For the last two weeks, we have been looking at different reasons for why Jesus died. First, as we looked at envy for why the chief priests and Pharisees wanted Jesus killed, then (last week) we looked at fear for why Pilate permitted Jesus to be killed, but today we will look at Jesus’ motivation—why did Jesus die? Earlier, in John 10, Jesus taught: “No one takes [my life] 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,” (John 10:18). Jesus was not overpowered, Jesus was not blindsided, Jesus was not pressured. He freely chose to go to His gruesome death.

Why?

John told us at the important beginning of this passion sequence: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end,” (John 13:1).

Why did Jesus die? Because He loved His own, His church, and loved them to the end. That word for “end” (telos) s the same word that will be Jesus’ last word on the cross: It is finished (tetelastai). In the death of Jesus we are seeing how Jesus loves us.

23 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, 24 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, 25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 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. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and 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 that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 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. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

• John 19:23-42

We have, in a sense, walked into the holy of holies in this text. The epicenter of the Bible turns on this event. The death of Christ is one half, the resurrection the other, of the still fixed point around which all else moves in Scripture.

What does this passage teach us?

Jesus Is Our King

The story concludes with Jesus’ burial in a garden tomb. Two unlikely disciples step forward to claim the body: Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Joseph, we are told, was one of the secret disciples of Jesus, and apparently so was Nicodemus, who in John 3 would only speak with Jesus in the cover of darkness. Normally, these kinds of “secret” disciples are openly criticized by John (see John 12:42-43). But here, these secret disciples step out into the light and are willing to identify themselves with Jesus and give Him a regal and extravagant burial. The amount of spices used here (75 pounds) is unusual for typical Jewish burials—let alone a man who had been crucified. Those crucified were normally left on the cross to be eaten by birds. But Joseph and Nicodemus provide a kind of burial reserved for a king. What happened? Something about Jesus’ death did something to these men: Jesus is worth being associated with, Jesus deserves to be treated like a king.

There are three instances in John’s gospel where a crowd tries to make Jesus a king.

• The feeding of the five thousand: “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” - John 6:15
• The triumphal entry: “So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” - John 12:13
• Before Pilate: ““If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” - John 19:12

For a man who is being tried and executed as a revolutionary, He seems fairly cautious about claiming the title of King. He doesn’t reject it outright, but approaches it with a sense of distance and delicacy. In John 6, He literally flees from it. In John 12, He accepts it, but nowhere encourages it or claims it Himself. And in His conversation with Pilate, He speaks with a veiled reserve. Pilate asks Him pointedly if He is a king, and Jesus’ reply is: “You say that I am a king.” It is the crowd who is trying to secure death by crucifixion that is insistent that Jesus is claiming to be a king.

But He is a King; a king of such magnitude and consequence that all the kings of the earth owe Him their allegiance. Here is the King, not just of Israel, not just of Rome, not just of the earth, but of Creation itself. Jesus tells Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world,” (John 18:36). If my kingdom were as tiny as yours, Pilate, I’d be fighting for it tooth and nail; but my kingdom isn’t like yours, you cannot kill it by killing me. And because it isn’t, Jesus possesses a kind of authority that the Jews and the Romans struggle to comprehend. This is why He is reluctant to claim the title of “King”—because He knows that everyone will misunderstand His true identity and true purpose. Jesus’ hesitancy isn’t because He believes that power and authority are bad, or even that fighting your enemy is bad—Jesus is not a pacifist. He just knows that the true enemy is not one that can be defeated through typical victory—in fact, the only way to defeat this enemy, is through defeat.

Application: We can get a sense of the scope of His authority and power by the way in which all of the details of the trial and execution of Jesus perfectly fulfill what Jesus had planned. When the Jews insist that Jesus is a threat to Rome because He is claiming to be a king—they are speaking better than they know. When they vow that their real allegiance lies with Rome, not with Jesus—they are also speaking more truly than they realize (at the end of the day, their true love is power, not God). When the Romans array Jesus in crown and robes, when they bow down in mock worship, when Pilate exalts Jesus up from the earth so that all may behold the King—they are not aware of the profundity of what they are doing. Soon, Romans will bow down in worship—even Caesar himself—to this Jewish Messiah. The objects and acts that Satan and the world think are thwarting Jesus, are fulfilling them: Thorns for a crown, a cross for a throne. The Jews, the Romans, and Satan think that these symbols defeat Christ, when it is through them, that Christ overcomes the world.

Repeatedly throughout our reading we are told that the events that are happening are fulfilling prophecies from the Old Testament. When the Roman guards are dividing Jesus’ garments and cast lots for His tunic, or when they do not break Jesus’ bones like the other criminals, they have no idea that they are perfectly fulfilling Psalm 22, a psalm written a thousand years before this event.

For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
17 I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.

