Scripture Reading: John 19
Although John 19 may be very familiar to us, we may not see the reality in this chapter. This chapter is full of rich extracts. In this chapter and in the chapter following, we will consider twelve major points with a number of subpoints, all of which are related to the extracts of this deep and rich section of the Word.
Our concern in these chapters is to present not the facts but the extracts. In giving this word I assume that you have at least a general knowledge of the content of this chapter. Let us, then, now consider the major points, the signs, in John 19.
The sign of a crown of thorns and a purple garment signifies the rejected Messiah, or King, of the Jews. This sign is important because the entire chapter is on the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus.
In this chapter first we see who the Lord is. He is the Messiah, the anointed One of God. This term denoted the King of God’s people. Hence, the One who was crucified was not a common man, a common figure. On the contrary, He was the One anointed of God, the One whom God had anointed to be the King of His people. Although God had anointed Him, the people rejected Him. They rejected their King, the very One whom they had been expecting for centuries. Even as they were rejecting Him, they were still expecting the coming of their Messiah.
John 19:1 and 2 say, “Therefore at that time Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they threw a purple garment around Him.” This was done as a mockery. Both the crown of thorns and the purple garment signify kingship. A crown, of course, is worn by a king, and the color purple signifies kingly honor. Even this mockery of the Lord Jesus was according to the sovereignty of God. The sign of the crown of thorns and the purple garment signifies Christ’s kingship.
Verse 17 says, “Bearing the cross for Himself, He went out to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.” In this verse we have the cross as a sign. Many Christians think that the cross is primarily a matter of suffering. According to their understanding, to bear the cross is to suffer. Some of us may still hold to this traditional thought. Concerning this, the well-known book The Imitation of Christ has exercised a great influence. Because this book matches the natural concept, I valued it very highly when I was young. I, too, regarded the cross as being a matter of suffering. When I spoke concerning the cross many years ago, I sometimes told the saints that if they were suffering in their circumstances, they were experiencing the cross. If a brother’s wife gave him a difficult time, in this situation he was bearing the cross. The point we are making here is that according to our natural concept, the cross is a matter of suffering.
However, according to the facts of history, it was not the purpose of the cross to cause suffering; instead, the cross was for terminating people. When someone was put on the cross, the purpose was to terminate him. This is clearly the meaning of the cross in John 19. Verse 15 indicates this: “They cried out then, Take Him away! Take Him away! Crucify Him!” This verse indicates that for the Lord to be crucified, to be put on the cross, was for Him to be terminated. The cross, therefore, is not for suffering; it is for termination.
We need to realize that the special significance of the cross in this chapter is that the cross terminates the old creation. It terminates the things, the matters, and the people of the old creation, all of which are contrary to God’s purpose. Anything that is against the purpose of God needs to be terminated. In God’s economy this termination is accomplished by the death of the cross.
John 19:19 and 20 say, “Pilate wrote a notice also and put it on the cross; and it was written, JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS...and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.” This also was done according to God’s sovereignty. The chief priests said to Pilate, “Do not write, The King of the Jews, but that He said, I am the King of the Jews” (v. 21). To this Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written” (v. 22). Actually, what Pilate wrote was not of himself but was of God’s sovereignty. The title written by Pilate declared the fact that the Lord Jesus is the King of the Jews.
It is also significant that this title was written in three languages: Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. Hebrew represents the Hebrew religion, Latin represents Roman politics, and Greek represents Greek culture. These three together represent the entire world, all of mankind. This signifies that the Lord Jesus was killed by and for all mankind. Not long after the Lord’s death, certain Jews, Romans, and Greeks were saved. The Lord Jesus was put to death for the entire human race as represented by these three languages. Therefore, the title written by Pilate is a sign.
John 19:18 says that “they crucified Him, and with Him two others, on this side and that, and Jesus in the middle.” Here we have the sign of the two crucified with Christ, one on each side of Him. The Gospel of Luke also speaks of this, telling us, “Two others also, who were criminals, were led with Him to be executed...They crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left” (23:32-33). The record in Luke regarding this point serves a different purpose from the purpose in John’s record. Luke’s purpose is to show that these malefactors were sinners and that the Lord Jesus is the Savior. But it is not John’s intention to show sinners and the Savior. Instead, his intention is to show the separation of life and death.
The crucified Christ is a dividing factor of death and life. On one side of Him there was death; on the other side there was life. Whether we are in death or in life depends on our relation to this crucified One. This is the significance in John of the Lord Jesus being crucified between two others.
