April 7, 2022

John 19:16-30 (HCSB)
16 So then, because of them, he handed Him over to be crucified.
The Crucifixion
 Therefore they took Jesus away. 17 Carrying His own cross, He went out to what is called Skull Place, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified Him and two others with Him, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate also had a sign lettered and put on the cross. The inscription was: JESUS THE NAZARENE THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’ ” 22 Pilate replied, “What I have written, I have written.” 23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took His clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24 So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it.” They did this to fulfill the Scripture that says: They divided My clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for My clothing. And this is what the soldiers did.
Jesus’ Provision for His Mother
25 Standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved standing there, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
The Finished Work of Jesus
 28 After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now accomplished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, He said, “I’m thirsty!” 29 A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on hyssop and held it up to His mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” Then bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Kim Ivey
 It’s interesting to me how each gospel gives an account of Jesus’ life and death yet is written with a different purpose or audience in mind. John states the purpose of his gospel in 20:31, “but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God….” He is speaking to 2nd generation Christians and people that have grown up hearing about Jesus, but already there are false teachers about, spreading lies about the deity of Christ. Jesus didn’t just become special when the Spirit of God descended on Him at His baptism. He is Christ, the Son of God! Did you notice John’s reference to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy? I mean, all the way down to the soldiers gambling for Jesus’ clothes! Look up Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 – parts of the Bible written hundreds of years before Jesus was even born. Jesus was not just a man. No! Jesus is the One promised by God, come to take away the sins of the world! Jesus is not a myth, He’s not just a good story. Jesus is real, and He died for you and for me.

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