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May turn in your Bibles to John 
chapter 19. John chapter 19. Last week we looked at Matthew 
chapter 9 in our continuing series on the Gospel of Matthew. We 
noted where the disciples of John the Baptist asked the Lord 
Jesus, why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples, 
they don't fast. The disciples of John had witnessed 
this feast given by Matthew in his own house for Jesus, who 
had just saved him from his sins. So the disciples of John say, 
how come they're feasting rather than fasting? And the Lord Jesus 
gave this response. In Matthew 9, 15, he said, can 
the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom 
is with them? But the days will come when the 
bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will 
fast. I thought it would be good for 
us this morning to look at that statement, the days will come 
when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. The crucifixion 
of the bridegroom and then, God willing, next Sunday morning, 
the resurrection of the bridegroom. But I do want to begin reading 
in chapter 19, beginning at verse 16. I know we're sort of jumping 
right into it, but I do want to just focus on the crucifixion. We'll have cause to refer to 
what has preceded in the course of the message. So beginning 
in chapter 19 at verse 16, then he, this is Pilate, delivered 
him, this is Jesus, to them, this is the Roman soldiers, to 
be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led 
him away. And he, bearing his cross, went 
out to a place called the Place of the Skull, which is called 
in Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified him and two others 
with him, one on either side and Jesus in the center. Now 
Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross, and the writing 
was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Then many of the 
Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified 
was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and 
Latin. Therefore, the chief priests 
of the Jews said to Pilate, do not write the king of the Jews, 
but he said, I am the king of the Jews. Pilate answered, what 
I have written, I have written. Then the soldiers, when they 
had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, 
to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was 
without seam, woven from the top in one piece. 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. Therefore, the soldiers did these 
things. 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, Jesus, 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 his hip, 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. Amen. Let us pray. Thank you, 
Father, for your word, and thank you for the Savior. Thank you 
for the Lord Jesus. what he went through on our behalf. 
And God, I pray that we'd understand this is simply not an example 
for us to follow, an example of love or an example of kindness, 
but it was substitution. It was sacrifice. It was Christ 
standing in the place of his people to bear the wrath of God 
Almighty. May we appreciate this reality. 
May it cause us to worship. May it cause us to marvel. And may it cause us to rejoice 
in your loving kindness and in your goodness. God may it cause 
sinners to believe, to see what a gracious, what a glorious, 
what a powerful Savior that we have. And we ask in Jesus' name, 
Amen. Well, this morning we're only 
going to focus on verses 16 to 24. I did want to read to the 
end of the account where Jesus says, it is finished. And by 
that statement, He means the redemption of God's people. He 
means the task that had been given to Him. It's not a cry 
of misery, but rather it is a triumphant victory cry. It is a shout that 
He has accomplished all that the Father gave Him All that 
was prophesied concerning Him, the Lord Jesus carried out to 
the uttermost, all that was stipulated of Him in the covenant God made 
with His Son. But as I said, we want to focus 
on verses 16 to 24 under four considerations. First, we'll 
notice the setting. Secondly, the crucifixion. Thirdly, 
the charge. And fourthly, the division of 
the spoil. The division of the spoil, something 
we ought to notice in this particular passage. J.C. Ryle, just by way 
of introduction, commented about this particular text. He says, 
he that can read a passage like this without a deep sense of 
his debt to Christ must have a very cold or a very thoughtless 
heart. Great must be the love of the 
Lord Jesus to sinners when he could voluntarily endure such 
suffering for their salvation. Great must be the sinfulness 
of sin when such an amount of vicarious or substitutionary 
suffering was needed in order to provide redemption. This is 
a wonderful account, it is a wonderful description, not so as to satisfy 
some sick obsession with death, but it's rather the theological 
significance that the Bible attaches to the death of Christ. As I've 
already mentioned, He stood in our place, He bore the wrath 
of God, You see, the Lord God Most High is holy, and He must 
punish sin. He either punishes the person 
of His Son, or He punishes the sinner. The only way of escape 
for us is by looking to Christ in faith, believing the Gospel, 
and knowing what it is to be justified freely by His grace 
alone. So what Christ does here is not 
simply an example. It's not simply a story for one 
time out of the year when we get this sentimental feeling 
or we get some emotions risen up in us. What we find in this 
passage is the satisfaction of the justice and the righteousness 
of God in the punishment of His Son who bore our iniquity on 
the tree and who bore the wrath and fury of His Father for us. It is truly an amazing passage 
that I hope we along with Ryle will say we must have a very 
cold heart or a very thoughtless heart if we don't see our great 
debt to such a great Savior in this passage. Let's look at the 
setting, verses 16 to 18b. Notice, first, he was delivered 
up. Verse 16 makes that point conspicuous. Then, he, it's talking about 
Pilate, who heard this particular account. Remember, the Jews did 
not possess lawful authority to engage in capital punishment. 
