A Picture Of Protection In Death John 19:31-37 Introduction

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1 Introduction The Bible is a book rich with prophecies. There are general prophecies, there are prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, there are prophecies made by Jesus. The Bible contains prophecies about births and cities and nations and individuals; there are what scholars and Bible students call endtime prophecies. Prophecies concerning the rapture, and prophecies concerning the judgment seat of Christ, prophecies about a seven sealed book; prophecies about the marriage feast of the lamb, prophecies about the second coming. Jesus said; This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms (Luke 24:44).About one third of the Bible is prophetic in nature. We devote a great deal of our time to the teachings of the Bible. I teach the Bible. But I have never been more convinced that I do not simply teach the Bible; I teach people the Bible. And here you are. Sitting in your seat. Listening to your computer. Perhaps someone has given you a CD of the service. You are a mature believer. You are a new believer. You are a skeptic or a cynic. You may be a person who believes every word in the Bible is true; or you may be a person who believes that the Bible contains truths, principles; insights, suggestions, regulations or restrictions. You are listening--waiting to challenge the content of the sermon; and well you should; you have every right and every responsibility to search the Scriptures to see if things are in fact true. You believe God knows the future in advance; or you may not be sure. You may be listening to hear from the Lord; for some priceless treasure; some nugget of truth; some specific application that will speak to your present circumstances. Something that will comfort you or challenge you or change you. The Gospel of John was written for the express purpose; that the reader might believe that Jesus Christ is God s messiah; and as a result of that belief experience new life in Christ. Jesus predicted many things; the fall of Jerusalem; the destruction of the Temple; the fact that His words would be everlasting. Jesus predicted false prophets and false christs; that evil would continue and there would be a future time of great trouble. Jesus made predictions about the manner of his death; who would put Him to death, and the fact that he would rise from the dead. From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again on the third day (Matt. 16:21). G.B. Hardy wrote; Only the supernatural mind can have prior knowledge to the natural mind. If then the Bible has foreknowledge, historical and scientific, beyond the permutation of chance it truly then bears the fingerprint of God. The Jews Sabbath (v.31a) John 19:31 (NKJV) Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 1

2 John brings attention to the fact that the day Jesus died...was the Preparation Day. In the text the Greek word is paraskeue. The expression the day before the Sabbath is all one word prossabbaton (and it appears only here in the Greek New Testament). Scholars have puzzled and debated whether Jesus died on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Clearly the traditional weekly Sabbath was from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. In the modern Greek language the word sixth day of the week is still called paraskeue. The Jewish Passover was always on the 15th day of Nissan. The Day of Preparation is the day that all observant Jews removed the leaven from their homes. For the religious leaders their religion; its ritual, its ceremony was more important than the suffering of mere men. But for Jesus it was in part, one of the very reasons He was on that cross. Jesus knows not simply about suffering; but about your suffering. Jesus felt the sufferings of human beings and humanity. The Jews Sanhedrin (v.31b)...the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The religious leaders knew the Law. Deuteronomy 21:22-23 (NKJV) If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,23his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God. Out of respect for the Law they are willing to disrespect the Lawgiver. Spurgeon said; Religious scruples may live in a dead conscience. Indeed they can, for a very very very long time. The Romans had no such law. A person crucified was often left to hang for days; and when the body was removed it was taken to the garbage or trash heap and burned or left for the wild dogs and vultures to consume. The Lord made a provision for His body in the ancient scriptures. The Mishnah; the Jewish Scribal Law made it clear: Everyone who allows the dead to remain overnight transgresses a positive command. The Sanhedrin was charged by the Law and the Mishnah to have two burying places ready for those who suffered the death penalty and were not to be buried in the family plot; or the ancestral burial location. In this case it was even more important that the bodies not be allowed to hang on the crosses overnight; because the next day was the Sabbath; and not just any Sabbath; but the Passover Sabbath. 2

