Today we begin a 3-week series called Jesus: The One. The title for these series comes from a number of verses, including this:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14
The word in Greek for “One and Only,” also translated “Only Begotten” in some translations, is monogenes. It is only used in the context of sons and daughters. Like logos, (The Word), it is a deep word, when you spend time thinking about it. In purely human terms, Jesus was not an only child; Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 mention four “brothers” of Jesus: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. And the same verses talk about unnamed “sisters” as well. And although there is some question whether these people were Jesus’ half-brothers and sisters, His step-brothers and sisters, or even His cousins (personally I take the verses at face value and assume they were half-brothers and sisters), we can be absolutely certain that in no way were these people Jesus’ full brothers and sisters, because God and not Joseph was the true father of Jesus. In this Jesus was truly the One and Only.
In another sense, the Bible says that we are Jesus’ brothers and sisters; for example, Romans 8:14 says that those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God, and Galatians 3:26 says we are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. But in very obvious ways, He is not at all like us. He is God, eternal, perfectly holy, glorious, not just without equal but without words that can do Him justice and certainly there is no one who could remotely compare to Him. He is monogenes.
And today, this Sunday before Easter, we will look at Him as the Crucified One. I would like to read a major chunk of the crucifixion account from the Book of John, so that we have the big picture. First some background: Jesus had gone, not for the first time, with His disciples to an olive grove to pray. Judas knew the place, and went with soldiers and Temple officials there to arrest Jesus. They did so, and Simon, being, well, Simon, picked up a sword and cut off the ear of a servant of the high priest. Jesus rebuked Simon and healed the servant’s ear. Then they arrested Jesus, bound Him, and brought Him to Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest Caiaphas. During questioning, an official struck Jesus in the face, angry that Jesus did not seem to give the proper respect. Jesus’ response to the official was to ask if He had said anything wrong, that He had spoken the truth. And Annas then sent Jesus, still bound, to Caiaphas. After Caiaphas questioned Him, it was on to the palace of the Roman governor.
By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked, "What charges are you bringing against this man?" – John 18:28-29
"If He were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed Him over to you." Pilate said, "Take Him yourselves and judge Him by your own law." "But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected. This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled. – John 18:30-32
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked Him, "Are You the king of the Jews?" "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about Me?" "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed You over to me. What is it You have done?" – John 18:33-35
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is from another place." "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me." – John 18:36-37
"What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against Him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?" They shouted back, "No, not Him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion. – John 18:38-40
Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head. They clothed Him in a purple robe and went up to Him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck Him in the face. – John 19:1-3
Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" – John 19:4-5
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw Him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!"But Pilate answered, "You take Him and crucify Him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against Him." The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God." – John 19:6-7
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. "Where do You come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer."Do You refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't You realize I have power either to free You or to crucify You?" – John 19:8-10
Jesus answered, "You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar." – John 19:11-12
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews. – John 19:13-14
But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed Him over to them to be crucified. – John 19:15-16
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying His own cross, He went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified Him, and with Him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. – John 19:17-18
Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews." Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written." – John 19:19-22
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. – John 19:23
"Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided My garments among them and cast lots for My clothing." So this is what the soldiers did. – John 19:24
Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. – John 19:25-27
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. – John 19:28-30
Reading through the passage, I am struck by all the varied reactions of the various people affected by the events of that night and day. I think of the servant of the high priest, going from the intense pain of his injuries by Peter’s sword to instant healing to watching events unfold and end with Jesus’ horrible death. I think of Judas, overwhelmed by Satan and betraying Jesus with a kiss, later to die in agony himself. I think of Peter, going from being rebuked by Jesus for his sword work, to denying Jesus three times and despairing at the sound of the rooster crowing.
I think of the temple official who dared to strike God the Son, demanding respect – if he only knew what he was doing! I think of Pilate, who saw truth as only a political tool, and who was simply trying to look out for number one (himself) in the events of that day, and I think about the joy it gave him to yank the Jew’s chain with that clever sign that said, King of the Jews in three languages. If he only knew the truth of what he had made to be written there!
I think of the crowds whipped into a frenzy, eager to see Jesus crucified. How much or how little did they really understand?
I think of the soldiers who carried out these horrific things on Jesus. Was it just another day at the office for them? Some of them enjoyed their work. What had they done to their consciences? What had Rome done to them?
