The Crucifixion

Paul writes about here in Galatians, I think some of the things that we would tend to struggle with more than most would is what the church at Galatians, whoa, struggled with a little bit. Paul writes them, O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you. This only would I learn of you, receive ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith.

That's a good question. How did you receive the Spirit of God? And Paul asked the Galatians, did you receive the Spirit of God by doing something, the works of the law, or did you receive the Spirit of God at the beginning there by faith? How did you do that? And they would say, well, we received the Holy Spirit by the hearing of faith. And then he says this, are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh? The tendency for many people is to think this, that I came to Jesus with nothing and I received the Holy Spirit and I was born again and now that I'm born again, I do have something that I can do now.

And I can get it done now and it's going to be my righteousness and my effort and my good works that's going to carry me the rest of the way. Well, that's a tendency in human nature. Human nature always wants to rise up and be proud.

Something I can do. But Paul says, no, if you begin by faith, you need to continue by faith and continue to look unto Jesus. Well, that's what we want to do this morning.

We're going to look unto the Lord Jesus and the crucifixion. So I'd like you to turn over to John chapter number 19 and we're going to continue. This is our third message on the crucifixion story and I want to finish it up here.

Some of the verses that I'm going to read this morning, we've already touched on a bit. But I'm going to start reading in John chapter 19 and verse 28 and we'll go down through verse number 37 and address some of the things here that we can learn from the crucifixion. Well, Jesus has been placed on the cross around 9 o'clock in the morning and the crucifixion is something that goes on here, this story, until about 3 o'clock in the afternoon when the Lord finally gives up the ghost and passes away.

And so we'll start reading in verse number 28. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar and put it upon Hyssop and put it to his mouth.

When Jesus, therefore, had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. The Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was a high day, besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers and broke the legs of the first and of the other which was crucified with him.

But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they broke not his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came thereout blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true that you might believe.

For these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled, a bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they have pierced. Let me explain to you just briefly here, and I wasn't there obviously for this account.

I've done some historical reading on the crucifixion. The crucifixion was the Roman's means of death, the death penalty. If the Jews had their way, they would have stoned Jesus.

But the Romans believed in crucifixion. So because the Jews were under the Roman authority, they needed to submit to the crucifixion. But normally in a crucifixion, the one who was being crucified was laid down on a beam.

There was a cross beam, much like a cross. And then an individual was tied, maybe strapped to that beam, and his hands extended. And in that position, his hands were then nailed to the beam.

Very painful experience obviously. And then his feet were nailed to that beam. And then the restraints were removed from him after he is nailed to the cross.

And then they lift that beam up and drop it then into a hole. And then of course that body would kind of hang there and shudder a bit as they lifted him up. So Jesus was crucified that way.

And he was there between two thieves that fulfilled the passage. He was numbered with the transgressors. And he was put on the cross around nine o'clock in the morning.

If you read the gospel accounts, around nine o'clock is when he was placed on the cross. And from nine to twelve, the daylight, nine to twelve, because at twelve o'clock it's going to turn dark. Very unusual situation there.

But from nine to twelve, he makes three statements. We talked about some of these last week. These statements were made to humanity.

He was communicating with humanity. He was still pleading with humanity. You remember the first statement he made was, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

So he is concerned about humanity, these who are mocking him and ridiculing him. Before him he is asking the Father to forgive them. The next statement he makes sometime between nine and twelve is to the thief on his side.

He says, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise. So this thief understands justification by faith. And all the life of this thief is probably wicked and evil.

He is deserving everything he gets there on the cross. And in the last moments of his life, he turns and by faith, he receives the Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus says to him, You're imputed with my righteousness, and you're going to be with me today in paradise.

So if there's anyone in heaven who's going to be able to say, I have nothing, it's that thief. And that thief's in heaven today. Not because he did anything.

Other than just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And the next statement is made in the day here in the daylight between nine and twelve. We talked about this also last week when Jesus looks down to John and says, John, behold your mother.

