John 19:28-37 “The Death Of Jesus”

1:07He prayed for the forgiveness of his tormentors in Luke 23. He promised the salvation to the penitent thief dying beside him, as recorded also in Luke 23. He commended his mother Mary to the care of John in John 19. But in his fourth statement, he turned from the needs of others to his relationship with his father by making the famous cry of dereliction: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That's recorded in Matthew 27. In his final three statements, he focused on himself.

1:57In John 19, 28, we read, I thirst. In John 19, 30, Jesus said, It is finished. And then his seventh and final word was recorded in Luke 23: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. This morning, we are going to organize our simple message around verse 28. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture, I thirst. We're going to consider three statements about the death of Jesus. We are going to consider a statement of completion.

2:52It is finished. We're going to consider a statement of fulfillment to Fulfill the scripture and a statement of obedience, I thirst. Along the way, we are going to consider what these statements mean for us this morning. Let us first consider a statement of completion. Let's return to verse 28. 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. And when Jesus had received the sour wine, he says, It is finished.

3:46And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. The drink offered here is not to be confused with the wine mixed with myrrh, which some charitable people offered Jesus on his way to the cross, as recorded in Mark 15. That drink was designed to dull the agony. It was a sedative. Jesus refused to drink it because he was fully resolved to drink the cup of suffering the Father had assigned to him. The drink offered Here bought Jesus a little more time because there was yet some work to be done. And we'll discuss that later.

4:40And it likely served to clear the throat of Jesus so that he could triumphantly end his life with a shout. Jesus' final two statements after taking this drink came in close proximity to one another. The words that John records, it is finished, were no doubt spoken first, and were then followed by the words that Luke records, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. In other words, Jesus shouts that his work is completed, and then he gives up his spirit.

5:29What does Jesus mean by, it is finished? For years, liberals and unbelievers have declared that this cry of Jesus from the cross is a cry of defeat. They say that it is the word of a man who has lost everything. They are gravely mistaken. This is not a cry. Of desolation. At last, it's over. But an announcement of triumph, it is accomplished. The single Greek word, teteleste, which means accomplishment, is translated into three English words. It is finished.

6:28In effect, on the brink of death, Jesus cries out, it is accomplished. In his powerful hymn, that's why I was peeking over here with Daniel. In his powerful hymn, a mighty fortress is our God. Martin Luther grasped the importance of this victory claim in the third verse to join with me. And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God has left His truth to draw Him through us.

7:20The Prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for Him. His rage we can endure, for though his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him. What is that one little word Luther refers to? It is that one little word in Greek, to teleste, which we translate as, it is finished. And when Jesus says it is finished, Satan falls. Every plan he had is crushed. Like Martin Luther, young people here today understood that Jesus is speaking of accomplishment. When a young student has completed an essay that he or she's been working on for several hours, it is finished.

8:46When a young artist finishes a drawing and it's perfect, they say, it is finished. And if Jacob Hillen were here today and he Negotiated a deal on his landscaping and it was shook hands, both parties are finished, he'd say, it is finished. Therefore, it is plain to see that it is finished is not a cry of a defeated man. This is not the moan of the defeated. It is not the sign of patient resignation. Rather, it is the shout of a victor, is the triumphant recognition that Jesus has now fully accomplished the work he came to do.

9:46So, for just a few minutes, let us unpack what Jesus actually finished. Alan Carr notes three things. First, the pain of redemption is finished. Allow me to refresh your mind this morning: the terrible price Jesus paid for us as he suffered sin on that day. He was scourged, beaten, spit upon, mocked, and nailed to the cross. In addition to this pain, he also endured shame. He was stripped. Naked before the world and nailed to the cross. He endured pain, cruel shame, but perhaps the greatest agony Jesus suffered while on the cross was the judgment that came from his Father. When Jesus was on that cross, he literally became the sins of those given to him by the Father. Then the Father, unable to endure or to tolerate sin in his presence, judged the Lord Jesus as if he were every sinner ever given to the Father.

11:17And this was the greatest agony that Jesus was forced to endure. Because while he was on that cross, for the first time ever, there was a gulf between he and his father. Thus, when he proclaimed, it is finished, it meant that the pain of redemption was finished. It also meant that the plan of redemption was finished. When Jesus reached the end of his ministry, he was finishing a work that had begun before the world ever formed. From the beginning of time, God had planned to send his son. To die for sinners. This was his promise to Adam, Genesis 3:15. This was portrayed in Genesis 4, when Abel bought a lamb to be offered. We see it in Exodus 12, when the children of Israel killed the Passover lamb on the eve of the Passover.

12:22We see it on the day of atonement when the lambs were killed to make atonement for the people. However, all this bloodshed, all this death, all this suffering saved no one. It merely withheld the judgment of God because the person offering the sacrifice did so in the knowledge that a more complete sacrifice was coming one day. Old Testament believers were saved by looking forward to a promised Messiah who would die for sins, while we are saved by looking back to the promised Messiah who did die for sins. Everything God did pointed to this day when Jesus would lay down his life on the cross. When Jesus shouted, It is finished.

