Death on the Cross-Sermon

Kowloon International Baptist Church - Dr. James "Butch" Tanner's sermon titled "Death on the Cross" John 19:16-37 delivered on 24 March 2024. Please visit us at: www.hkkibc.org
Sermon Notes:
John 19:16-37
So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified. They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’ ” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be”; this was to fulfill the Scripture: “THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS.” Therefore the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN.” And again another Scripture says, “THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED.”
The death of Jesus on the cross seems to be such a negative event. The end of a dream. The end of hope. Why couldn’t the ruler of the universe defy the world system and overthrow its power? Instead, doesn’t the cross point to the power of the world and the weakness of God? Not at all! In the cross, we see Christ fully engaged in the redemption of our lives. We see the amazing depths of His love for us. Jesus honored the Father completely with His death on the cross.
As we witness Jesus dying on the cross, we see Him
1. Bearing His own cross and our sins.
Isaiah 53:6, Galatians 1:3-4, 2 Corinthians 5:21
2. Get different responses from the world.
Luke 9:22, John 1:12
3. Reveal His true identity.
Matthew 21:5, Revelation 19:16, Hebrews 4:14
4. Fulfill prophecy.
Isaiah 53:12, Psalm 22:18, 34:20
5. Finish His work.
John 17:4, Hebrews 9:12, 1 John 4:10, Revelation 5:12