Let's again take out our Bibles. Let's turn to John chapter 19. And we will start with the second half of verse 16 and read through verse 30. So John 19, 16b through verse 30. This is, again, God's holy, inspired, and inerrant Word. 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 priest of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write the King of the Jews, but rather this man said, I am the 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 was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said to one another, let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see whose it shall be. This was to fulfill the scripture, which says, they divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. 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 to his own home. After this Jesus, knowing that all was finished, said, to fulfill the scripture, I thirst. A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on his 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. Thus far the reading of God's holy, inspired, and inerrant word. You may be seated. Let's pray. Gracious God in heaven, we come before You, ready to hear Your Word, thankful for the reading of it, praying that You be with this, Your servant, who now preaches the Word. We ask, God, that You grant to us the ability to have attention paid to it, with all the distractions that may be around us. We pray that we might come to a greater understanding of the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus, the work that He finished for us. Bless us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. So, we are now coming to that portion of the narrative which records the crucifixion of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Perhaps something we've been anticipating throughout all of John's Gospel. Now the Bible, of course, doesn't tell us everything that transpired on that day. And John's account is itself rather sparse. But taken all together, there are seven sayings or words which Jesus spoke from the cross, and John records for us three of these. And so what we're looking at here is one eyewitness's perspective, which we will mostly confine ourselves to. Although I would encourage you to study the other gospel accounts as well to get a fuller picture of what is the most significant event in all of redemptive history. That is the crucifixion of Jesus. It is here at the cross that the redemptive mission of Jesus has come to its head. All was to be accomplished. The final words of our Lord as he hung on that tree are simply, it is finished. Indeed, the promised deliverance of God's people has come. The covenant of grace, first announced in the garden, where the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head, even as he bruised his heel, has come to pass. The promise of blessing to all the nations made to Abraham. The promise of a prophet who would be like Moses. The promise of the eternal King to David. The suffering servant of Isaiah. The death and resurrection and the sign of Jodah. And on and on it goes in Scripture. The whole of Scripture coming to its climax at the cross of Jesus. The Son of God, the second person of the Godhead, God, having taken on flesh, had come to die so that you, by faith in Him, might live. Jesus Christ's mission on earth was coming to its completion as He suffered the miserable, wretched death of crucifixion, one of the most inhumane and torturous forms of death that wicked men have ever devised. But it is also here, it is also here that we see the glory of God shine forth brightly. as His mercy and His grace and His love are poured out in such great abundance upon undeserving men and women like you and me. And so it is, after the trial of Jesus, under the judgment of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, a court case which was anything but just, anything but righteous, Jesus is then handed over to be crucified. And so, as we read in John, the soldiers took him. It would have been also at this point that the most severe of the scourgings would be administered. Jesus was beaten further into a bloody pulp and then led to Golgotha, which means the place of the skull carrying his own cross. Now the carrying of the cross being, this was a common Roman practice, for those who were to be crucified. A Roman historian, Plutarch, writes, quote, each criminal, as a part of his punishment, carries his cross on his back. So the condemned would have the cross member, that is the horizontal bar, laid upon his shoulder, and he was to carry it to the place of his execution. where the gibbet, that is the upright beam, would already be fastened to the ground. The victim was then made to lie on his back where his arms were stretched out and either tied or nailed to the cross beam that he had just carried. So the victim is carrying the instrument of his own death upon his back. The victim's feet were then fastened to the vertical beam, where they were sometimes placed a piece of wood, which would serve as something of a seat, but which would only partially support the victim's weight. This would allow the crucified to momentarily catch their breath, but not for mercy. This was not for mercy. This was actually designed to prolong the agony. The Synoptic Gospels report that the soldiers had commandeered one Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross beam for Jesus at one point. Despite the severe beatings, Jesus went out from the praetorium carrying the cross member. He carried it as far as the gate of the city, where he then collapsed from the pain and exhaustion, unable to carry it himself all the way. Christ bearing His own cross and then being hung on it brings to mind numerous Old Testament references. Death by crucifixion, of course, was itself a curse. Cursed is a man who hangs on a tree. Galatians 3.13 cites this reference from Deuteronomy 21.23. As Jesus bears His cross, He also bears with it the shame of His people, highlighting that indeed He is the suffering servant, which Isaiah speaks of. Jesus was greatly isolated in those moments. Matthew brings this out in the words of Jesus on the cross as He cries