Swindoll Study Bible - Book of John - Flipbook - Page 52
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22 Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have
written.”
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also
took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece
from top to bottom. 24 So they said, “Rather than
tearing it apart, let’s throw dice* for it.” This fulfilled
the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments
among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.”*
So that is what they did.
25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and
his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary
Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother standing
there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear
woman, here is your son.” 27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this
disciple took her into his home.
The Death of Jesus
28 Jesus
knew that his mission was now finished, and
to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”* 29 A jar of
sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in
it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips.
30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!”
Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31 It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish
leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next
day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sab
bath, because it was Passover week). So they asked
Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their
legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken
down. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of
the two men crucified with Jesus. 33 But when they
came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so
they didn’t break his legs. 34 One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately
J ohn 2 0 : 6
blood and water flowed out. 35 (This report is from
an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks
the truth so that you also may continue to believe.*)
36 These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,”*
37 and “They will look on the one they pierced.”*
The Burial of Jesus
38 Afterward
Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a
secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jew
ish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down
Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph
came and took the body away. 39 With him came Nic
odemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He
brought about seventy-five pounds* of perfumed
ointment made from myrrh and aloes. 40 Following
Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with
the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. 41 The place of
crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new
tomb, never used before. 42 And so, because it was the
day of preparation for the Jewish Passover* and since
the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
The Resurrection
Early on Sunday morning,* while it was still
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dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and
found that the stone had been rolled away from the
entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the
other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said,
“They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and
we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the
tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He
stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings
lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter
19:24a Greek cast lots. 19:24b Ps 22:18. 19:28 See Pss 22:15; 69:21. 19:35 Some manuscripts read that you also may believe. 19:36 Exod 12:46; Num 9:12; Ps 34:20.
19:37 Zech 12:10. 19:39 Greek 100 litras [32.7 kilograms]. 19:42 Greek because of the Jewish day of preparation. 20:1 Greek On the first day of the week.
very long time at this point. In fact, if you do a careful study of
the Crucifixion, you find that the trials and Crucifixion together
lasted more than twelve hours. He has been scourged, pummeled, beaten, spit upon, humiliated, stripped, and mocked.
All the while, there has not been offered Him one moment of
rest or relief. But it’s interesting that it is not until the very end
that He asks for something to calm His thirst. There is not a
bit of selfishness in our Savior. All the way through, He’s thinking of others and of the fulfillment of Scripture.
“IT IS FINISHED!” John 19:30 These words are ter-
ribly important. There was not one prophecy related to the
Atonement that still needed to be fulfilled. It had all been
completed, exactly as the prophets had said. So Jesus
tasted the wetness brought to His lips, sighed, and gave
up His spirit. Done! Salvation was accomplished.
NICODEMUS IS BACK John 19:39 Here, after Jesus’
death, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea take Jesus’ body
from the cross and prepare it for burial. This is the same
Nicodemus who had come to Jesus at night trying to find
out the meaning of His statement about being “born again”
(John 3:1-21). At some point, Nicodemus had seen the truth
in Jesus’ words and, unlike most of the other Pharisees, had
recognized Him as the Messiah. Then throughout the rest of
Jesus’ ministry, Nicodemus must have been growing in faith
and interest in Jesus and His role in God’s plan.
THE PURPOSES OF THE RESURRECTION John 20:1-29
What does Jesus’ resurrection accomplish? I can think of
at least five things: (1) It vindicates Christ’s name. All He
ever said and did is proven true by His resurrection. (2) It
validates His death as being effective for forgiving sins.
(3) It enables believers, through His Spirit, to live with
power over sin. (4) It assures us of our future resurrection,
after which we will always be with Him. (5) It gives us a
present, living hope. Just as dawn pushes back the darkness, so Jesus’ resurrection disperses our despair.
Some may follow a dead hero into death, but only a
living Savior can lead us into life. Only Jesus can guide us
through the darkness into the dawn.
LIVING INSIGHTS
THIRSTY John 19:28 Jesus has likely been thirsty for a
