John 19:31-42 - Christ Died Purposefully
Main Idea: Jesus died because His people were important to Him.
CHRIST REALLY DID DIE PHYSICALLY
- He died prior to the piercing of His side, by His choice.
- He was proven to be dead by the spear.
- He was buried, tightly bound with perfumes & aloes.
- Jesus has been through the deepest valley of human existence.
CHRIST DIED FOR US
- He died so we would not need to pay the just penalty of our sins.
- He died so we could have a fully restored relationship with God.
- He died so we could have a home in Heaven forever.
- He died so we could follow Him into never-ending life.
- He died so we could trust God’s lavish love for us!
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO US MAKES AN IMPACT
- What’s important to us requires action. (vs. 31-37)
- What’s important to us requires communication. (v. 38)
- What’s important to us requires sacrifice. (vs. 39-42)
Sermon Transcript (Auto-Transcribed by Apple Podcasts)
We are finishing up our series that we've been in in John 18 and 19, entitled Christ Died for Our Sins. Christ died for our sins.
We saw in the beginning of chapter 18, Jesus' betrayal by Judas, that he was arrested, but he was arrested not because of an accident, not because he didn't know what was forthcoming, but he was intentionally arrested, so that he would die for the
sins of the world, so that what we justly deserved in rejection, condemnation, punishment for sin, was met out on Christ, so that all who would call on him would be saved, justly and righteously, with justice having been met out in full on Christ.
Then we saw the second week that Jesus died rejected, rejected by his disciples, who abandoned him, rejected by the both political and religious leaders of his day, and Jesus died rejected by mankind, so that we would be accepted by God. And then
last Sunday, we saw that Jesus died victoriously. That he didn't die as a just tragic accident, but he died taking our place, and even as one of his cries on the cross was, it is finished. To tell us, Stye, the work is done.
There is no more on your end that needs to be done, or paid, or accomplished to purchase your redemption. Jesus paid it all.
Today, we're going to be in John 19 and verses 31 through 42, and this is going to be a very weird portion of scripture, because as we have been traveling through the Gospel of John, all the way through, Jesus has been talking, acting, interacting,
and this is the one portion of John's Gospel where Jesus is not there speaking to the people that are present. Certainly, he got the son, though he died as Jesus Christ, he died physically, he was still ruling and reigning, and I don't have time
today to go into what Jesus was doing while he was in the tomb. I have actually some Tabernacle Talk episodes on that, and you can go to our YouTube playlist and go through those portions of scripture that talk about what was Jesus doing while he was
in the grave. in the grave.
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He was not just taking a nap, he was actively working, and that's all I can say at this point. So go look it up, go read Ephesians 4, go read 1 Peter 4, and you will find some wonderful, tremendous truths about Jesus.
But in this particular portion of John's Gospel, we're going to see that Christ died purposefully. Christ died purposefully. And specifically, Jesus died because his people were important to him.
You are not an afterthought in the mind of God. You are not an accident in the mind of God. He made you intentionally, purposefully, so that you would seek after him.
The family that you were born into, that was on purpose, so that you would hear the Gospel eventually.
However, your life trail has led you, it has led you to this moment, so that you would hear the Gospel, that you would know that Jesus loves you, that he has a plan for you, and he wants to equip you to do his work.
And Jesus died so that we would be able to enjoy the many wonderful things that we're going to talk about today.
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Jesusʼ Burial Account
Let's begin and read through this passage. If you have your Bible, turn over to John 19 and verse number 31. We also have the verses on the screen as well, if you would like to look there.
Let's read, we'll pray, and we'll dive into the message for today.
John chapter 19 and verse number 31 says, since it was the preparation day, that is the day right before the Sabbath, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a special day.
They requested that Pilate have the men's legs broken and that their bodies be taken away. We remember Jesus was crucified between two thieves.
So the soldiers came and they broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs since they saw that he was already dead.
That was the last verse that we saw in last week's sermon, that Jesus gave up his spirit. No one took Jesus' life, he laid it down, just as he told them that he would do in John chapter 10.
But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear and at once, blood and water came out. The specific mixture coming as a result of Jesus having already died, and so this blood and water came out.
This would actually be a very vivid picture that would stick with John for the rest of his life. So he's writing about this probably 50 to 60 years later, remembering this moment.
And even in 1 John 5, we read about John telling people that Jesus came not just through the water of birth, but he came through blood and water.
And you can't help but read through that portion of John's letter to the churches without thinking of this moment of what Jesus went through in this humiliation. He's already dead.
