You're listening to the teaching ministry of Harvest Fellowship Church in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. You can find out more about us on the web at www.harvestfellowshipchurch.org. We pray that through our teaching we may present everyone mature in Christ. Good evening. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for another evening that we could come together, O Lord, in your name. And we do gather, O Lord, in your name, recognizing you are the Lord of lords and the King of kings. And tonight, O Lord, we submit ourselves to you. We ask, O Lord, that you would open our eyes and our hearts to the truth of your scripture, that we would see the great love that you have manifested for us in the sacrifice of your Son. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for your obedience and faithfulness to all that the Father has willed. We thank You, O Lord. We ask You, Lord, to be with our children and grandchildren this evening as they study Your Word, and O Lord, that they would find Jesus, we pray. Be with our new membership class. Give them grace, we pray. May they see more of You and come to love each other. Thank You, Father, once again for this time. May we bring glory to You, honor You, and may it benefit us in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. We're in the gospel according to John chapter 19. We're going to pick it up in verse 17. I'm going to read to the end of the chapter from 17 and then we'll come back and pick it up in verse 17 and begin teaching. Read 16, so he delivered him over, that is Pilate delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and he went out bearing his own cross to the place called the place of the skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him and with two others, one on either side and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priest of the Jews said to Pilate, do not write the king of the Jews, but rather this man said, I am king of the Jews. Pilate answered, what I have written, I have written. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts. One part for each soldier, also his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said to one another, let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be. This was to fulfill the scripture which says, they divided my garments among them, and for my clothing, they cast lots. So the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and his disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son! Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. 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. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. He bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Let's stop there. We left with those chilling words last week and back in verse 16, so he delivered him over to be crucified. And then the second part of that verse says, so they took Jesus, that is, the soldiers under the authority of the Sanhedrin, the leadership of the Jews, under the authority of Pilate, who was under the authority of Rome. So they took Jesus and he went out, all right? Very simple statement. He went out bearing his own cross. The fact that he was bearing his own cross, I think is John's way of saying how alone and his aloneness and separated, there was no one there with him. All of his disciples had left. and left him alone, and here he is facing the most crucial part of his life alone, and he carries and bears that cross alone. So bearing his own cross to the place called the place of the skull, place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. Now, in Latin, the word is calveria, which equals skull. Okay, so Calvary, Calvaria then became Calvary from the Latin Vulgate. That's how we got it into our songs. You hear the glories of Calvary. Well, you know, when I was a little boy, I thought it was guys shooting, riding horses. I didn't understand it was different, but it means the place of the skull, and that's where that comes from, all right? So it says, the place of the skull which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they, and I want to keep looking at this. We see they over and over again. Back in verse 16, so he delivered him over to them. To who? To the Jewish leadership, all right? So they, who are they? The Jewish leadership and the soldiers took Jesus. Then it says, verse 18, there they crucified him. Who? Again, the soldiers crucified him, but under the authority of the Jewish leadership, under the authority of Pontius Pilate, again, who was under the authority of Rome. So, look over at Acts chapter four, verse 27 with me, if you would. Acts chapter four, and verse 27. Okay, this is a prayer. It says, for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, okay, the Christos, the Messiah, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. So, that's who crucified Jesus. It was a... Group, a combination, effort. So he says, there they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. We don't know a lot about these other men from the Gospel of John, but we are told in Matthew 27, 38, Mark 15, 27, and Luke 23, 32, that these men were also robbers, evildoers, or malcontents, all right? uses different words. Now, some have written, and some of the scholars have written, thinking that these guys might have been in the band with Barabbas, who was an insurrectionist, who was basically a terrorist, who were in his party. We have no evidence of that scripturally, but many men believe, because of the context, these two guys probably Barabbas would have been, there would have been three men hanging on the cross if they wouldn't have said, no, crucify Jesus and give us Barabbas. There would have been three men still crucified, but it would have been Barabbas and his two compatriots. But we don't really have any evidence of that, but it sounds logical. All right, but that would be speculation, so we don't know. Okay, so two on, one on either side and Jesus between them. Let's look at Luke chapter 23, verse 42 for a cross-reference on that, and then I wanna go to Isaiah to look at a cross-reference. 