They had to seek out the Roman magistrate. They had to seek 
out this political leader. And as a result, now he is delivering 
up Jesus in order to be crucified. But the careful reader will remember 
verse 11. I know we didn't read it here, 
but there is a statement in verse 11 about really who is in control 
of this particular event. Notice in verse 11, Jesus answers 
to Pilate, you could have no power at all against me unless 
it had been given you from above." You see, Jesus never lost sight 
of the fact that the Father was in control of this whole proceeding. 
Jesus was never confused. Jesus was never caught off guard. 
Jesus was not in a state of chaos. Jesus willingly resolved to do 
all that the Father had sent him to do. And in this statement 
concerning Pilate delivering him up to the Roman soldiers 
in order to be crucified, hopefully we appreciate the sovereignty 
of God behind the scenes. It was prophesied in Isaiah 53 
verse 10, yet it pleased the Lord. Speaking of God the Father, 
it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. Acts chapter 2 and verse 23, 
the Apostle Peter, he's preaching on the day of Pentecost and he 
says, him, talking about Christ, being delivered by the determined 
purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless 
hands, have crucified and put to death. We find in verse 16 
a record of the human instrument, the fact that Pilate delivered 
Jesus over to be crucified. But brethren, we need to understand 
that behind that human instrument lies a sovereign God who is orchestrating 
all things for His own glory and for the good of His people. 
It was prophesied that Christ would be delivered up. It is 
interpreted that way by the Apostle Peter. The fact is this doctrine 
of God's delivering up the Son ought to afford great comfort 
and great encouragement to the believer. Paul uses this statement 
in Romans 8. He says that He, God, who did 
not spare His own Son, Jesus, but delivered Him up for us all, 
how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? We 
don't read this passage as humanists. We don't read this passage with 
a sick fascination into all things execution. We read this passage 
theologically, meditatively, contemplatively, and in a manner 
that is consistent with the saint of Christ, rejoicingly. The Father 
has brought to pass all that was planned in terms of the redemption 
of his people. Christ is delivered up according 
to his determined purpose and foreknowledge. Notice, secondly, 
in terms of the setting, he's led away. Jesus is led away from 
Pilate's Praetoria. They, there again, are the Roman 
soldiers. They took him and led him away. 
It's probably at this point where Jesus experienced a second scourging. Luke and John record the first 
scourging, the first whipping. In Luke and John, they record 
the first whipping, which sort of served as this. It was an 
attempt to appease the Jews. We'll whip him. and then we'll 
let him go just to satisfy your longings for his punishment." 
