Road to Redemption - A Torturous Trip - 3/3/08
Date: 3/2/08
Sermon Series: Road To Redemption
Sermon Title: A Torturous Trip
Text: John 19:16-30
Theme: The crucifixion is an incredibly painful and gruesome way to die. Jesus’ acceptance of this death demonstrates for us that the redemption mission that demonstrates an awesome, unwavering love of the Father for His special creation. We will learn something about the nature of atonement and propitiation in this event.
Introduction:
Transition: Today we are continuing down the road which Ryan and I have been laying out in front of you for the last few weeks, in what I have been calling the road to redemption.
We have spent time together talking about the trip into Jerusalem as the King entered His city that day.
We have examined the Benedict Arnold of the narrative and been witnesses to the trip that Judas made in order to betray Jesus to the so called religious authorities of his day.
We spent some time examining the institution of the Lord’s Supper in some of the last teaching that Jesus would leave with His disciples.
Last week Ryan took us up the path to the Garden of Gethsemane and we watched Jesus confront the wave of evil and the failure of His disciples to be present with Him.
The text we have read today represents what most of the people who were participating in the story thought was the end of the road. For those of us who are still participating in the narrative of our Lord and Savior we have the benefit of knowing that the cross is not the end but really just one of the highlights of the story of redemption.
The Burden of the Cross - vs. 16-18
• John shows that He left bearing the burden of the cross by Himself
o This would not have been the entire cross but the cross piece to which he was fastened, called the patibulum.
o He would have been accompanied by four Roman solders called a quaternion and a centurion to make sure they did the job right.
• The Matthew account lets us know that Simon of Cyrene was pressed into service to finish the burden
o This would probably be because Jesus was not physically able to finish the task, it could be that he was so slow that the soldiers grabbed Simon so that this gruesome task would not last all day.
he had been beaten severely by the Jews and the Roman guards who gave him a more severe then usual flogging so that the crowd would be inured
There would have been an ample amount of spiritual energy which has been spent by Jesus.
o The text tells us that Simon was the father of Rufus and Alexander, this could be the same Rufus Paul greets in Romans 16:13 (Rufus - chosen in the Lord)
o Cyrene was a city in Northern Africa that had a large presence of Jews
• By the time we come to this part of the story Jesus has already been subject to all kinds of cruelty
o The abuse started with a beating in the house of Caiaphas
o After that he was taken before the Sanhedrin here He was given a death sentence.
o Then after a brief examination by Pilate he was sent to Herod where He suffered another beating and was made the brunt of the soldier’s course humor.
o After he was sent back to Pilate and examined again Pilate tried in vain to release Him, now a second time.
o After that he was turned back over to the soldiers for some more beatings and mocking which included the crown of thorns being shoved onto His head. Pilate expected that such cruel treatment would satiate the crowd’s bloodlust for Jesus but it had little effect on the crowd.
o Finally He turned Jesus over for a final torture- Roman scourging – and then the cross itself.
• While I am not going to go in to all of the specific details associated with death by crucifixion , let me just say that this is one of the most cruel ways to be tortured to death that has ever been invented. And although the Romans were definitely not the original designers of death by crucifixion, they were the culture which used it the most and refined it into a viciously, efficient way to make an example out of capital punishment to a large crowd of people. As I have studied this passage over the years there is something which has always bothered me: Why did Jesus have to suffer such a painful death. If what Jesus is accomplishing here at the Cross is the fulfillment of all of the Old Testament teaching of the need of sacrifice for sin, why can it not be that Jesus was simply killed for us rather than having to suffer such a painful and ignoble way to die. The animals that were sacrificed by the Jewish people, which served as a preliminary means of teaching on the depravity of sin, were never tortured to death, simply killed. So why was it that Jesus’ death had to involve such pain and suffering?
o The form of His death had to accomplish some things.
It had to be on display.
On a hill (Calvary)
On a tree (a cross)
It had to demonstrate how much our sins cost.
It had to humble Him - Philippians 2:8 Even death on a Cross
The Sign of the Cross - vs. 19-22
• Most criminals of the time, when suffering the indignity of this cruel form of capital punishment were required to have a placard displayed which outlined the charges against them - Jesus carried a sign of His kingship posted in all of the important languages of the day (religion, law and philosophy according to McGarvey) to announce his crime - that he was a king, God’s own king.
• This sign infuriated those who had conspired to put Jesus to death. What they wanted was an advertisement which displayed their ultimate power to be the religious authorities of Palestine. Instead what they got was a sign which announced the Kingship of the one they had deceitfully gotten publicly murdered.
• Isn’t it amazing the way that God works out the details of His plan of redemption - even when Pilate intended to mock the Jewish leaders and Jesus, God used his mocking for an announcement to all of the major languages that the King was now dead?
• This sign above Jesus’ head on the Cross always makes me think of the ways in which we proclaim who Jesus is. There are all kinds of ways to represent who Jesus is to the world. I am always impressed by the different fish stickers and religious symbols that plaster all over pour cars and such to show everyone who our king is. I sometimes think that maybe we go about displaying the wrong kinds of signs.
o Instead of or alongside of the stickers that promotes our loyalty to Jesus I wonder if an attitude of love and upright behavior might be the best advertisement that we can display.
The Fulfillment of the Cross - vs. 23-24
• The splitting up of the clothes in this specific way is one of several prophecies that were fulfilled in exacting detail tat day.
o The flogging - Isaiah 53:5
o Being killed with criminals - Isaiah 53:12
o The splitting of the clothes - Psalm 22:18 - They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.
o No bones broken - Ex. 12:46 - no broken bones in relation to the Passover lamb
o They will look on Him whom they have pierced - Zechariah 12;10 - God speaking in reference to Himself as the injured party because of the sinfulness of His people.
o Being buried in a rich mans grave - Isaiah 53:9
The Witnesses to the Cross - vs. 25-30
• There were Jerusalem women who were following
o The Luke account shows Jesus speaking to the women who are following the progress to the cross and weeping - He basically says to them not to weep for Him but to save their tears for the coming tribulation that will afflict them.
• There was John – though noticeably absent were the rest of the Disciples.
o Brave Peter who, a few hours earlier, had brandished his sword in the face of maybe a thousand soldiers who came to arrest Jesus and then lied to a servant girl had scuttled off to hide with the rest of those courageous men God had chosen to change the world.
• There were the Soldiers
o Four soldiers who crucified Him and split up his clothing
o The Matthew account details the fact that these Soldiers came to belief before their job was finished that day! - Matt. 27:54
• There were the criminals who were crucified alongside of Him
• There were the crowds most of whom continued to mocked Him.
• There was the Father
o The incredible righteous presence of the Father who had planned for this moment from the foundation of mans existence.
Conclusion: Ultimately if we are going to be authentic we have to ask ourselves what our own personal witness to the cross is all about. We have to look inside of ourselves and wonder about our place at the foot of this incredible instrument of torture which God turned into the ultimate symbol of peace. Every time I study these scriptures about the pain and suffering that Jesus went through I feel a deep sense of personal guilt. I don’t think that you can really consider the Cross without realizing that each one of us had a significant part in nailing Jesus there. It is my sins, my disobedience, my selfishness and shortcomings which held the creator of the world to this tree. But there is also an incredible sense of personal victory at the cross as well. Because the cross which look upon today no longer contains the body of Christ it seems empty. But if we look close enough we will see something nailed to this cross.
Colossians 2:13-14. When I look on this cross today I see my sins, not some general forgiveness, but my personal sins nailed here. I see the sin of pride and the sin of lust and the sin of selfishness and all of the sins which Jesus has given me personal victory over. What do you see?