out, My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? Itself a quotation of Psalm 22, which we just read. Further, Jesus carried the cross outside of the city, bringing out another element of the curse. Just as sin offering of a bull or a goat, offered as an atonement for sin, was to be carried out of the camp. The offering was to go out of the camp. Examples of this are found in Exodus 29, Leviticus chapter 16. And so Jesus is carried. He goes out. He is executed. He is the offering outside of the camp. Outside of the gate of the city. In fact, the writer of Hebrews says, this is Hebrews 13, Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through His blood. Therefore, let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured. Now John omits mentioning Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross of Jesus, saying only that Jesus went out carrying his own cross. This is, by the way, not a contradiction of the other gospel accounts. Indeed, Jesus does go out carrying his own cross. But John's purpose is to focus on the sovereign part of the Father's plan and the Son's obedience to that plan. We know as well the spot where Jesus was crucified is called the Place of the Skull. The Place of the Skull. Now, some have suggested this place is called this because of its shape, although this isn't certain. We actually don't know exactly the spot where Jesus was crucified. In fact, the site itself is in doubt. We don't know the exact or precise location, although the most likely site seems to be near where the current Church of the Holy Septucle is located. So, it's probably close. But it was here in this public place, outside of the walls of the city of Jerusalem, where Jesus was to be crucified. He was to be hung out under the Judean sun as a spectacle for all to see. In the ancient world, the most terrible punishments were also associated with shame and horror. We should understand that crucifixion was brutal. Crucifixion was so brutal, in fact, such a horror, such a shameful thing, that no Roman citizen could ever be crucified without the sanction of the emperor himself. Typically, the victim was stripped naked. After having been beaten to a bloody pulp, they were then hung in humiliation in the hot sun for hours, sometimes even for days. In order to breathe, one would have to push up with his legs and pull with the arms to keep the chest cavity open, but the muscle spasms would be extremely excruciating, and over time, the person would become too weak and death would come by asphyxiation. John notes, as the other Gospels do, that Christ was crucified with two others. Matthew and Mark use the same words to describe them. The same word, by the way, used of Barabbas, translated as robbers, probably should be understood as guerrilla fighters, insurrectionists. They were insurrectionists, they were murderers, perhaps they were associates of Barabbas. Luke records the repentance of one of them. John only notes that Jesus was crucified between them. Humanly speaking, Jesus should not have been subjected to the torture which He endured. These other two men with Him, they deserved the punishment they received. There are not many forms of death which could be worse physically, emotionally, and spiritually than crucifixion was. Jesus was utterly humiliated. Jesus was crushed. And he did this willingly so that you and I, by faith in him, might be justified. This gives new color to the promise of Psalm 34, 18. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Jesus was crushed so that you might be saved. Pilate also had an inscription written on the cross which read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Again, as we've seen in John, Pilate does better than he intended. The reason that Pilate places his play card on the cross was this was the custom that the crime that the person had committed be displayed in some fashion. Once crucified, the sign is often fastened to the cross as it is in Jesus' case. As he went through the city, it was probably hung around his neck for all in the city to see as he makes his way to the place of his execution. The charge on the notice was that Jesus was the King of the Jews. And that was given in the main languages of the area. Greek, which was the common trade language of the empire. Latin, which was the official language of the Roman Empire. And then Aramaic, which was the common language of Judea. The Romans had a vested interest in ensuring that everyone knew the nature of the crime which was resulting in this punishment, thus serving as a warning to the populace, do not cross Rome. But the play card serves God's purposes too, doesn't it? Through his gospel, John has been developing the theme of Jesus' kingship. He is truly the King of the Jews. In fact, he is indeed the King of Kings. Pilate, despite himself, has done better than he intended. He's written up a charge in a way, for his own purposes, this was his last jab at the Jews who he despised. In fact, Pilate is taunting them with this. There's a sense in which he's a bit miffed. Because he was manipulated by their leadership. And so this is his last jab at them. The chief priests, though, took exception to the sign. Their protest shows that they feel the sting of Pilate's savage irony. And so they suggest an insertion. They wanted to say, this man said, I'm the king of the Jews. In other words, they wanted it to be said that Jesus claimed to be the King of the Jews, not that He was the King of the Jews. This, of course, would take from the governor his last bit of savage revenge. And so he stands firm, saying, what I have written, I have written. Pilate's spite against the chief priests and leaders of the Jews ends up serving God's purposes. The Lord Jesus Christ is the King of the Jews, and the cross was His means of exaltation. Jesus is lifted up on the tree for all to see, just as a serpent in the wilderness, and all who look upon Him are saved. The trilingual announcement serves as a proclamation to all the nations. All the nations are now being invited to look upon Jesus Christ, who is the King. Pilate, despite himself, is proclaiming among the nations the prophecy of Psalm 96, the Lord reigns. Yes, the