“Taking Responsibility”
[John
19:16b-27]
June
18, 2017, Second Reformed Church
We find taking responsibility –
especially when things go wrong or when we sin – very difficult.
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden
and God appeared to them, Adam said, “Don’t blame me, it was the woman You gave
me that made me eat it.” And Eve said,
“Don’t blame me, it was the serpent You put in the Garden that convinced me to
sin.” We don’t know if the serpent said
anything.
In considering the crucifixion of
Jesus, Peter explains that everyone is responsible: “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” (Acts 2:22-23, ESV).
Peter explains that the crucifixion
was part of God’s plan to save a people for Himself, but the Jews and the
Gentiles – the non-Jews – the Romans – sinned in putting Jesus to death. Because all mere human beings are sinners –
and have inherited a sin nature from Adam – every mere human born is
responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion.
We see the conflict between Pilate
and the chief priests – the chief priests are jealous of Jesus and want Him
dead so they don’t lose their power and wealth; Pilate knows Jesus is innocent
– and he is afraid of Him – but he finally gives in to the chief priests so he
doesn’t lose his power and wealth.
And so, Jesus is sent off to be
crucified.
And we see, first, Pilate proclaims
the truth of the Gospel.
“So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing
his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is
called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him 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 priests 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.’”
Quickly, let’s consider where Jesus was
crucified, because it tells us something important: Jesus was crucified on Golgotha, which was
outside of the city of Jerusalem. Part
of what we should notice is that Jesus was crucified outside of the city –
which is the place crucifixion occurred, but it means something we should
notice.
God requires the sin offering to be made
outside of the city: “And the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the
sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place,
shall be carried outside the camp. Their skin and their flesh and their dung
shall be burned up with fire” (Leviticus 16:27, ESV).
The blood of the sin offering is spattered
about in the Temple, but the body is carried out and offered up – burned –
outside of the city. This symbolically
shows that sin cuts us off from God – it excludes us from the city of God—it
excludes us from “the city of peace” – which is what Jerusalem means. Sin cannot reside in the presence of God – someone
who is not forgiven of sin cannot reside in the presence of God. One way or another, God’s Wrath must burn up
the sin in order for forgiveness to be granted.
Not only is Jesus crucified outside of the
city – representing sin and being cut off from God, but He is crucified – which
symbolizes being cursed under the Law: “And if a man has committed a crime
punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 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. You shall not defile your land that the
LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23, ESV).
So, let us understand that Jesus is
crucified outside of the city, not because He is a sinner and cursed by God for
His sin, but because He took on Himself – as our Substitute before God – all of
the sin and all of the curse and all of the Wrath of God against us for our sin
– that we would be saved – made right with God.
Paul writes:
“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’— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come
to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith” (Galatians
3:13-14, ESV).
“For our sake he made him to be sin who
knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2
Corinthians 5:21, ESV).
“So Jesus also suffered outside the gate
in order to sanctify the people through his own blood” (Hebrews 13:12, ESV).
So, let us remember that Jesus was
crucified and crucified outside of the city as part of His receiving our sin
and curse – bearing it as our Substitute before God and under His Wrath.
Then we are told that Pilate writes
something and attaches it to the cross.
This is a normal practice – the crime that the person is being crucified
for is posted on the cross for anyone who wants to know.
But in one last attempt to mock and insult
the chief priests – and, indeed, to condemn the Jews altogether – Pilate does
not write a crime on Jesus’ cross – but under the guidance of God, he writes a
title – a true title – a title that summarizes the Gospel:
“This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of
the Jews.”
Pilate wants everyone who reads the title
on Jesus’ cross to know that Jesus is innocent and Pilate was bullied into
crucifying Him by the Jews. Pilate even
has the title written in Latin, Aramaic, and Greek – so, virtually every
literate person could read and understand Who Jesus is and who put Him on the
cross.
We have said before, we have no reason to
believe that Pilate ever received Jesus as Savior, but God used Pilate to
proclaim Jesus’ kingship to all those who saw Him and to all of us who read
these words.
And notice what Paul writes:
“But it is not as though the word of God
has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not
all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac
shall your offspring be named.’ This means that it is not the children of the
flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted
as offspring” (Romans 9:6-8, ESV).
At this point in Romans, Paul is agonizing
over the fact that so many Jews do not believe the Gospel, and he argues that
the fault is not with God, the problem is that not everyone who claims to be of
Israel is of Israel.
Paul remains the Romans that Abraham had
two sons – Ishmael and Isaac – Ishmael was cursed and Isaac was blessed.
The conclusion is that Israel is not biological
Israel, but everyone who believes in the Savior is Israel. If you believe in Jesus for salvation, you
are a true Jew.
Many people will say that Christianity
broke off from Judaism, but Christianity is actually the true Judaism. What was called Judaism by the chief priests
– and today – is a corruption of what God taught. Christianity is the reformation of Judaism –
a going back to what God taught. It is
very similar to what we understand about the Protestant Reformation – Roman
Catholicism – as presented in the Middle Ages – had become another religion,
not Christianity – so the Protestants, the true Christians – led a reformation
back to what the God really says in the Bible.
The chief priests are outraged that Pilate
would write such a thing – and they demand that Pilate change the wording to
say that Jesus claimed to be the King of the Jews. And to the dismay of the chief priests, God
upheld Pilate and Pilate refused.
They understood what Pilate had done – he
had written a condemnation of the chief priests – “Let the whole world know
that Jesus is crucified at the insistence of the chief priests – they are
responsible for this.”
And so, everyone is responsible – the Jews
and the non-Jews – the Romans. Everyone
sinned in putting Jesus to death. And
that was God’s purpose – that Jesus be put to death for the sins of all those
who will ever believe.
