THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS

“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

In this passage, we would like to learn the meaning of the crucifixion of Jesus. On the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.” By this he meant he completed the mission to the point of death and fully paid the price of our sins. May God help us to newly accept the meaning of his death and renew our commitment to follow Jesus.

I. The Way of the Cross (16b-27)

Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified. Then the merciless soldiers took charge of Jesus (16b). They put the cross on Jesus and whipped him to carry it to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Jesus was already exhausted and stumbled and fell again and again at the heavy weight of the cross. The journey our Lord took from the court of Pilate to Golgotha has been called, “Via Dolorosa”. With the help of Simon of Cyrene Jesus barely arrived at Golgotha (Lk 23:26). There he was crucified along with two other criminals. The author John briefly mentioned about Jesus’ crucifixion in one verse but crucifixion was the cruelest punishment ever invented by mankind. It was more than just punishment. Its purpose was preventing further crimes by demonstrating the victims in public with severe pain and shame. Victims of crucifixion did not generally die for two or three days. They slowly die out of thirst and hunger.

The soldiers crucified Jesus in between two robbers. It was to humiliate and shame Jesus. Surely no one wants to end his life in humiliation and shame. But our Lord Jesus was put among the robbers and was stripped of his clothes, which was great shame to him. Why did Jesus receive such shame? It was to cover our shame. When Adam first disobeyed God and broke the relationship with God, he felt shame and hid from God. They made fig leaves as their temporary coverings but God made garments of skin for them (Ge 3:21). Jesus received all the shame upon himself so that our shame may be covered and we may have right relationship with God. He was the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world as John the Baptist cried (1:29). Isa 53:5,6 read. “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” We all went astray by committing sins. To the eyes of the holy God, we were unacceptable because of our sins. We had to be punished, to die and receive judgment from God. But God solved our sin problems by letting his one and only son pay the price on the cross with his life.

On the cross, the heavy iron nails driven between his hands and his folded two feet tore him apart. He could not even breathe. Excruciating and suffocating pain weighed him down. The author of Psalms foresaw his terrible pain and cried out, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.” (Ps 22:14)

Look at verse 19. “Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” A small sign, stating the victim’s crime was nailed to the cross above the head. Since Jesus had no evidence of crime, Pilate could only make a notice, “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. Ironically, despite this charge of Jesus, Jesus is indeed the King of the Jews.

When the chief priests saw the title, they protested to Pilate that Jesus was not the king but claimed to be the king. But Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written” (22).

Look at verse 23. “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.” When Jesus was on the cross and shedding his blood to save men from their sins what did soldiers do at that time? They were busy dividing Jesus’ clothes and casting lots for his undergarment. It shows the worst kind of fallen mentality of man. But John saw beyond that. He could see these heartless soldiers fulfilling God’s prophecy by their evil deeds. Ps 22:18 says, “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.”

Beneath the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. They came beneath the cross and cried endlessly, not knowing why such a good Jesus had to be crucified.

However, in the midst of his extreme pain and suffering, Jesus thought of his mother and entrusted her to John by saying to him, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, John took her into his home (27).

II. It Is Finished (28-37)

Look at verse 30. “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” Jesus completed God’s redemptive work by his life of mission on earth and his death on the cross and opened a way for us to come to God. By saying, “It is finished!” Jesus invites all of us to complete freedom from our sins and a new life in him.

Look at verse 31. “Now 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.” Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken so that Jesus might die sooner, and they might have the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other (32). But when they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs because they found that he was already dead. Instead, a soldier pierced Jesus in the side with his spear, and a sudden flow of blood and water gushed out from Jesus’ side (34).

III. The Burial of Jesus (38-42)

The crucifixion of Jesus changed prominent Sanhedrin members. Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. Yet the death of Jesus gave him courage to reveal himself as his disciple (38). Nicodemus previously came to Jesus to listen to his teaching and did not accept his words because of his unbelief. Yet the death of Jesus opened up his spiritual eyes and enabled him to accept Jesus as the King of the Jews (39). The death of Jesus brought light to the hearts of Joseph and Nicodemus.

In conclusion, Jesus was crucified to finish God’s redemptive work. Whoever accepts his death for one’s sins now will not perish, but have eternal life. The cross of pain and shame turned into the glory and joy in Heaven. He is the king of the whole world. May God help us to remember the suffering of Jesus and live a life of faith as Jesus did.