13:23It meant that the plan of redemption was finished. It also meant. The payment of redemption was finished. When Jesus said, it is finished, it meant that God the Father in heaven was satisfied with what Jesus the Son had done on the cross. God accepted His Son's death and shed blood as the perfect payment for our sins. So, what does it mean it is finished? What does that mean for us today? I believe it allows us to rest in the knowledge of Christ's completed work.

14:14We need not fear that either sin, Satan, or the law shall condemn us at the last day. We can know that we have a Savior who has done all, paid all, accomplished all, and performed all that is necessary for our salvation. We can take up the challenge of Paul in Romans 8:34. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died, who was raised, and who's at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

14:58When we look at our own work, We may be ashamed of our imperfections. But when we look at the finished work of Christ, we know that the pain, the plan, and the payment for redemption is complete. That is the statement of completion. Let us now consider the statement of fulfillment. We could reread the whole passage before us, but in verses 28 through 37, there are no less than three aspects of Jesus' final moments that are a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. The first statement: I thirst.

15:51Our Lord's thirst was his partaking of this wine, not that wine, this wine, that fulfilled at least three prophecies in Psalms. My strength is dried up like a potsher, and my tongue sticks to my jaws, Psalm 22, 15. I am weary with my crying out. My throat is parched. Psalm 69, 3. They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst, they gave me sour wine to drink. Psalm 60. 68, 21. The second aspect of Jesus' final moments, that is a fulfillment of Scripture, is that Jesus died before his legs were broken.

16:46The Romans loved to leave bodies of those crucified on the cross exposed for a long period of time to serve as a warning for all. Yet the Jews could not allow these bodies to remain exposed after nightfall on the Sabbath. The Mosaic law insisted that anyone hanged on a gibbet or a cross should not remain there overnight. Leaving such a cursed person on the cross desecrated the land. Deuteronomy 21, 22 and 23. This prompted the Jews to request that the crucifixion be terminated early and the bodies removed. And Rome had a solution for this problem. They would take a heavy hammer and crush the bones of the victim's legs, which, if most understand, as you hang, the only way one can breathe is by pushing up with your legs to get a breath.

17:56And once their leg bones were broken, They could not push up. And within a few moments, the victim who was being tortured would die. At the request of the Jews, because they didn't want any of those bodies left on the cross as they entered into the Sabbath, sent the Roman soldiers to go break the legs of all three. But when they came to Jesus, he had already died. There was no need to break his legs. So, why is that significant? It is significant because John says it fulfills the scriptures.

18:42And the scriptural significance lies in the laws that were associated with the Passover. One of the requirements for Passover lambs was that they were to be perfect. You couldn't come to the Passover with a lamb that had one ear or three legs. It had to be perfect, and here on the cross is the true, perfect Passover lamb whose blood delivers his people from the angel of judgment, the angel of death. And that's why John alludes to at the end of verse 33 to this Passover requirement in Exodus 12:46, when he says, Not one of his people. His bones will be broken.

19:33The third aspect of Jesus' final moments that's a fulfillment of the scripture is the piercing of his side. The soldiers, wanting to absolutely make certain that Jesus was dead, they decided they're going to thrust a spear into his side. Immediately, both water and blood gushed out, a fact that is very significant to John in verse 34. We could go off on this rabbit trail, and I will not. There are many significant, interesting attempts to say what's the spiritual significance of this fact. Some have seen the water to be a symbol of Christian baptism. Blood is said to symbolize communion. Others, not wanting a spiritual interpretation, have gone to considerable effect to show this was just a natural phenomenon, as though it was necessary to prove to others that what happened to Jesus happened to other people.

20:35Maybe the water and blood poured from our Lord's womb was a normal phenomenon, something that one would expect in a death of this nature. But I am perfectly content for this phenomenon to be absolutely unique. Was not his birth unique? Why in his death should not aspects of that maybe also be unique? All right, we're off the rabbit trail. No matter how one explains the water and the blood, I will tell you this: Jesus wishes to see that the things that took place on Calvary were the very things that God had prophesied in Zechariah 12:10.

21:19Zechariah 12:10, 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 at 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. The piercing of the side of our Lord was prophetically necessary since Zechariah 12:10 in the context refers to the Messiah. And so, what John describes is what Zechariah foretold. Everything was going according to God's plan.

