John 19:17-37 "The Crucifixion"

We come now to what is in my (and all other Christians) opinion the most significant event in all of human history. The crucifixion of Jesus, along with his subsequent resurrection, is the turning point for all humanity. However, it should be noted that we are looking at John’s account of Jesus’ crucifixion. Each of the other three gospel accounts contains their own eyewitness accounts of the event. There are areas of agreement between the accounts, as well as some information that is present in one and not in another. For a more complete account of what happened, I would recommend reading the account of Jesus’ crucifixion from each of the gospels. For our purposes today, however, we will only really be looking at the account that John gives of the death of our Savior. With those clarifying remarks out of the way, let’s begin our look at our text for today.

Read John 19:17-37

The events that we have recorded for us today are some of the most striking images in all of Scripture. There have been more pictures and paintings and sculptures, more plays and movies, done concerning these events than probably all other biblical events combined. We need only look at the crucifixes that hang on so many walls as evidence of this statement. Yes, this is a very well-known narrative. However, there are some inaccuracies in the way that we commonly view these events, as well as some very meaningful information that simply gets glossed over far too often. As our text begins, we’re told of the famous scene of Jesus bearing, or carrying, his own cross up to Golgotha. We read these words and we immediately think of this one man hauling this giant “t” made of wood up a mountain. We even see many Christian groups reenact this event each year with walks where people make their own crosses and march carrying them a distance thought to be comparable to that in which our Savior walked this day. Well, in actuality, that’s most likely not the way it happened. You see, the custom of the Romans was to have the vertical support already in the ground, that way they knew that it was secure and that there was no way the prisoner could come down. What the criminals were made to carry was the horizontal piece that their arms would be spread out across. Now make no mistake, it’s still heavy. So heavy that many criminals find themselves in the same boat as Jesus does in the other gospel accounts when he has to have a bystander, Simon of Cyrene, help him carry the cross to his final destination. It doesn’t take away anything from our understanding of the cross by this being the case, but it helps us know more precisely what is going on here.

We’re told that a placard of some sort was placed at the top of the vertical beam that read in several languages “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” This was done so at Pilate’s orders. The reason for it was that when a criminal was crucified, it was customary for their offense, or the reason why they were being killed, to be known at the time of their crucifixion. Well, the Jews take issue with the placard because the way it reads seems to infer that Jesus is exactly who he claimed to be. Now, we said last time that it could be possible that Pilate was beginning to believe Jesus and that he had come around on his understanding of Jesus as the Son of God. However, just because he had this phrase here written doesn’t necessarily prove that he did believe. He could have, but he also could have intentionally had these exact words written just because he knew that it would drive the Jews crazy. After all, as much grief as they gave him and as many headaches as they had caused for him, why would he not take an opportunity to upset them when there really was nothing they could do about it. He published the offense and did so in every common language, so it doesn’t matter if the people are 100% thrilled with his choice of words or not.
We’re then told about the soldiers dividing up Christ’s clothes. At the time of execution, a prisoner was given articles of clothes that would eventually be removed. The reason for their removal was to bring even greater shame upon the criminal. There was thought to be no greater shame than having all your clothes removed from your body and to be paraded before a crowd of people. The tunic, which was the one of the articles of clothing, was of some value as long as it was kept in one piece. The soldiers decide that they would cast lots to see which one of them could claim ownership of this valuable article of clothing. Unbeknownst to them, they were actually fulfilling the words of Psalm 22:18 in their gambling for Jesus’ tunic.

As all of this is taking place, a group of women that included Jesus’ mother and Mary Magdalene were watching alongside John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, the author of this gospel. If you will recall, way back when Jesus was first born and presented at the temple, a man named Simeon had prophesied to Mary that one day “a sword [would] pierce through [her] own soul as well” (Luke2:35). As they were forced to watch these events take place, Jesus’ mother was having to endure her own torture and agony. How painful it must have been for both Jesus’ earthly mother and heavenly Father to sit idly by and watch as their son/Son was being crucified.

