Jesus Died - for You, for Me; John 17-19

May the mumbling commence!

Today is Good Friday, so I thought it would be appropriate to dwell on the death of Jesus recorded in the gospel according to John.  Read it from chapter 19:

Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."  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.  When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 

Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews 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.  The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.  But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.  Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.  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.  These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced." (Verses 28-37)

Crucifixion is a long and torturous death.  Jesus died much more quickly than most people who were crucified.  He died more quickly than the two criminals that were crucified next to him.  Why did he die so soon?  Jesus was whipped and scourged before his crucifixion.  Perhaps the loss of blood speeded his death.  Some may have seen the whipping and wondered how Jesus survived it alone.  I believe there was something else at work here.  Read from Mark chapter fifteen:

It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.  Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.  When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. (Verses 42-45)

Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus had already died.  He had to confirm the death through the word of the centurion who performed the execution.  Jesus’ premature death had more causing it than the whipping and the crucifixion process itself. 

Jesus had the weight of the totality of all human sin – from the beginning of time to the end.  He carried all my sin – past, present, and future.  He carried yours, too.  What a weight of conviction!  Thank you for your work upon the cross.

How did the centurion know that Jesus was dead?  It was the piercing of Jesus’ heart.  The flow of blood and water from Jesus’ heart was a sure sign of death.  There is no guess work with this piece of evidence.  How do we respond to this greatest sacrifice of all time?  Read John’s version of the burial of Jesus from chapter nineteen:

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away.  He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.  Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.  At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.  Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.  (Verses 38-42) 

Discipleship of Jesus cannot be hidden indefinitely.  Joseph of Arimathea came forward at Jesus’ death.  How ironic!  That was the exact point that made the public disciples of Jesus hide.  Still, it was a great and dangerous show of faith to see that Jesus received the proper Jewish burial. 

And Joseph was not alone.  Joseph was joined by Nicodemus.  It is important to walk along with someone when we make dangerous statements of faith in Christ – whether those statements are words or actions.  Joseph and Nicodemus lived with the death of Jesus with sadness and mourning. 

These next two days, let us live into the sacrificial death of Jesus.  If we do, the full importance of the resurrection will become known.  Without the death of Jesus, the resurrection has no meaning. 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out