Second, the solders fulfill prophesy.
“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.’”
Despite the modest paintings we
have, those who were crucified were stripped of their clothing before they were
crucified – they were crucified in the nude to add to their shame and
humiliation. And it became a practice
that – rather than waste the clothing of the condemned – the soldiers who
participated in the crucifixion were allowed to divide the clothes among
themselves and keep them.
With Jesus, there was a problem –
there were four guards and five total pieces of clothing. The tunic was beautiful – made in one piece –
not with various pieces attached, and the guards realized they would be left
with useless pieces of cloth if they cut it up, so they played dice for it.
This fulfilled the prophesy found in
Psalm 22, a psalm of David.
The Psalm is about the hardships
that David suffered at the hands of his enemies. And it is a poem, so it uses descriptive
language. It is unlikely that David’s
enemies really gambled for his clothes, but he uses that imagery to show the
severity of his persecution. And God
guides him to write this Psalm so that this passage – and others – would be
fulfilled by Jesus – Who is the fulfillment of David and his kingship.
Finally, Jesus honors His mother.
“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 the
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.”
We may remember the prophecy made at
Jesus’ bris:
“And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary
his mother, ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in
Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your
own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed’” (Luke 2:34-35,
ESV).
The three Mary’s and John – and some other
women – stay at the foot of the cross as Jesus hangs there, and they cry for
Him and mourn that He is being put to death – and in such a horrible way.
It is likely that Mary, the mother of
Jesus, remembers this prophecy as she sees her first-born Son crucified: “a
sword will pierce through your own soul also.”
Some of you have lost children – it is said to be one of the greatest
griefs to see your child died before you do.
Surely, Mary is confused and devastated.
And then something happens: Jesus looks at Mary and says, “Woman, behold
your son!” And then He looked at John
and said, “Behold your mother!”
What is happening?
“Honor your father and your mother, that
your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you” (Exodus
20:12, ESV).
Jesus is honoring His mother.
What does it mean to honor our mother –
and father?
As children, it is easier to say – we are
to obey our parents (unless they want us to sin), we are to respect them, and
so forth.
But what about older children? How does 33-year-old Jesus honor His mother,
who may be fifty-ish at this point?
One writer suggests six ways older
children should honor their parents:
1. We are to forgive our parents for the
ways in which they did not know how to raise us.
2. We are to speak well of them to others.
3. We are to esteem them publically and
privately.
4. We are to seek their wisdom.
5. We are to support them with love and
care.
6. We are to provide for their financial
needs. [https://www.challies.com/5-practical-ways-to-honor-your-parents/]
Since Joseph, Jesus’ father, is not
mentioned later in the Gospels, it is assumed that he died young. So, Mary is a widow. Jesus had likely been honoring her and caring
for her in these and other ways since Joseph’s death. Now, Jesus is dying, and He calls on one of
His closest friends, John, to take Mary in as his mother and to honor her as
his mother – Jesus is honoring her and making sure that she is cared for after
His death.
In a culture where we often box the
elderly up in “homes” and let other people care for them and wait for them to
die, this may sound very odd. But it is
in line with the commands of God.
We may look at this as a full circle of
honor and care – first our parents provide for us until we are able to provide
for ourselves, and then we walk alongside our parents, and then, when our
parents cannot provide for themselves, we step in to honor and care for them in
this way.
Do you honor your parents?
Notice that something else is going on in
addition to this: Jesus does not speak
to Mary, calling her, “mother,” He calls her, “woman.” We may remember He also called Mary, “woman,”
at the site of His first miracle – at the wedding in Cana.
If we are talking about passion and
compassion, care for the provision of His mother, why didn’t Jesus call her, “Mother”?
While Jesus is certainly honoring and
caring for His mother, He is also hinting at the honor and care He is showing
for everyone who will ever believe in Him as He sacrifices Himself in our
place.
Jesus cares for His mother, but He wants
to make the point that His care is not merely for His mother, but for all of
His people. Jesus is concerned for His
mother’s well-being, but He is all the more concerned with the well-being of
all of His people. Jesus’ mother is one
of His people – so she is included in the more general understanding of what is
going on.
We are to understand that Jesus honors and
cares for His mother – even as He is dying – He transfers His responsibility
for her to John, but even more so, He shows His care for all of His people in
becoming a curse – sin – for us, in being tortured and humiliated, and
dying. Jesus shows care and honor towards
His mother, and shows even greater care – salvation – for we who believe.
If we understand something of what it
means to honor our parents, understand that Jesus has done more for us – His
concern and care is greater than what we are commanded to give to our parents.
In the Providence of God, we are looking
at this text on Father’s Day. With that
in mind, let us honor our fathers – and our mothers. Let us make sure that they know the Gospel of
Jesus Christ and how important it is to believe it.
Let us seek to honor our parents – in life
and in death – to the fullest extent of the Law of God.
And let us tell the whole world that Jesus
died – bearing our sins – out of love and concern and care for His people. This is the greatest love that can ever be
found.
Do you know it?
Let us pray:
Almighty God, in our text, we see the taking
of responsibility put before us for sinful and righteous reasons. We see the call upon us to tell others what
Your Son has done to secure salvation – and we see how You move men and women
both to speak when they do not know what they do and to receive the Gospel
based on Your sovereign intervention. We
thank You for the love and concern You have shown to all of Your people and for
making the Way of salvation for us through Your Son. And we thank You for the example You have
given us in Jesus honoring His mother as He hung on the cross, that we would
remember and seek to honor our parents as You have called us to. And we pray all these things in Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