I think of the friends of Jesus, especially the women, who watched at a distance as Jesus, up on the cross, spent moment after moment, breath after breath, in agony. I think especially of Mary, the one who had been warned years ago, that Jesus would reveal the hidden thoughts of many hearts, and that a sword would pierce her own soul, too. I cannot begin to imagine how she felt when Jesus told her that He would no longer be her son, that another disciple would take His place.
What was it like to be that disciple – most likely John – to hear these same words? How could this man, far more than a man, John’s whole purpose for living these last few years, be about to die? This was all wrong! This couldn’t be really happening!
One more person we have not talked about – Jesus Himself. What was this day like for Him? Well, quite literally, it was excruciating – that is a word that means “from out of the cross.” The physical pain was unimaginable. From the brutal, nearly fatal lashings, to having nails driven through your flesh, to being raised up on the cross – everything about the events of a crucifixion was designed to cause as much pain and suffering as possible. If you have ever heard a medical description of what it would be like to hang on a cross, you know that every breath was torture. There was simply no way to take another breath without lifting yourself up to do it, resulting in severe rubbing on your back – the back that had just received the brutal lashings – and resulting in intense pain at the locations of the nails. Every breath was a decision about whether to go through all that pain again or to just let yourself suffocate. Of course, if you try to let yourself suffocate, eventually your body takes over and forces you to go through all that pain to take another breath anyway. There is just no way to adequately describe what this suffering must have been like.
Yet in the midst of this I am struck by Jesus’ conversations – with the robber who has faith in the end, with the disciple He chose to take care of His mother after He died – Jesus, in the midst of unimaginable agony, was still constantly thinking about and caring for others. Indeed we must remember that to be there on that cross was His choice. He was the Crucified One by choice! Why? Because He wanted to obey His Father to the end. What did He say in the garden of Gethsemane?
He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him. And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. – Luke 22:41-44
Jesus was determined to obey His Father to the end, no matter how hard it was. It is one thing to endure a horrible thing when you don’t have any choice – for example, if you are diagnosed with an illness, you can pray for healing but if God chooses not to heal, there isn’t much more for you to do but simply submit and choose to remain in faith – to believe that God is still good, that He knows what is best, that He still loves you. This is not easy; it can be quite difficult, but it doesn’t even begin to compare to the situation Jesus was in. He didn’t have to submit. Imagine choosing to remain succumbing to cancer when at any second you could choose to heal yourself! This was Jesus’ situation. He had to actively, continually choose to stay on that cross!
And as unimaginably horrible as the physicality of that cross was, there was something infinitely worse going on: God the Father was separating Himself from God the Son. Jesus felt the punishment people feel in Hell – the pain of separation from God. Actually what Jesus felt was even worse – He had known intimate fellowship with the Father before this, and now it was gone. I think that people who go to Hell, in a sense, don’t know what they are missing – they do know what they have lost in an intellectual and emotional sense, but not in an experiential sense. Jesus knew. This is why He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
And during all this, He had to choose, moment by moment, to stay on that cross. This is why, I believe, at the end, He said, “It is finished.” What was finished? The constant battle to stay submitted to God’s will.
And speaking of God’s will, there is one additional Person I think we should talk about – God the Father. What was it like for Him to see Jesus, the monogenes, His only Son, Whom He loves, on that cross?
Isaiah 53:10 says, in the NIV,
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand. – Isaiah 53:10 (NIV)
Although this translation is not incorrect, it is somewhat weak in its choice of words. Listen to this in the KJV:
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief; when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sins, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. – Isaiah 53:10 (KJV)
There is a word in the KJV that really disturbs me, the word pleased. Is this just a KJV idiom? No, it is really there in the Hebrew. The word is chafayts, (chet fay tsadik), and it means to delight in, to take pleasure in, to be pleased with. God took pleasure in seeing Jesus on the cross? It delighted Him? Am I the only one who is disturbed by this?
In case you think this word doesn’t really mean to “delight in,” look at these examples of this word elsewhere in Scripture:
If the Lord delights in us, He will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey. – Num. 14:8
He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me. – Psalm 18:19
But let him who boasts boast about this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord. – Jer. 9:24
So back to the Isaiah passage:
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief; when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sink, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. – Isaiah 53:10 (KJV)
It delighted the Lord to do this to His Only Son! There are several important implications of this:
First, who crucified Jesus? Was it the Jewish leaders? Or was it the Romans? Ultimately, it was neither. It was God the Father. Let that sink in for a minute.