world is established. It shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity. The Lord is King. Pilate is proclaiming to the nations. Oh, I just love John's irony. The two men most responsible for Jesus' immediate death, Caiaphas and Pilate, both unwittingly furthered God's redemptive purposes, and inadvertently served to fulfill the words of the prophets of the king that they execute. As one commentator put it, quote, the crucified one is the true king. The kingliest king of all. Because it is he who is stretched on the cross, he turns an obscene instrument of torture into a throne of glory and reigns from the tree. End quote. Jesus though is humiliated too. And the humiliation of the Son of God doesn't just end with the cross itself. John notes as well in verse 23, when the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier, and also his tunic. Now typically the clothes of the executed criminal became the fringe benefit of the executioner. Here the division of the spoils shows that there were four soldiers who were part of this execution squad. And when they come, though, to the tunic, they find that it's seamless and woven in one piece and they don't want to tear it apart. And so they decide to cast lots for it to determine whose it would be. Although this merciless bit of business was customary in ancient executions, In the case of Jesus, it is also the fulfillment of prophecy. John knows the fulfillment of Psalm 22, 18. Again, we read, "...they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." The psalmist has been afflicted by his enemies, he's in great distress, he's being mocked. and even uses the imagery of an execution scene in which the executioners are dividing his clothing, and this enlarges that sense of abandonment. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? But David writes in Psalm 22 as a foreshadowing of Christ in whom is found its fulfillment. What the soldiers did with merciless greed and unrestrained avarice, valuing the tunic over the life of the victim, God used to demonstrate again His power over events. Because David tells of a scene, he paints a picture of a scene which was a millennia or so prior. Or it would be later, rather. Indeed, as John notes, the soldiers did these things. But they did so in God's providence. In other words, they could not help but fulfill what God had foreordained. Whatever God foreordains will come to pass. In contrast, though, to the barbaric soldiers who were casting lots for items of clothing, there are also the women present, who John introduces in verse 25. And who wait in faithful devotion to the one whose death they can only understand as a tragedy. How many women John lists actually is in dispute. You could read it as two, three, or four. His most likely there are the four women. The synoptic mentions several women at the cross. It's difficult to identify with certainty, and this list shouldn't be considered to be exhaustive of all the women who were present. But there are a number of women, including his own mother. Here is the prophecy of Simeon given so many years before, when Jesus was presented to the temple as a baby coming to fulfillment, Luke 2, 34 and 35. Simeon, prophesying, said, Behold, this child, speaking of Jesus, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that it is opposed. And a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. So at the time in which Jesus hung on the cross, had crept by, the women were holding vigil. Perhaps they began to creep closer and closer to their Lord. And presumably as the women began to come closer and closer to the cross, Jesus catches a glimpse of his mother and the disciple whom he loved. And that of course is John himself. He's speaking of himself. They're standing by. And so he says to his mother, in verse 26, he says, Woman, behold your son. And then he says to the disciple, to John, he says, Behold your mother. And John tells us then, that from that hour, the disciple took her to his own home. Mary undoubtedly is a widow at this point. Possibly in her late 40's or early 50's. She would have had no income, no way to support herself. Now you might wonder, where are Jesus' brothers at this point? It may be the case that his brothers were not in Jerusalem at this time. We know that they weren't believers. They didn't believe in Jesus at this point. So they may have been at their home in Capernaum, and at any rate, they are completely unsympathetic to Jesus at this point. Their lack of faith in Jesus would not, of course, annul their family responsibilities or their legal claims, but this is not a legal scene. Here, what Jesus is doing is displaying tender care for his mother. He's fulfilling the demands of Scripture. So even in this darkest hour, Jesus is ensuring that his mother would be cared for by the disciple whom he loved. Jesus says, woman, behold your son. It's difficult for us to understand this language in our modern day, but to say woman, this was an honorific title. This was a title also of endearment. Jesus spoke this way at the wedding feast at Canaan. He also spoke this way to the woman caught in adultery. He's honoring her in speaking this way. He's speaking to his mother tenderly. He's speaking to her with great respect. And he's ensuring that she would be cared for after he departs. John, who is the disciple whom he loved, John was to look after the Lord's mother and so he does this. He takes her into his home and cares for her as if she were his own mother. Mary had come to Jesus before, not as his mother, but as his fellow disciple. She is a disciple of Jesus also. And the blessing she receives is on one hand, even as she's losing Jesus, right? She's also gaining a son here. She's getting John. This is another manifestation of the truth articulated in Matthew chapter 19. And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or fathers, or mother, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. Jesus is ensuring his mother is cared for. And he's also ensuring that John is cared for as well. After having committed his mother to John's care, knowing that all was now finished, he says in fulfillment of scripture, I