Background

Pilate needs to make a decision. He wants to placate the Jewish leaders and the mob, and this rabbi standing in front of him makes some awful strange statements (“My kingdom is not of this world?”) – but he’s not convinced. The people would rather have some murderous rebel back in their midst than this teacher? Weird.

Wrestling with the text

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The issue that’s front-and-center in this text is the issue of authority. Pilate confronts Jesus with the statement: “Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” But he’s wrong.

The Jews are trying to follow their proper authority – the Law. According to their teaching, anyone who claims to be God must be put to death. But they’re wrong.

The mob appeal to the ultimate authority to Pilate – Caesar. They claim that for Jesus to claim Lordship is insurrection against the Emperor. How can Jesus and Tiberius Caesar be King at the same time? This time, they’re right!

What does it mean that the Crucified One is the

Authority of your life?

The book of Revelation depicts a slaughtered Lamb standing on the throne (Rev 5:6). Reflect on how it might be easier to live in this world by the same authority figures that the rest of the world has – authorities at school, work, family, government, culture, etc. How are you willing to live differently than the rest of culture to demonstrate that the One Who Died is your King?

How are you different than those who merely follow rules and regulations?

Journaling

Background

The people have made their voice heard, and Jesus has been handed over to be executed. But the crowds aren’t finished with Jesus, and how they react to His suffering demonstrates a lot about who they really are.

Wrestling with the text

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Pilate slaps the Jewish leaders around a bit, by writing that this man hanging on the cross is the “King of the Jews.” The Priests get upset and ask that it be corrected. The Son of God is being murdered, and the only thing they care about is that the sign is right.

Reflect on how often we care more about what we say about Jesus over beholding Him as He is. How do we do that? Why do we do that?

The soldiers are much more interested in Jesus’ cloak than why He’s being crucified. The “things of this world” are a strong pull away from focusing our attention on Christ.

Take a long look at your life: how you spend your time and how you spend your money. What does it demonstrate about what you find important – the stuff of earth or following after Christ?

The only people that the cross is seeming to truly shape were the 4 women, along with John himself. Jesus asks John to care for His mother as if she was his own. If the cross is the center of our lives, then it should shape more than anything how we define our family.

Journaling

Background

For 6 hours Christ hung on the cross. For 6 hours His mother and closest disciple watched Him suffer for every breath. For 6 hours the Jewish authorities mocked Him. But everything is about to come to a close.

Wrestling with the Text

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What’s finished?

The phrase “it is finished” is one simple word in Greek: tetelostai. It means basically, “it stands completely.” It’s a word that bankers would use to signify debts that have been completed and totally paid off.

The Old Testament (among other things) is “finished” in that it has been fulfilled. Reflect on how much “fulfillment” language is in this passage. Even the fact that Jesus wants a drink fulfills OT prophecy in some way.

Paul writes that Christ is the telos (same root word) of the Law (Rom 10:4). We all worry about measuring up to some standard. And we even approach God in the same way, that we have to “holy ourselves up” to meet His demands.

Spend some time thanking God today that His Law has been fulfilled by Christ. The Law is finished. He has made you holy. Read Romans 8.

Journaling

Background

Christ has given up His spirit and died. But the story is not over. On this day, more significant than any other in all of history, even what the soldiers do with Christ’s body is significant. And it reveals more about what Christ has given us.

Wrestling with the Text

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Most of the time, the Roman authorities would leave the bodies of the crucified on the crosses to decay or be eaten by birds. It was punishment upon punishment to not let the bodies be buried. However, this is a special weekend in the Jewish calendar, and they wouldn’t want dead bodies hanging at every entrance to the city of Jerusalem.

The celebration of Passover was the most important festival in the Jewish religion. Pilgrims from all over the world would journey back to Jerusalem to celebrate the ancient story of the Exodus, when the Israelites were released from slavery to the Egyptians.

Part of the Passover celebration involved a lamb that was eaten by a family in one sitting, and the people were forbidden from taking the flesh of the lamb outside their house, or break any of its bones (Exo 12:46).

Journaling

Background

Who knows where Pilate would have dumped the body of Jesus? To him, it was only the remains of a troublemaker he was glad to be rid of, a nuisance to the Pax Romana, the “Peace of Rome,” that he valued more than anything. But the care that two secret disciples paid to the body of Jesus is significant – more significant than they know.

Wrestling with the Text

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John reminds us about these two. Peter and the rest of the “public” disciples (except for John) have run away out of fear. But here two “private” disciples have stuck their neck out in order to rescue the body of Jesus. Did Christ’s willingness to go to the cross embolden them to make this request?

Perhaps.

The Jews believed in caring for the body after death. After all, we are the image-bearers of God, and we are to take care of what God has given us.

Too often we purely make Christianity into a “spiritual religion.” Why do you think that is? How do we fall into that trap?

The care that Joseph and Nicodemus have for the body of Christ will have future ramifications. For it is this same body, broken and lifeless as it was, that will be totally transformed in just 2 days time.

Some suggest that to care for people’s material needs is of secondary importance, since this world is going to “burn” anyway. And yet Jesus Himself cared as much for people’s physical issues as much as their spiritual issues (His healing of the sick encompassed both – see Mark 2:1-12 for an example of this).

How can we care for people’s physical needs in a way that pictures the future transformation that will happen in the resurrection?

Journaling

Chapter 19

This week, we’re going to be confronted with the Cross. We will have to stare at it. We will have to come face-to-face with the fact that the Son of God was allowed to be tortured and assassinated. And He suffered it all willingly out of His great love for you.

John puts himself, as he often does, in the place of witness for these great events. (“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.”). John wants you at the cross with him. He needs you to ponder everything that happened there – for when you really think and reflect on what drove Jesus to give Himself so willingly, you can’t do anything but believe.