And then he says to his mother, Mother, behold your son. So these three statements occur before twelve o'clock, sometimes between nine and twelve. And then at noon, the Bible says there's a darkness over all the land.

From noon until three. And this darkness is symbolic. And if you study the scriptures about darkness, you're going to find that darkness is symbolic of the idea of separation.

He separated the light from the day. Genesis chapter one divided the night from the day. A separation.

So something is happening here from noon to three o'clock. And it's having to do with separation. And this is the time, these three hours, where Jesus now turns away from humanity.

And now his cries begin to go this way toward his father. And sometime around twelve or a little after when the darkness hits, he cries out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And so from here on out, he is speaking heavenward. He is lifting up his voice heavenward.

And he is experiencing what every lost soul will experience throughout eternity. He is experiencing God forsaking him. Now that's an amazing concept.

And I know that none of us want to ever experience this. But many people are going to experience exactly what Jesus experienced when he cries out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? In other words, Jesus felt and knew in his heart that God the Father, and I know this is a hard thing for our minds to comprehend, but God the Father is forsaking his only son. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And I think, you know, you talk about the nails in his hands.

You know, many people have had to go through great pain physically. But when Jesus is weeping, or he is sweating great drops, as it were, great drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, I have no doubt in my heart that his great concern is now, these three hours when God the Father is going to turn away and forsake, in a sense, his only begotten son. God, Jesus, feeling the agony that many humans are going to feel, billions of humans are going to feel when they, Matthew 25 says Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats, and he'll say to the goats, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire.

Can you imagine hearing the God who made you, the God who died for you, to say to you, Depart from me, you cursed. You know, most of humanity is going to hear those words. Depart from me.

And they're going to feel the agony of being lost and forsaken forever. So that's what Jesus is feeling here. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? So since the Bible says that Jesus tasted death for every man, you know, if you go to your vines, expository dictionary, and you look up the word death, you're going to find death means separation.

Separation. You ever experience someone or anyone who's died, I've been beside an individual who actually died right in my sight, and that individual's an older lady, she was staying in our home, and when she died, something separated. Her spirit and soul separated from her body.

You saw that. She stopped breathing. The spirit of life was separated.

Death is separation. The Lord is going to die. It says here in John, He gave up the goats.

He is going to die a physical death, but He's also going to die and experience a spiritual death. He is experiencing right now separation from God. And that's what every lost soul experiences when they go to hell.

They experience this separation from God eternally. The Bible calls it a lake of fire, where men and women are cast into outer darkness. Outer darkness, meaning separated from God.

And that's an awful thing. I mean, we can all endure great affliction in this life and physical pain, but the worst pain that a human being will ever feel is to hear those words, depart from Me, you cursed, from God Almighty into everlasting fire. In other words, be separated from Me forever.

So now after dealing the first three statements with humanity on the cross, the Lord is now speaking heavenward, and the first words we hear are, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? I think Brother David even maybe mentioned this passage here this morning. When Jesus says, Depart from Me, He cursed. The Bible says, Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree, right? Galatians chapter 3. Speaking of Jesus, He is accursed.

Accursed from God. And that's an amazing thought. Probably something, well no doubt, something that so deeply troubled Him.

And I thought about that as an example of love. You know, we talked about this in previous weeks, but love is willing to take the place of another for their benefit. Isn't that true? Love takes the place of another for their benefit.

Young ladies, you see your mother doing the dishes and she's tired? What does love do? Love takes your mother's place for her benefit and does dishes for her. Maybe you see your brother in poverty and he has great need and you have the means. Love takes the place of your brother.

And love says, I'll be willing to sacrifice and be poor so that my brother can be rich. He can take my place and I'll take his. And that's what love is.

Love is the willingness to take the place of another for their benefit. I thought about a father, you know, standing before his son in prison. And the father loves the son and the father would probably say in his heart, Son, I would be willing, I would love to get in there and take your place that you could go free.