That was the first scourging that Jesus experienced that wasn't 
as severe. It wasn't as damaging to the 
body. It wasn't as brutal as this second 
scourging. You see, when the statement was 
made or when the decree had been given that crucifixion was to 
take place, that's when the second scourging took place. And the 
second scourging was much more brutal. It was much more vicious. It was much more violent and 
much more excruciating in terms of pain to the one who experienced 
it. So this is probably at that particular 
time. Then notice thirdly with reference 
to the setting that Jesus bore his cross. This accords with 
the Greek historian Plutarch, he records that there would be 
the gibbet, that's the straight pole, the vertical pole, would 
already be up at the place of execution. The victim, or the 
criminal, or the one that was suffering crucifixion would be 
charged with carrying his own cross. Each criminal, as part 
of his punishment, carries his cross on his back. That was a 
Roman historian. Remember that Romans themselves 
didn't go through crucifixion. Crucifixion was such a barbaric 
form of execution that the emperor said it's not to be dealt upon 
a Roman citizen, unless he's especially vicious and especially 
notorious. Not everybody was executed by 
crucifixion either. It was the most notorious criminals. It was the worst menace to society. It was the worst sort of person 
that had the infliction of crucifixion upon them. Just to give you a 
little background, the cross he bore refers to the cross member, 
the horizontal beam. The condemned criminal bore it 
on his shoulders to the place of execution where the upright 
beam or the gibbet was already fastened in the ground. The victim 
was then made to lie on his back on the ground where his arms 
were stretched out and either tied or nailed to the cross member. The cross member was then hoisted 
up along with the victim and fastened to the vertical beam. 
So again, it's methodical. These soldiers know what they're 
doing. They're inflicting great deals of pain upon this man. 
They are going to execute him for his crimes, for his insurrection, 
for his violent revolt against the magistrate. We know that 
never occurred. He was an innocent man. But in 
this account, remember that each of the gospel writers write not 
only factually, of course, not write only historically, but 
they write theologically. We've seen that in Matthew. We 
see the order of narrative. We see differing details, not 
substance, but details. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record 
for us that Simon the Cyrene helped Jesus carry his cross. 
John doesn't mention that. I think there's a purpose for 
that, why John doesn't mention that. He wants us to focus on 
the obedience of the Son. He wants us to focus upon the 
one who throughout John's gospel has said, I have come not to 
do my will, but the will of Him who sent me. What we are to view 
to the very end of Jesus' life is obedience to what was stipulated 
concerning Him. In fact, D.A. Carson highlights 
this element. He says it is possible to think 
of Jesus' death in terms of His resolution, His obedience to 
the Father, His Father's plan. It is also possible to think 
of Jesus' suffering, struggle, weakness, and anguish. Both perspectives 
are correct. Both are in some measure taught 
in each of the four gospels. But John, even though he makes 
room for the suffering, greatly emphasizes the sovereign plan 
of the father and the son's obedience. And so he reports, rightly, that 
Jesus carried his own cross. There's a theological reason. 
You're supposed to appreciate this. You're supposed to understand. 
And our Lord Jesus is going to the uttermost in obedience to 
his Father for the well-being of his children. Blessing. Glorious. It's wonderful. And then notice 
the place. To a place called the Place of 
the Skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha. It's a transliteration 
of the Hebrew word for skull. The more familiar term is a Latin 
rendition for skull, which is calvary. is what we typically 
refer to as Calvary's cross. We use it as theological shorthand. 
We say, go to Calvary. Well, what we mean by that is 
go to the Savior. Go to the Lord of glory. Go to 
the one who died on that cross and who rose again. Believe on 
him that alone can save you from your sins. That's what that means 
when the church says, go to Calvary, or we sing of Calvary. And then 
notice the two others are with him. Both were hurling insults 
at Christ, according to the Gospels to Matthew and Luke. One of them 
was saved, ultimately. thief that passed from that place 
into paradise is recorded for us in Luke 23. But I think John's 
purpose here to record the fact that he was numbered among the 
transgressors according to the prophet Isaiah. God is sovereign, 
this has been prophesied, and the obedient son is carrying 
it out completely in accord with the details that were written 
of him from long ago. And Jesus' position in the center 
indicates his prominence. He was the worst of the three 
in the public's opinion. You know who should have been 
there? Who should have been in the middle? I know theologically 
we should have. I understand that. Barabbas. 
