Jesus Crucified on the Cross (John 19:1-42)

Jesus Crucified on the Cross

 

John 19:1-42

 

Today we are going to think about the event that Jesus was crucified on a cross. Different from other stories in the Bible, the process that Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified is described quite graphically. Reading this text, we feel like watching a high-resolution film. This story can be summarized: “Sinless Jesus was condemned as a sinner and was crucified on a cross together with other criminals.” Jesus’ suffering on the cross is a crucial part of the Christian gospel in many ways. What is especially meaningful is that this event reveals people’s sins. Figuratively saying, Jesus’ suffering on the cross is a vivid painting of the scarlet sins of the world on a white paper, painted by Jesus, who is as pure as snow, using his own blood. Therefore, by studying this chapter, we can see the hidden reality of our sins. And without knowing this reality of our sins, we cannot figure out at all the grace of Jesus who died for the sins.

 

 

In today’s text, we can find three groups of people who were involved in the process until Jesus was crucified. The first is the high priests, the second Pilate, and the third the soldiers. Jesus was first tried by High Priest Annas (the father-in-law of High Priest Caiaphas) (John 18:12-13; 19-24). Then, Jesus was handed over to Pilate, the Roman governor, and questioned by him (18:33-38; 19:8-13). After all, succumbing to pressure from the Jews, Pilate handed Jesus over to the soldiers, and they crucified Jesus together with two other criminals. The soldiers’ behaviors described in this text are violent and cruel. They flogged Jesus, and put a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head. They struck Jesus in the face, and mocked him, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” When they crucified Jesus, they divided Jesus’ clothes, and cast lots for Jesus’ undergarment. For them, violence was part of their everyday life. They were able to do giggling at and mocking one in unbearable pains, and having fun in front of a dying person. On the other hand, Pilate, who was the governor of Judea, was responsible to execute “justice” among the people. There couldn’t be anything more important than this duty for him who was ruling the land. But he didn’t release Jesus immediately although he found that Jesus was innocent. Furthermore, he knew that it was out of envy that the High Priests and the elders handed Jesus over to him (Matthew 27:18). Nevertheless, he gave up justice for his own political interest, and handed Jesus, the victim, over to be crucified instead of punishing the offenders of false accusation. The sins of the solders and Pilate were quite naked, clear, and thick. But Jesus said to Pilate, “The one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin” (19:11).

 

At the top of this “sin chain” are the high priests. Surprisingly, they were the most righteous and holiest ones. In today’s text as well, we can see how much they were struggling to keep their religious cleanness. According to 18:28, the Jews led Jesus from High Priest Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. There, “they did not enter the palace in order to avoid ceremonial uncleanness; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.” They refused to enter the office of Pilate, the Gentile, so that they, in cleanness, would be able to celebrate the Passover. According to 19:31, moreover, they demanded Pilate to remove the bodies on the crosses before the Sabbath, which was a special Sabbath that should be kept from any unclean things. We can also understand it the same way that they handed Jesus over to Pilate instead of killing him by themselves. They didn’t want to have Jesus’ blood on their hands. They wanted Jesus’ death, but they didn’t want to commit the sin of killing him in their own hands. So they used Pilate, the foolish and fearful governor, and his violent soldiers. The high priests’ clever scheme was very successful. They were able to remove Jesus without a drop of Jesus’ blood on their hands. They could maintain their “cleanness.” Still Jesus says, “The one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

 