There's no, if you will, reason to do this other than to prove that Jesus was dead. Verse 33, he who saw this, this is John, has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth.
I don't think this is admissible in most courts of law. You can't say, I testify, and I testify that what I'm testifying is true. But here John says, listen, guys, you've got to trust me.
I was there. I saw this. I was an eyewitness to this occurring.
He says, for these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, not one of his bones will be broken. So, there's a prophecy in the Old Testament, and it came true in the life of Jesus.
His legs were not broken with the spear, like the other two criminals that died beside him, and this is to show who he truly was. Also, another scripture says, they will look at the one they pierced.
So, if it was me, I would count the nails in the hands and in the feet. I would count that as piercing Jesus, but here John says that even the spear piercing was in obedience and fulfillment of the scripture.
After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, because of his fear of the Jews, he asked Pilate that he might remove Jesus' body. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and took his body away.
Nicodemus, we haven't heard his name for a while, but we met him in John 3. Nicodemus, who had previously come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of about, how many pounds do you see there? Seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes.
This is an extravagant, lavish purchase to be able to anoint Jesus' body for burial. And this is what Nicodemus brings. He was one of the Pharisees, so he would have been very financially well off in that first century Judaism.
He was a respected teacher, and here he is giving lavishly to anoint the body of Jesus for burial. They took Jesus' body and wrapped it in linen clothes with the fragrant spices according to the burial custom of the Jews.
You can think even to how Jesus was wrapped with the linen cloths at his birth, as he was laid there in the manger in Bethlehem, and now once more, laid with the linen cloths.
And you can think of the wisemen that brought him the gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh, and once again in verse number 39, myrrh is once again brought at the beginning of Jesus' life and his death, and he is anointed.
Verse number 41, there was a garden in the place where he was crucified. A new tomb was in the garden. No one had yet been placed in it.
They placed Jesus there because of the Jewish day of preparation, and since the tomb was nearby, Jesus was not rich.
Contrary to some people's opinions, just because you follow the Lord does not mean that you get a Lamborghini and as many private jets as you can fleece people for. That is not the way of God.
Jesus actually told people who wanted to follow him, he says, are you going to follow me? I don't even know where I'm going to lay my head from night to night.
He says, foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the son of man does not have anywhere to lay his head. So, Jesus here, he is laid in a borrowed tomb.
I can't remember which song that we often sing that has that particular line, but he was laid in a borrowed tomb. And because this particular grave plot, we would read elsewhere in scripture, belonged to Joseph of Arimathea.
So, one of these men who helped to get Jesus' body down from the cross, the disciples other than John, were not there, and I'm sure John, with Mary, the mother of Jesus, he's now responsible for her, he's probably going to want to get her away from
that scenario. You can imagine the grief that would be going through her, even as we would read in Luke 2, the prophecy that Simeon gave her, that a sword will pierce your soul also.
And you can think of when Jesus' side was pierced, of the grief that would come to the heart of Mary.
So, Joseph of Arimathea was the one that asked pilot permission, got the body, and then him and Nicodemus went, anointed the body for burial, wrapped him up, and placed him into Joseph's family crypt, and laid him there. It was nearby.
The Sabbath was coming very quickly, and they could not do any work on the Sabbath. And so, that's what they were headed towards.
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Jesusʼ Physical Death
So today, you might go, all right, what in the world are we supposed to learn from this? Because I don't think any of us have enough money for 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes to bury someone with. Jesus is alive, he's not dying anymore.
So what do we get from this? I want us to see a couple of things today from this passage. That Christ died purposefully, and first, Christ really did die physically.
We read in Romans chapter 6 and verse number 23, that the wages, the earnings of sin is what?
And so Jesus, in his death, took our punishment and counter the claims of some religions for some people today trying to explain away the resurrection of Jesus. Christ really did die physically.
First, we're told in the gospel accounts that Jesus died prior to the piercing of his side by his choice. No one took his life from him. He laid it down.
But then secondly, not only was he known to be dead prior to that point, in one of the other gospel accounts, we would read Pilate's shock that Jesus had already passed. The other guys were still alive. Jesus chose to lay down his life.
So Jesus died prior to the piercing of the side. He was proven to be dead by the spear that pierced his side. If he was not already dead, that would have done it for him.
You don't recover from everything else, the beating, the crown of thorns that was placed onto his head, the cat of nine tails that he was whipped with, the actual crucifixion itself, the physical exhaustion, even prior to all of the things that he
encountered, he was already sweating drops of blood within the garden. And so, Jesus was not in a good physical shape prior to crucifixion, and the crucifixion absolutely did result in his death. So he was proven to be dead by the spear.
