Good Friday: April 9, 2004 - The Crucifixion - John 19:17-27
Open It
What sort of sacrifices did your parents make for you?
What to you is the most humiliating situation you can imagine?
Explore It
To where was Jesus forced to take His own cross? (19:17)
What did the soldiers do to Jesus? (19:18)
Who was crucified with Jesus? (19:18)
What notice did Pilate have fastened to Jesus' cross? (19:19)
How did the chief priests want Pilate to change the sign over Jesus' head? (19:21)
What did Pilate tell the chief priests? (19:22)
What happened to Jesus' clothes? (19:23-24)
Who stood near the cross of Jesus? (19:25)
What did Jesus say to His mother and the disciple with her? (19:26-27)
Get It
Why do you think Pilate had the notice placed on the cross?
If you had been a member of Jesus' family or one of his disciples, how do you think you would have reacted to his crucifixion?
How was Jesus humiliated?
What sort of humiliation did Jesus suffer?
What humiliation have you suffered for being a Christian?
In what way has God's family become your family?
To what degree are we responsible for caring for the needs of other believers?
Apply It
What want or desire can you forego so that someone else might benefit? How?
How can you care for another Christian's needs this week?
NOTES
John 19:17: This place called Golgotha, "the skull," was probably a hill outside Jerusalem along a main road. Many executions took place here so the Romans could use them as an example to the people.
John 19:18: Crucifixion was a Roman form of execution. The condemned man was forced to carry his cross along a main road to the execution site, as a warning to the people. Types of crosses and methods of crucifixion varied. Jesus was nailed to his cross; some people were tied with ropes. Death came by suffocation because the weight of the body made breathing difficult as the victim lost strength. Crucifixion was a hideously slow and painful death.
John 19:19: This sign was meant to be ironic. A king, stripped nearly naked and executed in public view, had obviously lost his kingdom forever. But Jesus, who turns the world's wisdom upside down, was just coming into his kingdom. His death and resurrection would strike the deathblow to Satan's rule and would establish Jesus' eternal authority over the earth. Few people reading the sign that bleak afternoon understood its real meaning, but the sign was absolutely true. All was not lost. Jesus was King of the Jews-and the Gentiles, and the whole universe.
John 19:20: The placard was written in three languages: Aramaic for the native Jews, Latin for the Roman occupation forces, and Greek for foreigners and Jews visiting from other lands.
John 19:23-24: Roman soldiers in charge of crucifixions customarily took for themselves the clothes of the condemned men. They divided Jesus' clothing, casting lots to determine who would get his seamless garment, the most valuable piece of clothing. This fulfilled the prophecy in Psalm 22:18.
John 19:25-27: Even while dying on the cross, Jesus was concerned about his family. He instructed John to care for Mary, Jesus' mother. Our families important, and we should value and care for them under all circumstances. Neither Christian work nor key responsibilities in any job or position excuse us from caring for our families.
John 19:27 Jesus asked his close friend John, the writer of this Gospel, to care for Jesus' mother, Mary, whose husband, Joseph, must have been dead by this time. Why didn't Jesus assign this task to his brothers? As the oldest son, Jesus entrusted his mother to a person who stayed with him at the cross-and that was John.