John 19 - Jesus Carried His Own Cross!

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Jesus Sentenced to Be Crucified

Pilate really did want to be a part of this whole matter of dispute between the Jewish leaders and Jesus. He didn't see any real threat to his power, and only arrested and punished Jesus to appease the Jewish leaders. He realized there was surprisingly a large amount of people who wanted Jesus to be crucified. 

The soldiers certainly didn't treat Jesus with any respect, as they forcibly placed a crown of thorns on his head, and dressed him up in a purple robe and also flogged him with whips. They had hoped their treatment of Jesus might calm the religious leaders down, but they cried all the more, "Crucify him!" 

Pilate again stated that he found no reason to crucify Jesus. He told the Jewish leaders to crucify Jesus, if they wanted so badly to do it. The Jewish leaders gave their reasoning for their judgment by saying, "Jesus a mere man claimed to be the Son of God."

This frightened Pilate, because he knew the Jewish beliefs about the Messiah. The Messiah would come and wipe out those who were ruling over the Jews and set up a new kingdom. This led Pilate to ask where Jesus came from? Perhaps he had some knowledge of where the Messiah would come from. 

Pilate was also looking for Jesus to defend himself and give him more reasons to set an innocent man free. But Jesus gave him no answer. Jesus had already told Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world. Pilate was irritated that Jesus was not working with him to help himself. Jesus knew what the outcome of these proceedings would be, so he saw no reason to try and work with Pilate to get freed. 

Pilate in frustration asked Jesus if he knew that Pilate had the power to crucify him or let him go. Jesus reminded Pilate that he would have no power, unless it had been given to him. Yet, the religious leaders were more culpable than him, because they should have known where Jesus came from. They could not plead ignorance. 

As Pilate continued to try and find a way to free Jesus, the Jewish leaders started shouting, saying that if Pilate was a friend of Caesar's, he would not be trying to protect Jesus. 

"By some accounts (such as Boice), Pilate was an unremarkable man who only had his position because he married the granddaughter of the emperor. Holding his position only by relationship, Pilate would be greatly concerned that the relationship was damaged. The religious leaders and the crowd knew Pilate’s weak point and they pressed upon it." - Guzik

It was the mention of Caesar that sealed Jesus' fate. Once again Pilate asked them if he should "crucify Jesus".  The Jews responded by saying, "They had no king but Caesar". This was very true. The Jews did not believe in the God who sent them the Messiah, they instead trusted and had faith in the Roman emperor. They chose Caesar over Jesus. Finally, Pilate handed him over to be crucified.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

Jesus carried his own cross, as he went to the place where he would be crucified between two known criminals. It gives new meaning to the phrase, "Pick up your cross and follow Jesus!" 

Pilate also had a placard posted above Jesus on the wooden cross which said, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." The Jewish leaders protested and tried to get Pilate to take it down, but Pilate denied their request. He said, "What I have written, I have written." It ironic that Pilate knew Jesus was the King of the Jews and the Jewish leaders were clueless. 

The soldiers divided up Jesus' clothing, but let his undergarment, which was seamless, remain intact. This fulfilled Psalm 22:18 said, 

“They divided my clothes among them

    and cast lots for my garment.”

This is one of many prophecies that Jesus could never have orchestrated. He was completely powerless to make this happen. Its fulfillment is yet more evidence that Jesus was and is the Messiah, the Savior and Lord. 

There were also three Mary's standing beneath the cross. Jesus' mother, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, his mother's sister, who was the wife of Clopas.

These faithful women were there with Jesus through His agony on the cross, to honor Him and to support His mother Mary. Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene were also among those who first discovered the empty tomb, evidence of the resurrection of Jesus. (Guzik)

“It is probable that ‘his mother’s sister’ here is to be equated with Salome (Mark 15:40), and that she was ‘the mother of the sons of Zebedee’ (Matthew 27:56), who was standing at a distance with the other women when Jesus died.” (Morris) 

When Jesus saw his mother standing there, he told John to take care of his mother, and he would now become her son. 

The Death of Jesus

As Jesus came to the end of his life, he said he was thirsty. They soaked a hyssop plant with vinegar water and soaked a sponge with it and gave it to him. After he drank it, he breathed his last. 

Jesus didn’t accept a pain-numbing drink at the beginning of His ordeal (Mark 15:23), but now He accepted a taste of greatly diluted wine, to wet parched lips and a dry throat so He could make one final announcement to the world with a clear, loud voice. - Guzik

The usual way a person succumbed to death on a cross was the inability to get any oxygen. After they had suffered sufficiently enough, they would break the criminal's legs to prevent them from pushing up to get a breath. Subsequently they would die. The Jewish leaders wanted these criminals to die on Friday day, because they did not want the bodies still on the cross on the Sabbath day during Passover. 

So they broke the two criminals' legs on the right and left of him, but when they got to Jesus, he was already dead. This fulfilled Psalm 32:40 that not one of his bones would be broken. To confirm he was truly dead, the soldiers thrust a spear into his side and a sudden flow of blood and water came out confirming medically he was truly dead. This dispels any speculation that Jesus did not really die. 

This fulfilled two more prophecies,

"Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”  Psalm 34:20 and Zechariah 12:10

The Burial of Jesus

Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, asked Pilate for Jesus' body so he could give him a proper burial. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the Jewish leader, who came to Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought 75 pounds of aloes, myrhh, and other spices to preserve Jesus' body and give him a decent burial. They also bought a tomb near a garden and placed Jesus in the tomb. These two men gave the Son of God a decent burial and laid him to rest with dignity. But we know that is not the end of the story!

 A typical tomb of this type had a small entrance and perhaps one or more compartments where bodies were laid out after being somewhat mummified with spices, ointments, and linen strips. Customarily, the Jews left these bodies alone for a few years until they decayed down to the bones, then the bones were placed in a small stone box known as an ossuary. The ossuary remained in the tomb with the remains of other family members.

The door to the tomb was typically made of a heavy, circular shaped stone, running in a groove and settled down into a channel, so it could not be moved except by several strong men. This was done to ensure that no one would disturb the remains.

Why do you think these were the only male disciples that made sure Jesus had a proper burial and a place to be laid to rest? 

What do you think the other disciples were doing?