Now, think back to Genesis, the story of God telling Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Remember it? God stopped it at the last moment and said that He would provide. Understand that Isaac was truly Abraham’s “one and only,” his monogenes, much like Jesus was God’s. The connections here are no accident, no coincidence. In fact, listen to the end of the story:
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided." – Genesis 22:13-14
Do you know where this is? Mount Moriah (Gen. 22:2). Did you know that this is the same mountain where the Temple was built; that is, Mount Moriah is Jerusalem and the region surrounding it?
Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David. – 2 Chron. 3:1
This means that quite literally, on this mountain, the Lord did provide! Let that sink in for a minute.
And as Isaiah tells us, God the Father did it willingly, even joyfully! Even though Jesus was the One and Only to God the Father, with joy He gave Him up; with joy He crucified His own Son!
But how could the Father delight in the death of His Son? How could this possibly bring Him joy? Look at the verse again:
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief; when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sins, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. – Isaiah 53:10 (KJV)
I do not think we should make the mistake to think that there was only joy in the sacrifice; certainly there was unimaginable anguish for God the Father. But there was joy in the offering, because He knew what it would accomplish. And what would it accomplish? It would save us.
We must never forget the point of the crucifixion; Jesus died to save sinners. That’s us! God the Father sent Jesus to die to save us, because He loves us that much! It’s incomprehensible, isn’t it? It is shocking.
One translation of Hebrews 10:20 says this:
We can enter through a new and living way that Jesus opened for us. It leads through the curtain – Christ’s body. – Hebr. 10:20
Do you realize how shocking this really is? Enter into the Holy of Holies? Us? Don’t you know what happened to people who went past that curtain, even the priests, if they didn’t do everything right? And yet, that giant, imposing curtain is gone. It was torn in two from top to bottom. The new Curtain has scars on its hands and feet, and a healed hole in its side. The new curtain is the Crucified One, and it is always open to us, by faith.
Although we cannot really understand the depths of God’s love for us, a love that would lead God the Father to sacrifice His monogenes for us, we can be thankful. We can choose to live for Him. We can choose to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to Him. We can choose to walk with Him, day by day, even hour by hour. We can choose to value His love over anything this world has to offer.
Before we pray, I want to close with a passage from He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado that I think is very appropriate. In this chapter, he starts with a fictitious story about someone trying to meet the President. He comes to the White House gate. He has even brought cookies to share with the President. Of course, he can’t go see the President. You and I can’t just go see the President. We could request all we want, talking to whoever we want, but it just isn’t going to happen. Anyway, here is the excerpt from Lucado’s book:
"We are welcome to enter into God’s presence – any day, any time. God has removed the barrier that separates us from Him. The barrier of sin? Down. He has removed the curtain.
But we have a tendency to put the barrier back up. Thought there is no curtain in the temple, there is a curtain in the heart. Like the ticks on the clock are the mistakes of the heart. And sometimes, no, oftentimes, we allow these mistakes to keep us from God. Our guilty conscience becomes a curtain that separates us from God.
"As a result we hide from our Master.
"'That’s exactly what my dog, Salty, does. He knows he isn’t supposed to get into the trash. But let the house be human free, and the dark side of Salty takes over. If there is food in a trash can, the temptation is too great. He will find it and feast.
"That’s what he had done the other day. When I came home, he was nowhere to be found. I saw the toppled trash, but I didn’t see Salty. At first I got mad, but I got over it. If I was cooped up all day with only dog food to eat, I might rummage a bit myself. I cleaned up the mess and went about the day and forgot about it.
"Salty didn’t. He kept his distance. When I finally saw him, his tail was between his legs, and his ears were drooping. Then I realized, “He thinks I’m mad at him. He doesn’t know I’ve already dealt with his mistake.”
"May I state the obvious application? God isn’t angry with you. He has already dealt with your mistake.
"Somewhere, sometime, somehow you got tangled up in garbage, and you’ve been avoiding God. You’ve allowed a veil of guilt to come between you and your Father. You wonder if you could ever feel close to God again. The message of the torn flesh is you can. God welcomes you. God is not avoiding you. God is not resisting you. The curtain is down, the door is open, and God invites you in.'
"Don’t trust your conscience. Trust the cross. The blood has been spilt and the veil has been split. You are welcome in God’s presence. And you don’t even have to bring cookies."
