The Death of Jesus:

John 19:10-11 “...So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin...”

Did Pilate have authority over Jesus?

• All authority is given from above. 
• Is there any authority not given from above?

Did Pilate have sin?

• The Apostles’ Creed has the phrase “suffered under Pontius Pilate”.

Why did those that delivered Jesus have the greater sin?

• Who were those? Judas? Caiaphas? The priests? The Jewish people? Us?

Who is responsible for the death of Jesus? Why did He have to die?

Context:

• We’ve reached the place in the narrative where Jesus doesn’t say much.
• Pilate washed his hands of the situation, but gave Jesus up.
• A whole battalion of solders gathered.
• They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
• They added a crown of thorns.
• They spit on Him, struck Him, mocked Him, and led Him to be crucified.
• They offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He didn’t take it.
• They crucified Him between two robbers, then cast lots for His garments.
• The chief priests and scribes mocked Him, showing their unbelief by saying “He saved others, He cannot save himself”.

Luke 23:27-31 “...And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?...”

Luke 23:34 “...And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments...”

In the midst of this torment, was Jesus feeling sorry for Himself?

• His concern, as always, was for people who were far from God.

When and why would people want mountains to fall on them?

• Revelation 6:15-17 “...Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?...”
• People may mock Jesus for a season, but the day of wrath is coming when mockers will be desperately trying to hide themselves from His face.

Luke 23:39-43 “...One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise...”

Did both criminals deserve punishment?

Why was one offered Paradise?

• He didn’t go to an altar in response to a moving sermon.
• He didn’t say the sinner’s prayer.
• John 8:24 “...I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins...”
• He simply believed that Jesus was who He claimed to be.

John 19:26-27 “...When Jesus 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!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home...”

What was Jesus arranging?

• He was insuring that His mother would be cared for?

Where was Joseph? Where were the brothers and sisters?

Matthew 27:46 “...And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?...”

Mark 15:34 “...And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?...”

What was being expressed by these words?

• Romans 5:8 “...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us...”
• 2 Corinthians 5:21 “...For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God...”
• Galatians 3:13 “...Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree...”
• An affirmation of relationship - My God, my God.
• A real separation from the relationship that had always existed.

John 19:28-30 “...After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit...”

How was Jesus fulfilling God’s plan, even in His thirst?

• Exodus 12:22 “...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...”
• Jesus was giving Himself as the perfect sacrificial Lamb at Passover.

What was finished?

• “It is finished” is a translation of the word tetelesta.
• Tetelesta was a Greek word written across receipts for taxes, meaning “paid in full.”

Was Jesus earthly ministry finished? Not really.

• The requirement for mankind’s sin was now “paid in full”

Luke 23:46 “...Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last...”

What was being expressed by these words?

• John 10:17-18 “...For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father...”

• Jesus knew what He was doing.
• He willing laid down His life, trusting in His heavenly Father.

The seven sayings from the cross:

• Luke 23:24 “...Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do...”
• Luke 23:43 “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise...”
• John 19:26-27 “...Woman, behold, your son! ... “Behold, your mother!...”
• Matthew 27:46 “...My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?...”
• John 19:28 “...I thirst ...”
• John 19:30 “...It is finished...”
• Luke 23:46 “...Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!...”