THE DEATH OF CHRIST

John 19:1-18

Prayer

A picture is worth a thousand words.

So today, I want to show you five pictures;

Five verbal pictures from the Gospel of John that show us the death of Jesus.

Each picture is just a little bit different.

So each picture shows us a little bit more about the death of Jesus.

The 1^st picture in the Gospel of John is a Lamb.

John the Baptist was baptizing people when he saw Jesus approaching.

He said, ìBehold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.î

This picture of the Lamb of God draws our attention to other lambs in the    

Bible.

For one thing, the Lamb of God draws our attention to the Passover Lamb.

The Passover Lamb speaks of God's deliverance of Israel from the land of   

Egypt.

The Hebrews slew lambs on their last night as slaves in Egypt.

They collected the blood;

Sprinkled the blood on the lintels and doorposts of their house;

Went inside;

Shut the door;

And waited for the death angel to pass over.

The death angel came by.

He looked for the blood.

If he saw the blood, he passed over the house.

If he didn't see the blood, he entered and took the life of the firstborn inside.

Many people were delivered from death and bondage because of the blood.

They left Egypt the next day.

So John's introduction of Jesus as the Lamb of God pictured Jesus as a person      

whose blood would deliver His people from death and bondage.

For another thing, the Lamb of God draws our attention to the lambs that     

were slain at the Temple for sin offerings.

A lamb was slain every morning,

And another was slain every evening for as long as the Temple stood.

When John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God that taketh

away the sin of the world,

He was saying, ìJesus is God's sin offering for His people.î

For another thing, the Lamb of God draws our attention to the fact that the  

prophets compared Jesus to a lamb.

Jeremiah said Jesus would be ìlike a lamb brought to the slaughter to be cut  

off from the land of the living.î

Isaiah said, Jesus would be ìbrought as a lamb to the slaughter . . ,î

ìBe wounded for our transgressions,î

ìBruised for our iniquities:î

ìAnd have the chastisement of our peace laid upon Him.î

So the first picture is a Lamb;

A Lamb whose blood delivers people from death and bondage;

A Lamb that was a sin offering;

A Lamb that died for us.

The 2^nd picture in the Gospel of John is a Temple.

Jesus went to the Temple.

He drove the money changers out.

Someone recalled that King David said the Messiah would do that

(Psa.  69:9).

They asked for a sign of His authority to do such a thing.

They didn't deny that what He did was right.

They simply questioned His authority to do it.

So they asked for a sign.

Jesus said, ìDestroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.î

They replied, ìIt took forty-six years to build this Temple and you say you   

can build another in three days.î

The Bible says Jesus was speaking of the temple of His body.

Our body is a temple;

Our house;

Our earthly dwelling place.

So Jesus was really saying, ìI will give you a sign of my authority.î

ìIf you destroy my body, I will raise it up in three days.î

Did they destroy His body?

You know the answer.

A soldier struck Him across the face,

Blindfolded Him,

Spit on Him,

And struck Him across the face a second time.

They stripped Him of His clothing,

Tied His hands to a post above His head,

And scourged Him with thirty-nine lashes of a whip.

His muscles were lacerated;

He was left bleeding, bruised, raw and swollen.

They pulled out His beard.

His face was marred more than any man's.

Those who saw Him were astonished.

They plaited a crown from branches with long, sharp thorns;

Placed it upon His head;

Struck Him across the top of the crown;

And drove the thorns down into His scalp.

They laid Him on a cross;

Drove nails through His wrists;

Turned His feet down;

And drove nails through the arch of each foot.

His body became weak from the loss of blood.

He became thirsty from sweating as He hung there in the hot sun.

His bones came out of joint from the weight of His body pulling down on the         

nails.

A spear was driven through His side to make sure He was dead.

They literally destroyed the temple of His body.

They buried Him;

Sealed the tomb;

And posted guards to watch it.

But in three days He arose from the dead.

That proved He was the Messiah;

He had the authority to drive the money changers out of the Temple.

The 3^rd picture in the Gospel of John is a snake.

Nichodemus asked Jesus, "How can a man be born again when he is old?"

Jesus reminded him of an Old Testament miracle.

ìAs Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of   

Man be lifted up;î

ìThat whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life.î

Moses was leading the Hebrews through the wilderness.

God had been good to them.

But they were complaining about everything.

So God sent a plague of fiery, deadly snakes to bite them.

Many people were bitten.

Many died.

Moses prayed.

It seems to me that God would tell him to kill the snakes.

But He didn't.

He told Moses to make a snake out-of brass;

And lift it up on a pole in the midst of the camp.

He said, ìAll who look upon the brass snake will be healed and saved from  

death.î

I want you to notice five quick points.

1^st---Jesus compared Himself to that brass snake on a pole.

There was a time when this bothered me.

I don't like snakes.

I find them repulsive.

And that's just the point.

Jesus was saying He would be made into something repulsive on the cross.

He would be made sin;

Our sin.

