Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / John
John 19:17-37 (Part 1) 01/07/07
Title: ‘Near the Cross’ pt.1 Text: John 19:17-37
Introduction: Jesus said, “If you are going to follow me, you have to take up a cross.” Do you know what he meant? Really, do you know what he meant? He was saying the same thing as
· ‘If you are going to follow me, you have to bring an electric chair with you.’
· ‘If you are going to follow me, you have to bring a gas chamber with you.’
Jesus didn’t have an ornately designed gold cross in mind, it wasn’t the gleaming cross on a church steeple or the one beautifully engraved in leather on the front of your Bible. Jesus had in mind a place of execution. (Billy Graham)
Let that sink in… Earlier we sang ‘Jesus keep me near the cross’ a beautiful old hymn sung with deep feeling and reverential awe. But I wonder if we had been there, at the cross when Jesus was crucified, would we have come near the cross…would we have climbed the hill to stand near Jesus as he died?
Or would we have been like most of the other disciples who were hiding, fearful that we too might be arrested, placed on a cross and crucified?
Transition: Open your Bibles to John 19:17 (pg. 828 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you) Here, this morning, we will with fear and trembling, draw near to the cross of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
1. John 19:17-22 ‘King of the Jews’
Read: John 19:16-22
It’s been a few weeks since we have ventured into the Book of John, so lets review.
· Jesus was arrested and taken to the High Priest of Israel
· Jesus was placed on trial with no real chance of being aquited.
· He was beaten by the Temple guards to try to force a confession. When that didn’t happen, he was taken to the Roman Govenor, Pilate, to be executed because the Jews could not condemn a man to death.
· Pilate found Jesus innocent and wanted to release him but the Jewish religious leaders would not have it.
· Pilate had Jesus cruelly beaten, his flesh ripped away from his body, so much so, that bone and internal organs would have been revealed.
· Finally, Pilate gives in to the political pressure and sentences Jesus to be crucified…killed on a wooden cross, the most cruel and painful form of execution known.
In our text today we find Jesus, right after his beating. He gathers all his strength, had his rough wooden cross placed on his shoulders and is lead away to Golgotha, the place the Romans executed prisoners by crucifixion.
Golgatha was just outside the city gates and was on the road leading to an from Jerusalem. It was the place anyone traveling to Jerusalem would see those executed and the signs that were placed over their heads describing their crimes. This was to warn potential criminals that Rome was tough on crime.
Speaking of the signs, the religious leaders had a problem with what Pilate put on Jesus’ sign ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews’. They wanted it to say that he said he was the King of the Jews. The sign made it sound like he actually was the King of the Jews. And that’s what Pilate wanted. He perhaps used it to get the last laugh since he hated the Jewish religious leaders. Whatever his reason, Pilates words on the sign above Jesus’ head, were prophetic and true all the same.
A couple thoughts:
First: The words on the sign were in three languages, Aramaic, Latin and Greek. These were the languages people coming from all over the world would understand as they passed by. I find it amazing and God even used a sign over the head of his crucified son to reach out to every nation, every tribe, every tongue with the Gospel.
Second: Notice that it was on this very spot that Abraham took Isaac to be sacrificed. Isaac carried his own wood bundle for the sacrifice just as Jesus carried his own wooden cross for his sacrifice. Just in time God provided a substitute for Isaac. God did the same thing on this day, Jesus was our substitute.
Transition: Jesus climbed the hill to be crucified…did anyone else dare to come near the cross of Jesus?
2. John 19:23-27 Who comes near the cross?
Read: John 19:23-27
History tells us that 4 Roman soldiers were responsible for a crucifixion. Perhaps it was their time on the duty roster, perhaps they volunteered, we don’t know. What we do know is these 4 men seem oblivious to what was happening around them.
As Jesus was hanging on the cross, the Roman soldiers were on their knees. No, they weren’t praying, they were casting lots, kind of like rolling dice. You see, one of the perks of crucifixion duty was that the soldiers got to keep the clothing of those executed. After dividing equally among them what Jesus had, there was still one garment left so they rolled the dice to see who would get it.
