The Crucifixion, Death and Burial of Jesus (Part II)
John 19:17-42
November 27, 2005


Today’s message is again from John 19:17-42 – actually, 19:16b-42. This passage tells us about the crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus and the events connected with these things. Last week I talked about Jesus’s crucifixion. This week I’m going to talk about his death and burial.  We’ll read the whole passage, but I’m just going to talk about verses 28 through 42. As we read the passage, remember that we are reading the word of God, which is able to make you wise for salvation, according to 2 Timothy 3:15.

Also, as always, I encourage you to read your Bible every day. Do you read your Bible every day? Do your read it most days? Do you read it some days? Do you really seek to understand what you are reading through prayer –asking God to show you what he wants you to learn –and through careful thought? You need the word of God to sustain your life!

[Prayer]

Let’s read the passage, John 19:16b-42. This starts right after Pilate turned Jesus over to be crucified:

The Crucifixion
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18Here they crucified him, and with him two others– one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
19Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the. jews. 20Many 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. 21The 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.”
22Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23When 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.
24 “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.
25Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” 27and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

The Death of Jesus
28Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29A 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. 30When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31Now 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. 32The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35The 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. 36These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

The Burial of Jesus
38Later, 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. 39He 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. 40Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41At 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. 42Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:16b-42 –NIV)

Before I go on to today’s part of the passage, let me review what happened up to this point –and I could start with “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” because all of history was leading up to this point! But I’ll start with the Jewish leaders finding Jesus guilty of blasphemy because he was claiming to be the Son of God. They found Jesus guilty even though he was completely innocent. In fact he was the only man in history who was completely innocent before God. He was the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice for sin – for our sin. He was without any flaw or blemish.

The Jewish leaders turned Jesus over to Pilate, the Roman governor, to be crucified, but Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent of anything deserving death. he had Jesus scourged in the hope that that would satisfy them – but it didn’t. Finally, he gave in to their demands because it was better to avoid trouble than to do what he knew was right. (How often do we do the same thing –even when it is a matter of life and death – even when it is a matter of eternal life or eternal death? How often do we do the same thing?)

Jesus was nailed to the cross. He was crucified between two criminals. Though he was innocent, he was made guilty for us –for our sin. He was numbered with the transgressors. He bore the sin of many.

When they crucified Jesus, he asked the Father to forgive them. He did this while he was on the cross suffering in agony. (The people Jesus prayed for were indeed forgiven for crucifying Jesus. God always hears Jesus’s prayers. He hears them now when Jesus intercedes on our behalf also.)

While Jesus was on the cross, the soldiers divided his garments among them and cast lots for his clothing, in fulfillment of the prophecy that King David had written a thousand years earlier.

While Jesus was on the cross, he also arranged for the apostle John, who wrote this book that we are studying, to take care of his mother. From that time on, John took Mary into his home.

That brings us to today’s part of the passage.

As I’ve been doing, I’m going to fill in from the other gospel, from Matthew, Mark and Luke. Today’s part of the passage starts with verse 28 where the NIV has the title, The Death of Jesus. Verse 28 says, “Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’” But quite a few things happened between the time when Jesus arranged for John to take care of his mother and when he said “I am thirsty.”

The other gospel accounts tell us that the people passing by insulted Jesus and the Jewish leaders also. Even the two criminals insulted him. Listen to Mark 15:29-32:

29Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30come down from the cross and save yourself!”
31In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. (Mark 15:29-32 –NIV)

Even the two criminals heaped insults on Jesus. But Luke tells us that one of the changed his mind. (Do you know what the theological word for changing you mind is? It’s repent! One of the criminals repented!) Here’s what Luke says:

39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
40But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43 – NIV)

The first criminal said, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” This is not a plea for salvation, but sarcasm, cynicism and bitterness. Luke says it was an insult. This man was dying, and yet he was determined to ridicule Jesus with his last few breaths. It’s what pride does to you. Get rid of all pride.