Barabbas and these two men were going to be executed for their 
crimes. Barabbas was the ringleader. Barabbas was the notorious one. 
These were his henchmen. These were his sidekicks. These 
were his buddies. These were his thugs that helped 
him carry out his task. But remember this sinful, wretched, 
wicked mob said, give us Barabbas. We'd rather have this insurrectionist. 
We'd rather have this murderer. We'd rather have this robber. 
We'd rather have this notorious sinner. We want him to go free. If you ever question man's depravity, 
just read your Bible. If you ever question the sinfulness, 
the horror of human sinfulness, just read the account of the 
suffering of our Lord. Give us Barabbas. And then Pilate 
says, what should I do with this man? Away with him, away with 
him, crucify him. So he's in the center as the 
most notorious one, being crucified. That's the setting, that's the 
background, that's the backdrop. Notice the crucifixion. Verse 
18, where they crucified him. That's it! In a moment, I'm going 
to read what crucifixion is all about. And what I read is extra-biblical. It's outside the biblical narrative. 
Notice what is not on display here. This theology of suffering, 
this idea of mysticism, this idea of the stations of the cross 
that we sort of have some sick fascination with. Herman Ritterbaugh 
says the New Testament has no trace of any passion mysticism 
oriented to the physical torture of Jesus. It's certainly in Matthew, 
Mark, Luke, and John. The torture, the suffering, the 
death, all of those things are recorded for us, but it's not 
a horror movie. Hollywood didn't write this. 
It's not guys with hockey masks and chainsaws and bats and swords 
and all that sort of thing that fascinates the minds of men or 
that promotes in the minds of men some sort of a passion mysticism. That's not the point of the passage. 
The point is not to obsess about the details of the act of crucifixion. The point of the passage is to 
obsess on the one being crucified. Lord Jesus. Now what is crucifixion? Again, D.A. Carson explains it 
very well. In the ancient world, this most 
terrible of punishments is always associated with shame and horror. You know, the states in the U.S. 
that still practice capital punishment have tried to really make it 
humane. Kind of an interesting concept. Let's make killing people 
more humane. We can't hang them anymore. We 
can't shoot them anymore. We can't put them in an electric 
chair anymore, so we'll give them a lethal injection. But 
you know, when they receive that lethal injection, they thrash 
about, suggesting that they're in some pain. So we've got to 
change it up. Well, we can't let there be pain 
with this execution. You see, in this situation, the 
suggestion of crucifixion meant only one thing. shame and horror. It meant great suffering. It 
meant great pain. It meant that whoever was going 
to be crucified was a great criminal. He says, it was so brutal that 
no Roman citizen could be crucified without the sanction of the emperor. 
Stripped naked and beaten to pulpy weakness, the victim could 
hang in the hot sun for hours, even days. To breathe, it was 
necessary to push with the legs and pull with the arms to keep 
the chest cavity open and functioning. You see, that's how death occurred. 