23, 42 in Luke. Let's go. Verse 39, really, one of the criminals who were hanged railed on him, saying, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. But the other rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds. But this man has done nothing wrong. He's echoing the very words of Pontius Pilate. And he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And he said to him, truly, I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. All right, so verse 42, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Let's go over to Isaiah chapter 53 in verse 12. Isaiah 53. We'll just read 12, we'll probably make reference to this section a few more times. The first part of verse 12 deals, we're gonna see, with the dividing up of his garment, which we're going to refer to later. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many and he shall divide the spoil with the strong. No, actually that's, I misspoke, I was reading it to that. because he poured out his soul to death, here's what I was looking for, and was numbered with the transgressors, okay? I was applying that first part to the, that's not that section, that's another verse, we'll come to that. Here, what we see, though, in this context in John's gospel is that there are different views of the death of Christ, right? Let's look at those. God the Father, God the Father, propitiates His wrath through the death of Jesus Christ. The word propitiate means to absorb or to take the wrath, and we see that in the Father's divine justice, His goodness, His holiness, His righteousness. Sin comes against that, sin must be dealt with. God cannot, as a righteous judge, sweep sin under the carpet. He must deal with it. How does He deal with it? He deals with it by pouring out His wrath upon His Son, thereby propitiating the wrath, removing the wrath, absorbing the wrath in His Son. Now, from the Savior's viewpoint, from Christ's viewpoint, He is the ultimate sacrifice. He is an offering for sin, and He does so by an act of obedience to the Father. He even prays in Gethsemane, Father, not my will, but Your will." So He goes to the cross as a willing, obedient sacrifice. Now, for believers, we see this sacrifice, this death of crucifixion of Christ, as a substitution. The just for the unjust. received, he took what we should have received, not only the eternal punishment and the wrath of God, he also suffered the death that we should have died. Because the wages of sin, Paul tells us, is death. We should have died, he died, substituted in our place. Now, Satan, how did Satan view this sacrifice upon the cross, this death, this crucifixion? Satan He thought he had a victory, he had a false triumph that was only temporary, but it led ultimately to final defeat, we are told. How do unbelievers look at this crucifixion, this death of Christ on the cross? Well, they think it was murder. They see it as a miscarriage of justice. Or some even see it as an unnecessary martyrdom. We quote the scripture about love, no greater love than giving your life for another. Well, they look at that and they say, that was probably the most foolish thing that anybody could ever have done. Right? In some ways. And then others say, no, that was a great sacrifice, not fully comprehending and understanding the plan of God in all of this. So, We come back to verse 19 in John 19 and we see it says Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. So normally when a man was crucified or a woman was crucified, which was the normal way that the Romans took care of Lawbreakers, and it was to set an example, it was to do it publicly, they were hung naked, it was a very, very harsh punishment, very harsh to observe, but they would take and they would write an inscription of what the charges were, and they would place it, nail it to the top of the cross, so that anyone going by would see what the charges that they were being condemned to death for. So, now we see that Pilate took and he placed upon the cross an inscription, and it read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Then we're told in verse 20, many of the Jews, again, the leadership, read this inscription for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. So as they went outside of the city to observe this crucifixion, they looked, Jesus hanging on the cross. It says, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. It was Pilate's way of kind of digging and getting back at the Jews. He wanted them to take care of it. They placed the responsibility on him. Pilate said, okay, yeah, okay. Let me give you one last shot here. And he says, Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. And it was written in Aramaic, indicating it was their language. They could read it and understand it. It was also written in Latin, okay, indicating that that was from the power of Rome, right? And it was in Greek, which was the cultural language. So every culture would be able to read this inscription as it hung over the cross of Christ. Now, it says, so the chief priest of the Jews said to Pilate, do not write the king of the Jews, but rather this man said, I am the king of the Jews, indicating, look, He's a charlatan, he's a fraud, he's not the king of the Jews. He's not our king. We've