Or maybe a mother who has a daughter who has cancer and that mother in her heart would say, I would love to take that cancer and bring it into my body so that you could be healed and have health. And that's what love does. I remember reading a story of a little boy.

I don't know, he's probably five or six years old. He had a twin, a little girl. And this little girl was sick.

I think it was some serious disease. But this little girl needed a blood transfusion. And so they took this little boy who had the same type of blood as the little girl to the doctor.

And they did a blood transfusion. And they told this little boy, you need to give your blood to your sister so that she can live. And the little boy didn't understand all the things everybody, the adults assumed that he understood.

But he said then, how long am I going to live after I give my blood? And in his heart, he was thinking, if I give my blood, I'm going to die and my sister is going to live. And so that is what love is. And you see this here at the cross.

Jesus, as Brother David mentioned here this morning, is willing to step in our place so that we can live. So that we can have benefit. So Jesus here takes the place of the sinner.

Dying physically and then being separated from God. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And there is no greater love than that. Amen? And I talked to you last time about Paul.

And I'm just amazed at how Paul, who was willing to not only give his life for the Israelites, my brethren according to the flesh. But Paul said, I'd be willing to be accursed from Christ. That's amazing.

I would be willing to be accursed. I would be willing to hear those words, depart from me you cursed Paul. If my brethren, the Israelites could be saved.

So that's love. So Jesus is demonstrating here great love toward humanity. And we all, you know I know my heart, I know your heart.

All of us want to be loved. Amen? We all want to be loved. Everybody has a need to be loved.

I want to share with you here this morning. There is no greater testimony of love towards you personally as an individual than what you're seeing right here on the cross. God Himself so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.

And so we should never say, I'm not loved. Or I don't feel loved. If you understand the truth of God's Word, then you ought to just enjoy and rejoice in the love of God for your soul.

Well there's another statement that Jesus makes here that is tied in with being accursed from Christ. Or excuse me, being accursed from His Father. And that's in John 19 here.

Let's start off in verse 28. It says after this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. I thirst.

Now certainly I have no doubt that Jesus had great physical thirst. We read these verses in Psalm 22 last week that His tongue, the psalmist said, was cleaving to His jawbone. His tongue was so dry that it was cleaving to His jaw in His death.

But there's a greater thirst here. There's a greater thirst. And that is the thirst that He's experiencing in being separated from God.

It's the same thirst that the rich man has in Luke 16 when he says, Send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame. And so Jesus is touching or tasting death for every man. And that's certainly a greater thirst.

That spiritual thirst. You know, I think of the Holy Spirit of God and His presence with us and how it's oftentimes described as a well of water. Remember, Jesus said, Out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water.

And when you are born again and you're walking with God and your heart is filled with the Spirit, it's like rivers of living water flowing out of your being. You know, everybody likes water. I like to drink water.

But spiritually, we all ought to have those rivers of living water. But can you imagine being so spiritually thirsty that you crave just one drop of water spiritually to cool your tongue? You know, just give me a drop of His presence. Just a little drop of His presence.

The Bible says in His presence is fullness of joy, and in His right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Can you imagine being in a situation where His presence is so far removed from you that you would crave just one drop of His presence? So when Jesus says here, I thirst, yes, it's a physical thirst. His body is craving water, but it's also a spiritual thirst that He is suffering the pangs of being separated from God.

So He cries here, I thirst, both physical and spiritual. So I want to encourage you that not only can the Lord destroy, as Jesus said, the body in hell, but fear Him who could destroy both body and soul in hell. So you don't think, or you think here this morning about the physical body thirsting in hell, but the soul is going to be thirsting in hell too.

And just imagining, God, if you could just be close to me just for a minute, just for a second. God, if I could just feel your presence. You know, we're blessed here today because we can sense and we can feel the presence of God, but can you imagine being cast into that outer darkness to having to hear those words, depart from me, you cursed and everlasting fire, and to be outside the presence of God forever.