It was asphyxiation. It was when you no longer could 
get oxygen into your body. So in order to prolong the suffering, 
do you know what they would do? They'd put a little block of 
wood at the feet of the victim. It wasn't to help him. It was 
to hurt him. He would get the strength enough 
to push off that little, it's called a sedecula, push off that 
little thing and be able to grasp some air and get some oxygen 
into his lungs. Carson says, terrible muscle 
spasm racked the entire body, but since collapse meant asphyxiation, 
the strain went on and on. This is also why the sedacula, 
that's that little piece of wood, prolonged life and agony. It 
partially supported the body's weight and therefore encouraged 
the victim to fight on. You see, it is in our nature. It is in our propensity to want 
to gather oxygen for our body. So we will fight onward to try 
and grasp that oxygen. That piece of wood was put there 
to prolong the suffering, to prolong the pain, to prolong 
the agony, the shame, and the horror that the victim went through. Again, we're not going to put 
stations at the cross and wave incense and have some passion 
mysticism, but brothers and sisters, we ought to understand what our 
Savior went through to save us from our sins. You know, we preach 
free grace. We preach salvation apart from 
works. We preach believe and you will 
be saved. It costs us nothing. But it costs someone everything, 
namely our Lord Jesus. He obeyed the father perfectly. While the foxes had their holes 
and the birds had their nests, the son of man had nowhere to 
lay his head. He was a man of sorrows. He was acquainted with 
grief. He was despised. He was rejected. He was spat 
on. They put a crown of thorns in 
his head. They beat him with reeds. They mocked him. They 
made fun of him. They slapped him around. They 
treated him like he was a criminal. No passion mysticism, but the 
people of God better understand what it is their Savior went 
to on their behalf. That's the crucifixion. Notice 
the charge that is leveled. Verses 19 to 22, the King of 
the Jews. Verse 19, now Pilate wrote a 
title and put it on the cross and the writing was, Jesus of 
Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Then many of the Jews read this 
title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, 
and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin." Why do you 
think it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin? Hebrew was 
the language of Judea. Greek, I think, was the language 
of commerce, and Latin was the language of the military. The 
Greek and the Latin might be switched, but you get the point. 
Why would they do this? I had a lawn once, and we had 
gophers. I was never able to catch a gopher 
though, but I think if I had, I would have hung him up as an 
example to all the other gophers on how not to treat my backyard. 
That's what they did with the Savior. They hung him up and said, don't 
do what this man did. It was publicized. This wasn't in 
a corner. This wasn't done under the cover 
of darkness. This was done so everybody could 
see, and everybody would understand, and everybody could fear the 
Roman Emperor. It goes along with what Paul 
says in his commentary on this in Romans 3, whom God set forth 
as a propitiation. You see, at Calvary, God is demonstrating 
his righteousness. God is demonstrating what he 
thinks is sin. And God is showing his great 
love for his people. Humanly, they're mocking. Humanly, 
this is inscribed. Humanly, they are ascribing to 
him kingship. The reason for such linguistic 
enthusiasm, Mrs. Carson, is obvious. The Romans 
had a vested interest in publicizing the nature of the crime that 
resulted in such punishment as a warning to every segment of 
the populace." Notice the chief priest's objection in verse 21. 
Therefore, the chief priest of the Jews said to Pilate, do not 
write the king of the Jews, but he said, I am the king of the 
Jews. Their hatred of him the rejection 
of him, the fact that they despised him as such, that they're now 
going to chide a man who's over them and say, don't write that, 
write that he claimed that. Now Pilate, who's been their 
puppet all along, makes a stand. No, what I've written is going 
to stay. But it is interesting that the 
two human instruments most used in this crucifixion Unbeknownst 
to them, we're actually proclaiming great truth. He really is the 
king of the Jews. He really is the king of Israel. 
He really is the Messiah of old. He is the one that was prophesied. So this man, wanting to win a 
little battle against the chief priest, says, what I've written, 
I've written. It's going to stay. He's doing 
it in a petty contest for superiority. But we, the reader, we, the spirit-filled, 
we, the ones who've been redeemed by the champion, understand all 
too well. He is the king. He is glorious. He is wondrous. He is the one 
to whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that 
he is Lord to the glory of God the Father. There is a day coming 
when he will not live like a fox or he will not be less than the 
foxes and the birds. There is a day coming when he 
won't be born in a manger. There is a day coming when he 
won't be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. The book 
of Revelation records that for us. In chapter 19 we see him 
waging war, making war with the sword that proceeds from his 
mouth. He will come in glory. He will come in majesty. He will 
come as the king of kings. And if you have not bowed to 
him before then, trust me, you will. Every knee shall bow and 
every tongue shall confess. My invitation to you, my encouragement 
to you, my plea to you is to believe confess his kingship 
now, surrender to his lordship now, bow before him now, take 
his salvation now, because if he comes as king of kings and 
you are outside, and you have rejected, and you have despised, 
bow you will before he sends you into everlasting hell. I said there were two men most 
responsible for the death of Christ, that whether they knew 
it or not, We're prophesying truth concerning Christ. Pilate's 
one of them. The chief priest is another. 