The first criminal was insulting Jesus, but the other criminal, who, according to the other gospel writers had also insulted Jesus, changed his mind. He rebuked the first criminal. He said, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Actually, I don’t think he changed his mind. I think he understood the situation right along, but had initially just gone along with what everyone else was doing. They were insulting Jesus.

Have you ever been in a situation where you just went along with what everyone else was saying or doing even though you knew it was wrong …and then overcame and stood up for the truth? (To our shame, a lot of the time we just go along with what we know is wrong and never stand up for the truth.) In any case, the second criminal did stand up for the truth. He rebuked the first criminal! And then he became even bolder. He asked Jesus to save him! “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

This episode, these few short verses, never cease to amaze me. How simple it was for this man to “cross over from death to life!” This man – this unnamed man –was dying on his cross. He knew he was being justly punished –that he was receiving the punishment that his deeds deserved – a cruel and painful death. He also knew that Jesus was completely innocent.

But what’s really amazing is that this criminal, who was dying, could say to the man who was dying on the cross right next to him, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He didn’t call Jesus Lord and he didn’t call him master; he simply called him Jesus: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” But he knew that Jesus would inherit the kingdom of God. He knew that Jesus would reign. He knew that Jesus, who was hanging on the cross, had the power of life and death. Pilate had told Jesus, “Don’t you realize that I have power to free you or to crucify you?” But this criminal knew that Jesus, even while he was hanging on the cross, had power that made Pilate’s power and authority absolutely insignificant by comparison! The man said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

All these things I’ve talked about so far happened before noon. Jesus was put on the cross at the third hour of the day, 9:00 AM. At noon, it became dark. The sun ceased to shine.

After this, according to Matthew and Mark, Jesus said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Do you remember that I talked about the prophecies from Psalm 22 the last couple of weeks …the prophecies where King David wrote, “They have pierced my hands and my feet” and “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing”? Well listen to verse 1 of that same Psalm, Psalm 22. Here’s what it says: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?” The reason God the Father turned away from his Son whom he loved was because Jesus had taken on the guilt of all the sin that had ever been committed or even would be committed against God in this sinful world. Jesus became guilty of the sin of Adam and Eve, who were the first to disobey God, and of the sin of their son Cain, who murdered his brother Abel out of envy. He became guilty of the sin of Pharaoh, who had enslaved the Israelites and refused to let them go, even though the Lord had brought ten plagues of ever increasing severity upon Egypt. He became guilty of the sin of David, who committed adultery and murder, but was forgiven when he confessed his sin. He was forgiven because of the blood of Jesus.

Jesus became guilty of the sin of the Jewish leaders who persuaded Pilate to crucify him, even though he was completely innocent of any wrongdoing. It was because of the shedding of his blood that he was able to ask his Father to forgive them. He became guilty of Pilate’s sin also and of the sin of two men on the crosses on either side of him. It was because of the shedding of his blood that Jesus was able to forgive the man who asked him to “remember me when you came into your kingdom.”

Jesus became guilty of the sin of the Roman emperors who persecuted the Christians to death. He became guilty of the sin of Stalin and of Hitler who presided over the murder of millions of people. And, brothers and sisters, he became guilty of your sin and my sin too. The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. The apostle John says so in 1 John 2:2.

Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, but I have to say something: There isn’t universal salvation. You have to ask, just as the criminal on the cross next to Jesus did. And we have to admit that we have sinned. John says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8, 9) We are all the criminal on the cross. We are all dying, just not as fast as he was. The criminal on the cross admitted that he was a sinner worthy of the cruel death he was suffering. You have to admit you are a sinner worthy of death. And you have to ask for God’s salvation. Judas admitted that he had sinned when he betrayed Jesus, but did not ask for salvation. The criminal on the cross asked to be saved: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” I quoted what the apostle Paul said: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Let me quote what he said immediately before that: “We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.” “We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

Now we come to the first verse of today’s part of the passage, verse 28. All that I have talked about up to this point, John chose to leave out, although he was apparently there the whole time. Verses 28 and 29 say, “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.” Jesus knew that all was completed – that he had done all that was required to secure our salvation. But he did one more thing. He said he was thirsty so that one more prophecy could be fulfilled. Psalm 69:20, 21 says, “Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.”