So that is the spiritual thirst that is occurring in the Lord's heart even now as He is hanging there on the cross. So He is suffering, He is suffering the spiritual anguish. Yes, I know, He's got things in His hands and things in His feet, and He's physically under great duress, but He's also feeling a spiritual duress too.

And I don't have all the answers with regards to how Jesus, people ask me this question like on a college campus, how can Jesus in just three hours on the cross suffer for all of humanity? I don't have all the answers to that question, but I do know this. There's something in the value of Him as compared to us. Let me ask you a question, and I know the Lord doesn't consider us as worms and things of that nature, but Jesus is the Son of God.

He is deity in a human body. He is different than me. He is different than earth.

Let me ask you a question. How many worms, I know this is a foolish question, how many worms would have to die and suffer to make an atonement for a human being? How many ants would have to die and suffer to make an atonement for your son or your daughter? You'd say there's no amount of these. Well, these creatures have life.

These creatures were made of God, but they are of so little value compared to a human being that we would think nothing of it for a billion worms or a billion of these small creatures, insects, would have to die to equal the value of one death. You think of the Son of God. And here's the Son of God, the perfect Son of God, dying for sinful men, humanity.

And I don't have all the answers, and I know that probably throughout eternity we'll see and we'll be taught by the Lord Himself all the things that He endured. But I do know this, that the sufferings on the cross atoned for the sins of humanity. We're told that in 1 John.

He died for the sins of the whole world. So here in John 19, as we keep reading in verse 30, He makes another statement. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished.

And He bowed His head, and He gave up the ghost. Now here is where the sufferings of Christ come to an end. His sufferings.

And He gives up the ghost, and He died. The sufferings of Christ. Now when I was an early Christian, a babe in Christ, I thought that Jesus went down to hell.

He spent three days suffering down there. And I come to realize that that's not actually the truth. The truth is that all of His sufferings occurred on the cross.

Everything He suffered for humanity was there on the cross. And when He cried, It is finished, He is referring to the atonement and the sufferings that are necessary for the atonement to atone for humanity's sins. And so when the Bible talks about Jesus descending into Hades, it talks about He went and preached to the spirits in prison.

Peter talks about that and how He led captivity captive. And so when you think about the sufferings of Christ, they all occurred on the cross. His physical sufferings, the spiritual sufferings that He endured, occurred on the cross.

Now how do we know it is finished on the cross? Well go back with me to Matthew chapter 27. And let's read what the account here in Matthew 27 says. And this tells us that sin was atoned for on the cross.

And it was not something that Jesus had to go into Hades and be tormented there for three days and three nights. In Matthew chapter 27, in verse number 50, we read this. Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghosts.

And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent. Now this is a symbolic thing that occurs here. But the temple in Jerusalem, there is a great earthquake.

And this curtain, this curtain that covers the Holy of Holies where the presence of God is, this curtain is rent down the middle. It is torn down the middle. And that is a symbolic act that God did to show that in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, now the way into the presence of God and the Holy of Holies is now made manifest.

And that we can go into the presence of God directly by the blood of Jesus Christ. So that happened when Jesus says, it is finished. All of a sudden there is an earthquake and God shows that atonement has been made by renting the veil and giving us the picture that no longer is the high priest going to come into my presence once a year, not without blood, but now all of us can come boldly by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We can come into God's presence. And so the veil was rent as soon as Jesus said, it is finished. Now go back to John here and there is another, well actually John doesn't have this final statement that Jesus makes.

And I think one or two of the other gospels has the final statement. He probably said it is finished. And then he says, Father, into thy hands do I commend my spirit.

In one of the gospels. Father, into thy hands do I commend my spirit. Now I think something interesting happens on the cross.

If you were standing there, you would be observing something. Here he is on the cross, picture him there. He says, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

He has a relationship with God the Father and he speaks to God the Father. He says, Father, in his prayer. Now at the end of his sufferings, he says again, Father, into thy hands do I commend my spirit.

