Musings From the Gospel of John – Number 58

The Scriptures covered in this post are from John 19:23-30 NASB which read as follows:

“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts: a part to each soldier, and the tunic also; but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decidewhose it shall be.” This happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “They divided My garments among themselves, and they cast lots for My clothing.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.

Now beside the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. So 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 into his own household.

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a branch of hyssop and brought it upto 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.”

There are a good number of distinct differences between John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), and this becomes readily apparent in what we see that John writes about, as to what specifically transpired, while Jesus was on the cross. I’m not going to go into all of the differences now, but there is a good overview on these differences that I will provide a link to here. The entire account of Jesus’ final hours before His crucifixion, His death, and His resurrection is recorded in all four Gospels: Matthew 26–28; Mark 14–16; Luke 22–24; John 13–21 and it is highly recommended that when you are going over what specifically transpired, in order to not miss anything, that the four indicated sources, all be read together, collectively.

In John 19:23-24 NASB we note that: “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts: a part to each soldier, and the tunic also; but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be.” This happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “They divided My garments among themselves, and they cast lots for My clothing.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.”

The Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament that describes in detail what would happen to the Messiah, comes from Psalm 22 and this should be read in its entirety. The particular Scripture that details how the garments were divided and the tunic was not divided, is found in Psalm 22:18 and reads as follows: “They divide my garments among them, And they cast lots for my clothing.”A good overview of Psalm 22 can be found here.

As one reads through Psalm 22, one cannot help but be struck by all of the particulars that are associated with the crucification of Jesus, not to mention, all of the other Scriptures that were fulfilled during the ministry of Jesus. For an overview on this very topic, click here.

In John 19:25-27 NASB we read the following: “Now beside the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. So 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 into his own household.”

In John 19:28 where John states “After this, Jesus knowing that all was now finished, said in fulfillment of the Scripture, “I am thirsty” , is the fulfillment of Psalm 69:21 NASB which reads: “They also gave me a bitter herb in my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

In the Gospel of Mark, we see that Jesus was offered wine twice while He was on the cross. The wine first offered to him was sour and mixed with gall. The first time he refused, and the second time he drank it.

Gall refers to a substance made from Myrrh, which was mixed into the wine offered to Jesus the first time. Jesus tasted it and realized that this concoction was designed to dull his senses and ease some of the pain from his crucifixion.

The second wine was offered to him in a sponge, and the wine was sour. Sour wine in Roman times was used as a refreshing way to quench their thirst. Jesus refused to drink the wine that was intended to relieve his suffering, as set out for him, to atone for the sins of humanity in the world.

The disciple noted as “the disciple whom He loved”, is in all probability, the Apostle John himself. Click here for an overview. It’s noteworthy, that even in the anguish and suffering that Jesus was enduring, He signified the care and assignment of His mother, to another. And note who those who viewed Jesus on the cross, were, and where they were. Beside the cross. That’s close. One cannot even begin to articulate the anguish and sorrow that they must have been feeling.

The last portion of Scripture we are covering in this post is John 19:28-30 which reads as follows: “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on 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.”

That statement where John tells us that Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture be fulfilled, should in itself, be a HUGE witness to the confirmation of who Jesus was and is. How often do we read throughout the Gospels, that Jesus fulfilled all that had been prophesied about Him, time and time again. The word “methodically” comes to mind, fulfillment by fulfillment.

And then in John, we have him mention the sour wine. That sour wine that is mentioned by John is significant because the sour wine is only part of what transpired and we do need to be mindful of the complete significance. Click here to view a wider scope overview. That’s one of the valid reasons why we do need to read all four Gospel accounts, collectively.

That last line of Scripture where John states that Jesus said, “It is finished!” and He bows His head and gives up His spirit, is the exact moment when you and I, because of what Jesus did, could now be righteous in God’s holy sight. Redeemed, saved, rescued, delivered. The curtain between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was rent in two, from the top to the bottom. The way was opened, the truth was proclaimed and accomplished and the life without end, now available. And this is what it took. The Lamb of God, without blemish, sacrificed for you and for me. The innocent for the guilty. The just for the unjust. The holy for the unholy. Worthy is the Lamb indeed!

More to follow.

Worthy is the Lamb! Blessings!