Some different people will say, well, Jesus just passed out. They put him in the tomb, and then he woke up. The cool air of the tomb woke him up, and so then he walked out, and that's how Jesus was resurrected.
My friends, that is completely bogus. The Roman soldiers were very good at their jobs, and one of those jobs was to torture and kill people.
And they would be personally liable if Jesus was not truly dead, and so they made sure of it even with the spear. Jesus was buried tightly bound with perfumes and aloes. If he was alive, you can be sure that there would be some coughing.
I know many of you, when you're around someone, maybe they've got a little bit too much perfume or cologne on, and you kind of breathe it in, you're like, yep, yep, yep, you're there, you're there, I can see it.
Jesus was tightly bound with these linens, and so they would have known, they would have seen any breathing, any pulse, any heartbeat that would have come from Jesus, but he was truly buried.
What this tells us is that Jesus has been through the deepest valley of human existence.
Even as we prayed together today as a church family about the Newman family and about Laurie's brother, Chris, Jesus is no stranger to the darkest valley that we walk through in death.
That means whatever scenario that you find yourself in in your life, Jesus has been there, he knows, he cares, he has experienced it.
We're told in the book of Hebrews that he is not a high priest who is unable to be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but that he was tested and tempted in every way, just like we are, yet without sin.
So in your heartaches, know that Jesus sees and knows and cares. And one day, when you approach your own passing, know that you are walking the same road that Jesus himself walked, that you're not walking it alone.
And he, if you will, is beckoning you from the other side to say, come through, it will be all right. I know I tested the waters first. You can think about it with maybe little kids.
If you're walking along a path, maybe if you're walking through a stream or you're within, you're in a pool and your kid goes, okay, well, how's the temperature? Is it okay?
You know, if you have a bath or something that you've set out for them, you know, you might test the waters first. And they go, well, is this okay? My mind goes back a few weeks to the Baptist tree.
I went into the water and I said, listen, this is going to be cold. I'm going to let you know. But because someone went first, you were able to trust and able to go in because you knew the person that had gone before you.
Whatever circumstance of life that you're walking through, Jesus has been through the worst of it and has come out okay on the other side.
So whatever this life brings you, even if it's death, Jesus knows, Jesus walked through it first, and you can walk through it in confidence knowing him. If you don't know Jesus as your Savior, then let this be your encouragement.
Trust the one who walked through death itself and came out again alive the other side. Put your trust and your belief in him.
John 3.16, in Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, he said, God loved the world in this way, that he gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life.
And that is this one that you can call on and trust.
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Jesus Died for Humanity
Secondly, today, not only did Christ die physically, but Christ died for us. You can see there some different reasons for why Christ died for us. First, he died so that we would not need to pay the just penalty of our sins.
We mentioned earlier that the wages, the earnings for sin, is death. And so, Jesus died in our place. That way, justice would be satisfied.
The price is paid. The amount that needed, the amount that was owed due to human wickedness was completely atoned for. And Jesus paid that price.
In the Bible, this is sometimes referred to as propitiation. Can you say propitiation? Okay, you don't have to spell it.
There's not a test. But if you ever see that word in the Bible, here's what it means. It means the atoning sacrifice that Jesus, standing in our place, offered himself up for us.
That there needed to be punishment, and Jesus took the punishment. Jesus was personally punished in full by God for every wrong ever committed by you, or every wrong committed against you.
I want you to think about that, that there is never any wrong thing that you have done, or ever will do, in the remainder of your life, that Jesus did not pay the holy penalty for. I also want you to think about this.
Jesus has paid for the sins that have been committed against you. So in your heart, when you want justice against that person for how they have wronged you, know that ultimately Jesus has paid the price. This is the anchor of our forgiveness.
We're told in Ephesians 432, be kind to one another and forgive one another, just as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. That because Jesus took the penalty, he bore the justice.
We can forgive others, knowing that, in essence, no one will get away with anything. That either Jesus paid for it in full on the cross, if they are your brother or sister in the Lord, or they will pay for it in rejecting Jesus' payment.
And so, there will be no one that gets away with human evil. Let that bring comfort to your heart when you feel like life is unfair, or that something isn't right with how a situation was dealt with. God sees and he knows.
He's called the God of Vengeance, because he will rightly avenge every wrong. Jesus also died so that we could have a fully restored relationship with God. That in the Garden, Adam and Eve broke that relationship with God.
They did not want his wisdom, his direction, his way of interacting in the world. And every single one of us after Adam and Eve have walked that exact same path of sin and rejection.