3 The person on the cross could only breath by lifting oneself on the painful nails; when the legs were broken they could no longer press down with their feet and hoist themselves into a position to allow oxygen to rush into the lungs. Pilate could care less about these men. So Pilate grants the request to the religious leaders. The Roman Soldiers (v.32) John 19:32 (NKJV) Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. The Romans had large wooden mallets to crush the shins just below the knee. The Romans chose crucifixion as a State form of execution for the most hardened and wicked. It was supposed to be a slow lingering death. By law the condemned was to hang on the cross until they died from thirst, hunger, exposure, exhaustion. Sometimes a person would linger for days under the hot sun, or the cold night. The suffering struck fear in the captured provinces. No Roman citizen--no matter how hideous his crimes--could expect such a death. Roman soldiers obeyed orders. The thieves legs are broken. The legs of Jesus are not broken. The Jews Savior (v.33) John 19:33 (NKJV) But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. The order was given to accelerate the death of Jesus. The soldiers stopped short when they saw that Jesus was already dead. Perhaps Jesus had made a deep impression upon the men. Matthew 27:54 (NKJV) So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God! What possible value could be served in smashing the legs of a dead man; in particular this dead man? The Soldier s Spear (v.34) John 19:34 (NKJV) But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. Some scholars suggest that Christ s heart burst. Blood mingled with water from the pericardium sac would medically account for this phenomenon. 3

4 Did Jesus literally die of a broken heart? Christians in every generation has seen in this event a picture of the sacraments, the ordinances of baptism and communion. The water becomes a picture of the washing of the saint; of the baptism of regeneration; which the sacrifice of Jesus brings; But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Tit. 3:4-5). The blood becomes a type and picture of the Lord s Supper; we partake in the sacrifice of Jesus; the shed blood of Jesus cleanses men and women of their sins. Rock of ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee; Let the water and the blood, From thy riven side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Cleanse me from its guilt and power. Clearly the soldier s spear reveals the fact that Jesus really did die. The Gnostics taught that Jesus was a phantom; not really human; or that he possessed a real body. One of the earliest creeds of Christianity is found in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; where Paul writes; For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried. The Apostles Creed affirms that Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. The gospel includes a real death for sin and a real resurrection. The death of Jesus is a key theme in the gospel of John and one of the major historical facts in all of human history. The death of Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures; announced by John the Baptist before Jesus began His formal ministry (Jn.1:29; 35-36). Jesus mentions his own death in John 3:14; where the image of being lifted-up is clearly the image of crucifixion. Jesus had spoken of taking up the cross (Matt.10:38; 16:24). In Luke s gospel we read: Luke 9:31 (NKJV) who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. The word decease in the Greek language is exodus and is suggestive of the passover lamb; and the deliverance from bondage in Egypt. A popular theory still circulates among some skeptics and cynics. It is called the swoontheory. This theory has Jesus losing consciousness on the cross; or he feigns death in order to deceive the soldiers. His body is taken off the cross, wrapped in linen strips and spices; placed in the tomb where he is revived. The problem with the theory; to many people watched Jesus die. John goes to extraordinary lengths to convince the reader that Jesus really died. In the early church their was a stubborn false teaching that Jesus was not really a human being. 4

