So he then delivered Him over to them to be crucified.
John 19:16-27
They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. And Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews;’ but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, a part to each soldier and also His tunic; now that tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be;” this was in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.
But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his home.
Introduction
If you ask a well-trained child in Sunday School what the gospel is, chances are you will hear some variant of, “Jesus died on the cross for my sin.” And this is not incorrect. In fact, it is very good and a key truth young people need to know well. But when you look at the amount of time the gospel writers spend on the crucifixion in comparison to the life and ministry of Christ, it is minuscule. Even the last supper in John’s gospel is many chapters long while the crucifixion does not even take up an entire chapter. He is condemned, hanged, dies, and is buried in the span of just a few verses.
This by no means makes the crucifixion of any less importance. Later, in Acts and in the Epistles as the Apostles present the gospel, the death of Christ plays a prominent role. His death also serves as a reminder and illustration of what is expected in the life of a true believer: that as we die with Christ, so we put to death our old ways (Romans 6:8; 8:12-13).
But for John, it is a series of details. He is condemned, brought to the place of His execution, labeled, and raised up. That is that. He gives one last command, and then dies. While the other gospel writers record many other details, including the darkening of the sun, the earthquake, and the torn veil, John makes little fanfare. Instead, he focuses on a few observations about how the world sees Jesus and how Jesus sees His disciples.
A cowardly confession
The first observation is that there are two ways one might describe Jesus’ offense: either He is “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS,” or He is one who “said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” And Pilate, in all his wishy-washiness, labeled Him correctly. As Jesus had pointed out: Pilate’s authority was wholly dependent on the will of the Father. And so what the Father willed for this moment is what came to pass. Jesus received the correct title because He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords (1 Timothy 6:15).
Pilate was not strong in this confession. He did not release Jesus or defy the crowds in any other way. Whether this was enough to constitute a true belief is between him and God. But he still answered the detractors, saying, “What I have written I have written.”
And these two options remain for everyone to this day: either you believe Jesus is King or you believe He merely claimed to be King. A third option does not truly exist. Even among the so-called mythicists who believe Jesus did not truly exist, they merely take the second option to the fullest of extremes.
True religion
Then John observes how Jesus sees His disciples, specifically John himself. After the Lord was stripped bare and His clothing divided according to Psalm 22:18, He turned to the disciple writing this very account. Being addressed directly, John is sure to include the fact that Jesus entrusted His widowed mother, soon to lose her firstborn son, to this disciple under his care.
James, the brother of Jesus, later wrote that, “pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27) Jesus expects this sort of religion from “the disciple whom He loved”, and He expects it from all of us. It is not merely our duty to care for one another, but it is our joy to participate in the blessings of God upon others.
When Paul left Ephesus, exhorting the Church to keep the faith, he quoted the Lord Jesus by reminding them, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) When you bless others in this way, you are blessed far more greatly and deeply than you could imagine. But that blessing is not merely earthly. Certainly the Lord has the freedom to do that, but our expectation ought to be set upon the eternal blessing found in loving one another as He has loved us. As Jesus hung there on the cross, He entrusted His mother to the disciple John. And from that day, John was blessed to keep her in his home.
The moment we see one another’s needs as a burden is the moment we lose the plot. Witnessing a brother or sister in need is an opportunity to pour blessing out on them from the Lord as an instrument of His love. What an incredible joy and privilege we have to be invited into His gracious and loving work.
May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.
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