"(16) So he [Pilate] delivered him over to them to be
crucified. So they took Jesus, (17) and he went out, bearing his own cross, to
the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
(18) There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and
Jesus between them. (19) Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the
cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (20) Many of the
Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near
the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. (21) So the
chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’
but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’ ” (22) Pilate
answered, “What I have written I have written.” (John 19:16-22, ESV)
The Jews could not tolerate Jesus being crucified under the
words which read, “The King of the Jews.” This is the inscription that Pilate
wrote and placed on the cross, but the Jews pleaded with asking that the words
be changed to reflect that this was not something they felt but something that
Jesus had said. Pilate responded to them saying, “What I have written I have
written.” It was his words that were placed on the cross and they would not be
changed. This is what he had said and this was how it was going to be no matter
what anyone else might say or think.
What an interesting contrast is developed in these verses.
Jesus was sent to the cross by the Jews because they would not accept the word
of the Father given to them, and there before them hung Jesus with the very
charge for which He was being crucified posted for all to see. In fact, we read
that these words were not only written in one language, but they were written
in three languages so that everyone who passed on this busy road would see Him
and read those words.
In John’s record of the death and burial of Jesus he stated four
times that these things happened to fulfill what had been said in the
Scriptures. In verses 23 and 24 we read, “When the soldiers had crucified
Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for
each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece
from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast
lots for it to see whose it shall be for my clothing they cast lots. So the
soldiers did these things.” About 1,000 years earlier King David said, “For
dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my
hands and feet— I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; they
divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” (Psalm
22:16–18, ESV) As difficult as it might have been to picture His garments being
divided and them casting lots for His clothing, this is exactly what we read
happened just as the Scriptures had said.
Next in verses 28 through 30 John recorded, “After this,
Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I
thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the
sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received
the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his
spirit. Returning to King David in Psalm 69 we read, “You know my reproach, and
my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you. Reproaches have broken
my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and
for comforters, but I found none. They gave me poison for food, and for my
thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.” (Psalm 69:19–21, ESV) Jesus said “I
thirst” and the soldiers (not His disciples to twist prophecy) gave Him sour
wine. Having received the sour wine Jesus bowed His head and gave up His spirit
having said, “It is finished.”
What the Scriptures had declared about the coming Messiah
who would take away the sins of the world was fulfilled in Christ. His reason
for coming was completed. He had taken the weight of man’s sins onto Himself and
He paid the price that no one else could pay. He was faithful to do exactly
what the Father sent Him to do and He did is exactly as God had said. No one
could change this. It was God’s plan was written in advance, and no objection
of man would change it in any detail.
Later in verses 36 and 37 John made two more statements affirming
that these things were done so that Scripture might be fulfilled. “For these
things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones
will be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom
they have pierced.”” Of the Passover Lamb, the Lord told Moses and Aaron, “It
shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the
house, and you shall not break any of its bones.” (Exodus 12:46, ESV) This was
also restated in Numbers 9:12 when the Passover was celebrated in the
wilderness about 1300 years earlier. David wrote in Psalm 23:20, “He keeps all
his bones; not one of them is broken.” (Psalm 34:20, ESV) And about 500 years
before Zechariah wrote, “And I will pour out on the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when
they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as
one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a
firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10, ESV)
One of the first resource books I purchased as a new
believer was Josh McDowell’s “Evidence that Demands a Verdict.” It was not a
sit down and read it book, but one packed with different “historical evidences
for the Christian faith.” One of my favorite parts of the book were the ones
given to the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Among those covered was a list
of 29 Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in one day—the twenty-four hour period
from his betrayal to Him being buried in a rich man’s tomb.
Pilate probably in spite and out of bitterness for having
his hand forced to crucify an innocent man had words written on a cross—words which
were true whether he or anyone else accepted them or not. But God out of love
and wanting us to know that what happened was truly His will spoke through His
prophets hundreds of years before, and as sure as His words were written they
surely came to pass. Our God who cannot lie proved Himself true, and knowing
Him to be true we trust.
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also
received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that
he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the
Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he
appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still
alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all
the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” (1
Corinthians 15:3–8, ESV)
(I got back to this post late and will have to return to it tomorrow for typos.)
(I got back to this post late and will have to return to it tomorrow for typos.)
No comments:
Post a Comment