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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to John's Gospel, John chapter 19. John chapter 19. Our focus will be verses 31 to 
37. We've seen the true humanity 
of our Lord Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, and in verses 31 
to 37 we see the emphasis specifically on the confirmation of His death, 
which is yet another piece of evidence concerning that true 
humanity. John 1.1 tells us in the beginning 
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then John 1.14, the Word 
became flesh and dwelt among us. He didn't just look like 
He became flesh, He didn't just appear a little bit like He was 
flesh, but He took on our humanity with all the essential properties 
and common infirmities thereof, and yet without sin. So it's 
indicative of His true humanity that He actually died, and that's 
confirmed in our passage first by the soldiers, and then secondly 
by the apostles. But I do want to read, or the 
apostle John, so I want to read beginning in verse 25. Now there 
stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister 
Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore 
saw his mother and the disciple, whom he loved, standing by, he 
said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. Then he said to the 
disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour that disciple 
took her to his own home. After this, knowing that all 
things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, 
said, I thirst. Now a vessel full of sour wine 
was sitting there, and they filled the sponge with sour wine, put 
it on hyssop, and put it to his mouth. So when Jesus had received 
the sour wine, he said, It is finished. and bowing his head 
he gave up his spirit. Therefore, because it was the 
preparation day that the bodies should 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. Then the soldiers came and broke 
the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with 
him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, 
they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced 
his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And 
he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true, and 
he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 
For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled. 
Not one of his bones shall be broken. And again, another scripture 
says, they shall look on him whom they pierced. Amen. Well, 
let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for your holy word. We thank you for this account 
of the death of our savior. And we know that that's not the 
end of his story. We know that he's raised again 
the third day, that he ascends on high, that he is now seated 
and thrown at the right hand of God the Father, where he reigns 
till all of his enemies are made his footstool. And certainly 
the events of this past week are vexing to our souls, it's 
grievous to our hearts. We pray for the Kirk family. 
We commend them to you and to the word of your grace. We pray 
for the blessing of God upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as 
it goes forth here and throughout this city and to this country 
and to the uttermost parts of the earth. May it go forth conquering 
and to conquer, and may you save from every tribe, every tongue, 
every people and nation. God may you indeed comfort and 
encourage your people. May you grant us that grace to 
continually remember your faithfulness, that you never leave us, you 
never forsake us, and even your chastenings are for our good. As Paul says, all things work 
for good to those who love you, to those who are the called according 
to your purpose. So God strengthen us with might 
and the inner man We pray that you would be glorified in this 
hour We pray now that you would forgive us for all of our sins 
and unrighteousness And guide us by the Holy Spirit who gave 
us this word and we pray this in Jesus name. Amen Well, as 
we have surveyed the crucifixion, we have noticed the seven sayings 
of the Savior on the cross. Those are, first, Father forgive 
them in Luke's gospel, Luke 23. Secondly, today you will be with 
me in paradise in Luke 23. The third is found in our passage 
in chapter 19 at verses 26 and 27, woman behold your son. The 
fourth is in Matthew, my God, my God, why have you forsaken 
me? The fifth is here in John 19, I thirst. The sixth is here 
in John 19, it is finished. And then the seventh, father 
into your hands I commit my spirit in Luke's gospel in chapter 23. 
So we've looked at the crucifixion, we've seen the sayings of the 
Savior on the cross, except for two, the first and the second. 
We haven't done a detailed exposition of those, so we are going to 
see those alluded to in the passage this morning. As well, we saw 
the phenomena associated with the death of our Lord in Matthew's 
Gospel last Sunday night at the Lord's Supper, the earthquake 
and the splitting of the rocks and the resurrection of the saints. 
Those are things associated with his death. And as I said, verses 
31 to 37 are crucial, not only as a bridge between his death 
and the burial that follows in verses 38 and following, but 
again to underscore the true humanity of our Lord. He wasn't 
just appearing to be a man. He didn't just look like a man. 
As well, he didn't fake his death. It wasn't a swoon theory. It 
wasn't that he was mostly dead. It was rather he was fully dead 
and he was raised again by the Father on the third day. So I 
want to look first at the confirmation by the soldiers in verses 31 
to 34, and then secondly the confirmation by the apostle in 
verses 35 to 37. Now under the confirmation by 
the soldiers, we note first the necessity of this in verse 31. 
the necessity of this in verse 31. Notice the time according 
to verse 31. Therefore, because it was the 
preparation day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross 
on the Sabbath, for that day or that Sabbath was a high day. They had a time restraint or 
constraint. They had a necessity to get the 
bodies off the cross because the next day was the Sabbath 
and they cannot work on the Sabbath. The problem being specifically 
that they had that external compliance with the fourth commandment such 
that they thought that any sort of violation of it would result 
in judgment and wrath from on high. As we move through the 
narrative though, we'll see that they give utter disregard to 
the very Sabbath itself. But then notice the backdrop 
for this is likely Deuteronomy If a man has committed a sin 
deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him 
on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree. 