He has his relationship restored at the last saying while he is on the cross. But in the middle of there, when the darkness comes at 12 o'clock, he says, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He doesn't call him father. He is suffering that anger and wrath of almighty God.

My God, my God. It is almost like that relationship is severed and he is being a curse for us. And so he cries out, not my Father, my Father, why hast thou forsaken me? But my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And so Jesus seemingly is still praying my Father on the cross.

But then when the darkness comes, he changes to my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Then we get back here to this last statement that he makes. Father, into thy hands do I commend my spirit. And that word Father there is a relational word.

Abba, Abba Father. So Jesus felt he was connected to his Father on the cross at the beginning. Father, forgive them.

They don't know what they do. Then he felt connected again at the end. Father, into thy hands do I commend my spirit.

But in the middle there at 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? So Father, into thy hands do I commend my spirit. I have a picture here of the cross. See that cross over there? And if you would picture it this way, when Jesus was on the cross, Jesus said if I be lifted up, he was lifted up above the earth.

That cross simply represents the fact that he was between heaven and earth. He was lifted up. He was rejected by humanity, and he was also rejected by deity.

So humanity was cursing him. Humanity was mocking him. Humanity was rejecting him.

And yet when he looked up, he said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? So he's between earth and heaven, both of them forsaking him or rejecting him and denying him. And again, it's just hard for us to fathom what the Lord endured. But I will say this, that every lost soul is going to experience it.

Every lost soul is going to experience it. The agony of physical pain, being in a lake of fire, and the agony of spiritual pain, being separated from God forever. And so I want to encourage you, please, as Brother David was mentioning this morning, resolve your soul, your situation with the Lord.

Resolve it. Come to Him and humble yourself and acknowledge your sinful condition. Acknowledge that you have nothing in yourself, that there's nothing you can do.

And fall before the cross and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that He might give you His righteousness. Boy, can you imagine standing before God on the day of judgment and having the righteousness of Christ? I mean, God look at you and say you never had an evil thought, you never did an evil thing, you never had an evil motive, you're just like my son. Wouldn't that be a happy day? Happy day, happy day.

But can you imagine standing before God with all your sin, word, thought, and deed? And you're standing before God, you have to give an account of everything? We have a little sign on our front room there by our piano, every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Every word. And so God is offering you the most incredible opportunity.

And if you sit in this church for years and years and years and you never take advantage of that opportunity, I pity your soul. Because of all the light that you have and all the understanding that you have to embrace this salvation that God has offered. Well, let's keep reading here.

Verse 31, The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was a high day, they besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. Now let me just explain something here about this Sabbath day being a high day. This is not the weekly Sabbath that you would think of.

You know, every seven days, every Saturday was a Sabbath day. This Sabbath day was a special day. It was not the weekly Sabbath day.

If you look over to John chapter 20 and verse number 1, it says, The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early when it was yet dark under the sepulcher and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher. So this is Sunday when Jesus is raised from the dead. And yet we know that Jesus said he would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

And so if what we're talking about here in John is a regular Sabbath, that would make it a Saturday. And so Jesus would then be crucified on Friday, Saturday being the Sabbath. They wanted Jesus off the cross by Saturday, and then Sunday being the resurrection.

A lot of people have a hard time with that because they can't find three days and three nights in there. But you see, this Sabbath was not a regular Sabbath. It was a high day.

And I think I got the scripture verse here. Exodus chapter 12, if you want to look at it later on, talks about the Passover. And the Passover was to be on the 14th day of the first month.

Let's make this a Passover day. And after the Passover, the next day was the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the Feast of Unleavened Bread went for seven days.

So every year they had the Passover. And then after the Passover, there was a seven-day period right after the Passover called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And in Exodus chapter 12, God commanded that this day be a Sabbath, the first day, and the last day be a Sabbath.

And so these two are called high days. These days, just like Christmas. Christmas is on a Friday this year.