Before we smugly cross these 4 soldiers off our Christmas list, let’s remember that we too were once like them.
· We ignored the pain and suffering Jesus experienced on the cross.
· We ignored his offer of salvation
· And even after we have been saved by faith through grace, we still often look to Jesus just to meet our physical needs and to make us happy.
John wrote ‘So this is what the soldiers did’. They climbed the hill and came near the cross of Jesus…it was their job and perhaps it became so routine that they were able to block out the pain, suffering and agony of those being crucified. Their hearts had become cold and indifferent to what happened on the cross.
And this is true of many hearts today…I’m sure you all know some cold hearts, who keep their distance from Jesus and the cross. Keep praying for them, until Jesus returns, there is still hope. You see, there were 4 women who dared climb the hill, who couldn’t keep themselves away from coming near the cross of Jesus that day.
In stark contract to the cold hearted soldiers, John gives us a picture of those who have been so touched by the hand of God that their hearts were inflamed with love for him. They were so blessed by the presence of God in their lives that their one desire, their single passion, was to draw near to him…even if it meant going drawing near the cross.
These 4 women were there because they believed in Jesus and even more than that, they drew near the cross because they loved Jesus with all their heart.
· O that we would have such passion, such love for Jesus.
· O that we would draw near to Jesus even when doing so would mean possible danger, possible persecution…possible ridicule.
You know that sounds rather trifle that we would be afraid to draw near to Jesus, to proclaim him to others, for fear that someone might laugh at us or call us names…especially when we consider these 4 women risked their very lives by drawing near the cross of Jesus.
And I believe all 4 women were blessed by drawing near the cross of Jesus that day…in fact who was it that Jesus first revealed himself to when he rose from the dead?...These very same women. But here, John mentions one in particular woman, Mary, and how she was blessed.
Jesus tells John to take care of his mother for him. Let me tell you see what I see.
First, many believe Jesus was asking John to permanently take care of his mother, as a son. I think differently. Jesus had half brothers who could and would take care of Mary their mother…but at this point in time they had not yet placed their faith in Jesus as the Messiah.
So what kind of comfort could they have been to their mother at this time? Think about it ‘Mom, we told Jesus, time and time again, to give it up, to stop saying he was the Messiah and he just wouldn’t listen to us. And now look what happened, see how he’s hurt you.’ Not very comforting.
I believe Jesus assigned care of his mother to John because he was the closest to Jesus’ heart, and like these 4 women, he passionately believed in and loved Jesus. This was displayed in the fact that he was the only disciple to draw near to the cross of Jesus.
I think Jesus was asking John to take care of Mary in the short run…until his brothers come to faith…and they did.
Second, and by way of application, if Jesus eagerly desired to care for his mother in her hour of great need, how much more is he eager to care for all those who place their faith in him…just like his mother Mary did?
Think about this, he showed he cared for his mother’s needs while he was in agony, hanging on the cross with iron nails in his wrists and feet. How much more then can he provide for your needs now that he is seated at the right hand of God the Father?
Finally, I think it’s important that Jesus didn’t ask one of his half-brothers to care for Mary. I think it was significant that Jesus asked one of his disciples to care for, another one of his disciples, who just happened to be his mother.
Jesus is showing us the importance of our Spiritual Family, our brothers and sisters in Christ and our responsibility to care for one another in times of need. We talk about our ‘Church Family’ I pray you truly understand the importance each of us is, to each other.
Conclusion
If you’re a Christian I pray your heart would be stirred each time you read and hear about our Lord death on the cross.
If you’re a Christian I pray you will never tire of remembering his death, as we will do shortly when we commune together at the Lord table.
If you’re a Christian I pray you will take every temptation to sin seriously, knowing that it was our sin that nailed Jesus to the cross.
If you’re a Christian I pray you will never cease to preach the only Gospel there is ‘Jesus Christ crucified and raised for the dead for the forgiveness of sin.’
If you are not yet a Christian, I pray you will listen closely to the voice of God speaking to you and the hand of God guiding you to draw near the cross of Jesus, where you will not find death…but eternal life.
I pray that all of us would never fear… to draw near the cross of Jesus.