In a moment that epitomizes the compassion that Jesus had for those whom he encountered, we’re told of his commending his mother into John’s care. As our Savior hung there nailed to the cross, in a moment of indescribable pain and suffering, he looked to his mother and said, “Woman, behold your son!” and to John, “Behold your mother!” In essence, Jesus was saying to these two individuals, “consider yourselves family from this point forward. Love him as a son, and love her as your mother.” Remember, Jesus’ use of the word “Woman” here, although disrespectful in today’s world, was the highest form of tenderness that could be expressed towards a woman during Jesus’ day. It’s the same word that he used when speaking to her at the wedding in Cana. It’s the same word he used with the woman at the well who had been caught in the midst of adultery. Jesus’ compassion doesn’t end even during his times of greatest struggle. Jesus stills shows love, respect, and honor towards his mother as his life on this earth draws ever-closer to an end.

After being given a sponge of sour wine (which fulfills yet another prophesy from Psalm 22), Jesus looks up and says “It is finished!” He then hangs his head and passes away, or as we’re told, he “gave up his spirit.” The Greek word used here of finished is from of the verb telos, which means to complete or end. Taking it a step farther, the form of this verb which means to complete is form that indicates that something is a past action and is completely over or ended. In other words, the end goal of both Jesus’ earthly ministry and God’s plan for salvation have found their fulfillment in what has just taken place and the impending final breathes of our Savior. Jesus wasn’t lamenting here over the fact that his earthly life was coming to an end, but was bearing witness to the fact that the pre-Gospel, the protoevangelion of Genesis 3:15, had come to fruition. When his mission was accomplished and atonement completed, Jesus laid down his life and died.

In order to speed the process up so that it would be over before the Sabbath, the guards are told to break the legs of Jesus and the other two men so that they will die quickly from not being able to breathe. The first two men’s legs are broken accordingly, but when the guards come to Jesus, they realize that he has already died. There’s no point in breaking his legs if he has died, so they decide to pierce his side with a spear to make sure he’s really dead (thus fulfilling even more prophecies about the Messiah from the Old Testament). They find that indeed he has died and his body makes no movements as his side is pierced. The only reaction is that of his blood and some water coming from the wound in his side.
Can you imagine what the feeling must have been at this point? Can you imagine the uncertainty and the sick-to-the-stomach feeling that those who knew and believed in Jesus were feeling at this point? I can’t even imagine what it was like for those who didn’t believe, much less those who did. We’re told in the other gospel accounts of the curtain of the temple tearing into two pieces and that there was a guard who seemingly undergoes a conversion of sorts as Jesus passes away. It seems like a pretty emotionally charged and chaotic scene, but John’s gospel doesn’t have any of that information. No, instead, what we find in John’s account is really more of an author’s insertion of ideas, a commentary of sorts. And these authorial comments are really more about the author and readers of this gospel than they are about Jesus and his death. Well, we have to ask ourselves why that is. After all, every word of Scripture is inspired by God and is meant for us to have, it is God-breathed as we’re told in 2 Timothy 3:16. So, what is the purpose for this little verse, verse 35, being in Scripture at this point?

Well, I think that John himself gives us that answer, “He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe.” That we may believe that what had happened and what is recorded actually did take place, that it is the truth. We may believe and have faith in it. Faith is not supposed to be the result of just a blind leap. I know that many times we define faith as being belief in that which is unseen, but faith should come about from the truth. If something is untrue, then it is not worthy of our believing in it. John tells us here that what has taken place is true and Christ’s fulfillment of the will of the Father is such that we can and must build our lives upon it. We have to know that Jesus’ death paid the price of salvation, the price that was owed to God for our sins. That has to be the truth in our lives, but it has to be even more. That truth, that undeniable fact, has to shape everything about us. It has to shape everything that we do and all that we are. We have to allow that good news, that great and wonderful news, to consume us and use us for whatever purposes God sees fit. For it is not enough to just profess with our mouths, but we must act out this truth with our very lives. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.