Jesus: The Crucified One (19:17-30)

Bible Passage: John 19:17-30

As we draw towards the end of John’s gospel, we come to the moment of the crucifixion itself. As John tells the story, he includes a lot of details that pick up on Old Testament prophecies, showing Jesus as the promised Lamb of God and Messiah. These include imagery from the passover (e.g. the hyssop), Isaiah 53 (being numbered with transgressors), and Psalm 22 (his clothing being divided up). It is also steeped in irony, with the inscription saying ‘King of the Jews’ in what was meant as an act of mockery, but was in fact more true than any of them realised.

In this sermon, we focus on three of the words that Jesus spoke from the cross.

“Woman, here is your son”… “Here is your mother” – Even as Jesus is suffering the agony of crucifixion, he is still thinking about those he loves. He wants Mary to be supported when he is gone, and delegates the responsibility to his friend John. In his death, Jesus knits people together as family, destroying dividing walls in the process. It is about both bringing us into a new relationship with God and bringing us into a new relationship with other people.

“I am thirsty” – This statement does two things. Firstly, it is a literal statement of thirst. When somebody was crucified in the hot sun, their mouth would dry out and they would begin to dehydrate. Jesus was showing the physical suffering that we was enduring. Secondly, it links to a key theme in John’s gospel. Jesus has spoken about thirst as a metaphor for the eternal life that he offers (e.g. in his conversation with the woman at the well in John 4). Jesus offers us the water that wells up to eternal life, but in order to do so he himself endured both physical and spiritual thirst. It is through Jesus being cut off from God’s presence that we are given full access. It is through his death that our eternal life comes.

“It is finished” – Jesus came to the earth with a specific purpose in mind, to die for sinners, taking the punishment they were due in order that they may be forgiven and reconciled to God. As Jesus finished his work on the cross he declared that the mission was complete. He had done what he had come to do, taken the full punishment for our sin and there is nothing that we need to add to what he has done in order for us to be restored to relationship with God.

Potential Applications:

• This is a great opportunity to invite people to put their trust in Jesus for salvation.
• The cross should lead us to worship, reverence and awe. You may want to lead into a time of reflective worship to help people reflect on the truths this passage highlights.
• Taking communion together is a great way to think about Jesus’ body broken and blood shed for us.