John says that Jesus received the drink, said, “It is finished,” bowed his head and gave up his spirit. The other gospel accounts tell us that, at this time, there was an earthquake, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom and that it became light again.

I want to say something about the curtain of the temple. The curtain of the temple was what divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The Most Holy Place was behind the Holy Place and you had to get to it from the Holy Place by going beyond the curtain. The Most Holy Place was where the Ark of the Covenant resided. On top of the Ark of the Covenant was the mercy seat –the atonement cover. It was the place where the high priest came once a year to make atonement for the sins of Israel. He did this by bringing the blood of animals. If he didn’t do this properly and hadn’t gone through the proper purification rituals before hand, he would die. He had bells on his garments so that those on the outside could tell if he was still alive. They also tied a rope to his ankle so they could drag his body back out in case he did anything wrong.  Let me read to you what the writer of Hebrews says. This is from Hebrews 9:1-12:

1Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
6When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. 9This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings– external regulations applying until the time of the new order. 11When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:1-12 –NIV)

It was the second curtain that the writer of Hebrews spoke of that was torn in two from top to bottom, from heaven to earth. It was this curtain that divided Holy God from sinful man. Jesus entered the heavenly Most Holy Place with his own blood to make atonement for all of our sins. Now the curtain is gone and we can enter the Most Holy Place too and ask forgiveness for all of our sins. We can come directly to God because of the blood of Jesus. That’s what he wants us to do!

Now look at verses 31 through 37 in today’s passage. I’m going to mostly just read these verses and not say too much about them. John 19:31-37:

31Now 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. 32The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35The 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. 36These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.” (John 19:31-37 –NIV)

This is another fulfillment of prophecy. But I noticed something else. The reason they broke the legs of the men on the cross is so that they would die before the Sabbath and not be left on the crosses during the Sabbath. (It normally took more than one day for someone to die by crucifixion.) Breaking the men’s legs would mean that they would be supported by their arms and would have great difficulty breathing. It would hasten their death.

Now Jesus decided for himself when he would die. He died when his work was finished. But the other two men would have almost certainly lived into the next day. Here’s what I noticed. Jesus told the one man, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Today, not tomorrow or the next day! It may seem like a small thing, but Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen.

Now let’s look at the last five verses, verses 38 through 42. I’m going to read them:

38Later, 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. 39He 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. 40Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41At 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. 42Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:38-42 –NIV)


Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were secret disciples of Jesus. They were both members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council that had condemned Jesus to death. They did not vote for him to be condemned. Luke says that Joseph was a good and upright man and was looking forward to the coming of the kingdom of God.  I’m sure Nicodemus was too. When Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, he told Jesus, “We know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” (John 3:2) You know, the Jewish leaders who wanted Jesus dead did not even think it was necessary to bring up the question of whether or not Jesus was a man sent from God. They “knew” he wasn’t. They acknowledged that he had done miraculous signs too. But they “knew” he wasn’t a man sent from God.


But Nicodemus and Joseph had no trouble at all knowing that Jesus was sent by God. Something else you might notice is that, while most of the disciples ran away when Jesus was arrested and crucified, Joseph, even though he had been a secret disciple, became very bold and asked Pilate to be able to bury Jesus’s body. And he was buried in Joseph’s own tomb. And Joseph was rich.  Matthew 27:57-60 tells us this. Jesus was assigned a grave with the rich – one more prophecy fulfilled. (Isaiah 53:9)

This concludes my message. Jesus died for our sin. Because of his sacrifice, God is very willing to forgive our sin. All you have to do is admit that you have sinned and ask.

[Prayer]