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Naked, Ashamed, Despised, & Rejected
What is significant about the fact that Christ’s garments were divided up among the soldiers, or that he experienced thirst while suffering in our place on the cross? Why does John seem to emphasize the fact that blood and water flowed when a soldier pierced his side? On this program Shane Rosenthal will discuss these and other questions with Justin Holcomb, author of Rid of My Disgrace, as they walk through the latter half of John chapter 19.
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.” (John 19:23-37)
Show Quote:
“Instead of giving the cheap wine at the end of the party, Jesus gives the best and what does he get? He gets this nasty, cheap, watered down, bitter wine in the middle of his suffering on our behalf. And so there’s an intensity to that which drives home the great exchange. Here he is, the extravagant gift giver and what does he get from his creation who rebelled? He gets the worst thing back in the middle of this most humiliating moment.” – Justin Holcomb
Term to Learn:
“Substitutionary Atonement”
The process of propitiation envisaged in the Bible is one which involves an element of substitution. In both the Old and New Testaments the means of propitiation is the offering up of a gift, the gift of a life yielded up to death by God’s own appointment. The Scripture is clear that the wrath of God is visited upon sinners or else that the Son of God dies for them…. Either we die or He dies. But ‘God commendeth His own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us’(Romans 5:8).
By the blood of Christ a propitiation is effected so that those who are of faith no longer need fear the wrath. Thus we see that, whereas originally sinners were liable to suffer from the outpouring of the wrath of God, Christ has suffered instead of them, and now they may go free. But to say this is to say substitution. (Adapted from Leon Morris, Apostolic Preaching of the Cross.)
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