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14
The word in Greek for “One and Only,” also translated “Only Begotten” in some translations, is monogenes. It is only used in the context of sons and daughters. Like logos, (The Word), it is a deep word, when you spend time thinking about it. In purely human terms, Jesus was not an only child; Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 mention four “brothers” of Jesus: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. And the same verses talk about unnamed “sisters” as well. And although there is some question whether these people were Jesus’ half-brothers and sisters, His step-brothers and sisters, or even His cousins (personally I take the verses at face value and assume they were half-brothers and sisters), we can be absolutely certain that in no way were these people Jesus’ full brothers and sisters, because God and not Joseph was the true father of Jesus. In this Jesus was truly the One and Only.
In another sense, the Bible says that we are Jesus’ brothers and sisters; for example, Romans 8:14 says that those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God, and Galatians 3:26 says we are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. But in very obvious ways, He is not at all like us. He is God, eternal, perfectly holy, glorious, not just without equal but without words that can do Him justice and certainly there is no one who could remotely compare to Him. He is monogenes.
And today, this Sunday before Easter, we will look at Him as the Crucified One. I would like to read a major chunk of the crucifixion account from the Book of John, so that we have the big picture. First some background: Jesus had gone, not for the first time, with His disciples to an olive grove to pray. Judas knew the place, and went with soldiers and Temple officials there to arrest Jesus. They did so, and Simon, being, well, Simon, picked up a sword and cut off the ear of a servant of the high priest. Jesus rebuked Simon and healed the servant’s ear. Then they arrested Jesus, bound Him, and brought Him to Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest Caiaphas. During questioning, an official struck Jesus in the face, angry that Jesus did not seem to give the proper respect. Jesus’ response to the official was to ask if He had said anything wrong, that He had spoken the truth. And Annas then sent Jesus, still bound, to Caiaphas. After Caiaphas questioned Him, it was on to the palace of the Roman governor.
By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked, "What charges are you bringing against this man?" – John 18:28-29
"If He were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed Him over to you." Pilate said, "Take Him yourselves and judge Him by your own law." "But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected. This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled. – John 18:30-32
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked Him, "Are You the king of the Jews?" "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about Me?" "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed You over to me. What is it You have done?" – John 18:33-35
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is from another place." "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me." – John 18:36-37
"What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against Him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?" They shouted back, "No, not Him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion. – John 18:38-40
Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head. They clothed Him in a purple robe and went up to Him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck Him in the face. – John 19:1-3
Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" – John 19:4-5
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw Him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!"But Pilate answered, "You take Him and crucify Him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against Him." The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God." – John 19:6-7
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. "Where do You come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer."Do You refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't You realize I have power either to free You or to crucify You?" – John 19:8-10
Jesus answered, "You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar." – John 19:11-12
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews. – John 19:13-14
But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed Him over to them to be crucified. – John 19:15-16
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying His own cross, He went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified Him, and with Him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. – John 19:17-18
Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews." Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written." – John 19:19-22
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. – John 19:23
"Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided My garments among them and cast lots for My clothing." So this is what the soldiers did. – John 19:24
Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. – John 19:25-27
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. – John 19:28-30
Reading through the passage, I am struck by all the varied reactions of the various people affected by the events of that night and day. I think of the servant of the high priest, going from the intense pain of his injuries by Peter’s sword to instant healing to watching events unfold and end with Jesus’ horrible death. I think of Judas, overwhelmed by Satan and betraying Jesus with a kiss, later to die in agony himself. I think of Peter, going from being rebuked by Jesus for his sword work, to denying Jesus three times and despairing at the sound of the rooster crowing.
I think of the temple official who dared to strike God the Son, demanding respect – if he only knew what he was doing! I think of Pilate, who saw truth as only a political tool, and who was simply trying to look out for number one (himself) in the events of that day, and I think about the joy it gave him to yank the Jew’s chain with that clever sign that said, King of the Jews in three languages. If he only knew the truth of what he had made to be written there!
I think of the crowds whipped into a frenzy, eager to see Jesus crucified. How much or how little did they really understand?
I think of the soldiers who carried out these horrific things on Jesus. Was it just another day at the office for them? Some of them enjoyed their work. What had they done to their consciences? What had Rome done to them?