The chief priests here are complaining, do not write this. But if you 
go back for just a moment in John chapter 11, you see something 
that the chief priest uttered. He spoke much better than he 
knew. He spoke much better than he understood. In John 11, 49, 
in one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to 
them, you know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is 
expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and 
not that the whole nation should perish. Now this he did not say 
on his own authority, but being high priest that year, he prophesied 
that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation 
only, but also that he would gather together in one the children 
of God who were scattered abroad. So you see, the two human instruments 
most responsible in the crucifixion, in derision and in their complaining 
and in their grumbling and in their pettiness, nevertheless 
made profound statements concerning our Lord Jesus. George Beasley 
Murray sums it up this way, the two men most responsible for 
Jesus' death became the most unwitting prophets of the death 
of Jesus. The one declaring that death 
as the means of redemption for Israel and the nations, the other 
proclaiming it as the occasion of Jesus' exaltation to be King 
of Israel and Lord of all. That's the charge. And then finally, 
Notice the division of the spoil in verses 23 and 24. This was 
common among the Roman soldiers to take whatever they could. No doubt they got a monthly salary, 
but if it's like Canadian or American soldiers, that monthly 
salary doesn't buy a lot of bread. So any little bits and pieces 
they could make along the way, they'd scoop right up. That's what's recorded here. 
Some have seen in this tunic, this seamless tunic, a symbolic 
meaning, symbolic of the priestly office of Jesus Christ going 
to the cross or symbolic of the unity of the church. No, I think 
John again wants us to understand that what is happening has been 
written up. What is happening is consistent 
with the prophetic word. What is happening has its tap 
roots in the plan of God most high. Verse 23, then the soldiers, 
when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four 
parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic 
was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. 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. Now, if you don't remember the 
beginning of worship, I read that. Psalm 22, a psalm of the 
cross, prior to Roman crucifixion, prior to the ascent of the Roman 
Empire as the Empire, the Psalter already prophesied, my God, my 
God, why hast thou forsaken me? It already prophesied that these 
men would be like bulls of Bashan surrounding him. They would strip 
him of his garments. They would cast lots for his 
garments. You see, what is going on in John's account is the fulfillment 
of the written word. plan of God, the reality that 
the Christ is here, that his people are going to be saved, 
that redemption is occurring, that the blood will cleanse them, 
that justification takes place, and that everything told by God 
has come to pass in the person and in the work of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Now if just pursuing this theme 
for just a moment, this symbolic meaning of the tunic, I don't 
think we need to have one. But I think if we did, D.A. Carson 
shines some light here. He looks back at the foot washing 
in John 13. What does Jesus do before he 
washes his feet? He disrobes. He girds his waist 
with a towel, but he takes off that outer garment. And what 
does Jesus then do? He washes his feet. Now, that in and of itself is 
pretty amazing. Not everybody's a foot person. 
Sometimes we don't want to touch feet. But that's not really what's 
significant about this. Here's the spotless, sinless 
Savior bowing down and washing the feet of sinful, guilty men. He is humbling himself. This is what Carson suggests 
in terms of this idea of a symbolic meaning of the tunic. He says, 
in the foot washing, Jesus laid aside his outer garments in an 
act that anticipated the cleansing that would issue from his death. 
