We are here to reflect on Jesus’ death on the cross and Jesus’ death on the cross is always mixed with feelings. Should we lean into the lament and the grief of Jesus’ unjust death on the cross? Should we lean into the celebration of what was accomplished on our behalf? Jesus’ resurrection is easier. On Sunday we will gather to celebrate Jesus resurrection. That’s easy! We will eat BBQ. We will put on some pastel colors. It will be great! But for Jesus’ death, what’s that supposed to look like? Are the songs supposed to be upbeat? Is the lighting supposed to be dim and somber? Is the tone of the message supposed to be reflective? I mean, the cross is an instrument of torture and death and yet we call it Good Friday, so if you find yourself a little off balance this evening, know that you are in good company and this evening we’re going to lean into God’s Word to better understand Jesus’ death on the cross. Let’s look at John 19, verse 31:
John 19:31, “31 Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.”The death of Jesus is captured by 4 different perspectives knowns as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These are 4 different perspectives of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, so that in the Gospel of John we see Jesus described as God in the flesh and then there are key miracles of Jesus to validate that claim. It’s like John is writing, “Look at what Jesus did here, here, here, here and here.” Afterwards, we see John describe conversations Jesus had with common people, religious leader, so that at one-point John records Jesus saying, “I AM the great I AM.” (John 8:58) In that moment Jesus is claiming to be God in the flesh, and as a result Jesus is handed over to the authorities and put before a corrupt trial, with the sole purpose that Jesus would be executed. Did you know that?
If Jesus’ death is awkward or uncomfortable to you, it’s because Jesus’ death is supposed to be awkward and uncomfortable. It’s an execution! First, the governing authorities couldn’t find anything wrong with Jesus. Jesus had been chased down by the religious leaders, betrayed by his closest friends, hated by the crowds so that when you read John 19 on your own, it’s incredibly uncomfortable.
In verse 31 there are three people being put to death that first Good Friday, but this Friday was particular because this Friday in verse 31 was a described as a “high day” or a “holy day,” because this Friday was taking place during the Passover Celebration.” Do you see that in verse 31? This is incredibly significant because for thousands of years Israel had gathered for the Passover Celebration, which is about a time when Israel was rescued from Egypt through the shedding of blood from an innocent lamb, and in God’s sovereign plan Jesus, who is described as the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, is the innocent lamb offering His life at the cross during the Passover Celebration.
Historically, Rome would leave the crucified bodies on the crosses as long as is necessary. Rome wanted to make sure those people were dead. Rome wanted those bodies to rot and decompose, so that Roman citizens would see the consequences of rebellion, which isn’t horrible. Especially as young people it is good to see there are consequences for our decisions. It is good for parents to provide guardrails and consequences in the family, because there are guardrails and consequences in life. But in the context of the passage the Jewish people had a conviction that all life was made in the image of God, all life was valuable, and especially during the Passover Celebration, they wanted to expedite the process, which is why you see them asking the governing authorities, “Can we break the legs?” It’s because when a person is hanging on a cross the biggest challenge is breathing, so that a person has to press upward with their pierced feet, so that they can breathe, but if the legs are broken they can’t breathe, Jesus will die faster and the Passover Celebration can take place. Look at verses 32-33:
John 19:32, “32 So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; 33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.” Can you imagine what this must have been like for Jesus’ closest friends and followers? Jesus had told them repeatedly that He would be handed over to authorities and put to death, but being told someone is going to die and then seeing them die is completely different.
I remember when my mother passed away from Alzheimer’s in 2021. She had been diagnosed for almost 10-years, so they call Alzheimer’s the “Long Good-bye.” I knew my mother was going to pass away. I had been processing this day for years. I thought I was even ready for that day to come, but we were in the middle of the pandemic and when I got a call from the nurse that she had passed it’s like it took on a completely different reality. It had finally happened! For the disciples, they were in similar place where they are told Jesus is going to die, but now it was definitive that their beloved teacher was actually dead. Look at verse 34:
John 19:34, “34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.” Verses 34-35 are so important, because it is clear that Jesus wasn’t taking a nap. Jesus hadn’t passed out from exhaustion. When a spear gets shoved into your side, so that blood and water come out it is clear that Jesus is dead.
I am not sure why but we have experienced our share of death the last few years, but I asked my wife if I could share the story about her father passing away in 2024. While he was in the hospital her father was in a coma, and the nurses would periodically come and pinch him, to see if his nervous system would respond. Isn’t that horrible? You are already struggling for life and getting pinched! But it was a way for the doctors to see how much brain activity is still taking place at a base level, so you can imagine when the soldiers pierce the side of Jesus, you would see Him flinch.
But Jesus doesn’t flinch. Instead blood and water come out Jesus’ side, because it is evident that Jesus’ heart has completely shut down.You might be thinking, “Michael, this is a little graphic” but you need to know the context of our passage is a graphic. It is supposed to be uncomfortable.
