saw all these things happen: "Surely this was the Son of God."
The one who said of himself, “I am.” The one who said, "I and the Father are one." The Lord died for us on the cross.
In Zech 13:1 it says, “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.”
A fountain of life was opened that day, that the Lord of glory died for us. The mourning and grief of the death of Jesus, leads us… to reflect. To consider. To make a change.
So in conclusion today, What shall we do? Perhaps you feel cut to the heart today. What actions can we take in response to this horrific yet glorious moment?
We join the crowd that day two thousand years ago, and look in our hearts on the one they pierced. Jesus our beloved one. Understand that every sin you committed, makes you part of this moment in history.
But as you look, believe, as John did, that what Jesus did was effective for your sins to be forgiven. You don’t need to understand exactly why that is, but believe it is true. Believe what Jesus himself said, "It’s finished." Your sins are forgiven by believing on His name.
For those of us who are already believers today, what can we do? We can embrace Jesus in a deeper way. We can allow these events to touch our hearts. We can die to self in a deeper way. We can mourn our sins, repent of our sins, and lower ourselves, to be made into servants for Him in a new way.
As we conclude today, we know from history that Joseph and Nicodemus, two Pharisees who supported Jesus, requested his body. They anointed his body with spices, in accordance with Jewish customs, and placed him in a new tomb, near a garden, and there, Jesus’ body lay, the Son of God slain. And the world waited…
