Jesus was handed over to be crucified, they took Him and had Him bear His own cross to the place called the Place of the Skull. Notice skulls represent death, non living. Pilate had written on the placard ‘JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.’ This was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek; this made the chief priests very mad. The chief priest demanded that the placard said ‘He said He was’ rather than say that He was the king but pilate left it as he had demanded. (It wasn’t uncommon for the name Jesus in the Jewish culture, however Jesus from Nazarene was precise, they knew who that was specifically. This is why it said Jesus the Nazarene, to let all know specifically that it was Him, no room for confusion or miscommunication in that.)
The soldiers then divided His clothes in four parts among them, all but the tunic, they left this to cast lots (leaving it up to chance by drawing stones or straws). This fulfilled prophecy in scripture and they didn’t even realize it while they were in the act of doing it.
While this was going on, next to the cross stood His mother, her sister Salome, Marty wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. Jesus saw His mother and then saw the disciple whom He loved and esteemed (John) and told His mother that John was now her son. He then looked to John and said here is your mother, protect and provide for her and from that hour John took her into his own home and took care of her. After this, Jesus knew that everything was now finished and said in fulfillment of scripture, ‘I am thirsty.’
A jar was there filled with sour wine and they took a sponge and soaked it in the wine while it was on a branch of hyssop and they held it to His mouth. A hyssop branch symbolically represents cleansing from sin. When Jesus received the sour wine He said, ‘It is finished.’ He bowed His head and voluntarily gave up His Spirit.
Since it was the day of preparation for the sabbath, in order to prevent bodies form hanging on the cross on the Sabbath the Jews asked Pilate to have their legs broken to quicken the process and to have the bodies taken away. So the soldiers did this but when they came to Jesus they stopped, they didn’t break His legs; instead they pierced His side and blood and water came out. This fulfilled prophecy that said, ‘Not a bone of His shall be broken,’ and ‘They shall look at Him home they have pierced.’ All of this was witnessed and testified too by John.
Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus out of fear of the Jews asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus and Pilate allowed this. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes which weighed about 100 roman pounds.
They took His body and bound it in linen wrappings with the fragment spices for the custom burial of Jews. There was a garden at the place where He was crucified and in the Garden a new tomb cut out of solid rock where no one had yet been laid was there. Because it was the day of preparation and the tomb was nearby they laid Jesus there. Jesus turned graves into gardens and was the only One who could, which is why no one else had yet been laid there.
John Chapter 19 Part 2
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