Sermon by Pastor Brent Kompelien

January 21, 2024

INTRO

1. Good morning! This is a special Sunday because we have now come to the pinnacle moment of the Gospel of John. Everything Jesus has done and said has led to this moment, everything that was foreshadowed in the story of Israel and promised in the Old Testament prophets, everything in God’s plan for redemption hangs on what we are going to read today.

2. ILLUST — Now, you all know that I love everything related to the NASA moon missions. The first step toward the moon was Project Mercury. This was the first American human spaceflight program that ran from 1958 through 1963.

1. This was the United States’ entrance into the space race. The Soviets had launched a satellite, Sputnik 1, in October 4, 1957, causing great panic that the Russians would gain military superiority during the Cold War by developing the technology to travel to space.

2. So there was incredible pressure to create a manned space program in order to assert western dominance in the skies, and the space race became a proxy battle between the democratic West and the communist Eastern Bloc.

3. Enter the Mercury 7. (SLIDE 3) On April 9, 1959, after rigorous evaluations, interviews, and testing, NASA held a press conference to introduce the first 7 astronauts in American history: Gus Grissom, Alan Shepard, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, John Glenn, and Gordon Cooper.

1. They were instant celebrities. (SLIDE 4) In fact, these 7 men were more than celebrities. They were treated as heroes, almost god-like, the best-of-the-best, going out to defeat the Russians and ensure victory. Even at this press conference, the reporters and photographers set down their notebook and cameras to give these 7 men a standing ovation. The Mercury 7 hadn’t done anything yet, but their willingness to risk it all to be the first in space was viewed as the pinnacle of bravery and sacrifice.

2. In his famous book The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe compared these astronauts to the single combat warriors of the ancient world. Single combat is when you send your best warrior into no man’s land to fight one-on-one with the enemy. Whoever wins secures the victory for his nation, emboldening his fellow-soldiers to charge and run the enemy into a full-scale retreat.

3. But the chances of defeat are great and the stakes are high. Only one warrior will be left standing. You see, the unique thing about single combat is that the warrior is typically praised as a hero before the battle, not after. It was the brave act of stepping up to the plate to go toe-to-toe with the enemy’s best champion that was worthy of admiration. Since it was very possible that the single-combat warrior wouldn’t survive, it was common practice in the ancient world to have parades in their honor, to receive special medals and awards, and to gain the favor of the people before the battle even started.

3. (SLIDE 5, title) But the Bible paints a different picture. When the Israelites were pitted in battle against the Philistines, we see one of the most famous examples of the ancient practice of single-combat: David and Goliath. The biblical account describes David and Goliath completely differently.

1. 1 Samuel 17 says, “A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was over 9 feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing 125 pounds…Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel…Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” He was full of boasting and pride.

2. Yet David is portrayed differently. He is barely old enough to leave home alone, his brothers make fun of him and ridicule his courage, and Saul’s armor doesn’t fit. Everyone doubts, everyone ridicules, and even Goliath says, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And Goliath cursed David by the Philistine gods.

3. Yet as David stands alone, he makes his purposes clear to Goliath: “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied…All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give all of you into our hands.” And David slung one single stone and killed the champion Goliath, leading the Israelites to a total victory that day.

4. In the same way, our text this morning tells the account of the Messianic King in the line of David, Jesus Christ, who went to the cross in the face of ridicule and scorn, even being rejected by his own people, the very people he died for. And yet he was our representative and substitute, paying the price for our sin, saving us from the wrath of God, and single-handedly defeating sin, evil, and death, our champion declaring “It is finished!”

5. You see, our text this morning portrays the intensification of the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish leaders, even as he is exalted as King and lifted up on a throne of glory to become the Savior of the world. Open with me to John 19.

ORG SENT — We are going to study this entire chapter today. And since it is fairly long, we are going to treat it section-by-section, reading as we go along. (SLIDE 6) Here’s the flow: First, verses 1-16 tell us about Jesus’ sentencing before Pilate. Next, verses 17-27 depict the crucifixion of Jesus. Then, verses 28-37 explain the death of Jesus. And last, verses 38-42 end with the burial of Jesus. So, this is the plan: We will look at Jesus’ sentencing, his crucifixion, his death, and his burial. Let’s go!

MAIN 1 — Sentencing (vv. 1-16). (SLIDE 7)

1. Let’s read. READ vv. 1-16.

2. These verses show us the devastating results of the Jewish leaders’ rejection of Jesus. Their cards are finally out on the table; their real motives and real allegiances are laid bare.

3. Let me explain what is going on here:

1. Jesus is beaten and whipped by the Roman soldiers. He is given a crown of thorns, likely from the long spikes of the date-palm, and they put purple robe on him to mock him. The text says that “again and again” they said, “Hail, king of the Jews!” You can imagine these soldiers lining up to pretend to pay him homage, kneeling down in mockery, then slapping him in the face and laughing at the sorry sight of his bruises and bloody lip.