If the sins of Pilate and his soldiers are naked and clear, the sin of the high priests is hidden in their hearts. And it is “their deceitful and murderous heart.” Deceitful and murderous heart is the spirit of sin. While Pilate and his soldiers carried out sinful acts, the high priests’ deceitful and murderous heart was the spirit of sin that fueled the happening of such sinful acts. Therefore, their sin is greater. In 18:29, Pilate asked the Jews who led Jesus to him, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” To this question, they answered, “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” They didn’t have any charge against Jesus. So they just branded Jesus “criminal.” As Pilate didn’t accept Jesus’ guiltiness, they accused Jesus as “self-proclaimed King of the Jews,” and proclaimed, “We have no king but Caesar” (19:15). They also threatened Pilate, saying, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar” (19:12). Of course, this was a lie too obvious. They didn’t respect Roman Emperor Caesar, and they were never willing to be the Emperor’s loyal subjects. They were quite free in telling lies. They didn’t mind telling any lie as long as it was useful for achieving their evil desires. And their only purpose of doing all these evils was satisfying their murderous heart to kill the Lord. On handing Jesus over to Pilate, they said, “We have no right to execute anyone.” In their mind, they already sentenced death to Jesus. This shows that they had firmly resolved to remove Jesus. As their murderous heart grew fiercer, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” (19:6). As St. Paul said, “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood.” (Romans 3:13-15).

 

A fearful fact is that these people are the most wicked sinners and, at the same time, wearing the holist dress of the high priest. This is actually one of the core characteristics of the Devil. In 2Corinthians 11:13-15, Paul, with regard to the false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ, says, “No wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” In a sense, Satan “does not commit sin by itself.” Rather, the Devil makes people commit sins, and again it accuses them before God for their sins. The Devil tempted the man and woman in the Garden to disobey God’s commandment, and it also incited King David to take a census of Israel, which God was not happy with (1Chronicles 21:1). Satan falsely accused Job, the righteous man of God, and accused Joshua, God’s servant, for his filthy clothes (Zechariah 3:1). Satan’s works are too subtle and deceitful for us to identify and defeat. What is more, it acts as “a righteous authority” among us, and does evils using those with weak conscience, those who are fearful, and those who are ignorant. The high priests in this text were the children of the Devil (John 8:44). As their sin grew ever and ever bigger, they finally came to crucify the Son of God.

 

In this way, Jesus was handed over from sinners to sinners and, at last, down to the cross. This process exposes the wickedness of human sins so clearly that it was no longer excusable. Jesus, who became a victim of this wickedness, should be sad and miserable as that much. But Jesus was not. As much as human sins were revealed clearly, Jesus’ “flag” was also raised high. And the flag is “Truth and Love.” Jesus’ suffering on the cross uncovered people’s sins but, at the same time, it became the fulfillment of God’s wills through the Lord. When the Jews handed Jesus over to Pilate and tried to kill the Lord using Pilate’s hand, the gospel writer says, “This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die” (18:32). When the soldiers divided Jesus’ clothes, and cast lots for his undergarment, it fulfilled the scripture saying, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment” (19:24). Jesus also fulfilled the Scripture by saying, “I am thirsty,” and receiving the drink of wine vinegar (19:28-29). When Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross, the soldiers didn’t break his legs against their customary practice, and instead, one of them pierced Jesus’ side with a spear. Through this, the scripture “Not one of his bones will be broken” was fulfilled, and so was another scripture “They will look on the one they have pierced” (19:31-37). Every step of Jesus’ life was following God’s Word. Just before he gave up his spirit, Jesus said, “It is finished.” Jesus’ life was purely the “fulfillment of God’s Word.” In his conversation with Pilate, Jesus said, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37). Jesus said that the purpose of his coming into the world was “to testify to the truth.” What is “the truth” mentioned by Jesus? This truth is “the truth of God.” It includes God’s law, God’s judgement, what is pleasing to God, what is to be done by God, and so on. And all these truths are eternal, and they become the foundation of our eternal life. Jesus became the truth as he offered his body and soul for the fulfillment of God’s will, and his life revealed the way of pleasing God the Father. In 1Peter 2:7, the apostle said on Jesus Christ, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” Jesus was rejected by the high priests and people in the world. They condemned Jesus as “false son of God” and “false king of the Jews,” and crucified him on the cross. They despised Jesus as “a criminal hated and cursed by God,” and kicked him out of the city gate. But surprisingly, Jesus was found “genuine.” In fact, he was “the living Stone chosen by God and precious to him” (1Peter 2:4). God raised him from the dead, and proved that he is His Son, whom He loves and with him He is well pleased. In other words, God proved that Jesus was God’s truth. Now through Jesus, God’s truth was revealed clearly in the world. For Jesus, the truth of God was much more important than his own life. Actually, the truth of God was his life. And Jesus, by obeying and testifying to the truth, lets us know that the truth is also our lives. And he is urging us to receive his testimony sealed with his blood.