already told you we have no king but Caesar, right? They just said that to him. So now, they want him to change it. This, say, the king of the Jews, do not write the king of the Jews, but rather, this man said, I am the king of the Jews. Let's look at one, chapter one, verse 49. Chapter one and verse 49 of the Gospel of John. This is when he met Nathanael, one of his disciples. Let's go back to, let's go to 43. Why? because it's free, amen. The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, we have found him of whom Moses in the law And also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathanael said to him, can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit. If you'll remember when I told you that I read a man and he said, no, there was no jiggery pokery. He was a Scotsman, Scots breed. I love that, there was no jiggery-pokery in him. So he said, behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit. Nathanael said to him, how do you know me? Jesus answered him, before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God. Listen, you are the King of Israel. So, way back in the beginning of the Gospel of John, we've already seen that Nathanael says, you are the king of Israel. Not only are you the one who Moses and the prophets wrote about, you are the king of Israel, the son of God. Interesting. Now back to chapter 19. One more place, I forgot to go. Chapter 12, verses 13 through 19. Let me read those for you. Chapter 12, 13, so Philip recognized him as the king of Israel. Chapter 12, John 12, the triumphal entry. Verse 12, the next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, so they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel. All right, even the king of Israel. This man said, I am the king of the Jews. Verse 22, back in John 19. Pilate answered, what I have written, I have written. Oh, now he gets a backbone, right? The whole time he could have just let Jesus go. He could have released him under his authority. He said three times, I find no guilt in this man. There's nothing I can find against him. He could have just said, I'm gonna let him go. But by the grace and providence of God, He couldn't, right, amen. So Pilate answered, what I have written, I have written. Verse 23, when the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts. So there would have been four soldiers, logically we can deduce, right? One part for each soldier, also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, right? Now, what that indicates for us is that he was naked. We see the paintings that the great masters have painted, and you see a loincloth. In all probability, there was probably no loincloth. And I think this goes all the way back to Genesis. Look at Genesis 3.10. We see part of the curse, after the fall of Adam and Eve, And they heard, verse 8, and they heard the sound of the Lord God, this is after they had sinned, and they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to man and said to him, where are you? And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid. And then look at the next phrase. Because I was naked, and I hid myself. He said, who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? The man said, the woman you gave me, on the ghost. But what's really interesting is, is that immediately after they sinned, they realized their nakedness. Not only were they naked physically, but they were spiritually naked with no covering or no protection from the gazing eye of the Almighty, all-holy, all-righteous, all-just God. They were in sin with no protection from the divine wrath. So we find nakedness then becomes this theme from Genesis all the way to the end of being alienated from God and being cursed by God. The prophets pick this up and they carry it through. So we see this image, this understanding that nakedness means that you have no protection and no covering. You're vulnerable. So to be outside and have God against you because of your sinfulness and be under the anger and wrath of God, our only solace, our only place of hope is to turn to Christ, who then clothes us with what? his righteousness." Okay, we see that in 2 Corinthians 5.21. He takes his righteousness and imputes it, covers us so that we might enter into the presence of God. So, the soldiers had crucified Jesus. They took his garments and divided them into four parts. One part for each soldier also is tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. Verse 24, so they said to one another, let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be. And then John gives us these words. He's going to give us a few more times in this context. This was to fulfill the scripture. So, when these things are occurring, I'm sure John He's not aware of everything that's going on. How did he know, right, what was going on? Well, it says he was there, we're going to see, at the crucifixion. But I'm sure a lot of this was explained from the perspective of Jesus as he's with his disciples those 40 days, 40 nights that he was with them. So he's going to teach and explain. We see this in Luke chapter 24. He explains all that was written from Moses, the prophets, and the writings, explaining who he was and what his ministry was. So I'm sure he explained all of this. So he said, this was to fulfill the scriptures it says, and this is from Psalm 22 verse 18, they divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. So the soldiers did these things. Very blunt, very cold statement. So the soldiers did these things. But, standing by the cross, this is in contrast to the four unbelieving soldiers, we're now going to see four believing women. But standing by the