Musings From the Gospel of John – Number 57

The Scriptures covered in this post are from John 19:16-22 NASB and read as follows:

“So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.

They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, carrying His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which in Hebrew is called, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Now 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, because 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’; rather, write that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

Have you ever dreaded something that was scheduled and become anxious or apprehensive about it, as the day approached? One of the things that frequently goes through my mind, as I read through the Gospel of John, is how often Jesus spoke of this very day. Many times during the first few months of His ministry, you see Jesus indicate that His time or hour had not yet come or is not yet, and as we approach the end of His ministry, the instances of Jesus telling His disciples about what is to soon transpire, become more frequent. And then, as the critical elements of His crucification begin to fall into place, Jesus says that His hour now is or has come.

Gotquestions.org has a good overview on some of the times Jesus predicted His death, which you can read here. Take the time to read through it, because it is important to understand that this was a pending reality that Jesus was continually aware of. In fact, Jesus knew that it was for this very purpose that He had been sent to us, by His Father, as John the Baptist testified to, when beholding Jesus approach him, at the river Jorden. John 1:29 NASB reads: “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb of God, without blemish, sacrificed in our place, for our sins. Take the time to click on the above Lamb of God link because the fore picture of God’s purpose behind the Old Testament sacrificial lamb is really important.

And while Jesus was and is fully God, while He was with us, He was also fully human, as witnessed to when Jesus prayed to His Father about the cup that He had been asked to drink, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus stated in Matthew 26:38-39 NASB: “Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”

The human aspect of Jesus, being in a body like ours, was not immune to what awaited Him. And bear in mind, this “awareness” was continually with Him. That “awareness” must have been heavy, had to have been heavy, was heavy. Imagine, if you will, an ordinary human carrying that load.

So Jesus was handed over to be crucified, made to carry His own cross, and was crucified between two other men, who had also been condemned to death. And the inscription, as noted in the quoted Scripture above, was put on the cross.

There is a very interesting and highly possible contention noted below, with regard to the Latin and Greek words used by the Apostle John when these verses were written by John, in the Gospel of John, pertaining to what the “Title” proclaimed and the “It is written” statement declared by Pilate, as provided in the two links directly below, with regard to them possibly accomplishing a dual purpose.

I am not going to go into this possibility here in this “Musings from the Gospel of John” post, but I would recommend their consideration to anyone who would like to see what God MAY have very well accomplished, through His Holy Spirit with this “Title” that Pilot said must stand as “It was written”.

https://notunlikelee.wordpress.com/2022/04/12/what-did-pilate-state-in-john-1922-repost/

and

https://notunlikelee.wordpress.com/2022/04/14/what-did-pilate-state-in-john-1922-conclusion-repost/

More to follow.

Worthy is the Lamb! Blessings!