And so, our soul connection, our spirit's connection with God was broken. So much so that we're told that no one seeks after God. No one is following him on their own.
We are all like sheep going astray, is how scripture describes us. But Jesus died so that our relationship with God would be restored. That we who were alienated from God, enemies of God, would be brought back into loving relationship.
Today, God does not view you as on divine probation, or increasingly getting to him. And hopefully one day you can have a great relationship with God. Today, and always, if you know the Lord is your Savior, you are his.
You belong to him. That relationship has been completely earned by Jesus. Jesus didn't get you a little bit better relationship with God.
He gave you a full relationship with God. Jesus also died so that we could have a home with him forever. Jesus, we are told in Hebrews 10, he inaugurated the path into God's presence in heaven, a path that was not previously open.
If we could have gotten to heaven or gotten to God through our good works, through our religiosity, through sacrifices, then Jesus would not have had to come.
But Jesus opened a brand new way, something that is available to us, that was not announced, was not preached or given to people in the Old Testament, because Jesus had not yet come.
And so even as you read through the Old Testament and you read about the believers and David and others who talk about going into the grave, and they assume that someday in the future, God will resurrect them, and then they'll be able to live with
God. They did not have the hope that Jesus introduced to the disciples in John 14, where he says, I am going to prepare a place for you, so that where I am, there you may be also. Thank the Lord today for the hope of heaven.
If you have loved ones who have gone before you, thank the Lord that they are not in some sort of like purgatory, they're not having to atone for their sins, but that every person that has placed their faith and trust in Jesus is in the Lord's
presence. Paul would tell us to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord and praise him for that. Jesus died so that we could follow him into never ending life.
One of the kind of great privileges of my life is to be able to lead funeral services for people. Even in the past month or so, I've done a couple for some different people in our community.
And at the graveside, I love reading through 1 Corinthians chapter 15. That, in essence, says the bodies that we now have can't inherit eternal life. Like this flesh and blood.
As you look at your life today, you might say, well, yeah, I get tired. I sleep the wrong way. And, you know, my neck's out of joint for the next 37 weeks.
And man, I'm struggling with this illness or this sickness or cancer. We don't want to live in these bodies forever. We need something better.
And in 1 Corinthians 15, that's the joy of both the resurrection and when Jesus comes back, Paul tells us, we will not all sleep. Not every person is going to die, but we will all be changed.
And he gives the illustration of like a seed, that unless you plant a seed in the ground, the picture here is you're burying it. It's like the seed dies. He says, it's not going to grow up into fruit.
And he says, in the same way our physical bodies, even when we experience death, it will be raised in a new type of body, a type of body like Jesus' resurrected body that we will read about even in the next couple of sermons as we finish out John's
gospel at the resurrection. So that's the future that's awaiting us, and Jesus died so we could follow him into that never-ending life, a new, restored, revitalized life which you no longer have to deal with your physical hurts and ailments.
There will be no more sickness, no death, no cancer, no, you know, hips out of joint or knee replacements. There's going to be none of that in heaven, and praise the Lord for it.
Our broken bodies and minds would make eternity unbearable, and so we need those new bodies. And Jesus died showing us that death is not the end and that a new creation is coming. And then Jesus died so we could trust God's lavish love for us.
Paul tells us in Romans chapter 8, he says, if God didn't even spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how will he not with Jesus, then give us freely everything?
If God didn't hold back Jesus from you, there is nothing in this life or in eternity that he will not give to us.
So when you're feeling it, when you're going through those hard times in your life, those hard relationship times, those hard financial times, when you're walking through difficulties, whether in your own body and your health or the health of a loved
one, I want you to know that it is not that God is against you and he hates you and he's just really wanting to put you under the, what do you call that, thumb screw, however that phrase is. He's not trying to mash you up.
Instead, this is the hardships that we go through in our broken world now, but for eternity, God will over and over again show his lavish love on you throughout all of eternity in Jesus. You can trust that.
So Jesus died so we could trust God's lavish love for us.
If God didn't spare Jesus from death, so that we could experience forgiveness, restoration, an eternal home, the indwelling of his Holy Spirit, and a new and better existence, what won't he do for us? I want to challenge you as well.
If you don't yet know the Lord is your Savior, God wants you to be saved. Call on him today. He's not like, well, listen, you know, I got Roy and I got Shelby and I got Susan, and that's great.
Do I have to add in Amy too? No, my friend, God is excited about you personally. If you were the only person in all of humanity that had ever sinned and had your relationship broken with God, God would have pursued you if you were the only one.