cross, of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved, whom we assume is John, Standing nearby, he said to his mother, woman, behold your son. Then he said to his disciple, behold your mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his home. Well, where's Joseph? We don't know. We can assume that Joseph is probably dead at this time, all right? His mother's a widow. Now, Jesus is the oldest son. Well, you could argue, why didn't he pass down the care for his mother to the next brother? Well, at that point, we're told that his brothers did not believe. So he takes the responsibility to care for his mother, and he gives it to John, the beloved disciple. Interesting that on the cross, Jesus who fulfilled the law, every jot, every tittle, never sinned in thought, word, deed, or motive, fulfills one of the Ten Commandments. Let's go to Deuteronomy chapter five, and let's look at verse 16. Deuteronomy chapter five. Even from the cross, Jesus is actively obeying the law of God. Chapter five of Deuteronomy is the 10 Commandments passage. Verse 16 says, honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. So even under these circumstances, Jesus ever obedient to the Father is honoring his mother, fulfilling, again, one of the commandments. Verse 28. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was finished, said, again, here's John's phrase, to fulfill the scripture, I thirst. Now, let's look at two places. Psalm 69, let's go to Psalms, and then stay in Psalms, we're gonna go to another one. Psalm 69, 21. This is a song of David. David crying out to the Lord, says in 69, 21, they gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. So we're told that there was sour wine down in verse 29, a jar full of sour wine stood there. So this is to fulfill the scripture that said, I thirst, and then Psalm 22, 15. Psalm 22, 15. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, and it is melted within my breast. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws. You lay me in the dust of death. So therefore he is thirsty. It's interesting, he thirsted. so that you and I don't have to thirst. That he gives us living water, he told the woman at the well. He also told us in chapter seven, he is the overabundant life giver of living water. It's not like Jeremiah chapter two and verse 13. You familiar with Jeremiah two verse 13? Real quick, let's read that one. This verse here, this is, a story of Israel and their sin and rebellion. Jeremiah, the prophet of God, confronts the people. Speaking for God, he says, for my people, Jeremiah 2.13, for my people have committed two evils. One, they have forsaken me, listen, the fountain of living waters. Okay, it was bad enough that they forsook the fountain of living waters. They forsook their God and followed after false gods and false idols. That's bad. But then the second part, and they hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. So they sought to build their own ways of refreshment. How often do we fail? to turn to the fountain of living water and seek to satisfy the lusts of our flesh, okay, and our hearts, rather than going after the true and living God, we find the pleasures in this earth, and it's like, ends up being like sand in our mouth. It's empty, it's void, and only through a period of time do we realize that we've been hewing out of the rocks with our bare hands Cisterns, and those cisterns are cracked, broken, and hold no water. And all the while, the fountain of living water is extending his hand to us, offering us what we need. But we must repent and believe and trust in Jesus Christ and in him alone. It is not of works lest we should boast, but it is purely through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. So Jesus said, I thirst, and then 29, a jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch, like a reed stick, and they held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. The word, Greek word is tetelestai, means it is accomplished. It is fulfilled. It is paid in full. There is nothing more for him to do for our salvation. He has accomplished all that the Father has requested of him. And then he says, it is finished and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. He bowed his head and gave up his spirit. The word gave up his spirit. Gave up is the word paradidomi. It's an active verb. It's not something that happened to Jesus. It is not a passive, where he was put to death. No, he gave. Right? He gave up his spirit. It's an active verb. It's a willing, voluntarily. This is a third person, aorist active indicative verb, which indicates it was an action of the will of Jesus on the cross. Let's look at a few verses. Let's look at Luke 23 and verse 46. Luke 23 and verse 46. Verse 44, it was about the ninth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed, and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit, and having said this, he breathed his last. Let's go to Psalm 31 and verse five. Psalm 31 and verse five. Into your hand I commit my spirit, You have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. Another song of David, crying out to the Lord during his time of persecution. John chapter 10, let's go to that one. John chapter 10, verse 11. Stay in John, there's a few, John 10, there's a few references there to look at. John 10, verse 11. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd, what? Lays down his life for the sheep. Doesn't say he was brutally murdered, brutally killed. No, he lays down his life, indicating that it is his will, his action that is taking place. Look at verse 15. Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. Look at verse 17, especially 18, 17 and 18. For this reason the Father loves me. Why? Because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. Verse 18, no one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my father. So it is an act of the will of Jesus that he gave up his life on behalf of his sheep. Look at chapter 15 of John and verse 13. John 15, 13. Verse 12, this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone do what? Lay down his life for his friends. The English Standard Version commentary, the ESV commentary, the Gospel of John on page 286, This commentary is by James M. Hamilton Jr. Every once in a while you read something in a commentary that just shatters you. I just sat there and read it two or three times just yesterday morning and I just was washed over by the grace and the love and the mercy of God. Listen, what has been finished? Jesus said it is finished. What has been finished? Listen to the quote. Quote, the righteous life has been lived The greatest demonstration of humility and love has been accomplished. Exact obedience to every righteous requirement of the Father has been maintained. The full measure of the Father's wrath has been poured out. The cup was drained to the dregs. The penalty for sin has been paid. The substitute The substitute has taken the place of his people. Atonement has been made for every one of their innumerable transgressions. The stains have been made clean. The Father's wrath propitiated. The law's demand fulfilled. The pains of the people taken. guilt forgiven, old made new, salvation accomplished, love demonstrated, truth upheld, mercy lavished, brokenness healed, evil unplugged, Satan defeated, the promise of life made, it is finished. Close quotes. Wow. That's what it means when we say it is finished. There is nothing more that can be done for your salvation or my salvation. It has been accomplished. It is finished. It is over. We can do nothing. No one else can do anything. What do we do? Repent and believe. Trust in what Christ has already accomplished in our behalf. Wow. It is finished. He bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 31, since it was the day of preparation and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for the Sabbath was a high day, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it, has borne witness, his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth, that you also may believe, for these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled. Not one of his bones will be broken. And again, another scripture says, they will look on him whom they have pierced. Verse 31, since it was the day of preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a high day, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, that they might be taken away. So, rather than leaving the bodies on the cross, which the Romans did, because it was a sign to everyone else, this is what happens when you break the law, right? This is it. Now, I've read accounts where bodies hung on the cross till they decomposed, fell off, carrying, birds came. vultures came, picked the people, right? Very gross. But because this was outside the city of Jerusalem, it was the time of the Passover, in order to placate the Jews, Pilate was willing to say no, I'll take them down. He didn't want any more hassles. We've already heard that he didn't want any more hassle He didn't want to be called back to Rome and have to deal with Tiberius Caesar because he was a very vicious man He said no, let's let's get okay. Well, we'll do this so The bodies would not remain in the cross on the Sabbath for that Sabbath was a high day now Let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 21 and verse 22 chapter 21 of Deuteronomy. Now, we look at crucifixion, but the way people were killed, normally were stoned, but there were times, okay, when murders and capital crimes, 21 would I say, 22, 21, 22. And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree. Okay, and the idea was it just, you hung him just in the branches, right? To make him visible so that everyone could see him. Okay, another example to show the people. It says, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. So, as an act of mercy, you hung him on a tree for all to see, but then you took him down before nightfall and you buried him, right? That would be obedient to the law in Deuteronomy. Now, let's go over to Galatians. chapter three and see how Paul takes this truth. Galatians chapter three. You know, we should do a book study on the book of Galatians. We just did one not too long ago. I enjoyed it. Galatians three and verse 13. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree. Okay? Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree. Yes. Cursed would be ultimately to have God's justice executed upon you. to be under the wrath and condemnation of God. We see that in the book of Romans chapter one, if you'll remember, that we are storing up the wrath and the judgment of God with every act of sin and rebellion that we did, right? And Paul goes on to explain that. It's a continual building up. It's a storing up of wrath, he calls it. until the day of judgment. By God's grace, we have been spared from that through the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. And by God's grace, we had that effectual calling given to us whereby He saved us. And therefore, we will never suffer the curse or the wrath of God because of the righteousness of God through Christ. Would I be way out here saying that Jesus actually suffered damnation? Yes, I think he did. He took the damnation that we deserved. Right. If you're going to use the parallel of that word, I think would be cursed. I might have mentioned this