5 False teachers in the early church that Jesus only appeared to be human. The Bible teaches that Jesus was truly human; Jesus was born through a human mother; Jesus had a human birth; And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger (Luke 2:7). Jesus was brought to the Temple to be circumcised; the Bible describes the childhood of Jesus; his young adulthood; his ministry; Jesus became tired (John 4:6); required sleep; asked questions; displayed human emotion; and died the death of a human being (v.33). Jesus experienced growth, hunger, fatigue, sadness, tears, and death. The Eyewitness Statement (v.35) John 19:35 (NKJV) 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. John insists his eyewitness account is true. The skeptic, the cynic, the unbeliever insists his account has been tampered with, polluted, strained, or entirely false. John insists his gospel is not hearsay; fable, myth, legend; but reliable, accurate, historical representation of actual events. John gives the reason why he has gone to such lengths to give you this story; so that you may believe. What does John want the reader to believe? The immediate context seems to indicate that John wants the reader to believe that Jesus was in charge of the events surrounding His own death. The larger context is the belief that Jesus Christ is God s Messiah. In the next chapter John will add; But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through his name (Jn. 20:31). John wants the reader to acknowledge sin; repent of sin and trust the Lord Jesus Christ. James gives us the kind of belief that God rejects. James writes; Are there still some among you who hold that only believing is enough? Believing in one God? Well, remember the demons believe this too--so strongly that they tremble in terror (James 2:19 TLB). You mean it is not good enough to simply acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being? In Romans 3:28 we are told We are saved by faith in Christ and not by the good things we do. Yet when we repent of our sins and trust the Lord Jesus Christ; we are marked by Christlike living; we are marked by the way we treat each other, and we are marked by the way we treat outsiders. Christians cannot expect a safe life; they can expect difficulties (James 1:2); Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy. The Sacred Scriptures (vv.36-37) John 19:36 (NKJV) For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, Not one of His bones shall be broken. 5

6 Why should I believe? John gives at least one reason; fulfilled prophecy. People most certainly are willing to concede that Jesus died. We divide all things into two broad categories: things that can be broken and things that cannot be broken. The Scriptures cannot be broken. Numbers 9:12 (NKJV) They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it. Psalm 34:20; He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken... Jesus died early and was pierced... John 19:37 (NKJV) And again another Scripture says, They shall look on Him whom they pierced. John sees in the death of Jesus the fulfillment of another prophecy; Zechariah 12:10; They look on him whom they have pierced. The passage (Zech.12:10); I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. The person speaking in Zechariah is God Himself; John citing this Scripture ascribes to Jesus the identity of God incarnate. We know this Scripture will find its ultimate fulfillment when Jesus returns in glory; when the repentant remnant of Israel will mourn over rejecting and killing their King (see John MacArthur; Vol. 2; John; p.364). In Zechariah 13:1 speaks of a day when there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. Clearly John would have known that verse as well. John knew how important the cleansing for sin--rested in the blood (Lev.17:11). Clearly he also knew how important water was for purification from uncleanness. John realized that all deliverance and cleansing from sin and all that sin defiles are to be found in the death of Jesus. What did the death of Jesus accomplish? Roy Laurin writes; 1. the eternal purposes of God 2. the law 3. the sin question 4. the system of symbol and sacrifice 5. the unchallenged reign of Satan 6. the work of salvation John Piper lists 50 things the Cross does; and I am sure there is much more! The death of Jesus Christ finished God s side of the work of redemption and salvation; to which nothing can be added or nothing taken away. 6

7 The Bible speaks of three great rendings; tearings; dividings; when Jesus cried; it is finished the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom; the heart of Jesus was torn; and another strange and wonderful thing happened; the earth itself was torn by a massive earthquake and the graves of some were opened and some of those formally dead walked among the living. The veil in the Temple was torn and access to the Most Holy became a reality; the heart of Jesus is torn; and access to God became a reality; the earth was torn; and access to eternal life through a wondrous resurrection became a reality for those who were brought back to life. The rest of the chapter will draw our focus to the preparation of the body of Jesus for burial in a garden tomb. Conclusion In the closing days of Hudson Taylor s life he wrote with tremblings; I can only lie still in God s arms I am so weak that I can hardly write, I cannot read my Bible, I cannot even pray. I can only lie still in God s arms like a little child, and trust. And trust--is all that we sometimes have. The English Poet William Cowper wrote; There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Immanuel s veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood Lose all their guilty stains. The dying thief rejoiced to see That fountain in his day, And there may I, as vile as he, Wash all my sins away. E er since by faith I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has been my theme And shall be till I die. Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood Shall never lose it s power, Till all the ransomed church of God Be saved to sin no more. 7