PT-2 "Christ's Power Over Death Was Manifested In His Dying" (John 19:31-37)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/20/2017 11:08 AM

My Worship Time      Focus:  PT-2 “Christ’s Power Over Death Was Manifested In His Dying”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  John 19:31-37

            Message of the verses:  “31 Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; 33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. 36 For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, "NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN." 37 And again another Scripture says, "THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED."”

            We begin by looking at the gruesome section in verses 32-33 as we begin this SD.  We see that the soldiers broke the legs of the first man and when they came to Jesus they saw He was already dead and so the soldier pierced His side and blood and water came from His body.  There are some people who have suggested that these soldiers did not know when someone was already dead and so when Jesus was laid in the tomb that He revived.  Now remember that Jesus’ body had close to 100 pounds of spices and wrappings on it to preserve His body, and we still have people who don’t think He was dead.  I think that during the times of the Roman Empire where life was so cheap that the soldiers certainly knew that Jesus was dead.  “44 Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. 45 And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph (Mark 15:44-45).”

            Jesus knew that by giving up His life when He did that the final prophecy of His first coming would be fulfilled.  Let us look at a couple of OT verses “"It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it (Exodus 12:46).  “’They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break a bone of it; according to all the statute of the Passover they shall observe it (Numbers 9:12).”  We have stated that Jesus is the perfect Passover Lamb and therefore these verses were true of what would happen to Him.  John MacArthur writes “Beyond that picture is the explicit prophecy of Psalm 34:20, ‘He deeps all his bones, not one of them is broken,’ to which John referred when he wrote, ‘For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, ‘Not a bond of Him shall be broken.’”

            I mentioned that not a bone broken was the final prophecy Jesus fulfilled, but perhaps the last one comes from the book of Zachariah 12:10 where we read “"I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”  MacArthur adds “That God said ‘they will look on Me whom they have pierced’ affirms that Jesus was God incarnate.  The ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy will be at Christ’s second coming, when the repentant remnant of Israel will mourn over rejecting and killing their King (cf. Rev. 1:7).”  “7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.”

            Speaking of the blood and water that came from our Lord’s body John MacArthur writes “The physiological explanation of the ‘blood and water’ has been much discussed.  It may be that the Lord’s heart literally burst from the tremendous mental agony and sorrow associated with His work of bearing sin and the Father’s forsaking of Him.  In any case, John’s eyewitness account as one ‘who has seen’ and ‘testified, and’ whose ‘testimony is true; and’ who ‘knows that he is telling the truth,’ emphasizes that Jesus was unquestionably dead.  John’s account is not hearsay, fable, or legend, but rather a sober historical record of actual events.  His purpose in relating Jesus’ precise fulfillment of prophecy in His death was ‘so that’ his readers ‘also may believe’ that ‘Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing [they] may have life in His name’ (20:31).  Christ clearly controlled His own death to fulfill Scripture.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  “It is beyond human understanding as to how Jesus fulfilled all of the prophecies that were written in the Old Testament about Him, and yet we have it right in front of our eyes, but people still do not want to believe the truth so that the truth will indeed set them free.  I am thankful for the Truth that has set me free, free from what I was born, that is free from Adam’s race.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord that in my prayer life that this will be true:  “The servant of God has every right to ask his Father for the help needed to glorify His name.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Pharaoh” (Gen. 41:46).

Today’s Bible question:  “What second sign did Moses and Aaron perform before Pharaoh?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/20/2017 11:39 AM