ìChrist who knew no sin, in whom was no sin was made in the likeness of    

sinful flesh.î

That's why Moses lifted up that snake on a pole.

It pictured Jesus on the cross.

Our sins were placed on Him.

2^nd---The opportunity to look at the brass snake was given to every Hebrew in        

the wilderness.

All who believed God and looked at the snake was healed.

The opportunity to look to Jesus is given to everyone who hears the gospel.

All who believe God and look to Jesus will be saved.

3^rd---All who didn't believe God and look at the brass snake died.

A11 who don't believe God and look to Jesus will die the second death.

4th---Moses needed to put that brass snake on a pole.

If he didn't do it, the people would perish.

Jesus needed to go to the cross.

He said, ìEven so must the Son of Man be lifted up.î

If He didn't do it, we would perish.

5^th---The healing power was not in the pole.

It was the grace of God;

A gift for those who believed and obeyed God.

Salvation is not in that cross of wood.

Itís the grace of God;

A gift for those who believe and obey God.

The 4^th picture in the Gospel of John is a shepherd.

Jesus was speaking to a group of hostile Pharisees when He told the Parable

of the Good Shepherd.

He presented Himself in two ways:

He is the Door to the sheepfold.

He is the Good Shepherd.

Shepherds tended sheep on the nearby hills.

They built sheepfolds to keep the sheep in at night.

A sheepfold was a ring of closely planted thorn bushes.

The thorn bushes were so thick no animal could get through or over them.

The shepherds left an opening for a door.

But they didn't have a door.

The shepherd was the door.

He herded his sheep into the sheepfold at night.

And sat down [or laid down] across the door opening.

He leaned back against one side of the opening.

And slept with his feet against the other side.

So he was the door to the sheepfold.

And anything or anyone that tried to enter or leave the sheepfold had to pass

through or over him.

Sometimes a shepherd lost his life trying to stop predators from doing that   

very thing.

This parable tells us two things about Jesus:

          1) He would give His life for His sheep, and

          2) Anyone who entered His sheepfold would have to go through Him.

Another thing this parable teaches is that Jesus is Lord.

The Lord is called a Shepherd in many Scriptures.

The 23rd Psalm says, ìThe Lord is my Shepherd.î

And Jesus was saying, ìI am that Shepherd.î

ìI lay down my life for the sheep.î

Notice---I LAY DOWN MY LIFE.

Not my life will be taken from me.

When Pontius Pilate examined Jesus he asked, ìKnowest thou not that I have         

power to crucify thee and have power to release thee.î

Jesus responded, ìThou couldest have no power at all against me, except it  

were given thee from above.î

Jesus didn't lose His life.

He laid it down.

ìGreater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his         

friendsî (in. 15:13).

ìGod commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,      

Christ died for usî (Rom. 5:8).

The 5^th picture in the Gospel of John is a seed.

Just prior to His death, Jesus announced that the hour had come for Him to  

die.

He said that unless He was put in the ground like a grain of wheat, He would

be alone.

Unless a seed is planted, it is just a seed.

It will never produce a plant in a package.

But if a seed is planted, it will produce a plant.

The plant will grow and multiply.

It will bear fruit and produce a harvest.

That's what the death of Jesus was all about.

It produced a spiritual harvest.

There's a story about a wealthy man who lived in a mansion in New York

City.

He loved to put on old clothes;

An old faded rain coat;

An old tattered old hat.

And go to the train station two or three times a week.

He walked around in his old clothes.

And tried to get close to people who looked like they were having trouble.

One night he walked up to a troubled soldier.

ìWhat's your problem?î

The soldier replied ìWhat's it to you?î

ìTell me your trouble anyway.î

The soldier replied, ìI have a ten-day pass.î

ìI'm on my way home.î

ìMy family is expecting me.î

ìBut I went to sleep.î

ìSomeone stole my train ticket and wallet.î

ìI want to go home.î

ìAnd now I don't even have enough money to get back to my base.î

The rich man took him to the window;

Bought him a ticket;

Pressed some money into his hand;

And sent him on his way.

Jesus is like that rich man.

He lived in a mansion in heaven.

He sat on a throne.

But one day He took on the form of a man;

A poor man.

He came to this earth;

Became a servant;

And paid the price for our salvation.

He was like a lamb that was slaughtered for a sin offering;

Like a Temple that was destroyed because they beat Him, crucified Him, and         

speared Him in the side;

Like a snake that was repulsive because He bore our sin in His own body;

Like a Shepherd that gave his life for his sheep because He died for us;

And like a seed that was planted in the ground before it produced a great      

harvest.

Heís that door to heaven.

Can you honestly say you are trying to go through that door to heaven?

If the answer is yes, you have something to rejoice about.

But if the answer is no, you need to understand that there's no other door;

No other way.

Will anyone come forward during our hymn of invitation;

Admit that you are a sinner;

And accept Jesus as your Savior?

Ask Him to come into your heart. Get this matter taken care of;

And experience the joy of knowing that you have done what God wants you to do.