It's what we hear in the story of the 99 sheep that the shepherd leaves to go pursue the one that was lost. And today, if you don't know the Lord is your Savior, God wants to pursue you. Ask the Lord to save you even today.
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Value Requires Action
Lastly, today, as we close out this series, as we close out the story of Jesus' death and his burial, I wanted us to notice one thing from this passage. So Jesus died because his people were important to him.
He really did actually die, and he died for us in our place so that he could give us all those things. And I also want us to notice that what's important to us makes an impact.
We can see this even through the different ways that the people in the passage are interacting. So first, what's important to us requires action. What's important to us requires action.
So first, the Jewish people, as Jesus and the other thieves were on the cross before the Sabbath day, they wanted to honor the Sabbath, and so they said, these guys have got to come down beforehand. It moved them to make choices and to do actions.
The Jews respected the Sabbath so much that they refused to leave Jesus on the cross on that holy day. Ironically, though they'd committed murder, they didn't want to passively allow Sabbath breaking by having Jesus still be up there.
Can I ask you today, what is important to you that spurs you to action? Is the Lord important to you? Is His church?
Is your family important to you? Is the gospel important to you? Is even this building important to you?
What actions are you taking to show that the things in your life are important to you? If it really matters, then may we take actions for it. Husbands and wives, if you love your spouse, let it move you to actions of care and respect.
Let it change the words that you say to one another. Let it change the attitudes that we have in interacting with one another. Your kids are important to you.
Reach out to them, invest in them, spend time with them, and you will find over and over again that what is truly important to you will move you to action. Let's not say that something's important to us.
Let it be evident that it's important through our actions.
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Value Requires Communication
Secondly, what's important to us requires communication. We see this even in Joseph of Arimathea, though previously he was a secret disciple of Jesus, as we read.
He was scared of what other people would think about him, or what they would say about him. But when it came to the moment where Jesus did not have anyone that was taking care of his dead body, Joseph of Arimathea stepped up.
And he didn't just step up in requesting it from, you know, any regular person or group of Pharisees. He went all the way to the Roman governor of the land to say, I will take responsibility for this.
Because he cared about something, it moved him to communicate about it. Though he was previously scared and nervous and unwilling to let others know about his care for Jesus, at Jesus' literally lowest moment, Joseph spoke up.
Can I ask you today, who are you communicating with that you love them? Who are you telling about your Savior and your Lord? If the Lord or the Gospel is truly important to you, what's important to you requires that you communicate about it.
Who are you communicating with about important things in your life? Are you harboring bitterness or resentment against someone, but you're not actually talking to them about it? If it's actually important to you, then talk to the person about it.
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Value Requires Sacrifice
And then lastly today, what's important to us requires sacrifice. Nicodemus paid an incredible amount for 75 pounds of perfumes and aloes. Jesus' burial was important to Nicodemus, and so he sacrificed his wealth for him.
Joseph's family's crypt was close by, and rather than allowing Jesus to rot in the open, they placed Jesus in a place of immense value to Joseph's family. Can I ask you today, what is so important to you that you are making sacrifices for it?
What do you give up or invest because you value something? Do you value your marriage? How are you sacrificing for your spouse?
Do you value your church? How are you sacrificing of your time, your abilities, or your finances for it? Do you value your God?
What are you sacrificing in your time, your words, your possessions, or your actions for Him? When something truly matters to us, it doesn't matter what we have to give up, so long as we can get that thing.
For every single one of you that have gotten married, I think particularly of the guys, it didn't really matter what the cost of that engagement ring was.
You went, I want to get that girl, and so I'm going to buy that engagement ring, and it doesn't matter if it costs me an arm or a leg. I'm going to go after it.
I was talking to a friend even yesterday, who as their spouse was nearing their final days, they were able to take a trip to Disney together through the generosity of some of their co-workers, some of their family members, and it just touched my
heart, the sacrifice that was given for those people because they valued that person so much. Who is in your life that you value? How are you sacrificing for them? Jesus loved you and I so much that he sacrificed his life for us.
So John in his letter to the churches would say, here is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and he gave his life for us. And then he says, if God has so loved us, we ought also to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
Today I want you to recognize Christ died because you were important to him. He really did die. And so the resurrection is a true miracle.
Jesus died for you to give you all of God's goodness and riches and relationship. And then Christ died because you're important to him. And what ought to be important to us requires action, it requires communication, and it requires sacrifice.
I want to encourage you today to recognize that because Christ died purposefully, it means that we can live purposefully. Will you follow the Lord even today?