Here he loses his clothes, all of his clothes, and this is him. The same self-humbling operates, 
but here to the last degree, as he lays aside his glory and 
by this act, in the divine paradox, is glorified. Yet while his last 
earthly possessions are stripped from him, he remains under his 
father's sovereign care, even as his tunic is not torn and 
destroyed." It's the fulfillment of scripture. Then one other 
detail we ought to look at before we leave. He's naked, isn't he? I don't like that I've seen pictures 
of Jesus. I really don't. I don't like that when I see 
that depiction of an ancient Near Eastern man on a cross, 
I think Jesus. That's not Jesus. But when the artists depict him, 
They usually do so with a garment around his waist. That's not 
what happened here. Remember, the concepts of shame 
and horror come to the forefront in this idea of crucifixion. The Savior was stripped naked. 
He's bloody. He's agonizing. He is, humanly speaking, in a 
bad, bad state. This is why, by way of corollary, 
when that thief on the cross says, Lord, remember me when 
you come in your kingdom, that's great faith. The apostles saw Jesus cast demons 
out of men. The apostles saw Jesus still 
the sea and the wind. The apostles saw Jesus heal people. The apostles saw Jesus raise 
men from the dead. The apostles saw Jesus do amazing 
things. This thief on the cross saw a 
bloodied, battered man, and he calls him Lord, and he acknowledges 
that he has a kingdom, and he casts himself upon his mercy. That's faith. That's great faith. Jesus Christ is naked on the 
cross. Here I'll quote that patron saint 
of the Reformed Baptists, C.H. Spurgeon. The person of Christ 
was stripped twice, and although our painters, for obvious reasons, 
cover Christ upon the cross, there he hung, the naked savior 
of a naked race. He who clothed the lilies had 
not wherewith to clothe himself. He who had clothed the earth 
with jewels and made for it robes of emeralds, had not so much 
as a rag to conceal his nakedness from a staring, gazing, mocking, 
hard-hearted crowd. He had made coats of skins for 
Adam and Eve when they were naked in the garden. He had taken from 
them those poor fig leaves with which they sought to hide their 
nakedness, given them something wherewith they might wrap themselves 
from the cold. But now they part his garments 
among them, and for his vesture do they cast lots. while he himself, 
exposed to the pitiless storm of contempt, had no cloak with 
which to cover his shame." That's what the Savior went through 
for sinners. You see why Ryle, the Bishop 
of Liverpool, would say he's got a hard heart, or a thoughtless 
heart, who has not moved to gratitude when he hears this account. Believer. Love the Savior. Worship the 
Savior. Adore the Savior. Thank the Savior. 
Rejoice in the Savior. Don't promote your holiness. 
Promote His blood. Don't promote your goodness. 
Promote His sacrifice. Don't promote your ability. Promote His gospel. John is rigorous in his account 
to show us how all things associated with Jesus Christ are a fulfillment 
of Scripture. He wants the believers to rejoice, 
he wants the believers to reflect, he wants the believers to delight, 
and he wants unbelievers to look and live. So that's John's conspicuous 
point throughout his gospel. We see in this passage the sovereignty 
of God. God is at work, God is in control, 
God delivers him up, God the Father is doing all of this in 
order to save his people from their sins. Yes, Caiaphas is 
involved. Yes, Pilate is involved. Yes, 
Herod is involved. Yes, the lawless hands of the 
Romans and the Jews are guilty and responsible and culpable 
for their act. But as Peter the Apostle says, 
it is according to the predetermined plan of God Most High. This wasn't 
a plan B. This wasn't a, hey, I'll try 
this. This was what was prophesied in the garden. That Jesus would 
crush the head of the serpent. His heel would be bruised in 
the crucifixion, but he would win a decisive victory over the 
serpent himself. Genesis 3.15 is programmatic. John 19 is telling us that this 
has been fulfilled. We see in this passage as well 
the horror of human sinfulness. Not just in the act of these 
men taking an innocent man and treating him this way. I mean, 
that right there is enough to hang our hats on for an eternity. 
It's an amazing reality. He did nothing wrong. Have you 
ever been accused of something and you really were innocent? 