Sometimes Christmas is on a Tuesday. Sometimes it's on a Sunday. Sometimes it's on a Wednesday.

Our dating system, we move that celebration around. And so sometimes the Passover was on a Monday. That would make Tuesday a high day or a Sabbath.

And then that would make probably seven days later the following Sunday a Sabbath. And so this Sabbath that they're talking about is a high day. After Passover, the next day was a high day or a Sabbath or a day of rest.

And so they were thinking take the body off because our next day is a high day and we don't want a body hanging on the cross on a Sabbath day. So here's probably how this whole thing worked out. Just to give you a date.

Jesus was probably crucified Thursday. He was on the cross from 9 to 3 o'clock. And so at 3 o'clock, he says, Father, into thy hands do I commend my spirit.

So Thursday from 3 to 6, they put him in the grave. And he is in the grave Thursday night until Friday night. Friday night until Saturday night.

And then he is in the grave Saturday night until Sunday morning. So we do know that Jesus is three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. And so there's a lot of debate about exactly what day he was crucified.

But it's probably he was crucified on Thursday, possibly a Wednesday. But there are certainly three days and three nights that he is in the heart of the earth. So the Jews didn't want bodies on the cross because of this Sabbath day that is coming up.

And so they go to Pilate and they ask Pilate if they can get the body down. Now we're going to see how Joseph, Arimathea and Nicodemus come and they get the body. But it says here in verse number 31 that the Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was a high day, besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.

Now one thing that was common amongst those that were crucified is when you're crucified, from what I understand, you're hanging there on a cross and the weight of your body causes a great strain upon your lungs and you can't breathe well. And so what happens is if your legs are nailed and your hands are nailed, you push up with your legs, lift yourself up, breathe and then collapse again. And you push up and you breathe and you collapse again, pushing your weight up and down to try to get your breath.

And so what they would do is they would come by and they would break the legs of those that were on this cross so that they could no longer push their body up and breathe and they would die of asphyxiation real quickly. And so they asked Pilate, Pilate can we go and break the legs or have the soldiers go and break the legs so that they can die quickly and get off the cross and we can get ready for the Sabbath. Well they come to Jesus and they come to these two that are with him.

Verse 32, then came the soldiers and break the legs of the first and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side and forthwith came there out blood and water. Now they come to this first guy over here and now he's still trying to hang on and they hit his legs and break his bones and he soon collapses.

They come over to the other guy and he's trying to stay alive and they break his legs and he now can't breathe hardly and he soon collapses. They get to Jesus and he's already dead. Now you know biblically you can have some idea about why he's already dead, why he is different than the thieves, but I thought first of all about how badly beaten he was.

First of all, we talked about the psalmist, he was beaten more than any man. The visage was so marred, more than any man. Actually when they come to Pilate the scripture says in one gospel account and they say, Pilate, you know, can we go and break their legs to get them off the cross? It says Pilate marveled that Jesus would still be alive.

He marveled. I mean that guy is still living? But I think the biggest thing here and something I shared a few weeks ago was the fact that Jesus laid down his life for us. As a matter of fact he's there on the cross and he says it's finished, his work is finished and then he gave up the ghosts.

He gave up the ghosts. It's like he controlled my death. It's in my hands and he will willingly laid down his life and that's a beautiful picture for us.

You know, we need to be willing to lay down our life. Isn't it human nature, you find this COVID crisis going on, isn't it human nature to try to save your life? Everybody is trying to save their life, trying to save themselves, but Jesus encourages us to, no, lose your life. Lose your life for my sake in the gospels.

And so while two thieves are trying to save their life, lifting themselves up, trying to breathe, he is willing to just lose it. I look at my own life and I look at our lives and truthfully, if we are truly wanting and willing to lose our life for Jesus' sake in the gospel, we'd have a lot more work and missions all over the world, would we not? You know why there's not a lot of mission work all over the world? It's because we're trying to save our life. Most of us don't make decisions that will imperil our life and our family's life because we're really trying to save.