In 19:23 and 24 we have the sign of the seamless tunic: “The soldiers then, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, a part for each soldier, and they took the tunic as well. But the tunic was seamless, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore to one another, Let us not tear it, but let us cast lots for it to see whose it shall be, that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says, ‘They divided My garments among themselves, and for My clothing they cast lots.’ So then the soldiers did these things.” The other Gospels also include a record of the soldiers dividing the Lord’s garments. But only the Gospel of John speaks of the seamless tunic. The seamless tunic signifies that the crucified One was perfect in His conduct. With Him there was no sin, no defect. As indicated by His seamless tunic, His conduct was absolutely perfect.
When the Lord Jesus was on the cross, He spoke seven words. Three of these words are recorded in chapter 19 of the Gospel of John; the other four are recorded in the synoptic Gospels, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. If we study this matter, we will see the difference between the words recorded in the Gospel of John and those recorded in the other Gospels. The four words recorded in the synoptic Gospels are recorded for the purpose of indicating redemption. Before we consider the sign of the fifth word spoken by the Lord Jesus, let us consider the words recorded in the synoptic Gospels.
In Luke 23:34 we have the first of the words spoken by the Lord on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” This word is a prayer offered for sinners. The second word uttered by the Lord was, “Today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (v. 43). The third was, “Woman, behold, your son...Behold, your mother” (John 19:26-27). These three words were spoken during the first three hours of the Lord’s crucifixion. During the second period of three hours, He spoke four other words: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46); “I thirst” (John 19:28); “It is finished!” (v. 30); and, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46).
As we consider these words, we see that those recorded in the synoptic Gospels indicate redemption. First, the Lord prayed that the Father would forgive sinners. Then He told the criminal who believed in Him that he would be with Him in Paradise. This is a word of grace for salvation. When the Lord cried out concerning God’s forsaking Him, this was an indication that He was our Substitute bearing our sins. The seventh word, when the Lord committed His spirit into the hands of the Father, is also related to redemption.
The three words recorded in the Gospel of John — the third, the fifth, and the sixth — are related not mainly to redemption but to the purpose of the Lord’s death emphasized in the Gospel of John. This is true with respect to the Lord’s word first to His mother and then to one of His disciples: “Woman, behold, your son...Behold, your mother.” Many readers of this Gospel think that the Lord was simply telling the disciple to take care of His mother. However, there is a much deeper thought here. We need to find the extract of this word spoken by the Lord.
How could the Lord’s mother have one of His disciples as a son, and how could this disciple become the son of the Lord’s mother? This requires a union in life through the imparting of the divine life into the believers. It is by this life that the disciple could become one with Him and become the son of His mother, and she could become the mother of this disciple.
The deep significance of the Lord’s word here is that through His death the divine life within Him was released and imparted to His believers. Now through the life imparted to them, the believers have an organic union with Him. Because the Lord’s disciples were one with Him in the divine life, His mother could become the mother of His disciple, and His disciple could become His mother’s son. The Lord’s word in 19:26 and 27 indicates the organic union through the impartation of resurrection life. The emphasis of this word is not on redemption; the emphasis is on the imparting of life. It is very important for us to see this.
Toward the end of His hours on the cross, when the Lord Jesus realized that everything was finished, He said, “I thirst” (v. 28). This word indicates that while the Lord Jesus was dying on the cross, He was working. In this regard His death was different from that of any other person. Through His death the Lord did a great work. While this work was taking place, He did not drink anything. Usually one who is working faithfully will not want to drink anything until he is finished. When we are working desperately on a matter, we do not have the time to say, “I am thirsty, and I would like a drink. Would you please serve me a drink?” The Lord Jesus indicated His thirst and need of a drink because He knew that “all things had now been finished.”
John 19:29 and 30 say, “There was lying there a vessel full of vinegar; therefore, they put a sponge full of vinegar on hyssop and brought it to His mouth. Then when Jesus had taken the vinegar, He said, It is finished! And He bowed His head and delivered up His spirit.” Those who offered the vinegar to the Lord were mocking Him.
At the beginning of the crucifixion, the Lord was offered wine to drink, mingled with gall. But after He tasted it, He refused to drink it (Matt. 27:34). This wine mingled with gall and also with myrrh (Mark 15:23) was intended to be a stupefying drink. The Lord, however, would not be stupefied; He would drink the bitter cup to the dregs. He was willing to suffer the pain. But at the end of His crucifixion, when His work was finished, He said that He was thirsty. When they mockingly served Him vinegar, He took it and then said, “It is finished!”
