All talks » How can a death 2000 years ago be relevant today?
Bible: John 19:30-37
Speaker: Andrew Sach
How can a death 2000 years ago be relevant today?
31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would 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. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.†37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.â€
[John 19:31-37]
How can a death 2000 years ago be relevant today?
John’s witness statement reaches a climax (v35)
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.â€
[John 15:26-27]
Jesus dies as the Passover lamb – he saves us from death (v31-33, v36)
Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’†And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. [Exodus 12:21-27]
It was Passover (13:1; 19:14); there was hyssop (19:29 cf. Exodus 12:22); there were unbroken bones (19:36 cf. Exodus 12:46).
Jesus dies to open up a spiritual fountain – he blesses us with life (v34, v37)
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn….
On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one.†[Zechariah 12:10, 14:8-9]
Jesus had already made an offer of “living water†(4:10; 7:38) by which he meant the Spirit of life.
COFFEE QUESTIONS
How relevant is Jesus’ death today? How does John’s testimony affect your answer? Has it made it harder to dismiss/easier to believe the Christian message? Has it made you more eager to share the Christian message?