thirst. Although others, we've seen this over and over again, have unwittingly fulfilled the promises of Scripture. Pilate has unwittingly fulfilled Scripture. The soldiers were unwittingly fulfilling Scripture. Jesus is fully aware of God's divine plan. The Psalms of David are on his mind. All that the Scriptures have spoken concerning the Son have come to pass. Even Psalm 69, 21, which speaks of the thirst being quenched with sour wine. Jesus had one more proclamation to make. But he would have been terribly dehydrated from hanging on the cross under the near eastern sun, and so he simply states, I thirst. On hand was a jar of sour wine, a cheap drink used by soldiers. Now this is not to be confused with the wine mixed with myrrh which some kindly people had offered to Jesus on his way to Golgotha. Myrrh is a sedative. It would have been used to dull the agony. This Jesus had refused to drink. Jesus intended to drink the cup of suffering that the Father had assigned to Him. He intended to drink that cup down to the dregs. The wine vinegar on the other hand, the sour wine offered, this was not as sedative. It would not lessen the pain, but would in fact prolong life, and indeed prolong the suffering. So a sponge full of the sour wine is offered on the hyssop branch. And Jesus is able to take a little bit of that to relieve his thirst. And after receiving that sour wine, he then makes his final statement from the cross, crying out with a loud voice, he says simply, it is finished. After which he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. This cry of Jesus is not a cry of defeat. This is not an announcement of his imminent death. This is an announcement of completion. All that Jesus had set out to accomplish, the mission for which Jesus was sent from the Father, is now finished. Jesus had completed the task assigned to Him. Jesus had come to save sinners. He had come to be the atoning sacrifice for sin, and at the cross, Jesus was completing His work. As Jesus had prayed in his high priestly prayer, preparing for the work which he was to do, he prayed, I glorify you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. John 17, 4. John 13, 1 said, And when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. Jesus not only loved his own to the end, he loved them to the fullest extent possible. As was called for by his mission. Jesus had come to drink the cup of God's wrath. He had come to set the captives free. He had come as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He had come as the Good Shepherd. He had come as the light of the world, the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus had come as the bread of life and the light of men. Christ had been born of a virgin, born under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons, having fulfilled the mandates of the law. He became a curse for us. In every possible way, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had finished His work. And so, recognizing the full completion of His redemptive mandate, Jesus declared this to be so, and then, bowing His head, gave up His spirit. Now, giving up His Spirit, this is not the Holy Spirit. This is His human Spirit, which we talked about in our Sunday School today. No one took Jesus' life. Rather, Jesus laid it down of His own accord, even to the end. Only He had the authority to lay it down. And so, in His final act of obedience to the Father, Jesus gave up His Spirit from the body and returned to the Father. His body to rest in the grave until the resurrection on the third day. In the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the whole of the promises of redemption come to their fruition. It is at Calvary that the history of redemption reaches its climax, for it is here that the sins of God's elect are atoned for. The horrors which Jesus endured were for your benefit. Through the Son of God's work, you have an inheritance of eternal life, you have the adoption as sons, and you have all of the spiritual benefits which come from that redemption. And this is totally undeserved on our part. And John tells us of these things. In fact, everything he wrote in this gospel was so that we might believe, and believing we might have eternal life. Understand, a justification is by faith in Jesus Christ, crucified and raised for us. We cannot work our way to heaven. If we thought we could add to, or somehow we needed to do something more to earn our salvation, then what we're saying is that what Jesus endured, the horrors that Jesus endured, well that's just not enough. There needed to be more done. Consider the arrogance of that. Beloved congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, remember, and rest in your Savior, who endured the wretchedness of the cross, the humiliation for your benefit, for your salvation. And look forward. Look forward with joy for that day when He returns again in glory, when the dead are raised, and we abide with Him eternally in the new heavens and the new earth. But for now we wait in hopeful expectation for what is to come and proclaim this gospel to the nations that we might rejoice in our Savior and in our God. As we will sing in just a moment, my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. Our hope, beloved congregation, our rest, our comfort, even our very life is in the King of Kings. There is no one else, there is salvation found in no other name than the Lord Jesus Christ who died for you. Let's pray. Gracious God in heaven. We are moved, even to tears, as we consider the horrors which the Son of God endured. And yet, this was done willingly and joyfully, so that his people might be saved. Thank you, God, for your undeserving grace, unmerited on our behalf. But Jesus did this for us. Help us to be joyful people in this as we consider these truths, as we consider the fulfillment of Your Word, as we consider all that Jesus endured and He did this with great joy. May we take great joy in what has been done for us. May we be humbled in it. May we live every day acknowledging in desiring to have our own lives living in obedience to You. May we rest in our Savior Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.