The Lord’s word, “It is finished!” signifies that as the Lord Jesus was dying, He was working. For what was the Lord working in His death? On the cross He was working for three things: first, to accomplish redemption; second, to terminate the old creation; and third, to release His divine life so that by this life the new creation could be brought forth for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. It was necessary for sin and sins to be taken away, for the old creation to be terminated, and for the divine life to be released. Only through the release of the divine life would the new creation have a way to be brought forth. Redemption, termination, and the release of life all depended on the Lord’s death. Therefore, while the Lord was dying, He was working to accomplish these three things.
I was a seeking Christian for many years before I realized that the Lord Jesus was working while He was dying on the cross. One day I began to see that the hour of the Lord’s death was an hour for Him to work. Through this work He accomplished redemption, He terminated the old creation, and He released the divine life to produce the new creation. In the New Testament there are definite hints concerning these matters.
In chapters 18 and 19 of John we see that the Lord Jesus was not afraid of death. Through His death He accomplished a great work. The work accomplished through the Lord’s death was much greater than the creation of the universe.
We know that God has two creations: the old creation and the new creation. To be sure, the new creation is greater and more important than the old creation. In order to produce the old creation, it was only necessary for God to speak. When God desired a certain thing to come into existence, He simply spoke the word, and that thing came into being. The new creation, however, was not brought forth in this way. The new creation was produced through the Lord’s death and resurrection. It was not produced by the Lord’s speaking.
We need to be impressed with the difference between the producing of the old creation and the producing of the new creation. According to the record of Genesis 1, everything in the old creation was created by God’s speaking. God called things not being as being (Rom. 4:17). In the old creation God spoke everything into existence. The new creation, on the contrary, was not created by God’s speaking. The new creation was produced through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through the working of the Lord in His death, the divine life within Him was released to produce the new creation. Therefore, as the Lord Jesus was dying on the cross, He did a marvelous work. For this reason, at the end He could declare, “It is finished!” This word means that the Lord’s work in death was finished.
During the years that I was with the Brethren, they emphasized very much this word of the Lord. In referring to the Lord’s word, “It is finished!” they emphasized that the Lord’s redemptive work was finished. I would never say that this understanding is wrong. It is certainly correct to apply this word to the accomplishment of redemption. However, this understanding is not complete. Many Bible teachers have not gone on to point out that through His death the Lord’s divine life was released from within Him. Furthermore, these teachers have not seen the imparting of the divine life into the Lord’s believers.
We have seen that there is an important difference between the Lord as the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and as the grain of wheat (12:24). As a grain of wheat, the Lord Jesus fell into the ground and died, not to accomplish redemption but to release the divine life so that this life may be imparted into us to produce many grains. As the Lamb of God, the Lord died to accomplish redemption. We need to be impressed with the fact that the death of the one grain of wheat was not for redemption; it was for reproduction, for propagation, through the release and impartation of life.
The Lord’s death has two main aspects: the redemptive aspect and the life-imparting aspect. These two aspects are signified by the blood and water that came out of the Lord’s pierced side. Blood is for redemption, dealing with sins (Heb. 9:22) for the purchase of the church (Acts 20:28). Water is for imparting life, dealing with death (John 12:24; 3:14-15) for the producing of the church (Eph. 5:29-31). The Lord’s death, on the negative side, was to take away our sins and, on the positive side, to impart life into us. The redemptive aspect is for the life-imparting aspect. The record of the other Gospels is for the redemptive aspect of the Lord’s death. But John’s record is not only for the redemptive aspect but also for the life-imparting aspect. The life-imparting aspect of the Lord’s death released the Lord’s divine life from within Him for the producing of the church, which is composed of all those who believe in Him and to whom His divine life is imparted. We have seen that this aspect of the Lord’s death is signified by the death of the one grain of wheat, which fell into the ground to bring forth many grains for making the loaf — the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:17). This, therefore, is the life-propagating, life-multiplying, generating, and reproducing death.
Most Christians, including many Christian teachers, see only one aspect of Christ’s death — the redemptive aspect. Therefore, we need to see that the Lord’s death has two aspects: the aspect of redemption and the aspect of life impartation. Redemption is a procedure, but the imparting of life is the goal. If we see only the redemptive aspect of the Lord’s death, this means that we see the procedure but not the goal. The Lord’s death was not only for redemption but also for life impartation. As the Lamb of God He died on the cross for our sins, and as the grain of wheat He died to release the divine life so that this life may be imparted into us to make us God’s new creation. While the Lord was dying on the cross, He accomplished this wonderful work. Then at the close of His crucifixion He could declare that this work was finished.