22:13So, what do these scriptural fulfillments mean for us today? First, the scriptural fulfillments prove that the death of our Lord Jesus Christ at Galgotha was a thing. Foreseen and predetermined by God. It was not an accident. Second, the scriptural fulfillments mark the reality and truth that Jesus actually died. Because there are theories that, of course, he didn't die and he went into the tomb and he was still alive. No, no. Jesus actually died before he was taken off the cross and before he was put into the tomb. J.C. Ryle notes: without a real death, there could be no real sacrifice. Without a real death, there could be no real resurrection. And without a real death and a real resurrection, the whole of Christianity is a house built on sand and has no foundation at all.

23:28That is the statement of fulfillment. Now, let's now consider the statement of obedience. I thirst. Yes, Jesus thirsts for something to quench his thirst. Yes, he thirsts because of the physical and spiritual suffering he has endured. Yes, he needs water to help him speak. Yes, his thirst is a fulfillment of Old Testament scriptures. But I want to focus on how his thirst. Is also about obedience. Look again at verse 38. John says, knowing that all was now finished, Jesus said to fulfill the scripture, I thirst. David Strain notes something very important here. The apostle does something he rarely does in the gospel narrative. He tells us what was in Jesus' mind.

24:30Jesus knew that all was finished, that the work given to him was complete. He had finished the mission. His sufferings were almost at an end. He could see the tape stretched across the finish line. But if that is the case, why did he not immediately at that moment, knowing that all was finished, go on to say what he said in the 30th verse, it is finished. If he knew all was finished, why not proclaim it immediately?

25:16Here we see something of the commitment of Christ to the obedience required of him by the Father. He waits to declare that the final accomplishment of the Work of redemption that he was dying to secure until the last moments of suffering had been endured. He would not leave a single drop undrunk in the cup of suffering that the Father required him to drink. He would not declare the work done until it was completely done, however near to the end he was.

26:00Close is not close enough for Jesus. He would drink the cup of suffering down, drain the dreg of every last second of agony, that he make complete and perfect satisfaction for sin. And so he waits, knowing that there is now one last act, one last sacrifice of obedience still to be made before he can rest. So, what does Jesus' obedience mean for us today? Some of you are here today and are deeply aware of sin and guilt in your own life. You'd like nothing so much as to be rid of that.

26:52And you suppose the reason you have not yet shaken off the burden that you carry is because you are yet to. To discover just what it is that God requires of you, just what ritual it is that you have to perform, what words is it that you have to say, what penance you have to do in order to secure relief. But do you see now that Jesus's words in this message teach us that's not necessary? None of it. Every obstacle to your acceptance by God has been removed. All that's needed for salvation has been accomplished. Jesus has done what you and I cannot do.

27:52As Horatio Boner wrote in his hymn, Not What These Hands Have Done, I will not sing this for you because I don't know the melody. We could have gotten it, but we didn't. All right. Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul. Not what my tolling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole. Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God. Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load. Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin. Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me peace within. Thy love to me, O God, not mine, can rid me of this dark unrest and set my spirit free.

28:53For those of you who want to be rid of sin and guilt, go to Christ who obeyed, died, and rose for sinners like you and me. Go and ask him to be your rescuer. His obedience, not ours. His obedience is the only ground of hope for any of us. Go to him right now if you must, and say to him in your heart, I'm bankrupt. I'm spiritually destitute. I've tried and I've failed. Nothing can lift this guilt and sin of my heart. But do it now because it can be lifted because of his completed work and his obedience on the cross. That is the statement of obedience.

29:48Let us close with one last practical application. If you are a Christian here in this room today, you should be stirred in your soul. Every time you read of our Lord's death, you should never tire of remembering him and his death as our Lord commanded when we celebrate the Lord's Supper. You should take every temptation to sin seriously, knowing that your sin cost Christ much on the cross. You should never cease to thank God for his provision of salvation through the sacrifice of his son on the cross. And I would challenge you to remember these truths as we partake of the Lord's Supper in a few moments. Let us pray.

30:59Father, we praise you for our salvation and that salvation which was planned from the beginning of a time. It was planned from eternity. You knew we needed it, you planned it, and you gave it. We praise you. We praise you that all of those prophetic pronouns. Throughout the Old Testament were fulfilled by Jesus' coming, death, and resurrection. We praise you that Jesus and only Jesus was the perfect Passover Lamb whose death and whose death alone is sufficient to save.

31:58Lord, we confess that we are quick to make light of sin. We confess that we fail to do as Jesus did, to endure to the end. We love to punch out before we complete a task. Lord, we confess that we oftentimes are mechanical in our approach to the Lord's Supper. Father, we thank you for sending your one and only Son to save us. We thank you that Christ has overcome sin and its power by one little word. And we thank you that Christ's death is a satisfactory propitiation for sin.

32:57Lord, may we understand. Christ's work and embrace it. May we embrace his work and reject our ideas and plans, which are in contradiction to his. May we understand all that happens in our lives, good and difficult, happens according to your plan. And may we understand that each of us cannot save ourselves, but we have a need to be saved. And the only path to salvation is placing our faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross when he said it is finished.

34:00We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.