I think of the friends of Jesus, especially the women, who watched at a distance as Jesus, up on the cross, spent moment after moment, breath after breath, in agony. I think especially of Mary, the one who had been warned years ago, that Jesus would reveal the hidden thoughts of many hearts, and that a sword would pierce her own soul, too. I cannot begin to imagine how she felt when Jesus told her that He would no longer be her son, that another disciple would take His place.
What was it like to be that disciple – most likely John – to hear these same words? How could this man, far more than a man, John’s whole purpose for living these last few years, be about to die? This was all wrong! This couldn’t be really happening!
One more person we have not talked about – Jesus Himself. What was this day like for Him? Well, quite literally, it was excruciating – that is a word that means “from out of the cross.” The physical pain was unimaginable. From the brutal, nearly fatal lashings, to having nails driven through your flesh, to being raised up on the cross – everything about the events of a crucifixion was designed to cause as much pain and suffering as possible. If you have ever heard a medical description of what it would be like to hang on a cross, you know that every breath was torture. There was simply no way to take another breath without lifting yourself up to do it, resulting in severe rubbing on your back – the back that had just received the brutal lashings – and resulting in intense pain at the locations of the nails. Every breath was a decision about whether to go through all that pain again or to just let yourself suffocate. Of course, if you try to let yourself suffocate, eventually your body takes over and forces you to go through all that pain to take another breath anyway. There is just no way to adequately describe what this suffering must have been like.
Yet in the midst of this I am struck by Jesus’ conversations – with the robber who has faith in the end, with the disciple He chose to take care of His mother after He died – Jesus, in the midst of unimaginable agony, was still constantly thinking about and caring for others. Indeed we must remember that to be there on that cross was His choice. He was the Crucified One by choice! Why? Because He wanted to obey His Father to the end. What did He say in the garden of Gethsemane?
He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him. And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. – Luke 22:41-44
Jesus was determined to obey His Father to the end, no matter how hard it was. It is one thing to endure a horrible thing when you don’t have any choice – for example, if you are diagnosed with an illness, you can pray for healing but if God chooses not to heal, there isn’t much more for you to do but simply submit and choose to remain in faith – to believe that God is still good, that He knows what is best, that He still loves you. This is not easy; it can be quite difficult, but it doesn’t even begin to compare to the situation Jesus was in. He didn’t have to submit. Imagine choosing to remain succumbing to cancer when at any second you could choose to heal yourself! This was Jesus’ situation. He had to actively, continually choose to stay on that cross!
And as unimaginably horrible as the physicality of that cross was, there was something infinitely worse going on: God the Father was separating Himself from God the Son. Jesus felt the punishment people feel in Hell – the pain of separation from God. Actually what Jesus felt was even worse – He had known intimate fellowship with the Father before this, and now it was gone. I think that people who go to Hell, in a sense, don’t know what they are missing – they do know what they have lost in an intellectual and emotional sense, but not in an experiential sense. Jesus knew. This is why He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
And during all this, He had to choose, moment by moment, to stay on that cross. This is why, I believe, at the end, He said, “It is finished.” What was finished? The constant battle to stay submitted to God’s will.
And speaking of God’s will, there is one additional Person I think we should talk about – God the Father. What was it like for Him to see Jesus, the monogenes, His only Son, Whom He loves, on that cross?
Isaiah 53:10 says, in the NIV,
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand. – Isaiah 53:10 (NIV)
Although this translation is not incorrect, it is somewhat weak in its choice of words. Listen to this in the KJV:
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief; when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sins, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. – Isaiah 53:10 (KJV)
There is a word in the KJV that really disturbs me, the word pleased. Is this just a KJV idiom? No, it is really there in the Hebrew. The word is chafayts, (chet fay tsadik), and it means to delight in, to take pleasure in, to be pleased with. God took pleasure in seeing Jesus on the cross? It delighted Him? Am I the only one who is disturbed by this?
In case you think this word doesn’t really mean to “delight in,” look at these examples of this word elsewhere in Scripture:
If the Lord delights in us, He will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey. – Num. 14:8
He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me. – Psalm 18:19
But let him who boasts boast about this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord. – Jer. 9:24
So back to the Isaiah passage:
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief; when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sink, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. – Isaiah 53:10 (KJV)
It delighted the Lord to do this to His Only Son! There are several important implications of this:
First, who crucified Jesus? Was it the Jewish leaders? Or was it the Romans? Ultimately, it was neither. It was God the Father. Let that sink in for a minute.