Trying to save. And we're doing lots of things to try to avoid suffering and losing our life. And I think that's one of the great hindrances to mission work is for us to really say, Lord, I am desirous and willing to lose my life for Jesus' sake in the gospel.

Amen. Is that good or bad? Amen. Amen.

You see, I'd never go to Africa as a missionary to preach the gospel to those heathen. I might get sick and die. My kids might get sick and die.

In other words, I'm going to try to save my family from heartache and sickness and death. I'm not going to go for the sake of saving my life. And a lot of our Christianity is we're trying to save ourselves.

I look at my own life, you know. Who am I trying to save? Or why am I trying to save myself? And so Jesus, he was willing to die. He came to die.

It would be great for us to have the same attitude. I'm willing to die and to give my life. And so we're encouraged to lay down our life also.

And I want to bring up Paul here again. He's been on my mind some because Paul was not only willing to lose his life. Think that's no big deal.

Absence of the body is present with Christ. I'd be willing to lose my soul that my brothers would be saved. Boy, that's going pretty deep, isn't it? If Paul could stand before us here today and say, I would be willing to be accursed from Christ eternally for these people to be saved, certainly we could stand up and say, I'd be willing to die in this present world for people to be saved.

Because once I die in this present world, I go to heaven. I'm with Christ forever. I would certainly be willing to die.

Well, the example of Jesus, not only did he die physically, but he suffered separation from God to save you all. If you want to act like Jesus, you can do the same thing. I'm willing to pay whatever it takes for the salvation of other people.

And I think that's something we can learn from the life of Christ. He laid his life down for others. Not only that, when you look down here to prophecy, prophecy was fulfilled here.

I think of that soldier as he comes to Jesus. This human nature, he's probably saying something like this. He probably enjoys taking a club and just banging that thief over there and breaking his legs.

And he gets over and he bangs the other one and breaks his legs. Finally he gets to Jesus, he's already dead. It's like, you know, I've got to do something to this guy.

You know, they don't like him anyway, so they just take a spear and just poof! Right in the side. Just out of anger. The Bible says the wrath of man will praise the Lord.

And so the man doesn't realize this, but this Roman soldier is actually fulfilling Bible prophecy. In his anger, God's word is being fulfilled. And if you look down to verse 37, one of the prophecies here is found in verse 37.

And again, another scripture, saith they shall look on him whom they have pierced. And so, something for us to think about. I always like to make some practical lessons for us.

But if Jesus was on the cross and he faced the anger, the rage, the mockery, the false accusation, and God was glorified in his life through all of that. And here comes a Roman soldier who's angry and he takes a spear and pierces his side. And through even the rage of this Roman soldier, God is glorified and prophecy is fulfilled.

Certainly when people are angry with me and want to take a spear and throw it at me or throw it at you, and people do evil things to us, can't we also say, God's will be done. And Lord, you glorify yourself in this situation. And he will.

Here's something that's important. Maybe we read down through here and we don't see the importance of it. But look at verse number 34.

Let's keep reading. But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side and forthwith came there out blood and water. That's important because look at the next verse.

And he that saw it, John saw it, he that saw it bear record, and his record is true. And he knoweth that he sayeth true that you might believe. Now when I read that I wonder, why is it so important that John is saying this? That I saw, when that Roman soldier pierced his side, I saw with my own eyes.

Blood and water flowing out of his side. And I'm here to tell you, John says, it's the truth. Now what's the big deal? You say, why is that so important? Well, here's why it's so important.

The devil has, through history, tried to promote lies about the Son of God. And one of the biggest lies the devil has promoted throughout history that has deceived many people is that Jesus is not truly human. He is not truly the Son of Man.

You know, if you talk with Jehovah's Witnesses, you talk with the Mormons, even you talk with the Muslims, they did not believe that Jesus Christ was truly humanity. Now the Muslims would, and I'll share a little bit about the Muslims here in a little bit, but you know who the Jehovah's Witnesses think Jesus was? Some angelic being. The Mormons.

