Prophetic Word over the Christian Center Church
In review….
The leadership of the Jews had brought Jesus to Pilate because they did not have the power to crucify him.
Pilate had declared him innocent three times
Pilate gave the people the option of Jesus or Barabbas and they chose Barabbas
Pilate released Jesus to the Roman guard for a second whipping (According to Mark) and then to crucifixion.
John 19:17-21
Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). 18 There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19 And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”20 The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it.
21 Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’ ” 22 Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.”
The Jewish tradition was the use of acrostics we see them in many of the Old Testament books and especially Psalms. Pilate was well aware of this so when he wrote the marker to be placed above Jesus’ head, he wrote Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews. The Jewish leadership not only objected because Jesus was being proclaimed King of the Jesus but in Hebrew that terminology created the acrostic YWHW (as an English transliteration) which stood for the unpronounceable name of God! Pilate was mocking them proclaiming Jesus, God
ישוע הנצרי ומלך היהודים The acrostic formed by taking the first letter of each word of the sentence “Jesus of Nazareth and (“ו”) the King of the Jews” is “יהוה” (YHWH) (Joyce, my hope is you can cut and paste to put this on the screen. If not, don’t worry about it)
Pilate was determined to mock the Jewish leadership as he found Jesus innocent. He proclaimed that his word was law….tradition tells us that Pilate did come to Christ later but I often wonder if he was not surprised at all when the tomb was found empty.
John 19:23,24
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.” So that is what they did.
Jesus’ robe being distributed by the throwing of dice was precisely predicted 600 years earlier by David in Psalm 22:18. Once again, I encourage you to read Psalm 22 to see a number of prophecies that Jesus fulfilled through His crucifixion.
John 19: 25-27
Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.”27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.
Can you imagine Jesus’ suffering, beaten twice, carrying the cross, nails in his hands and feet. Unable to breathe, raw nerves rubbing against rough wood, dehydrated, massive blood loss. Yet with compassion and love sees his mother and as the responsible oldest son, makes sure she is cared for, for life.
John and Matthew (27:56) relay to us that four women were at the cross, Mary, Jesus’ mother, Mary Jesus’ aunt, the wife of Zebedee and the mother of James and John, Mary, the wife of Clopas the mother of James and Joseph, and Mary Magdalene, who by the way was not a prostitute (Pope Paul the 6th corrected Pope Gregory the greats miss appropriation of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute over 1000 years earlier)
It makes sense that Jesus would entrust His mother’s care to His cousin.
Jesus used his final Passover meal to show that his sacrificial death would give new meaning to the festival (Mark 14:17-31). In John, the cross became an altar where Christ, the Passover lamb, was slain. Jesus’ legs were not broken (John 19:33), fulfilling a Passover rule ( John 19:36; Exodus 12:46). Blood ran freely from his wound (19:34), showing that his life was being exchanged for others. Just as a lamb died to save the lives of Jewish families at the Passover in Egypt, so, too, this one death of the Son of God on the cross serves to bring salvation to the world.
John 19:28-30
Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Jesus was extremely dehydrated due to the sweat and mostly loss of blood. Psalm 22:15; 69:21 give the prophecy concerning this.
When Jesus cried out in triumph, “It is finished,” the same word actually means, “The price has been paid in full!”
His great love for you and I took all of this suffering, the lamb on the cross shedding His blood for the forgiveness of our sins so we could have a relationship with the Father!
This great suffering meant Satan is defeated and that the Holy Spirit would be free to not just be with us but to be in us, if we choose.
John 19:31-37
It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. 33 But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. 34 One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. 35 (This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe.) 36 These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37 and “They will look on the one they pierced.”
Levitical law states that if someone remains on a tree they are cursed and the land is desecrated. The leadership wanted Jesus’ body taken down especially because it was a high Sabbath part of the feast of unleavened bread of Passover. They may also have wanted His legs broken to further mutilate his body so people would see Jesus as only a man. However, Jesus was dead already, probably from the loss of blood from both whippings. So they pierced his side and blood and water flowed out showing the piercing of Jesus’ broken heart.
This also fulfilled the prophecy as I mentioned that none of the bones of the Passover lamb should be broken and from 500 years earlier, Zechariah 12:10 states that “they will look on him whom they pierced”
John states he is the witness to this death for two reasons: First, to verify that everything Jesus said about himself, his death, and ultimately his resurrection and Lordship are true! Second, because at the writing of this Gospel, there were those called Gnostics who did not believe that Jesus actually was a human being or that he truly died, and these facts prove that! (Remember John had seen the resurrected Christ returning for His bride in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, and had most likely, written that book before His Gospel!)
John 19:38
Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away.
We are told in Matthew that Joseph was wealthy and he obviously had influence with the Roman authorities to be able to approach Pilate.
Whenever God wants to do something in your life, you don’t always need to open every door, God can bring others to open the door for you. When he calls you, he will always make a way.
Joseph using his tomb was simply one more fulfillment of scripture. Isaiah 53:9 700 years before this happened
John 19:39-42
With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. 40 Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. 41 The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. 42 And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
Matthew and Luke tell us Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were watching all this happen so they would know on Sunday morning after the Sabbaths, where to go.
Nicodemus, Joseph and some servants would carry the 75 pounds of spices and wrap Jesus in the linen cloths quickly before sundown when a new Sabbath day would begin. This was not Saturday but another one of the days of the feasts of unleavened bread part of the Passover celebration most likely Wednesday night or Thursday night. Jesus had prophesied that he needed to be three days and three nights in the earth as Jonah was (Matthew 12:40)
Everything that happened to Jesus, all that was done to Him, was all for you and I. He was not a victim of the Romans, The Jewish leadership, nor or Satan, instead he fulfilled a planned from the beginning of time so you and I could have a relationship with the Father and be filled with the Holy Spirit so we might move in the fruit and power necessary to be victors and overcomers.
This story is a story of love from the one who loves you the most! His victory is coming. We will talk about that next week. I hope you can see how he can understand all that you go through. He understands rejection, betrayal, fear, anxiety, and pain physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. He loves you so much that he walked through all of that so he could identify with you in every way.
He is a high priest that can relate to everything you are going through and have gone through. He can hold you through it and lift you up out of it because he knows and understands. No one else may get you or understand you but he does because he truly loves you!