to you before. Many years ago, I heard a sermon by R.C. Sproul that was given at the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology. It is, I think if you go to monergism, if you go to monergism.com and you type in the curse motif, it should come up, but he goes and shows how the wrath of God came upon Christ and how Christ suffered the curse, and he deals with this passage in Galatians. But it's a wonderful sermon to reveal the grace of God in removing the curse from us that Paul talks about here in 13, 313. He goes in there and he gives the example of the prayer, the blessing of Aaron, the Lord bless you. And I don't know if you've ever heard the story that I just listened to that sermon, and I was preaching in another church, and I preached three sermons on the imputation, the imputation of Adam's sin to all of his progeny, all of his descendants, how we have been, we as the children of Adam or in Adam, in the flesh and we have received the curse that was placed upon Adam upon us. The second sermon was on our sin being placed upon or imputed to Christ on the cross. And then the third one was from 2 Corinthians 5.21, how that then the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us. So the double imputation. Well, at the end of those three sermons, I preached three Sundays in a row, when I walked off the platform to give the benediction, I said, you usually hear this blessing. And I said, the Lord be gracious to you. I can't recall it off right now. But I read it, and then I said, however, I just want to tell you, if you stand outside of Christ tonight, May the Lord curse you." And I went through all the opposites that R.C. Sproul had given. Oh my goodness. I mean, after the service, the first person that attacked me and really laid into me was their youth leader, a young man who was a college student. And he goes, you can't say that. I go, what do you mean I can't say that? I gave you the response, the hope in Christ, that if you will repent of your sin and believe in the Savior, then you will receive the blessing of Aaron. You will not receive the curse that is due. And oh boy, that didn't go over well. But I didn't, I just preached the gospel. Jason, did you have your hand up? Okay. So. Where did I leave off? I dropped my Bible. What's that? Okay, there you go. Thank you. So they asked for the legs to be broken, right? But when they came to Jesus, verse 33, and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, right? But one of the soldiers pierced his side with his spear, and at once there came up blood and water. Now, believe me, there are many, many pages written on what does this blood and water mean, all right? Some believe it refers all the way back to the Exodus. Some believe it refers to the water in the wilderness where Christ was the rock and the water came from the rock. I'll be honest, I've read this over and over and over again. You know what I think it means? I think it means it proved that Jesus was dead. You might be able to make argument for some of those, but I think what it shows was he was dead. And when he put the spear in his side, the blood and the water gushed out. Right. Right. Yep. Yep. The water and the blood came out. Yep. So they crucified him. and he died, and I think this shows us that the swoon theory, I don't know if you've ever heard of the swoon theory, some of the Muslims really like that swoon theory, that Jesus did not die, it only appeared that he died, and when they took him down off the cross, and we're gonna see later Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea take him, and they put him in that cool stone tomb, he was revived and refreshed, and he got up and he walked out. Right? And therefore he never died. No. I think this shows, this is a testimony that Jesus was crucified and that he was dead. And it says he was dead by the witness of the soldiers that they did not have to break his legs. Why did they break his legs? When you were hanging on the cross, the only way you could breathe and get air into your lungs was to push off with your legs and take a breath. Well, when they broke your legs, there was no way that you could possibly lift yourself up to take a breath as you were hanging by your arms, all right? So this revealed, this showed that Jesus had indeed died. Now, he said, But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came up blood and water. He who saw it, all right, he who saw it has borne witness. His testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth. And then we see this phrase, that you also may believe. Now, we've been saying chapter 20, verse 30 and 31, over and over again, I've been saying 20, 30, and 31, why did John write this book? John's a wonderful author, he always tells you why he wrote a book. He says, now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these signs, are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, okay, that is a present active participle. Participles are I-N-G words, they're action words. Believing, by believing you may have life in his name. So, He who saw it. Who saw it? John saw it. Look at chapter 19 verse 26. We've already seen who this was. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, so that is the one, the same one who saw this, right? 