But you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not 
defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an 
inheritance, for he who is hanged is accursed of God." So back 
to verse 31, therefore, because it was the preparation day that 
the body should 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. Now, 
this is a bit graphic, and I'm sorry about that, but we need 
to understand what's in play here. The normal Roman practice 
was to leave the criminals on the cross until they died. Again, 
crucifixion was the most heinous form of capital punishment in 
this particular time. If you were a Roman citizen, 
you were not subject ultimately to this form of capital punishment. The emperor could grant it to 
be sure, But for the common citizenry, this was so barbaric and so torturous, 
they didn't subject the common offender, with reference to a 
capital case, to crucifixion. So the normal Roman practice 
was to leave the criminals on the cross until they died, which 
could take days, and then leave their rotting bodies hanging 
there to be devoured by vultures. If there were some reason to 
hasten the death, the soldiers would smash the legs of the crucified 
with an iron mallet. You see something parallel to 
this in an execution by hanging of Saul's descendants in 2 Samuel 
chapter 21. The Gibeonites had been wronged 
by Saul, and so David wants to make amends. He wants to reconcile 
with them, and he asks specifically what they want. Of course, they 
ask for descendants of Saul to be hung. There's a faithful woman 
there by the name of Rizpah, according to verse 10. It says, 
Now Rizpah, the daughter of Ayat, took sackcloth and spread it 
for herself on the rock from the beginning of harvest until 
the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not 
allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the 
beasts of the field by night. Again, common practice, leave 
them on the cross until they were actually dead. They would 
rot, they would be bird food, they would just dissolve into 
a mess. Now the Jews have these time 
restraints. The Jews want to take these bodies 
off the cross. So why the crushing of the legs? One of the primary means of death 
with reference to the cross was asphyxiation. So that little 
block of wood that they would perhaps put under Jesus' feet 
wasn't to help him, it was to prolong the suffering. The more 
you could kind of get on the base of the cross and bounce 
up a bit, you could extend your ability to receive air. So they 
want to smash the legs of these three men so that they can hasten 
their death if it hadn't come already, which we see it had 
in the case of our Savior. Get them off the cross and then 
observe the Sabbath. That the body should not remain 
on the cross on the Sabbath. Now Pilate complies and Pilate 
dispatches the soldiers to do that very thing. Crush the legs, 
make sure they're dead, and then pull them down from the cross. 
Now again, before we move on, we ought to note something of 
the hypocrisy involved here. If you go back to chapter 18, 
specifically at verse 28, when the religious leaders bring Jesus 
to Pilate, we see a similar emphasis in their external ceremonial 
compliance with the law of Moses, all the while violating transgressing 
with impunity the moral demand of God in terms of not killing 
innocent people. So in 1828, then they led Jesus 
from Caiaphas to the Praetorium and it was early morning. But 
they themselves did not go into the Praetorium lest they should 
be defiled but that they might eat the Passover. Well, that's 
big of them. They don't want to be defiled 
by contacting a pagan palace, but they're okay delivering up 
the holy, harmless, undefiled Son of God to be executed by 
that Roman governor. Well, it's the same thing here 
in verse 31 in chapter 19. Therefore, because it was the 
preparation day, that the body should 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. Again, a fastidious compliance 
with Sabbath law, all the while executing, murdering, destroying 
the very Lord of the Sabbath himself. This is one of Jesus' 
condemnations and the woes pronounced against the scribes and the Pharisees 
and the hypocrites in Matthew's Gospel. He says, Woe to you, 
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and 
anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier manners of the 
law, justice and mercy and faith. Imagine that, weighing out mint, 
anise, and cumin, weighing out those little tiny seeds and those 
little tiny leaves because fastidiously you want to observe tithing commandment 
and yet you neglect justice, mercy, and faith? Jesus goes 
on to say, these you ought to have done without leaving the 
others undone. He says, blind guides who strain 
out a gnat and swallow a camel. Straining out a gnat so that 
you don't ingest it when you drink your wine, but all the 
while swallowing a very camel itself. Jesus upbraided them 
for that mindset of an external compliance with the law of God, 
all the while willfully transgressing the moral demand that you're 
not supposed to commit murder. You're especially not supposed 
to crucify the Lord of glory. Cyril of Alexandria said, though 
they killed Christ, they showed great reverence for the Sabbath. 
Though they insult the lawgiver with unthinkable audacity, they 
make a show of their reverence for the law. Those who destroyed 
the Lord of the solemn day pretend to honor the great solemnity 
of the day." It's a bad sign. It's a horrible thing. Verse 
31, their time constraint comes because they need to obey the 
Sabbath. Perhaps a bit of self-reflection. Perhaps a bit of evaluation. Perhaps a bit of examination 
in terms of what you just did in delivering up the Lord Jesus 
Christ, whom Pilate himself confesses three times, I find no guilt 
in this man. I find no guilt in this man. 
I find no guilt in this man. Pilate's wife begs him, have 
nothing to do with this just man. Pilate himself wants to 
engage in self-absolution when he washes his hands before the 
great multitude. These men are operating in that 
fastidious external compliance with the law of God, all the 
while swallowing camels with all their humps, with all their 
blood, with all their flesh, and all their bones. So the necessity 
is because the Sabbath day is coming and they need to hasten 
to get the bodies down. Now we notice the procedure in 
verses 32 to 34. First we have the two criminals 
in verse 32, and then our blessed Savior in verses 33 and 34. So 
notice in verse 32, Then the soldiers came and broke the legs 
of the first and of the other who was crucified with him. So 
they comply with their orders, break the legs, hasten their 
death, take them off the cross so that we can obey the Sabbath 
commandment. Now, brethren, I wanna visit 
that second saying of the Savior that we see in Luke's gospel 
in Luke chapter 23. You can turn there. The second 
saying of the Savior in Luke chapter 23. We don't know which of the two 
criminals in our text in John was the one that was saved, but 
we do know that one of them was saved. Now, think about those 
criminals on that day. Thankfully, I've never been sentenced 
to capital punishment, but I imagine the morning of such would be 
pretty sobering, pretty solemn, pretty serious, You know the 
time they're going to execute you, you know the manner in which 
you're going to die, you know the methodology, but add to that 
crucifixion, add to that public torture, add to that shame, add 
to that a whole host of things that are running through your 
mind. So that thief wakes up in the morning knowing he's going 
to die. And he knows he's going to die, 
ultimately, because he's a criminal. And this is what the Roman state 
does. This is what every civil state does. Again, as I mentioned 
on Wednesday night, it's not the problem that the government 
kills people. At least in our generation, they 
only ever kill the wrong people. They are actually supposed to 
kill people like this, insurrectionists, terrorists, murderers, those 
who victimize others. That's a legitimate outflow of 
civil government, to police the streets, to punish the criminal, 
and to defend us from foreign invasion. So this thief understands 
all this. The thief is nailed to the cross 
or tied to the cross, and the thief, along with his brother 
thief, reviles Jesus. He mocks Jesus. He blasphemes 
Jesus. Throughout the course of the 
day, he's participating with his brother thief in the same 
manner, doing the same thing. That's what Matthew tells us 
with reference to this particular thief. But the criminal, by God's 
grace, was able ultimately to look through the gore and to 
see the glory of the Son of God. If you're looking in Luke's gospel 
at chapter 23, notice in verse 39, then one of the criminals 
who were hanged blasphemed him, saying, if you are the Christ, 
save yourself and us. But the other answering rebuked 
him, saying, do you not even fear God, seeing you are under 
the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we 
receive the due reward of our deeds. But this man has done 
nothing wrong. He's convicted of his sins. He's 
not saying, I was framed. He's not saying, I need a new 
lawyer. He's not saying, you Roman government ought to forfeit 
the sword and the power of execution, and let's all just sing kumbaya 
together. He's not doing that. He understands, and he underscores, 
and he receives, honestly, the condemnation that is due for 
him for having committed rebellion against the state. Well, it probably 
wasn't rebellion against the state. It was rebellion against 
individuals in the state. Then notice that this thief confesses 
Jesus as Lord. Verse 42, then he said to Jesus, 
Lord. As I mentioned, he looks past 
the gore and he sees the glory of Jesus and he confesses Him 
as Lord. Now brethren, that's a pretty 
weighty confession in this particular context. I imagine the apostles, 
though they struggled at times and Jesus upbraided them for 
being ye of little faith, what did they see Jesus do? They saw 
him feed the multitudes. They saw him raise dead people. 
They saw him heal blind people. They saw him heal all kinds of 
people. They heard him teach. They heard his doctrine. They 
heard his words. They saw him walk on the water. 
They saw him calm the storms. I have to say it'd probably be 
easier to confess Jesus as Lord under those circumstances than 
to look across at a man who's beaten, bloodied, and gory from 
the thorns in his head, the nails in his hands, the nails in his 
feet, the spit on his body, the scourge marks on him. This man 
confesses Jesus as Lord, but then notice as well, he confesses 
that this Lord possesses a kingdom. Again, an amazing assertion here. It's kind of become a challenge 
in the last generation to convince people that Jesus is a king. 
Of course Jesus is a king. He's king of kings and he's lord 
of lords. He's prophet, priest, and king. Why do we need his 
kingship? Well, we need to be ruled. We 
need to be governed. We need to be defended. We need 
to be protected. Of course Jesus is a king. This 
thief looks past the gore to the glory and confesses him as 
Lord and a Lord who possesses a kingdom. But even beyond that, 
he confesses there is mercy to be had in our Lord Jesus. Lord, 
remember me. So you don't say remember me 
if you don't think there's any chance that he's going to remember 
you. This is faith. This is looking at the glory 
of the Savior as He's nailed upon that cross, as He's covered 
with spit, as He's covered with shame, as He's naked, as He's 
brutalized, as He's blasphemed by the other thief, and then 
those at the base of the cross. This man says, remember me. He 
casts himself upon mercy. He casts himself upon God's grace. This is a great encouragement 
to any and all here that are not believers in our Lord Jesus. There is a Savior who remembers. There is a Savior who hears. 
There is a Savior who extends grace and mercy and forgiveness 
and gives you a righteousness as we heard from our brother's 
exhortation from Luke's gospel. That good Samaritan can be entreated 
even now. You can look unto him by faith 
and live. You can come to him and live. 
You can look to him and find the forgiveness of sins and receive 
that righteousness. This thief confesses his lordship, 
this thief confesses his kingdom, and this thief wants a part of 
it. Lord, remember me when you come 
into your kingdom. He sounds a bit like David in 
the Psalms. If thou, Lord, shouldst mark 
iniquity, O Lord, who can stand but There is forgiveness with 
thee that thou mayest be feared. Or David in Psalm 25, For your 
name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. or the prophet Micah. The name 
Micah means, who is a God like you? And in Micah 7, Micah uses 
his name and asks God, who is a God like you? You know what 
blows Micah's mind? It's not the judgment of God 
upon the wicked. It's not the punishment of God 
upon the unrighteous. It isn't the wrath and fury and 
judgment of hell for those who break God's law. What blows Micah's 
mind is that there is abundant mercy with you. that you forgive 
sin, that you take our sin, and he says, you cast it into the 
depths of the sea. I love Spurgeon's remarks there. 
He doesn't cast it into the shallow parts, because as we know, if 
you throw something into the shallow part, you can always 
see it, can't you? I guess we can still see it even 
in the depths of the sea from time to time, but he casts that 
sin into the depths of the sea. He removes our iniquity. David 
in Psalm 103, he removes our iniquity as far as the east is 
from the west. So you have removed our iniquity. 
You have forgiven us of our transgressions. This thief, by God's grace, saw 
this concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, but notice as well, the 
thief who woke up that morning, understanding what his lot in 
life was, understanding that as a criminal against the Roman 
state, he's going to be executed accordingly, goes to that cross, 
starts off by blaspheming, but along the way understands, you 
know what? We're here justly. We're here because this is right. 
And then he casts himself upon the mercy of the Savior and he 
says, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. What 
else did the thief hear? The thief heard that second saying 
of the Savior, today you will be with me in paradise. Isn't 
that beautiful? As these Roman soldiers smash 
his legs, as these Roman soldiers smash his legs to hasten his 
death, guess what his only comfort in life and in death is? It's 
that he belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ, body and soul. Calvin comments about the thief 
on the cross. He says, But likewise, in having obtained 
in a moment the forgiveness of all the sins in which he had 
been plunged through his whole life, and in having been thus 
admitted to heaven before the apostles and firstfruits of the 
new church." Today you will be with me in paradise. Calvin goes 
on to say, I know not, this is a comment specifically on verse 
42, Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom. Calvin 
says, I know not since the creation of the world there ever was a 
more remarkable and striking example of faith and so much 
the greater admiration is due to the grace of the Holy Spirit 
of which it affords so magnificent a display. So what's the point? There is forgiveness with thee 
that thou mayest be feared. There is forgiveness even in 
the 11th hour. I would encourage you not to 
wait till the 11th hour. There is forgiveness with God 
for those who have heaped up piles upon piles upon piles of 
sin, and even a criminal offender who justly deserves capital punishment. There is forgiveness to be had 
in our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the gospel. It's the beauty 
of the Christian message. His forgiveness, His righteousness, 
given to us freely by God, not earned, not paid for, but rather 
given freely by God in His grace. This is what everybody should 
be looking onto today. So then we move on back in John 
19, specifically to the procedure with reference to our Lord Jesus. 
In verses 33 and 34. Note the discovery in verse 33. But one of the soldiers, or I'm 
sorry, when they, verse 33, when they came to Jesus and saw that 
he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of 
the soldiers pierced his side with a spear and immediately 
blood and water came out. So they confirm his death. Again, 
there are those in the history of the world that have denied 
that Jesus truly died. That's Islam. He didn't really 
die. Swoon theory. He goes into the 
tomb, he's revived, and then he comes back out and makes it 
look like he was raised from the dead. James Cameron popularized 
the swoon theory to a non-Muslim audience several years ago. He 
was mostly dead, taken from the cross, put in the tomb, and then 
he mostly, or the most dead, healed and revived. So he wasn't 
really dead. These guys, this was their job. 
Imagine whatever your job is, and you come home from it at 
the end of the day, and your wife says, how was work? Well, I'm 
not sure I made that widget the way I've made it a billion times 
before. I'm not sure I conducted that 
transaction, transgression, that transaction the way I've done 
it hundreds of times before. This is their job. They kill 
people. Imagine having that as a resume 
at a party. Yeah, what do you do for work? 
I kill people for the civil state. I'm an executioner. In this day 
and age, it wouldn't work much. Weekends, holidays, all of it 
off. It's a legitimate job if the death penalty is biblical 
and it is, somebody's got to carry it out. This is authorized, 
Genesis 9, 6, whoever sheds man's blood by man, by man, by man 
his blood will be shed for in the image of God he made man. 
That's why voters ought to be very particular in terms of who 
they vote for. the civil state acted appropriately, 
we would see the gravity involved in the civil state's highest 
piece of equipment for government, namely the sword. And we wouldn't 
elect fools and morons and buffoons to occupy that position. We would make sure that we picked 
people that had the gravity and the seriousness and the commitment 
to justice necessary to wield the sword in the public execution 
of criminal offenders. That should just go without saying 
in a body politic. These men killed people, they 
knew how to do it. Verse 33, when they came to Jesus 
and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 
That's gonna be explained for us in verse 36, so we'll wait 
until we get there. But why was he dead before the 
other two? You crucify three men, you'd 
pretty much bet those three men would all die at the same time. 
I mean, give or take a few variables here or there, why? Well, some 
suggest the suffering of our Lord was even worse than those 
other two men. I think there's merit to that. 