2. Pilate does all this on purpose. The text records Pilate twice saying to the crowd of Jews standing outside that he finds no basis for a charge against Jesus. So he allows Jesus to be beaten and dressed like a mock king. Then he leads him outside and says, “Here is the man!” (SLIDE 8) or as some of your Bibles say, “Behold the man!”

1. Pilate dramatically presents Jesus as a sorry sight, swollen, bruised, bleeding from the cruel thorns on his head. He is making a mockery of the Jews as his subjects, and he is showing how silly it is that they want to crucify this helpless man.

2. Yet there is a deeper thing happening here, and the Apostle John records these details on purpose. NT scholar Don Carson says, “Here indeed is the Man, the Word made flesh (1:14). All the witnesses are too blind to see it at the time, but this Man was displaying his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, in the disgrace, pain, weakness and brutalization of his path to the cross.” Here is the Savior, the champion, the one who will destroy sin, evil, and death, and yet the chief priest and Jewish officials still shout: Crucify!

3. Here is where their real motive are revealed. (SLIDE 9) Verse 7 tells us their real charge against Jesus: He is a blasphemer. Remember, Jesus had said in John 14, “No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him…Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”

1. You see, Jesus is now accused of two crimes: In the eyes of the Jews, he is being accused of blasphemy because he is claiming to be the personal revelation of God. In the eyes of the Romans, he is being accused of insurrection, claiming to be King. The irony is that the accusations are true, but he is not guilty because he actually is God in the flesh and he actually is the real King!

2. And here Pilate is mocking the Jewish leaders by presenting this bloodied and helpless man as the only king they are likely to have. And this back-and-forth exchange results in the chief priests selling the farm: READ v. 14b-15.

1. KEY: This is unbelievable! The chief priests say, “We have no king but Caesar.” (SLIDE 10) They betray God publicly by pledging their allegiance to Caesar, even as they betray the Son of God by sending him to be crucified by the Roman soldiers. The failure of the leaders of Israel has hit rock bottom. They have reached the point of apostasy, now abandoning the messianic hope they were called to steward through the generations.

2. This is the ultimate fulfillment of John 1:11, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

MAIN 2 — Crucifixion (vv. 17-27). (SLIDE 11)

1. READ vv. 17-27.

2. Did you notice at the end of that section, how the Apostle John again refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”? Jesus looks at John and gives him instructions to take care of his mother Mary. This is amazing. Even to the end of his life, even while he is hanging on the cross, Jesus cares most about others. He is the perfect sinless Savior who has walked in perfect obedience to the Father, and loved others with a self-giving love, even in the face of his own death.

3. Now, let me tell you a little background on crucifixion:

1. Crucifixion was so brutal and humiliating that it was illegal for Roman citizens to be crucified, expect in extreme circumstances by a direct order of the Emperor. This was a death only reserved for foreigners and slaves. (SLIDE 12)

1. Stripped naked and beaten severely, the criminal would hang on the cross in the hot sun for hours, sometimes days. The person was required to carry the cross-beam of the cross, then the soldiers would nail or tie the criminal’s arms to the beam and hoist them in the air to fix the cross-beam to the upright beam that was already in the ground.

2. The feet were then nailed or tied to the beam, and sometimes a small seat was fixed where the victim could partially rest their body weight. This was not a mercy, it actually prolonged the agony because the person died slower.

3. To breath it was necessary to push with the legs and pull with the arms to keep the chest cavity open and functioning. So the victim would struggle and strain for every breath, pulling their weight up on the nail-pierced hands and feet, causing excruciating pain.

4. Jesus was crucified in the middle of two other men, fulfilling what was written in Isaiah 53:12, (SLIDE 13) “…he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

4. The text says that Pilate fixed a notice of the charge against Jesus above his head on the cross: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” This was probably Pilate’s final snub to the Jewish leaders, mocking them by crucifying their supposed king. But John tells us about this written notice because it points to a grander purpose:

1. It is written in the common languages of the day (Aramaic was spoken in the province of Judea, Latin was the language of the Roman military, and Greek was the universal language of the Empire).

2. For Pilate, he thinks this serves to warn all passers-by that they should not offend the Empire or they too will be killed.

3. In reality, this notice serves to proclaim to the nations that the Lord Jesus is indeed King! Don’t miss this: The cross is Jesus’ exaltation, displaying the glory of God in his love, justice, mercy, and grace! Wrath is satisfied, sin atoned for, perfect reconciliation achieved! This truth is being proclaimed to the nations! (SLIDE 14) This is the beginning of global missions in the New Testament, even here at the cross, as God is achieving his plan to form a people from every tribe and language and people and nation!

5. This is where we see everything fulfilled at the moment of Christ’s death.

MAIN 3 — Death (vv. 28-37). (SLIDE 15)

1. READ vv. 28-37.

2. I want you to see that this section is bookended with the same phrase: “so that Scripture would be fulfilled” (vv. 28 and 36) (SLIDE 16)

1. In verse 28, Jesus says, “I am thirsty.” (SLIDE 17) This probably refers to Psalm 22:15 where David writes about being abandoned and surrounded by enemies and at the point of death. He writes, “My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.” John already quoted this Psalm earlier in verse 24 to talk about the soldiers casting lots for Jesus’ garments.