26 and 27. Then look over at chapter 21 and verse 24. Chapter 21 of John and verse 24. This is the disciple who was bearing witness about these things and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true." So he's repeating it again. This is true. I was the one. I saw it, right? Now, he who saw it, I believe that is John, has borne witness, his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth that you also may believe. For these things took place that scripture might be fulfilled. Not one of his bones will be broken. Let's go over to Exodus chapter 12. Exodus chapter 12. Genesis, Exodus, the second book. You know what Exodus means? Ex out, hodos, road or way. It's the way out, it's the story of how God led the nation of Israel out of Egypt, ex hodos, the road out, the pathway out, okay? So, keep that in mind. That comes from the title over the Septuagint, the Greek version. Chapter 12 of Exodus and verse 46. 12, 46. This has to do with the Passover meal. Look at verse 43. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, this is the statute of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat of it, but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. No foreigner or hired servant may eat of it. It shall be eaten in one house. You shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and listen, and you shall not break any of its bones. So the picture of the sacrificial Levitical lamb, okay, that was used to spread the blood on the lentils of the door, the door frames, was not to have its bones broken. Now, let's go to another passage of scripture. Let's go to Numbers chapter nine and verse 12. Numbers, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers chapter nine and verse 12. Numbers nine. Again, the Lord, in verse nine, the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the people of Israel saying, if any of you or your descendants is unclean through the touching of a dead body or is in a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the Lord. In the second month of the 14th day at twilight, they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones. According to all the statute for the Passover, they shall keep it. Okay, so again, they shall not break any of the bones. Let's go to Psalm chapter 34, verse 20. Some believe that this is when David is crying out to the Lord, and the parallel, they believe John picked up this parallel, remembered it, and also quoted it. Psalm 34 and verse 20. Verse 19 says, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. Verse 20, he keeps all his bones. Not one of them is broken. Okay. So the picture of the person, the preserving power of God that the scripture might be fulfilled. Not one of his bones will be broken. And then verse 37, another quote. And again, from another, again, another scripture says, they will look on him whom they have pierced. Zechariah 12.10. Okay, and then let's just go real quick over to Revelation 1.7. Zechariah 12.10 is that exact quote, "...they will look on him whom they have pierced." Revelation 1.7. One, seven. Let's go to four. John, to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom Priest to his God and Father to him be glory, dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so, amen. Okay, when you look at the book of Isaiah, chapter 53, The whole thing there is, you get the idea that it's the picture of the people of Israel realizing that this suffering servant whom they have crucified. Real quick, let's finish up by reading that. Isaiah 53. I think you have to see that that's what's going on there. Let's go to verse 13 of 52. Behold, my servant shall act wisely, and he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you, his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind. So shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see. See? They see. then that they and that which they have not heard they understand who has believed what he has heard from us and to whom has the arm of the lord been revealed for he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground he had no form of majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and is one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted, but He was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before his shears is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief. When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. Amen, amen. One more verse, Acts chapter two, verse 23. Acts chapter two and verse 23. Verse 22, men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know, this Jesus Delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men It was the will of the Lord to crush him for our benefit If you'll notice, you get in the Gospels, all of the Gospels, the three synoptics and the Gospel of John, you get facts of what happened. You don't get any overly emotional. You don't get any overly graphic details, just blunt statements. They crucified him. They divided up his garments. They stuck a crown of thorns on his head. They stuck a spear in his side. All right? These are the facts. And then John says, this is what happened. I give testimony, and what I say is true. Amen? Amen. Why? So that we might know what God did for us. Father, thank you for another evening where we see the grace that you have given us through your Son, Jesus Christ. We are so grateful. May we, O Lord, live lives that give Just an attitude of gratitude for what you have done in our hearts and our lives. May we respond by faith. May we, oh Lord, be different people because of what you have done for us and have changed us and given us a new heart. May the love that you have demonstrated for us and shown for us be made evident in our lives as we love one another and the people that you place in our lives. May we share your love and your grace and your mercy in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Don't forget, next week is our Thanksgiving Eve service, and then we'll be off until January, and it'll be in the bulletin when we kick it off, all right? First Wednesday in January. Thank you.