Remember, he's hauled before the Sanhedrin late Thursday night, 
early Friday morning. They're done with him at the 
Sanhedrin early Friday morning. They haul him off to Pontius 
Pilate. He stands before Pontius Pilate. He's scourged once by 
Pilate, not physically Pilate, but his cronies or toadies. Pilate 
wants to disavow any dealings with him, so he has Jesus scourged 
just to sort of calm the bloodthirsty mob. Then he sentences him to 
crucifixion, which is always accompanied by scourging. So likely Christ was scourged 
twice. So he did suffer a lot. We don't know what happened to 
the other man. We don't know what their practice was. We don't 
know what their Thursday night looked like. We don't know what 
their Friday morning looked like. So it's not without any degree 
of feasibility that Jesus suffered more, so he died first. I don't 
think so. Maybe, again, I'm spitballing 
here, but I think it's 1930 stuff. It's John 19.30. What does Jesus 
say there? He says, it is finished. Bowing his head, he gave up his 
spirit. He commits his spirit into the 
hand of the Father. The work of redemption was done. 
He dies, he gives up the ghost. He's done all that the Father 
has given him. He's drank the cup of God's wrath and fury. 
He has fulfilled the obligations placed upon him by the Father 
in terms of what he called the hour. This is consistent with 
John 10, 17, and 18. Nobody takes my life from me. 
I give it up by my own power. Probably that's, at least theologically, 
the direction we should think. Yes, he suffered. I'm not minimizing 
that. But why does he die before the 
other two men? And it doesn't necessitate the breaking of his 
legs. Because he finished the work of redemption. He accomplished 
all that the Father had given him. He had saved his people 
from their sins. He had rescued us out of darkness. 
He has brought us into marvelous light. He has done all that is 
necessary, all the obligations laid upon Him. He is the Yea 
and Amen of God Most High. So then notice in verse 34, one 
of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear and immediately 
blood and water came out. Now why? They're trained killers. They know what a dead man looks 
like. They've already made the confirmation in verse 33 such 
that they don't have to break his legs. He's already dead. 
They didn't have a discussion at the cross saying, well, he's 
mostly dead, possibly dead, apparently dead, maybe he's dead. No, no. 
They knew he was dead. If there was any doubt of his 
death, they would have broken his legs. They did it with the 
other two men. Why wouldn't they do it with the Lord Jesus? Because 
they knew he was dead. So why pierce his side? Some 
suggest it's to inflict further indignity or torture upon Jesus. He would be undignified. It wouldn't 
be torture because the body was dead. The spirit had departed. 
So it wouldn't necessarily be desecration of a dead body. Desecration 
of a corpse, that's a bad thing. Maybe John is doing theology. We know that John does theology 
a lot in his gospel. In fact, he's called in history, 
St. John the Theologian. Yes, he's an evangelist. Yes, 
he's an apostle. But the fellow who, by inspiration 
of the Spirit, wrote the prologue, yeah, I think he's earned the 
title of theologian. We call him the Right Reverend 
Doctor Theological Sir. Every possible name for a distinguished 
divine could be predicated to Saint John in his gospel. It's probably symbolic. Some 
have seen medical symbolism and they ask the question, what was 
pierced? His heart? Or the pericardial sac that surrounds 
the heart? Guess what Roman Catholics say? 
The blood is the Lord's Supper and the water is baptism. Now 
brethren, I'm not gonna smash that interpretation. I don't 
subscribe to it, but I think it heads in a proper direction 
that we're doing, John is doing theology here. John is bringing 
themes together that he's brought forth already in his gospel. 
Gil says the blood is justification and the water is sanctification. 
I don't have a problem with that. I don't have a problem with that 
at all. But even more close is a similar 
connection we've seen on the cross between the death of our 
Lord and the provision of the Holy Spirit. In John 7, Jesus 
says, all you who are thirsty, come and drink. And then the 
evangelist or theologian makes a reference to the Holy Spirit 
who had not yet been given. So perhaps what John is communicating 
in this piercing of the side of Jesus is the all-sufficiency 
of our Lord in terms of blood atonement and in terms of the 
provision of the Holy Spirit. Again, what we'll see in John 
20 when Jesus breathes upon the disciples so that they might 
receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2, when that mighty rushing 
wind comes upon the church and it's the Holy Spirit. In Acts 
2, 33, when Simon Peter says, Jesus is the one who is sending 
you the Spirit from the right hand of the Father. And if I 
could just indulge just one step further, notice it comes from 
the side. Now I'm not necessarily saying Augustine's right, but 
I am saying Augustine is probably teaching us, or should be teaching 
us, to think theologically along the way. Augustine says, the 
first woman was formed from the side of the man when asleep and 
was called life and the mother of all living. This second Adam 
bowed his head and fell asleep on the cross. He doesn't mean 
that it was a swoon theory. He's using a common convention 
for death. Luke uses that of Stephen in 
Acts chapter 7. So he says, This second Adam 
bowed his head and fell asleep on the cross, that a spouse might 
be formed for him, that which flowed from the sleeper's side. 
O death, whereby the dead are raised anew to life! What can 
be purer than such blood? What more health-giving than 
such a wound?" The point is, is that they didn't need to confirm 
his death, they'd already done that in verse 33. Verse 34, when 
this soldier, maybe he was just a rogue renegade. Maybe he was 
just one of these unhinged guys that's not real great at his 
job. He's bloodthirsty, and he just takes this spear to pierce 
the Lord Jesus. Whatever it is John mentions 
it, and concerning John's gospel as a whole, theology is primary 
for John. So perhaps we should see something 
of justification sanctification. We should see something of the 
life-giving blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and the provision 
of the Holy Spirit that comes from the Father and the Son. 
That brings us then to the confirmation by the Apostle. So the soldiers 
confirm his death, verses 31 to 34. Now we have the confirmation 
by the Apostle in verses 35 to 37. Note the affirmation of his 
testimony in verse 35. And he was seen as testifying. And his testimony is true, and 
he knows that he is telling the truth. Now who is this? This 
is John. John, according to John's gospel, is the beloved disciple, 
John 13, 23, John 21, 7, John 21, 20. That beloved disciple 
that was standing near the cross, according to John 19, verses 
26 and 27. The self-same John that investigated 
the empty tomb. That self-same John that wrote 
the fourth gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. That John 
tells us. What we might expect to hear 
in a courtroom, you know, you look at verse 35 and I can hear 
the atheist and the God-hater right now and the rejecter of 
Christianity say, well, who's John? Why should we pay attention 
to John? What does it matter what John 
says? And in fact, what he's saying sounds to be circular 
in nature. And he was seen as testified and his testimony is 
true and he knows that he is telling the truth. And yet every 
single day in every criminal court in every part of the world, 
we ask the defendant or the witness to raise his right hand and swear 
to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, 
so help me God. Why are they to be received as 
factual? Why are they to be received as 
a procedure in terms of witness or defendant or plaintiff testimony? And John doesn't get that? The 
people that reject the Bible never ask the Bible if it should 
be rejected. Oh, the Bible's filled with errors. 
Put it in the witness stand and ask your questions. Put it in 
the dock and investigate it. You can't just say the Bible's 
filled with, I mean, you can, because morons do it every single 
day of the year, but you can't do that with any degree of honesty. 
John is an eyewitness testimony, witness. He gives eyewitness 
testimony. In fact, notice that, what he 
says there, beautiful. He was an eyewitness to the death 
of Christ, and he was seen. He has testified of the truth, 
and he affirms the truthfulness of his testimony, and his testimony 
is true. Again, I swear to tell the truth, 
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God. 
But I don't want to say even beyond that. Maybe in addition 
to that. Note the purpose for his eyewitness 
testimony. That little bit at the end of 
verse 35. Why does John swear to tell the 
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Why does John 
ground his testimony in the facts, historically, that he was an 
eyewitness of the death of the Son of God? Why does he do that? 
Because I want to refute any future generations of atheists. 
I want to knock those agnostics into a sense of reason that you may believe. See that's primary for John. 
That's why John writes the fourth gospel according to John 20, 
30 and 31. These signs that Jesus did are 
so that you might believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that 
believing in His name you may have everlasting life. So John 
functions as an eyewitness testimony to the death of the Lord Jesus 
at the foot of the cross. Yeah, for all of the other reasons 
that we see consistent with the giving of scripture, the giving 
of God's son to die for our sins. But there's a redemptive end 
that you may believe. Look at that, verse 35. I'm telling 
you this, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. So help me God, 
so that you may believe. Not that you may debate, not 
that you may question, not that you may ignore, not that you 
may suspend. And by suspend, I mean, oh, well, 
I'm young now, I'll think about all that stuff later. No, John 
doesn't write so that you'll think about it later. John writes 
so that you may believe. If you haven't believed, can 
I just echo John and say, believe, come to the Lord Jesus. That's 
the purpose for the fourth gospel. It is very specific. It is very 
pointed. Again, not just matter for debate, 
not just matter for questioning, not just matter for theologizing 
and discussing, but I write these things. I write these things 
so that you may believe. What's John's point? John's point 
is clear. And then in terms of the testimony 
of John, there's background, and we'd expect that. He's showing 
us the fulfillment of Scripture every step of the way, right? Verse 28, after this, Jesus, 
knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture 
might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. Look at verse 24. They said, 
therefore, among themselves, let us not tear it, but cast 
lots for it, whose it shall be, that the scripture might be fulfilled, 
which says, they divided my garments among them, and for my clothing 
they cast lots. John's not going to leave a bit 
of a, you know, fulfilled scripture undealt with in this particular 
scenario. So what does he mean here? Note 
first the reference to his bones, verse 36, for these things were 
done, and these things I take to the breaking of the bones, 
because that's the text that's cited, and to the piercing of 
the side. These things were done not haphazardly. 
These things were done not accidentally. These things were done because 
the scripture had prophesied. These things have been done because 
they fulfill what God and His providence determined to be done. 
So verse 36, for these things were done that the scripture 
should be fulfilled. He says, not one of his bones 
shall be broken. Not one of his bones shall be 
broken. Pastor Cam read Psalm 34 at the outset of worship, 
and then we sang a paraphrased version of it during worship. And in Psalm 3420 we read these 
words, he, talking about God, guards all his bones, not one 
of them is broken. So God, the righteous and holy 
God, delivers the unrighteous, or rather delivers his righteous 
people from the transgression of the unrighteous. That's certainly 
a true thought. It's certainly true with reference 
to Jesus. Father, into your hands I commit 
my spirit. But I think that John is going 
behind even Psalm 34 to Exodus 12, 46 and Numbers 9, 12. Remember that John structures 
his narrative around three Passovers. Remember that John wants us to 
make sure we know that Jesus was crucified at Passover time. John wants us to know that what 
John the Baptist confesses in John 1 29 is in fact true. The Baptist says, behold the 
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The not breaking 
of the bones of the Savior answers to the not breaking of the bones 
of the Passover Lamb at the time of the Passover in Exodus chapter 
12. In fact, in Exodus chapter 12 
at verse 46 we read, in one house it shall be eaten, you shall 
not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break 
one of its bones. Commentators will say, well, 
they shouldn't have broke the bones to suck the marrow out. 
