The crucifixion of Christ

Part I

John 19:17-30
17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,
18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center.

Jesus was crucified between two sinners. One believed and was saved, while the other did not believe and was not saved. This means that Jesus died for all men -- those who would believe and those who would not, proving wrong the hyper-Calvinist teaching that Jesus died only for those who would believe.

Part II

19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, "The King of the Jews,' but, "He said, "I am the King of the Jews.""'
22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

Pilate was a Gentile with authority from God. Jesus had said to him: "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above." (John 19:11)

God has indeed given the "Gentile" church authority to preach the unchangeable truth ("What I have written, I have written") of the message of the cross ("Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews") to all nations ("it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin") including Israel.

Part III

23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece.
24 They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: "They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots." Therefore the soldiers did these things.

The "four parts" are the four corners of the world -- north, south, east and west. Jesus was stripped of His garments so that men everywhere will be given the chance to put on robes of righteousness, that is, receive salvation and the gift of righteousness.

The soldiers gambling for His tunic means that there will, however, be many people who think that forgiveness and righteousness must be earned.

Part IV

25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!"
27 Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

Mary, like Sarah, conceived by grace. So, like Sarah, Mary represents Mount Zion, the free Jerusalem from above and the new covenant of grace (Galatians 4:21-26). Paul calls this free Jerusalem from above (grace) "the mother of us all" (Galatians 4:26).

John means "Jehovah is a gracious giver" and also represents the new covenant of grace. Mary means "their rebellion".

This passage then, has two meanings. The first is simply that believers are children of grace, their "mother". This is consistent with Galatians 4:26.

The second is that in the same way John begins to take care of Mary, grace will take care of man's rebellion. The cross is the answer to Adam's rebellion. Or, put another way, the goodness of God will lead one to repentance (Romans 2:4).

Part V

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!"
29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.
30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Jesus' finished work, His giving up of His spirit and His ascension to heaven made the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost possible.

In this passage, Jesus was thirsty but could only drink a little sour wine. He suffered this way so that we can drink freely from rivers of living water or the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39) and not thirst (John 4:14, 6:35).

Back to homepage