• Ps 22:16-18

…for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, - Acts 4:27-29

Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; - Ps 76:10

Jesus Is Our Lamb

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 and that they might be taken away. - John 19:31

You get a sense of the brutality of Rome. Death by crucifixion was really death by asphyxiation. Breaking your legs sped up the process because then you couldn’t push up to expand your chest to take a breath, so you suffocated. And it is about to be Sabbath—a high day, because of Passover—so the Jews ask and Pilate obliges.

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. - John 19:32-33

The fact that Jesus died already, after only a few hours of hanging on the cross, is a testament to the severity of the flogging that Jesus received from the soldiers. But, John tells us that Jesus’ bones being spared is significant:

For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” - John 19:36

What Scripture is that? That comes from the specifications of how to celebrate the Passover (see Ex 12:46; Num 9:12).

During the Passover, Jews would come to Jerusalem to commemorate the Exodus, when God had delivered His people out of Egypt so long ago, defeating Pharaoh, setting the Hebrews free, and taking them to the Promised Land. The critical event that takes place is the final plague (of the ten) that God visits upon Egypt: the death of the firstborn son. Significantly, unlike previous plagues, this would fall upon *anyone—*Egyptian or Hebrew alike. In the night, the Angel of Death would descend upon the land and take the life of the firstborn son of every household. Why the firstborn son? In that culture, your firstborn son inherited the responsibility of the family and was the leader of the future of the family. To lose your firstborn son was an incalculable loss.

But, (again) significantly, anyone—Egyptian or Hebrew—who slaughtered a spotless lamb and painted the doorposts of their household with its blood, would be spared. The fact that this came on Hebrew and Egyptian alike was a testament to fact that before the eyes of God, all mankind have sinned and are thereby condemned. Israel wasn’t spared the plague because they were Israelites, or because they had not sinned—anyone who painted the blood on the door was saved. After a household did so, they were directed to eat the lamb with the whole family, but you were not permitted to break its bones.

And John points to Jesus and says: He is the Passover Lamb.

What is happening here? The logic of the gospel. When the Lamb for the Passover is slain, the family is admitting—this and only this is what spares us. From Moses to the terrified Egyptians who have finally decided to listen to the Hebrews, from the most moral to the least, any and all are saved from destruction by the blood of the Lamb, by admitting that what is happening to this Lamb is what will happen to them if they do not heed the warning. It is terribly unfair to the Lamb, of course. The Lamb didn’t deserve this, but it becomes a substitute to die in the place of another.

John the Baptist first pointed this out to us when he identified Jesus: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” - John 1:29

Jesus hinted at this when He confused the crowds by explaining that you must eat His flesh to be saved (John 6:51-56).

Paul makes it explicit to the Corinthians: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed,” (1 Cor 5:7).

In a poetic exchange, the firstborn son of God becomes the sacrificial Lamb, and is slain. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin,” - 2 Cor 5:21.

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 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. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. - John 19:28-30

So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” - John 18:11

The cup is empty, the bitter wine has been drunk on our behalf, the angel of death has passed over us.

Application: Forgiveness is purchased at the cross.

So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: "I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!” - Martin Luther

Forgiveness for one another.

To punish one another for our sins is to leave the economy of grace and reenter the market of works where we earn our status.

Jesus Is Our Purity

34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 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 19:34-35

This is strange; what is happening here?

Severe damage to the heart can cause a pooling of blood in the inner cavity of the chest and blood and serum (a clear, water-like liquid) can separate. When the guard pierces Jesus’ chest, this is probably what is flowing out.

But it appears that John means more than this. This could refer to many things, but it is likely that John sees the blood of Jesus to refer what Jesus’ death does to atone for our sins, while the water refers to what Jesus’ death does to purify us or to satiate our souls. Water cleanses and water satisfies.

Passover required purity (see John 11:55 and 18:29). One would have to dip and rinse in ceremonial cleansings to participate. If you were unclean, you couldn’t celebrate, couldn’t offer the sacrifices. Jesus, the better Passover Lamb, doesn’t require you to be clean to come to Him—He cleanses you as you come. It is possible for you to affirm that your sin has been legally forgiven, but to nevertheless feel irredeemably dirty. The cross answers that.  the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. - 1 John 1:7

But Jesus doesn’t only clean you, He satisfies your soul. The Psalms are full of longing for God described as a thirst—and communion with Him is described as tantalizing “river of Delights.” Jesus promised the woman at the well that her terrible thirst which had driven her to a revolving door of sexual experiences, could be satisfied in knowing Him—that He possessed “living water” which she could drink and never thirst again. In fact, Jesus promises that if you believe in Him, out of your heart shall flow rivers of that living water.

And as the spear pierces Jesus’ heart we see those living waters flow. The death of Jesus purchased for us purity and the deepest satisfaction our soul could long for.