Some have falsely taught that Jesus was a spiritual being. He was not truly a human. I want you to turn back here one passage before we close.

In 1 John chapter 4, the same John is dealing with this subject again. In 1 John chapter 4, starting in verse number 1. By the way, water and blood are an essential element to humanity. You don't have water, you don't have blood.

You have nothing. But in 1 John chapter 4, verse 1, it says this, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they be of God, because many false prophets are going out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the what? In the flesh.

Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. You know the great mystery? Paul talked to Timothy, he said this is a great mystery. God was manifested in the flesh.

God came as a human being. He was manifest not as an angel, not as a spirit. He came as a human being and there's a reason why that's important.

How are we human beings going to be redeemed if a human being doesn't die in our place? How is there going to be or what's the importance of a resurrection if Jesus is some angelic being? And so throughout history, John's saying, listen, if you want to find out whether there's false spirits or true spirits, ask this question. Did Jesus Christ come in a human body? Verse 3, and every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. There's a lot of people out there, the Mormons, show us witness, talk about Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

But they don't believe that Jesus was human. He was a man. And there are many false concepts regarding who Jesus is.

Every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of antichrist. You know some people can say, I believe in Jesus and be of the spirit of antichrist.

Because they don't believe in the biblical Jesus. Where have you heard that it should come and even now already is it in the world. So John was concerned about this spirit coming.

Already he said it's here. They are denying not only the virgin birth of Christ, but they are denying that he is a human being. He is the son of man.

Now jump over to another chapter of 1 John 5 here in verse number 5. Who is he that overcometh, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he, notice what it says, this is he that came by water and blood. That's what came out of his side. Even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water and blood.

And it's the spirit that bear witness because the spirit is truth. So John talks about the truth. I am bearing witness to the truth that Jesus Christ came by water and blood.

He was human. By the way you and I are made up, what do they say, 97% water. And blood is the life of the flesh.

So keep that in mind, humanity. That is an area that the devil seeks to deceive us and deceive many. Just because you hear someone say Jesus or I believe in Jesus.

The Bible says there is another Jesus. And it's not the Jesus of the Bible. So back here to John and I am going to close here in John 19 again.

And let's look here in verse number 34. But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side and forthwith came there out blood and water. This is a testimony of his humanity.

And he that saw it, and I believe it's John, bear record and his record is true. And he knoweth that he sayeth true that you might believe. So it's important to John.

It's important to the spirit of God who wrote the scriptures. That you would believe that Jesus came in the flesh. He was a human being and is.

This is a great mystery. Paul said God was manifested in the flesh. And again there are many important doctrines that depend upon him being a human being.

Salvation. The resurrection. Here is another false concept that I faced over the years.

The Muslims. Do you know what the Muslims believe? The Muslims believe, you know you tell them about Jesus' death and his resurrection. Oh no, no, no, no, no.

No, Jesus was wounded, yes he was badly wounded, but he was not really dead. He was close to dead, but he never really died. So there is a lot of deception about the sufferings of Christ.

And whether he was a human being, whether he really died. And they deny the resurrection. So John wants us to know that yes, I saw it with my own eyes.

Blood and water. Humanity. Flowing out of him.

Verse 36, for these things were done that the scriptures should be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken. Now one of the prophecies in the Old Testament.

One of the things that Moses mentioned in the law was that you brought the lamb. You offered the lamb up and the lamb could not be with a blemish. It could not have a broken foot.

It could not have a broken rib. There was no broken bones. It was without spot and blemish.

So here is Jesus. A bone of him shall not be broken. Then verse 37, and again another scripture says, They shall look on him whom they have pierced.

Now we are going to finish up the chapter next time. We are going to talk here about the man Joseph and Nicodemus. They come sometime between three and six and they get the body down.

And bury it. Put it in a cave. And then we will see here some things about the resurrection.