Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Dial In - John 19:17-37 (Ep. 50)

Episode Date: July 8, 2020

Dial In is a devotional series with the intention of helping followers of Christ understand God’s word and love Him more. Jonny seeks to communicate the profound depth of scripture in a digestible and condensed format each weekday. The goal of the podcast is that our “minds would be renewed” as we behold who God is in His word. In this series, Jonny is walking sequentially through the Gospel of John.In this episode, Jonny covers John 19:17-37Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. In this episode, we continue in John's gospel as we come to John chapter 19 verses 17 through 37. Let's dial in. John chapter 19 verses 17 through 37. So they took Jesus and he went out bearing his own cross to the place called the Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross.

It read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write, The King of the Jews, but rather, This man said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier, also his tunic.

But the tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said to one another, This was to fulfill the scripture which says, So the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son.

Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill scripture, I thirst. A jar full of sour wine stood there. So they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of preparation and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for the Sabbath was a high day, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken,

and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear. Then at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness. His testimony is true. And he knows that he is telling you the truth that you also may believe. For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled. Not one of his bones will be broken. And again, another scripture says, they will look on him whom they have pierced. We look now at the most evil hour in human history, the most wicked thing ever done.

And it's the slaughter of not only an innocent man, but the pure and spotless and righteous son of God. It was truly an evil event, but it wasn't just Satan behind the scenes at the work of the cross. It was God who was behind the scenes. He was the one of the cross. It was God who was behind the scenes. He was the one orchestrating it. In Isaiah 53 verse 10, it says that it pleased God to crush Jesus Christ. And maybe you're wondering, well, how could that be possible? How could God be pleased in the events

that we just read? Well, it's because God is holy and he never compromises his own justice. His wrath towards sin must be poured out. And only through Jesus's death in this passage can anyone ever be saved. And God is pleased to crush Jesus because he is pleased in saving sinners who believe in Jesus. And God here is using the worst thing that men ever did to accomplish the greatest thing that he ever did. That is the salvation of his own people. Why does God do this? Why does God do this? It's because he loves us. So while the cross is evidence of human hate and demonic power in a more elevated way, it is the proof of divine love. All of the gospels point towards the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is the high point in redemption because obviously without it, there is no payment for sins. There is no salvation. There is only hell, only judgment.

But here in this passage is the focal point of scripture and the center of God's plan for the lost. Jesus came into the world to be our sacrificial lamb and he came because of God's great love. Now in John 20 verse 31, John tells us the purpose for writing his gospel, which is that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and in believing you may have life in his name.

He also tells us at the beginning of the gospel that he wants us to see the glory of God. He wants us to experience what he experiences. And one of the ways that John shows us the glory of God throughout his gospel is through the glory of fulfilled prophecy. And here in this passage, we have one fulfilled prophecy after another. One theologian says that there are about 330 specific prophecies regarding Jesus Christ in his first coming. And someone else did the mathematical calculation on this and said for all 330

prophecies to be fulfilled, it would be a chance of one in 84 with a hundred zeros after that. It is humanly impossible, but we see here God behind the scenes. So in verse 17, it says they led Jesus out of the city. Well, of course they did because all throughout the Old Testament, all sacrifices for sin had to be made outside of the city. This is detailed all throughout Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The sin offering was to be made outside. And here, God makes sure that the ultimate and only true offering for sin is outside of the camp, outside of the city. And the passage says that they are leading him out of the city. I think this is an important word. Jesus isn't fighting. He's not trying to run.

He doesn't perform a miracle to escape. He is following them to his own execution. He's laying down his life on his own accord. There's no panic here. There's no struggle. There's no pleading. They lead him. It's not surprising that Isaiah 53 verse 7 says, he was led as a sheep to the slaughter. And specifically here, Jesus is being led away to crucifixion. This was on purpose. This fit exactly into God's plan. Now, when the Jews killed somebody, they threw him down and they would stone him in a pit. But Jesus said that he would be lifted up. He said that I will be lifted up and I will draw all men to myself. And actually in Matthew chapter 10, he says, I will be crucified. And there on a hill, they crucified Jesus with at least two others.

700 years earlier in Isaiah 53, the prophet paints the picture of Jesus's death and says that he would be numbered with the transgressors. And here Jesus is crucified with two thieves on his right and his left, two criminals. Now we're familiar with the image of a cross, but we need to remind ourselves that there was no more horrifying death than death by crucifixion. The Romans regarded it as the most horrifying thing a human could endure. It was certainly the most painful and the most shameful. Jesus would have been, think about this, stripped naked, marched through the city, and then made a public spectacle of shame. He would then have been nailed to a cross, two beams, one vertical and one horizontal. And then he was placed on a hill so that everyone

would be able to observe this shameful man. And as he hung there, people would walk by and they would mock him as the birds began to eat the flesh of the men that were dying on a tree. Eventually, here's how you die in a crucifixion. Not necessarily by blood loss all the time, but by dehydration, heart prostration, shock, and mainly suffocation. The reason that there were nails there in your feet is so that you could prop yourself up through the nails so that you could just get a breath of air. Now in verse 23, as Jesus is hanging naked on a tree, the soldiers take his clothing and begin to divide them amongst each other. But the tunic,

they gamble over. Winner takes all of the tunic. The soldiers don't even know here that they are fulfilling scripture. This is not an accident of history. Nothing is happening by chance. They are fulfilling God's predetermined plan. Psalm 22, 18 is quoted directly here in verse 24. They divided my outer garments, the psalmist said, among them, and for my clothing, they cast lots. Now in verse 28 says, after this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture, I thirst, and a jar full of sour wine stood there. So they put a sponge full of the sour wine and the hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished.

And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. In verse 28, Jesus cries out in his humanness. He cries out that he's thirsty and this fulfills prophecy. And then he cries out, it is finished. This word that is used here, tetelestai, indicates an action that is totally complete. It comes from the word telos. It means end or goal completion, purpose complete. The significance of Jesus' whole life comes to this moment. Not that his life is just finished, but his mission is accomplished. The mission for which Jesus came was finished. He's saying, paid in full,

I've done it all. I've drank the cup of the father's wrath. And then he bows his head and gives up his spirit. Jesus had already said that no one takes his life from him, but here he gives up his spirit and dies. In verse 31, we read that it is the day of preparation. So the Jews come to Pilate and ask him to break the legs of the individuals being crucified. The reason they would do this is because once the legs were broken, the people being crucified would no longer be able to prop themselves up to be able to catch a breath of air. They would die sooner due to suffocation. And the Jews concern here is that they don't want to be guilty of violating the rules and traditions of having bodies, dead bodies hanging around on the day of preparation.

The Jews are careful to keep all the rules and traditions of the Passover as they slaughter the one whom the Passover was designed to point to. Now in verse 35, I love this. John says, he who saw this event has borne witness. His testimony is true. And he knows that he is telling you the truth that you may believe. I love this. I'm thankful that John tells us this. He saw this with his own eyes because faith is not a mindless leap into the dark. It is an acquiescence into the truth. That which is not true is never worthy of our faith nor our belief. And John says, I saw this with my own eyes. This is a historical reality.

This is the sober, unvarnished truth. And he tells us that he gives us this truth that you may believe it. He says, this is something that you can trust. The lamb of God was slain for your sin. And by believing in Jesus and what we read in this passage, you may have the forgiveness of your sins and have the hope of eternal life. Stay dialed in. Thank you.