Now, think back to Genesis, the story of God telling Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Remember it? God stopped it at the last moment and said that He would provide. Understand that Isaac was truly Abraham’s “one and only,” his monogenes, much like Jesus was God’s. The connections here are no accident, no coincidence. In fact, listen to the end of the story:
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided." – Genesis 22:13-14
Do you know where this is? Mount Moriah (Gen. 22:2). Did you know that this is the same mountain where the Temple was built; that is, Mount Moriah is Jerusalem and the region surrounding it?
Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David. – 2 Chron. 3:1
This means that quite literally, on this mountain, the Lord did provide! Let that sink in for a minute.
And as Isaiah tells us, God the Father did it willingly, even joyfully! Even though Jesus was the One and Only to God the Father, with joy He gave Him up; with joy He crucified His own Son!
But how could the Father delight in the death of His Son? How could this possibly bring Him joy? Look at the verse again:
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief; when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sins, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. – Isaiah 53:10 (KJV)
I do not think we should make the mistake to think that there was only joy in the sacrifice; certainly there was unimaginable anguish for God the Father. But there was joy in the offering, because He knew what it would accomplish. And what would it accomplish? It would save us.
We must never forget the point of the crucifixion; Jesus died to save sinners. That’s us! God the Father sent Jesus to die to save us, because He loves us that much! It’s incomprehensible, isn’t it? It is shocking.
One translation of Hebrews 10:20 says this:
We can enter through a new and living way that Jesus opened for us. It leads through the curtain – Christ’s body. – Hebr. 10:20
Do you realize how shocking this really is? Enter into the Holy of Holies? Us? Don’t you know what happened to people who went past that curtain, even the priests, if they didn’t do everything right? And yet, that giant, imposing curtain is gone. It was torn in two from top to bottom. The new Curtain has scars on its hands and feet, and a healed hole in its side. The new curtain is the Crucified One, and it is always open to us, by faith.
Although we cannot really understand the depths of God’s love for us, a love that would lead God the Father to sacrifice His monogenes for us, we can be thankful. We can choose to live for Him. We can choose to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to Him. We can choose to walk with Him, day by day, even hour by hour. We can choose to value His love over anything this world has to offer.
Before we pray, I want to close with a passage from He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado that I think is very appropriate. In this chapter, he starts with a fictitious story about someone trying to meet the President. He comes to the White House gate. He has even brought cookies to share with the President. Of course, he can’t go see the President. You and I can’t just go see the President. We could request all we want, talking to whoever we want, but it just isn’t going to happen. Anyway, here is the excerpt from Lucado’s book:
"We are welcome to enter into God’s presence – any day, any time. God has removed the barrier that separates us from Him. The barrier of sin? Down. He has removed the curtain.
But we have a tendency to put the barrier back up. Thought there is no curtain in the temple, there is a curtain in the heart. Like the ticks on the clock are the mistakes of the heart. And sometimes, no, oftentimes, we allow these mistakes to keep us from God. Our guilty conscience becomes a curtain that separates us from God.
"As a result we hide from our Master.
"'That’s exactly what my dog, Salty, does. He knows he isn’t supposed to get into the trash. But let the house be human free, and the dark side of Salty takes over. If there is food in a trash can, the temptation is too great. He will find it and feast.
"That’s what he had done the other day. When I came home, he was nowhere to be found. I saw the toppled trash, but I didn’t see Salty. At first I got mad, but I got over it. If I was cooped up all day with only dog food to eat, I might rummage a bit myself. I cleaned up the mess and went about the day and forgot about it.
"Salty didn’t. He kept his distance. When I finally saw him, his tail was between his legs, and his ears were drooping. Then I realized, “He thinks I’m mad at him. He doesn’t know I’ve already dealt with his mistake.”
"May I state the obvious application? God isn’t angry with you. He has already dealt with your mistake.
"Somewhere, sometime, somehow you got tangled up in garbage, and you’ve been avoiding God. You’ve allowed a veil of guilt to come between you and your Father. You wonder if you could ever feel close to God again. The message of the torn flesh is you can. God welcomes you. God is not avoiding you. God is not resisting you. The curtain is down, the door is open, and God invites you in.'
"Don’t trust your conscience. Trust the cross. The blood has been spilt and the veil has been split. You are welcome in God’s presence. And you don’t even have to bring cookies."
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