I mean, what other reason would you break bones for? Unless you're 
a sadistic weirdo that just likes cracking bones, you'd crack the 
bones to suck the marrow out. Better commentators say it was 
typical. It pointed forward to John 19. It pointed forward to the crushing 
of the Son of God under the hand of the Father. through the agency 
of wicked men at the cross, but none of his bones were broken. 
Numbers 9 verse 12, they shall leave none of it until morning, 
nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances 
of the Passover, they shall keep it. John emphasizes Passover. John emphasizes Jesus Christ 
as our Passover. In fact, Paul tells us that specifically 
in 1 Corinthians 5, 7, for indeed Christ, our Passover was sacrificed 
for us. Why weren't his bones crushed? 
Simple answer, he was already dead. The biblical answer is 
because God determined it thus. But then notice as well in verse 
37 concerning his piercing. And again another scripture says, 
they shall look on him whom they pierced. Now this is Zechariah 
the prophet chapter 12 at verse 10. Zechariah chapter 12 and 
verse 10. So again, another scripture says, 
they shall look on him whom they pierced. Again, it was purposed 
by God, announced by God prophetically, so it must come to pass. Again, 
not haphazard, not random, even if you had a unhinged soldier 
there that plunged the spear in the side of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, that's ordained by God. God governs all his creatures 
and all their actions. So why Zechariah 12 and verse 
10? Zechariah comes up a lot in the 
passion narrative, especially in Matthew's gospel. Many appeals 
to the prophet Zechariah. I think there's something of 
the first saying of the Savior on the cross with this reference. 
The first saying of the Savior on the cross, Father forgive 
them for they know not what they do. Again, the religious leaders, 
the Sanhedrin, they acted out of malice. They acted out of 
reprobate hatred to the Lord Jesus Christ. They rejected Him. 
They despised Him. They plotted to kill Him early 
on in His public ministry. And when the time was right, 
they acted. They solicited the multitudes. The multitudes jumped 
right in with them. But as Jesus prays on that cross, 
in that first saying, Father, forgive them, for they know not 
what they do. He's not praying for the reprobate. He tells us 
in the high priestly prayer, I don't pray for the world. but 
I pray for those whom you've given me out of the world." So 
at the foot of the cross, there were those who acted in ignorance? 
At the foot of the cross, they didn't understand what they were 
doing? Is there any proof of this? Yeah. Acts 2, the day of 
Pentecost, when Jerusalem sinners are called upon to repent and 
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, 
for the promises to you to your children, the ones you gave a 
self-maledictory oath to, may His blood be upon us and our 
children and to all those who are afar off, as many as the 
Lord our God shall call." But if we look at the prophet Zechariah, 
I think we see three things relative to the persons of the Trinity. 
The unity of the Father and the Son. The prophet Zechariah says, 
they will look upon me. Father, typically God, Old Testament, 
we think of the first person of the Trinity. Here it's they 
shall look upon Him, Jesus, unity of the divine nature. As well, 
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Not long after Zechariah 12, 
verse 10 comes, don't say verse 11, Zechariah 13 and verse one. In that day, the prophet announces, 
a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness. is those in Zechariah 12 mourning 
over the Savior whom they've pierced, over the Messiah, over 
their God. Again, not the reprobate malefactors 
that demanded his blood, orchestrated false charges, politically blackmailed 
Pilate. No, I don't pray for the world, 
Jesus says, but I pray for those whom you've given me out of the 
world. How many were saved on that day of Pentecost in Acts 
chapter 2? 3,000. They were Jerusalem sinners. Repent and let every one of you 
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. 
And it is intriguing, in that day, a fountain shall be opened 
for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem 
for sin and uncleanness. Peter uses that language, repent, 
be baptized, for what? For the remission of sins. The 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that is on the day of Pentecost. So the first saying of the Savior 
connects with this piercing of the Savior and the prophet Zechariah 
chapter 12 and verse 10. And thus concludes our study 
in the crucifixion. God willing, we'll see the burial 
next week. And again, what is evidenced 
by that? True humanity. I want to close 
on that note, the true humanity of our Lord and Savior Jesus 
Christ. He didn't just appear to be that way. He didn't just 
kind of look like he was a real man. Look at Hebrews chapter 
4, where the implication is drawn out for us, for encouragement, 
for strength, for comfort. Hebrews chapter, well look at 
chapter 2 first, chapter 2 verse 17, Therefore in all things he 
had to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and 
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation 
for the sins of the people. In all things he had to be made 
like his brethren. After verse 16 where it talks 
about taking on man. taking on man's nature. He doesn't take on the angel's 
nature. He takes on man's nature. Why? 