 

Jesus also raised high the “flag of love” on his way to the cross. When Jesus was suffering on the cross, beside him were those who were loved by the Lord. They were Jesus’ mother Mary, the mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, Mary Magdalene, and John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” When Jesus saw his mother, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to John, he said, “Here is your mother.” John took her into his home. There were also episodes after Jesus died on the cross. Joseph of Arimathea had been a disciple of Jesus, but he followed Jesus secretly because he feared the Jews. After Jesus died on the cross, however, he came forward boldly to Pilate, and asked Jesus’ body. And with Pilate’s permission, he took the body away and buried the body according to the Jewish burial custom. Moreover, Nicodemus, the Pharisee who had visited Jesus at night in order to avoid people’s eyes, brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes about seventy-five pounds to be used for Jesus’ body. Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross was truly a pain, fear, and darkness. It was an extreme situation that paralyzes people’s souls. But in the total darkness, there were some people who rather woke up from fear and were moving and working alive. What was the power that raised them alive? It was “love.” It was the love that Jesus showed to his people and that Jesus encouraged them to do one another. Ironically, Jesus’ death on the cross was the moment when love overcame fear, love defeated fear, and love overwhelmed and devoured fear. And now fear has gone, and only Jesus’ “flag of love” is standing high. In 1John 4:18, Apostle John says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” In our eyes, all the people look moving alive, but it is not the case. Some people are moving out of love, and some out of fear. And in God’s eyes, those who are chased by fear are not “living souls” and they can never be “whole beings” before God. Jesus is “God’s perfect love.” And this love makes us whole and confident before God. Jesus’ love is shining even more brightly in the middle of sufferings. Looking up her son dying on the cross, Mary would suffer a pain as severe as that of Jesus on the cross. Jesus embraced Mary, comforted her, and took care of her gently. Mother’s love is great, but Jesus’ love is even greater enough to soothe the mother’s broken heart. Between Jesus and Mary was “pain” but not “fear and sorrow.” Rather, there was “love” between them. The love is pure and eternal, so it becomes our joy, our strength, our light, and our life. In this love, the Lord and his beloved people continue their words and works of love peacefully as if they, as a family, sit around together in the living room. In God’s eyes, they are truly living souls. It is because Jesus’ “flag of love” stands high in their hearts.

 

At his last moment, Jesus said, “It is finished.” This is truly a word of life. Through our lifetime, we people follow our “desires,” and fight and compete with one another in order to fill the “never-satisfied” desires. Even after a long struggle, we cannot taste a drop of true satisfaction. People live that way until the last moment. On the way, many of them fall into Devil’s hands. Jesus, without any personal desire, however, offered himself in testifying to the truth of God and practicing the love of God. And he did it until it was enough in his eyes. Moreover, Jesus gave his “fulfillment” as a gift to us. This means that we now don’t have to live according to our “desires.” In Jesus, we already have everything. With regard to the reality of the believers, St. Paul says, “Known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2Corinthians 6:9-10). Yes, it is! In Jesus, we are possessing everything, and even making many others rich. It is because Jesus has finished all. When a desire is sneaking into our hearts, we, instead of struggling to satisfy it, should put it down, remembering the grace of Jesus who has finished all. St. Paul said, “I die every day” (1Corinthians 15:31). He is saying so because he already has everything in Jesus, and there is nothing that he has to hold onto in this world. In this way, he is going back to the abundant grace of Jesus every day. And this grace was finished on the cross. Every day, we should return there, put down our flesh desires, and remember that Jesus has finished all. We cannot be crucified on a cross like Jesus. But we should find and appreciate the treasures hidden in the cross. This must be the only desire we should have. May God give us this desire in our hearts, and satisfy our souls with this amazing grace!!!