Sermon Tone Analysis

©October 24th, 2021 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: John

Certain events drastically alter the world in which we live.

Air travel was forever changed after the 9/11 attacks.

Presidential protection was drastically different after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

And the world was forever changed by the crucifixion of Jesus.

Even though Jesus’ crucifixion was a tragedy on a much grander scale than even 9/11 or the Kennedy assassination, the changes it made in our world brought about a greater good than anyone involved (except Jesus) could have possibly understood.

The story of the crucifixion is familiar to most people.

We tell it each year around Easter, and it has been depicted in many popular movies, such as The Passion of the Christ.

But the danger we face with something well-known is that we assume we understand everything about it.

This becomes a real danger as we study the crucifixion—we must not simply gloss over the story, but must come to it with fresh eyes, in the hope of gaining an understanding we may not have had before.

That is going to be our focus this morning.

We want to examine the crucifixion story and deepen our understanding because there has been no more significant event in human history.

Crucifixion

Our text begins with a brief mention of Jesus being led away to be crucified,

16 Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus away.

17 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.

(John 19:16-20, NLT)

John’s gospel doesn’t go into many of the details of the crucifixion, simply telling us that Jesus was handed over to be crucified, then he was led to the place outside the city where it was to happen and nailed to the cross, with one criminal being crucified next to him on either side.

I suspect John doesn’t go into detail because crucifixion was well-known to his original audience.

We, however, are far removed from this form of torture and execution, so for us to understand what went on, we need to understand a bit about what crucifixion was like and what Jesus endured.

Crucifixion was a gruesome and torturous way to kill someone.

It was not only intended to be a punishment for a person, but also to be a spectacle to the rest of the people—a reminder of what happens to those who stand against Rome.

Crucifixion was so brutal that it was not allowed to be carried out on a Roman citizen.

But Jesus was not a citizen of Rome, so it was permitted.

Crucifixion usually began with scourging, which John mentioned briefly last week.

The condemned would be beaten with a whip that had multiple tails and bits of metal or bone attached to the tips.

The whip would dig in and tear the person’s flesh with each strike.

This process was referred to by some as the “half death”, because at the end of it, the person would be nearly dead.

They would be unrecognizable, with deep wounds all over their bodies.

This scourging was a punishment, but it also made death come more quickly to the person being crucified.

Jesus was subjected to such scourging and was then beaten by the officers charged with guarding him.

The condemned would then be led through the city on a circuitous route to the crucifixion site outside the city.

Four guards would be assigned to lead him to the place of execution.

One guard would carry a sign indicating the crime of the person.

The condemned would be forced to carry the cross beam to which they would be nailed.

This heavy block of wood usually weighed around 100 pounds.

The other gospels tell us that Jesus was unable to carry it the whole way there and someone else had to carry it the rest of the way for him.

Once they arrived at the site, his hands (or wrists) would be nailed to the cross beam and this would be attached to an upright beam.

The feet would be nailed to the upright beam as well.

Then they would simply wait for the person to die.

Death by crucifixion could take days.

The whole time was agony for the person.

Each breath required the person to push their body up, putting pressure on the nails in their feet.

As they did, the raw skin of their back would drag across the rough wood.

Eventually, the person would succumb to exhaustion, their body would shut down, and they would suffocate.

This was the fate that lay before Jesus.

The physical agony of the cross was tremendous, but that should not be our primary focus as we look at the crucifixion.

John doesn’t go into detail because the details of the crucifixion were not as important as why Jesus was crucified and what it accomplished.

But understanding Jesus’ experience on the cross gives us a better appreciation of everything Jesus did while being crucified.

Pilate and the Jewish Leaders

John tells us the sign nailed to the cross indicating Jesus’ crime said, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”

And it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, the three predominant languages in that region.

The Jewish leaders were not happy that this was what Jesus’ sign read, and they protested,

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.”

(John 19:21-22, NLT)

The Jewish leaders were not happy that Pilate had written that Jesus was the King of the Jews.

They said the sign should read that Jesus claimed to be the King of the Jews.

Pilate, however, stood firm on this point and refused to change it.

Why did Pilate write this?

Had he become convinced of Jesus’ claims?

I don’t think so.

If Pilate had truly been convinced of Jesus’ claims, he would have spared him.

Pilate’s heart was too hard to believe Jesus.

Instead, I think this was Pilate’s chance to take a swipe at the Jewish leaders.

They forced his hand and he caved to them, ultimately condemning a man he knew to be innocent.

I think this was his attempt to exert a little bit of control and assert his dominance over the Jews once more.

Of course, what Pilate had written was actually true!

Jesus was the one true King.

He was King not just of the Jews, but of everyone.

Pilate may not have intended to speak profound theological truth, but God used his hard heart to identify Jesus as who He truly was.

This reminds us that God is working behind the scenes and superintending all things to accomplish His good purposes.

Pilate was evil, yet God used Pilate’s evil motives to bring about His will.

The hearts of the Jewish leaders were evil, yet God allowed this great evil of crucifixion to happen because He was using it to accomplish a far greater good.

This should give believers confidence as we face a world that seems wholly overtaken by evil.

No matter what we face, God is still working behind the scenes.

God can (and will) use even the evil intentions of corrupt people to accomplish His good purposes.

The Soldiers at the Cross

John tells us that once Jesus was hung on the cross the soldiers guarding him began to divide up his clothes.

23 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.

(John 19:23-24, NLT)

Part of the pay for the soldiers tasked with execution was that they were entitled to divide up the belongings of the accused for themselves.

Clothing was not as plentiful or as cheap as it is in our day, so being able to divide up a person’s clothing was a significant perk of the job.

At that time, there were 5 primary pieces of clothing a person would wear.

Sandals, a girdle (clothing that covered the lower half of the body), an inner coat, an outer coat, and a turban, or head covering.

These are the pieces the soldiers would have been dividing up.

Since there were four soldiers guarding Jesus, they were likely casting lots to decide who got which pieces.

We are told that when they got to his inner robe, they realized it was a seamless piece, so they didn’t want to divide it, and cast lots specifically for that piece.

Some have speculated that this piece of clothing might have been made by Jesus’ mother and given to him, as it was common in those days for a man’s mother to make such a garment for him and give it as a gift.

If so, you can imagine how this spectacle would have added to Mary’s pain.

We see here the brazen nature of the guards.