So that he can be like us in all things. Notice in Hebrews 
4.14, seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed 
through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast 
our confession. For we do not have a high priest 
who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points 
tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly 
to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find 
grace to help in time of need." The true humanity of our Lord 
is seen in His death. It's confirmed by Roman soldiers 
who killed people for a living. It's confirmed by the Apostle 
John right there at the foot of the cross. wasn't just mostly 
dead, wasn't just kind of dead, didn't just appear to be dead, 
but I verify this. I've seen it. I swear to tell 
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help 
me God. And the purpose for which I am telling you this is that 
you may believe." We see as well the fulfillment of scripture 
by our Lord Jesus Christ. Every jot and tittle down to 
the non-breaking of His legs. to be that antitype of that Passover 
lamb, that Passover lamb that furnished the substitutionary 
blood for the Israelite such that the angel of death passed 
over and didn't visit them in his wrath and fury and anger 
and judgment. Jesus fulfills all of that. The 
obedience of Christ to the Father, even in his death, It is finished. He has accomplished all that 
God has given him. Brethren, we ought to be encouraged. 
We ought to be prayerful. We ought to be mindful of the 
reality that our faithful God who orchestrated this event does 
it to save a multitude that no man can number from every tribe 
and tongue and people and nation. Don't you love it when you turn 
to Revelation 6 and 7 and assembled before the throne is a number 
so numerous that no man can number it? We have this idea that there's 
gonna be a handful of us that stumble into heaven. No, that's 
not what the scriptures say. The scriptures declare a great 
multitude that no man can number. The scriptures emphasize tribes, 
tongues, peoples, nations. The scripture gives us every 
reason why we ought to be confident and hopeful and prayer filled 
with reference to praying for the propagation of God's holy 
gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth such that the triumphant 
king shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied. Brethren, let us march according 
to what we find in scripture and not what we find according 
to our eyes. The righteous walk by faith, 
not by sight. Well, Muslims, there's so many 
of them. Islam's growing. Atheism's bad. 
Communism's bad. It's all bad, but Christ is great. Remember those spies returning 
from visiting the promised land in Numbers 12 and 13, or 13 and 
14? What are they sent to do? 12 
men go from each tribe, spy out the land, assess it for us. The 
12 men go out. They say, wow, it's a great land, 
but there's some big and menacing people there. What do Caleb and 
Joshua say? great land. Let's go take it 
at once." Never forget that Numbers 13 starts off that they're going 
to go spy out the land, the land that the Lord had promised to 
give them. That was never a debatable thing. 
It was never a question. Well, if we're faithful, He'll 
give us the... No, no. I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
You're going to get the land. Now, what happens in the land 
is covenantally conditioned, and if you mess up, you're out. 
But in terms of the gift of the land, that's a given. 10 spies, 
well, it's good land, bad people. Joshua and Caleb, let's go at 
once. As the crowd starts to hear from Joshua and Caleb, the 
10 spies revise their report. No, it's a bad land that wants 
to destroy us and it's filled with bad people. of course we 
remember who the congregation listens to. The congregation 
listens to the Ten Spice and picks up stones and wants to 
get rid of Moses, wants to get rid of Aaron, wants to get rid 
of Joshua, wants to get rid of Caleb. Brethren, at times the 
church, and I'm not here to bash the church or blame the church 
or the church, the church, the church, but at times We can act 
like those 10 spies. God has promised that Christ 
will have dominion from sea to sea. God has promised to his 
son, ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, 
the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. And then 
Christ, post-ascension, or post-resurrection, prior to ascension, what does 
he say to his disciples? Go therefore and make disciples 
of what? of all the nations." How could 
He say that? Because He asked of His Father, 
and the Father had given to Him the nations. So therefore, church, 
go, make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them in the 
name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach 
them to observe all that I've commanded you. And if that's 
not enough, Jesus says, and lo, I am with you always, even to 
the end of the age. Our faithful Christ is with us. 
Our faithful Christ sanctions what we're doing. Our faithful 
Christ commands us to do what we're doing in terms of church 
life, in terms of preaching the gospel, in terms of emphasizing 
the glory of God in the salvation of sinners. We need to pray in 
light of that. We need to be encouraged. It's 
been a discouraging week, brethren. It's been a very heartfelt, discouraging 
week in the death of Charlie Kirk, faithful witness, a faithful 
testifier, a man whose message was consistently gospel-saturated. And what happens? He's murdered 
right before our eyes. It is tragic. It is horrific. But the response cannot be, well, 
I'm not gonna go out into the public square. I'm not gonna 
go out into that land which destroys its people and is filled with 
giants. No, let's be Caleb. Let us go out once. It doesn't 
mean put yourself in jeopardized situations. Don't walk downtown 
where there's a bunch of people with guns and call them names. 
Well, I'm gonna be a martyr for Jesus. Don't be dumb. But this 
cannot restrict faithful evangelism. It cannot restrict faithful missionary 
endeavors. It cannot restrict the church 
at prayer for the God of heaven and earth to rend the heavens 
and come down and save a great multitude, change the hearts 
of multitudes, save to the uttermost all who draw nigh to God through 
the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for 
what we see in the crucifixion of our dear Lord. We thank you 
for what he did for us men and for our salvation. And we pray 
that you would give us encouragement, that you would give us that stability 
and that security and that hope-filled disposition wherein we pray, 
wherein we preach and evangelize and testify to sinners that God 
is in the world reconciling sinners to himself through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. We ask that you would help us 
to sanctify this day, to call it a delight, and to enjoy the 
things of God and the things of Christian fellowship. And 
we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.