Good Friday is something we celebrate as a culture. Perhaps you have even grown up celebrating Good Friday? Maybe you got off work early? Maybe you have a tradition with your family where you get to see some loved ones? But the context of our passage isn’t a celebration. It is literal heartache! Look at verse 35:
John 19:35, “35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.” The “he” is John! John is the one writing this account. In the opening verses of 1 John 1, he writes, “What we heard, saw, looked, touched…this we proclaim to you.” In the same way, John is saying, “I saw this with my own eyes, my testimony is true, and I am writing this so that you may believe Jesus is God in the flesh who takes our death at the cross!”
Sometimes people will say, “Our faith in Jesus is just having a feeling that something is true.” It’s not. Our faith in Jesus is based on eye-witness testimony of multiple people who saw Jesus’ life up close and at a distance. What John is doing in the Gospel of John is what we all do when we see something amazing. We take out our phones to record it. We think to ourselves, “I have to tell others!”
The written word in the first century was the iPhone of technology, so that John heard, saw, and touched someone amazing and John wanted to record the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, so that all would believe. Look at verses 36-37:
John 19:36-37, “36 For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.”37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” These two verses are two promises from the Old Testament about how Jesus is fulfilling the promises of the Messiah! (Psalm 12 / Zachariah 12) It’s as if John is saying, “This is not only a personal account of eye-witness testimony, but this is also God’s promise of the Messiah to come being fulfilled in Jesus!”
Now, my grandfather passed away at 58-years old, which is pretty young, and my father also passed away at 58-years of age. And then to top it all off my brother, in 2023 also passes away at 58-years of age, and last week I was just reminded that my aunt passed away at 59, so that when I turned 50-years old last November I said to my family, “Well, you only got 8 more years with me!” These are the kinds of jokes you get in my family!
That is similar to what God does throughout His Word in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, because there are over 300 predictions and promises of what the Messiah will do, where He will be born, how He will live, and they are all fulfilled in Jesus, so that John writes verses 36-37 so as to say, “This is the Messiah we have been waiting for!”
Now, if I pass away at 58 it is going to be pretty impressive! Can you imagine how impressed you would be if I gave you 300 of those predictions and fulfilled every one of them? That’s the glory of Jesus!
That’s why we pause and remember Jesus’ death every year. It was a promise that was made in Genesis 3, verse 15 and talked about over and over and over throughout the Old Testament until it was completely fulfilled in Jesus. That’s the glory of Jesus! That’s why we worship Jesus with our lives! He is worthy of our lives!
In John 10 Jesus is describing Himself as the Good Shepherd and Jesus is talking to His disciples about the day that He would die and He said to them, “No one has taken My life. I lay it down freely. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back!” It’s why the author of Hebrews can write, “Jesus is the author and perfecter of all things, so that it was His joy to endure the cross.” (Hebrews 12:2) We can feel uncomfortable about the cross, because it is uncomfortable, but the primary theme throughout God’s Word is His unending desire to bring us back into relationship with Himself.He created the world to be perfect. He created us to be with Him, but our sin separates us from the holiness of God.
As a result, we are spiritually dead, spiritually blind, so that we don’t chase after God, but instead we chase after the all this world has to offer. It’s why we are exhausted today. Full of anxiety. Overwhelmed. Unable to sleep. We have every comfort this world has to offer and our souls are still unsettled, so Jesus comes to chase after us. He knows we won’t pursue Him, so He pursues us. He knows we could never get to Him, so He comes for us. He knows we are spiritually blind and dead, so Jesus comes for us in the most dramatic, personal and powerful way we could imagine.
Jesus becomes the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He stands in our place. He takes the death at the cross that we deserve. He sends the Holy Spirit to pierce our soul, so that we might see Him, hear Him, and come to Him. That’s the gospel! Listen to me, you know physical death is real. You know we aren’t going to live forever, therefore, we must assume spiritual death is real. We see evidence of spiritual death. We see a broken world. We see humanity unable to navigate life on our own. It is only Jesus who can come make us alive spiritually and physically, so that we might eternally live with Him. But, it isn’t enough to just listen, we must respond. It isn’t enough to even agree, we must respond. Just as the spear was pierced into Jesus’ body, so the Spirit of God must pierce our soul, our soul will flinch with activity, so that we would hear the good news of Jesus, turn to Jesus, trust in Jesus and follow Him.
Won’t you commit your life to Jesus this morning? God’s Word is inviting us to be in awe of Jesus. Won’t you give your life to Jesus? Won’t you live for Jesus? He’s come to call you His!
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in Austin. established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching.
Are you looking for a church in Austin? At North Village Church we put Jesus at the center of our church family. We worship together every Sunday at 10:30am, encourage Christ centered fellowship through groups, and host special events such as Bible studies and Theological Training, to ensure that we are rooted in in God’s Word. We also serve our local community in association with several Austin based organizations.
North Village Church is made up of professionals, married couples, singles, and families who are wanting to experience the life-transforming power of Jesus. If you are a family with children or teens, we can support you with either or both our Kids Ministry and Youth Ministry.
You are welcome to contact us if you would like more information.