1. This is critical to see: Jesus himself is pointing back to this Psalm, and John records these words for us to make this connection. Psalm 22 begins with these familiar words: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And it ends with this declaration about the salvation and rescue that comes only from God himself: “They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!”

2. You see, this is why Jesus declares as he takes his last breath: “It is finished!” He has completed his divine task, he has been obedient to the uttermost, and he has achieved our redemption as our representative and substitute.

2. The other fulfillment comes in verses 36-37. (SLIDE 18) The soldiers pierce Jesus’ side, and John is careful to note that eyewitness testimony (possibly himself because he was standing there watching!) confirms that Jesus was really dead because of the sudden flow of blood and water. The footnotes of your Bible will tell you that the manner in which these things happened fulfills Exodus 12 and Number 9, which are passage about regulation for how to prepare the Passover lamb! And it also fulfills Zechariah 12, a passage about judging Israel and cleansing from sin.

1. APPLY: Friends, don’t underestimate the gravity of this. Jesus suffered, was forsaken, and died for you! As the water and the blood flow from Jesus’ side, it reminds me of a classic hymn: (SLIDE 19) “Rock of Ages, cleft for me. Let me hide myself in Thee. Let the water and the blood, from Thy wounded side which flowed, be of sin a double-cure, saved from wrath and make me pure.” —Augustus M. Toplady (1740-78).

MAIN 4 — Burial (vv. 38-42). (SLIDE 20)

1. READ vv. 38-42.

2. Here’s some background:

1. After crucifixion, bodies were normally handed over to the next of kin, but not so in the case of criminals executed for insurrection or treason. The Romans would typically let the bodies hang on the crosses to be eaten by vultures, driving home the point to an extreme level, that you don’t mess with Rome.

2. But because the Jews didn’t want the bodies to hang on the crosses during this special Sabbath, it was necessary that someone take Jesus and bury him.

3. And two men volunteer. (SLIDE 21) The shocking thing about these two men is that they are both prominent and wealthy members of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin.

1. To approach Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body was doubly-bold: They risk being pariahs in the Sanhedrin, and they risk being viewed as treasonous sympathizers in the eyes of the Romans.

2. Joseph of Arimethea secures permission from Pilate (SLIDE 22), while a familiar face secures the spices for burial: Nicodemus. (SLIDE 23) Remember him from chapter 3 when Jesus tells Nicodemus: You must be born again.

1. KEY: John goes out of his way in the text to remind us that Nicodemus had visited Jesus at night (v. 39). Don’t miss this: Here Nicodemus reveals that he has secretly been coming to a saving faith in Jesus. He is no longer in darkness, like his first encounter with Jesus! He now steps out into the light to take the Light of the World down from the cross!

3. Both wealth and influential men pull strings to make sure Jesus is buried properly according to Jewish custom, rather than be thrown into the common grave of the criminals outside the city walls.

1. The spices were likely in powder form, and they were spread in a thick layer along the whole length of the linen cloth. They wrapped Jesus’ body in this cloth, then likely packed more spices around and under his body.

2. These were not for embalming. The Jews didn’t embalm the dead. The spices were simply to mask the smell as the body decayed.

3. The garden tomb nearby was out of necessity because dusk was upon them and the Sabbath started at sundown. They needed to finish the burial before work ceased for the Sabbath.

4. And it is here that we end this most glorious and climactic moment. The text concludes with a sobering reality: “they laid Jesus there.” (SLIDE 24)

1. After all that had happened in Jesus’ ministry; the people who were healed, the miracles performed, and teaching about the coming Kingdom of God…

2. After all the disciples abandon and deny Jesus…

3. After all the arguments and betrayals of the Jewish leaders…

4. After all the suffering and scorn and the bearing of the wrath of God and the weight of our sin…

5. Here is Jesus, laid quietly down, wrapped head-to-toe in burial cloths, the Savior of the world motionless, having died so that we could live.

5. Friends, this text ends with this moment of pause, with a moment of quiet, with a moment of heaviness and sorrow for an important reason: To put you face-to-face with the severity of your sin, to hold up a mirror to the ugly reality of our darkened hearts, to show you how desperate our case is before a Holy God.

6. And yet, this moment of pause also puts you face-to-face with the amazing love and sacrifice and grace of a Savior who would die in your place. It should be you in that grave, it should be me! Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death! And yet God has given us an indescribable gift in Jesus Christ, as Jesus died for me and died for you, to give us life.

7. And so, I want to end with a simple plea: Let the weightiness of Jesus’ death on the cross hit you afresh today. This week, take time to contemplate the severity of your sin and your inability to save yourself. And be encouraged by the reminder of what Jesus endured for you.