NIV Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 70
J ohn 1 9 : 2 1
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page 1846
crucified was near the city, d and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21The
chief p
riests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not w
rite ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that
this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”e
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 When the soldiers crucified J
esus, they took his c lothes, dividing them into four
shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seam
less, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled f that said,
“They divided my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.” a g
So this is what the soldiers did.
25 Near the cross h of Jesus stood his mother, i his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clo
pas, and Mary Magdalene. j 26When Jesus saw his mother k there, and the disciple whom
he loved l standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, b here is your son,” 27 and to the
disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
esus Dies on the Cross
J
(236/Matthew 27:45–56; Mark 15:33–41; Luke 23:44–49 )
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, m and so that Scripture w
ould
be fulfilled, n Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29A jar of wine vinegar o was there, so they soaked
a sponge in it, put the s ponge on a s talk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to J esus’ lips.
30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” p With that, he bowed his
head and gave up his spirit.
31 Now it was the day of Preparation, q and the next day was to be a special Sabbath.
Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses r during the Sab
bath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32The soldiers
therefore came and broke the legs of the f irst man who had been crucified with Jesus, and
then those of the other. s 33But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already
dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced t Jesus’ side with
a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. u 35The man who saw it v has given
testimony, and his testimony is true. w He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies
so that you also may believe. 36These things happened so that the scripture would be
a
19:20
dHeb 13:12
19:21
ever 14
19:24
fver 28,36,37;
Mt 1:22
gPs 22:18
19:25
hMt 27:55,56;
Mk 15:40,41;
Lk 23:49
iMt 12:46
jLk 24:18
19:26
12:46
13:23
kMt
lJn
19:28
30; Jn 13:1
24,36,37
mver
nver
19:29
oPs 69:21
19:30
pLk 12:50; Jn 17:4
19:31
qver 14,42
rDt 21:23; Jos 8:29;
10:26,27
19:32
18
sver
19:34
12:10
5:6,8
tZec
u1Jn
19:35
24:48
15:27; 21:24
vLk
wJn
24 Psalm 22:18 b 26 The Greek for Woman does not denote any disrespect.
19:23-24 Roman soldiers in charge of crucifixions customarily took for
themselves the clothes of the condemned men. They divided Jesus’ clothing and cast lots to determine who would get his seamless garment, his
most valuable piece of clothing. This fulfilled the prophecy in Psalm 22:18.
19:25-27 Even while dying on the cross, Jesus was concerned about his
family. He instructed John to care for Mary, Jesus’ mother. Our families
are precious gifts from God, and we should value and care for them under
all circumstances. Neither Christian work nor key responsibilities in any
job or position excuse us from caring for our families. What can you do
today to show your love to your family?
19:27 Jesus asked his close friend John, the writer of this Gospel, to
care for Jesus’ mother, Mary, whose husband, Joseph, must have been
dead by this time. Why didn’t Jesus assign this task to his brothers? As
the oldest son, Jesus entrusted his mother to a person who stayed with
him at the cross—and that was John. Tradition says that Mary moved to
Ephesus later with John and that both are buried there.
19:29 This wine vinegar was a cheap form of wine normally mixed with
water that the Roman soldiers drank to quench their thirst while waiting
for those crucified to die.
19:30 Until this time, a complicated system of sacrifices had atoned
for sins. Sin separates people from God, and only through the sacrifice
and shed blood of an animal, a substitute, could people be forgiven
and become clean before God. But people sin continually, so frequent
sacrifices were required. Jesus, however, became the final and ultimate
sacrifice for sin. The word translated “finished” also means “paid in full.”
Jesus came to finish God’s work of salvation (4:34; 17:4), to pay the full
penalty for our sins. With his death, the complex sacrificial system ended
because Jesus took all sin upon himself. Now we can freely approach
God because of what Jesus did for us. Those who believe in Jesus’ death
and resurrection can live eternally with God and escape the penalty that
comes from sin.
19:31-35 These Romans were experienced soldiers. They knew from
many previous crucifixions how to tell whether a man was dead or alive.
There was no question that Jesus was dead when they checked him, so
they decided not to break his legs as they had done to the other victims.
Piercing his side and seeing the sudden flow of blood and water (indicating
that the sac surrounding the heart and the heart itself had been pierced)
was further proof of his death. Some people say that Jesus didn’t really
die, that he only passed o ut—and that’s how he appeared to come back
to life. But we have the witness of an impartial party, the Roman soldiers,
that Jesus died on that cross (see Mark 15:44-45).
19:31 It was against God’s law to leave the body of a dead person
exposed overnight (Deuteronomy 21:23), and it was also against the law
to work after sundown on Friday, when the Sabbath began. This is why
the religious leaders urgently wanted to get Jesus’ body off the cross
and buried by sundown.
19:32 The Roman soldiers would break victims’ legs to hasten the
death process. When a person hung on a cross, death would come by
suffocation, but the victim could push against the cross with their legs
to hold up their body and keep breathing. With broken legs, they would
suffocate almost immediately.
19:34-35 The graphic details of Jesus’ death are especially important
in John’s record because he was an eyewitness. They certified his accounts as authentic.