I mean, most times if people accuse us, they're probably right 
on something. Not with Him! Perfect! Pure! As Paul will describe in 
Hebrews 7, He's wholly harmless and undefiled. He never broke 
the law. He never did anything wrong. 
He never got a speeding ticket. He never ran a red light. He 
never got angry with his parents. He never sinned. See the horror 
of human sinfulness in that they took this guiltless man and hung 
him on a cross! But even more, see the horror 
of human sinfulness and the reason why He went to the cross. It's 
for sinners. It's for us. Do you see how bad 
we are in this passage? I hope so. You have to see in this passage 
how bad you really are. If it took the death of the Son 
of God Most High to redeem you, you're bad. You see, we don't 
preach grace as help. We don't preach grace as assistance. We preach grace as an overwhelming 
and abundant influence upon sinful, wretched, vile people that desperately 
stand in need of grace. The hymn writer put it this way, 
ye who think of sin but lightly, nor suppose the evil great. You don't think it's that big 
of a deal that people engage in homosexuality. You don't think 
it's that big of a deal that people murder. You don't think 
it's that big of a deal that people take crack cocaine. Or 
you don't think it's that big of a deal that people cheat on 
their taxes. Or you don't think it's that big of a deal that 
people are self-righteous religionists. that think they're spotless and 
good and holy and pure because of what they do or where they 
go. You don't think it's bad? Ye who think of sin but lightly, 
nor suppose the evil great, here may view its nature rightly, 
here its guilt may estimate. Mark the sacrifice appointed. See who bears the awful load. Tis the word, the Lord's anointed, 
the Son of Man and Son of God. This is why Paul says, if righteousness 
comes through the law, through what you do or how you do it 
or when you do it, then Christ died in vain. What's the implication? Christ did not die in vain. Righteousness 
does not come through the law because you are sinful. You need 
Jesus' blood and righteousness, you need pardon from your sin, 
and you need to be given that righteous robe to stand before 
the Lord God Almighty. See our sin in this passage. 
See the glory of Christ as well. Calvin said, let us also learn 
that Christ was stripped of his garments, that he might clothe 
us with a righteousness, that his naked body was exposed to 
the insults of men, that we may appear in glory before the judgment 
seat of God. And remember in our reading of 
Romans chapter five, I mentioned two men, Adam and Jesus. The Bible refers to him as the 
first Adam and the last Adam. Listen to what A.W. Pink has 
to say. The sinful first Adam was clothed by God. The sinless 
last Adam was unclothed by wicked men. And that in order to save 
his people from their sins. Saints, believers, Christians 
marveled Rejoice and be thankful. Unbelievers look and live. I 
said that's John's conspicuous point in his word. In 1935 he 
says, and he was seen as testified in his testimony. It's true and 
he knows he is telling the truth. So I can win the argument? No, so that you may believe is 
what John says. John wants you. If you've come 
here this morning and you don't know Jesus, he wants you to believe 
in Jesus. That's John's purpose. That's 
John's point. That's John's goal. He's not writing a theological 
treatise just so he can have a Christian bestseller. He's 
writing so that you'll believe, so that you'll look, so that 
you'll live, so that you'll know the forgiveness of sins. In fact, 
he ends his whole account by saying this, but these are written 
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, 
and that believing you may have life in his name. Marvel. look, gaze, all of that sort 
of thing. Most importantly, if you are not in Christ this morning, 
believe the gospel, believe the truth, believe concerning Jesus, 
and you will be saved. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word, and we thank you for this account, 
and what an amazing, and what a glorious, and what a wondrous 
Savior we have. God, our words falter, our words 
are so limited. We want to express to you thanksgiving 
and joy and praise. We ask, God, that as we sing 
and as we gather for worship and as we testify and as we talk 
concerning Christ, we would do so as a people that are genuinely 
affected with thankfulness to the Lord our God. We give you 
praise, we give you glory, we give you thanksgiving for your 
mercies and for your kindness. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen.