I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of John. John chapter 19. John 19. The account of the crucifixion
of our Lord is truly holy ground. I pray that the Lord give me
a heart this morning to consider what we're about to read together,
hear together, consider together, to be truly holy. The Lord Jesus Christ, the last
time we considered this passage was It just bowed his head, gave
up the ghost. It said, it's finished. The Jews have accomplished what
they wanted to do. They wanted to crucify the Lord
of Glory. And in so doing, they accomplished
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of Almighty God. They did what
they wanted to do. And they did exactly what the
Lord ordained that they would do. The counsel of the Lord is
going to stand. His will is going to be accomplished. But now in doing what they wanted
to do, accomplishing the will of the Lord, they found themselves
in a great dilemma. Verse 31 says, the Jews therefore
because it was the preparation that the bodies should not remain
upon the cross on the Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was
a high day, besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and
that they might be taken away. Now, this is the day before the
Sabbath. It's a Friday. It's on a Friday
and these Jews find themselves on the day before the Passover.
Now the next day is the Passover and they've got some preparation,
got some things that's got to be done because it's going to
be a high day the next day. It's going to be a great day
in the year and stuff needs to be taken care of. They've got
to be about their business. They've got some business things
to take care of. And so, they've got to make sure
that they obey the law. Here's what it says, Deuteronomy
21. I'll read this to you, Deuteronomy
21, concerning the crucifixion. If someone is crucified, Deuteronomy
21, verse 22 and 23. This is what they're worried
about. It says, If a man have committed a sin worthy of death,
and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree,
his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou
shalt in any wise bury him that day. For he that is hanged is
accursed of God, that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord
thy God giveth thee for an inheritance." So here's what we've got. We've
got a situation here. This one that they consider to
be a great criminal against their religion, against themselves. He's been crucified and so The
law says we can't leave somebody like this hanging on a tree. He's going to have to be buried. So we've got a situation where
they don't mind crucifying and slaying an innocent man. They based the assumption of
his guilt on nothing. Nothing. They could not find
one thing. They had to get false witnesses
to come in and lie on Him. All the while, while they were
accusing the Lord of glory, accomplishing the Lord's will. They wanted
to make sure that they could eat at the Passover tomorrow.
I mean, tomorrow is a great day. Tomorrow is a high day. So this
Jesus of Nazareth, we're going to have to get Him off the tree. He's going to have to be buried
today according to the law. He couldn't let someone hang
overnight, violation of the Passover. So what they do is they make
a request to Pilate. They said, latter part of that
31st verse, they besought Pilate that their legs might be broken. that they might be taken away. Now, I want you to notice how
the wrath of man praises the Lord. Here's a miracle of God's
grace. These wicked men, that's what
Peter told them over in Acts 2, he said, you've taken with
wicked hands and crucified the Lord of glory. Now, what these
wicked men are doing, again, They're doing what they want
to do, providentially carrying out God's purpose in the promotion
of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, humanly speaking,
if these Jews would have not sought Pilate to ask him to break
their legs, the Roman government, humanly speaking, they just didn't
care. I read accounts where the Romans...
See, crucifixion was the crucifixion of the Romans, not Jews. Jews
stoned. But now, He's crucified according
to the Scriptures. As Moses lifted up the serpent,
even so must the Son of Man. He was crucified. And as far
as the Romans were concerned, I've read accounts where they
just let the bodies just lay there and rot. Just rot. see corruption. But the scripture
said in Psalm 16.10, For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,
neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. So
by their wicked desires, These Jews would assure the Lord's
burial on the day that He was crucified, and in so doing, fulfilling
His promise. John 2.19, destroy this temple,
crucify me, and in three days I'll raise it up. Well, for that
to be done, He's going to have to be buried the day He died.
It's going to have to be. Well, had he not been buried
on the day he was crucified, that scripture is not going to
come forth. So by their hypocrisy, their
rebellion, the Lord Jesus' word of prophecy, of which Jonah was
a type, is going to be accomplished. They wanted a sign. Show us a
sign. The Lord says to this wicked
and adulterous generation, there's no sign going to be given but
the sign of the prophet Jonah. Jonah was three days in the belly
of the whale, son of man, three days in the belly of the earth. Now how we see the hand of Almighty
God moving the hearts of men doing exactly what they want
to do and all the while accomplishing God's will. I think of that scripture
when the Lord praying in that high priestly prayer, John 17,
He said, All power is given unto me of my Father, that I should
give eternal life to as many as the Father has given me. God
Almighty has given the Son an elect. There is a sheep. There is the fold of His passenger. There is the chosen out of every
nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue, and the Lord Jesus Christ is
going to save them. They're going to be saved. So
here's the Lord. He's been crucified. They realize
we've got a law. We can't let this law go unheeded. Best thing for us to do is we're
going to have to break their legs. break their legs, they
can't hold themselves up, push themselves up, get a breath of
air. Verse 32-33, "...then came the soldiers and break the legs
of the first and of the other which was crucified with him.
But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was dead already,
and they break not his legs." I tried to read a little bit
of the history of what they did to the ones that were crucified
when they'd come and break their legs and how cruel it was. Sometimes if they had a big hammer,
a club, it didn't make any difference. Whatever they had, they'd come
over and they'd just break their legs. These soldiers came and
they came to the two on each side of the Lord and broke their
legs. And they came to the Lord and
they saw He was already dead, so He didn't break His legs.
But I thought about those two thieves. It made mention of them. It said, came the legs of the
first and the one that was on the other side was crucified
with him. And I thought about that. About
those two thieves having their legs broken. So they go ahead
and die. They've got to get them off.
They didn't put any difference between these two thieves and
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's just three criminals, as
far as they were concerned. But concerning those two thieves,
one of those thieves, and you know the account, how these two
thieves at one time, both of them were railing on the Lord,
and then all of a sudden, by the grace of God. We just witness
the manifestation of Almighty God giving a man a new heart.
God did something for him, and the way I know the Lord did something
for him, he just changed his attitude all of a sudden. That
man was made willing in the day of God's power. I know he didn't
change his mind, I know that. The Lord gave him a new heart,
but think about this. One of those thieves was left
in rebellion. And concerning that one who remained
in rebellion against God, the breaking of his legs, here's
what it did. It hastened, humanly speaking,
the Lord eternally purposed, but it hastened him. He was running
down to the pit just like everybody else is born in Adam. But for
the grace of God, the Lord said, deliver him from going down to
the pit. I found a ransom. This one right here, left in
rebellion, he was running down to the pit, and Almighty God
gave that man exactly what he wanted. When those soldiers came
and broke his legs, that man, when he took his last breath,
according to these scriptures, it never reveals that that man
ever had a change of heart by God's grace. And that man right
there, write this down, he lifted up his eyes out of hell. The
blow to that man's legs was the judgment of Almighty God. But
then there was another one that had his legs broken. That thief, that the Lord gave
a new heart, what he did, those blows to his legs, the breaking
of his legs was the grace of God. That hammer or that club
or whatever it was, that was the instrument of mercy. Almighty
God allowed that man's legs to be broken and the Lord just ushered
him right into heaven. And in so doing, accomplished
the word of the Lord. What did the Lord tell him? He
said, Lord, when you enter into your kingdom, And the Lord was
getting ready to enter into his kingdom. He just had already
done it. He'd already died. He said, Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit. There was the Lord and what had
the Lord just told him? He said, today, today, you're
gonna be with me in paradise. And those soldiers came up to
that fella and took that instrument of whatever it was, broke his
legs. I don't know how long he lived,
but I can tell you one thing. He died that day because the
Lord told him, he said, I'm going to be with you. You're going
to be with me in paradise today. So here's what happened. Two men, all three of them had
been, you know, they were going to break their legs. The Lord
himself, he had already died. Scripture says in 34, but one
of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side and forthwith
came there out blood and water. Well, I know that the Scripture
reveals the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to save
his people. He came and called his name Jesus,
Savior. He shall save his people from
their sins. And now the Lord, He's going
to have to save them. He's going to have to die for
them. He's going to have to... He was made sin. Laid down His life
for the sheep. I said before, for whom did Christ
die? Men said, well the Lord died
for all the sins of all the people in all of the world. God didn't
say that. Show me that in the Bible. Show
me in the Bible where he died for all the sins of every man
without exception. The Lord said, I lay down my
life for the sheep. For the sheep. John 10, 15. John
10, 15. I lay down my life for the sheep. And those Jews came up to him
later and said, How long are you going to make us die? Why
don't you speak plainly? He said, I did. John 10 also,
just read John 10. He said, I did. But he said,
you don't hear me because you're not my sheep. My sheep hear my
voice. I know them. They follow me.
I give unto them eternal life. They're never going to perish.
See, the problem that we have today is that we've got men lying
on God. They're lying on the Lord. Somebody
said, well, I've always heard that. Well, I tell you one thing,
I'll, I'll agree with you. There's a lot of things I heard
before the Lord was pleased to reveal himself to me, but I can
tell you this. He didn't die for everybody because
if he died for everybody, I'm going to tell you right now,
he's a failure because everybody's not going to be in heaven. They're
going to be in some in hell. You say, well, yeah, but he died
for them, but they have to give their heart to Jesus. in order
to make it effectual. I said, well then, in other words,
it's by man's works then. It ain't gonna fly. It ain't
gonna fly. No, sir. The Lord came into this
world and laid down his life for his people. Bowed his head,
gave up the ghost. It was those soldiers that came,
they saw he was dead. The Scripture says they saw He
was dead. But the Scripture says in verse
34, but one of the soldiers with a spear, they saw He was dead. That's what it says. It says
they came and broke the legs, verse 32 of the other, and 33,
but when they came to Jesus, they saw that He was dead already. The Scripture bears that out.
He was dead. But a Roman soldier in 34 took
a spear and stuck it in his side. There's another witness. You
know, the scripture says in Matthew 18, 16, in the mouth of two or
three witnesses, every word may be established. There's another
witness. He stuck a spear in his side.
See, Pilate had given the order to break their legs. They came and saw that he was
already dead. And here's a Roman soldier doing,
I'm convinced, doing exactly what he wants to do. Well, he
said, you know what, the governor told us to break his legs. And
I see he's dead. I know he's dead. But I'm not
going to take a chance. So he just took a spear and just
stuck it in his side. The scripture says when he did
that, sticking it in his side, it said, forthwith, verse 35,
came there out blood and water. Now, here's again the amazement. We read these scriptures and
here's the scriptures just opening up themselves to us. So we can behold what God Almighty
has prophesied was going to take place. Here's the revelation
of the Holy Scriptures seen in the piercing of the Lord's side.
You know, and a lot of things can be said concerning the blood
and the water, but I believe That right there was the fulfillment
of this scripture, Zechariah 13.1. It's most probably this
one right here. In that day there shall be a
fountain opened to the house of David, spiritual David, and
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, heavenly Jerusalem, for sin and
for uncleanness. Mr. J.C. Ryle made this statement. I thought it was real good. He
said, over the bleeding side of our Lord there might have
been written, when that soldier stuck that spear and forthwith
came out blood and water, he said, this sign could be put
there, behold the fountain opened for sin. Blood and water. 1 John 5, 6-8 says, This is He
that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ. Not by water
only, but by water and blood. And it's the Spirit that beareth
witness, because the Spirit's truth. For there's three that
beareth witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, the Holy Ghost. These three are one. And there's
three that beareth witness in the earth. Here's the three that
beareth witness in the earth. The Spirit who reveals these
things. The water and the blood. There's
the witness. These three agree in one. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
for the atonement of His people. The reconciling of God's people
back to the Lord Jesus Christ. Making them friends again. Atonement. Friends. God Almighty, who has
everlastingly loved His people, looked upon them in mercy and
grace, gave them to the Lord Jesus Christ. They fell in Adam,
they come forth from their mother's womb hating God. Hating God. Just like everybody else. There's not a believer in this
congregation this morning that would say anything other than.
There was a point in my life when I wouldn't admit it. But
I had nothing for the Lord. I just didn't care. And if you
say that's not the way it is, then you're feuding scripture,
you know. The carnal mind is enmity against God. I hate you. That's what it says. Here's that blood that came forth. Exodus 12, 13, the blood shall
be to you for a token on the houses where you are. When I
see the blood, I will pass over you. The plague shall not be
upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. That
spirit went in, there comes the blood for atonement. And it says
also water. What about that water? Listen
to this Ephesians 5, 25, 26. Husbands, love your wives even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it that
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word. You know what's happening this
morning, God's people. There's a washing that's taking
place spiritually by this word right here. There's a cleansing. Remember when the Lord took the
basin of water and he washed the disciples' feet? Peter said,
Lord, you're not going to wash my feet. He said, Peter, if I
don't wash your feet, I don't have any part with you. He said,
my head, my hands. He said, no, you're clean. Just
your feet needs to be clean. We walk through this earth. this
world, and we're sinners, and we need a cleansing. There's
a continual washing and cleansing by the Word of God. That's what the Scripture says,
that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the Word. we come to be refreshed. Hebrews 9, 19, 20, For when Moses
had spoken every precept to all the people, according to the
law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet
wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book, all the people,
saying, This is the blood of the New Testament, which God
hath enjoined unto you. And verse 35, And he that saw
it Bear record, his record's true. He knoweth that he sayeth
true, that you might believe. The Holy Spirit inspired the
writer, John, who always, you'll find, in truly humility. He just always talks about that
one that the Lord loved, that disciple. And here he is saying,
you know, and he that saw it. He didn't even say, I. Here's
John, he that saw it. said that he bore record to what
happened that day. He said, I saw that. I saw it. There's another witness.
John said, I was an eyewitness. He said, I'm not writing something
that was hearsay. He said, I'm telling you, his
legs were not broken. I saw that. that a soldier took
a spear and stuck it in his side and he said blood and water actually
flowed out of his side. I saw it. The scripture bears
witness. John said I saw what happened. The Roman soldier said he was
dead. 36 and 37 in closing. For these
things were done that the Scripture
might be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken.
And again another Scripture saith, they shall look on him whom they
have pierced." The Spirit of God confirms the fulfillment
of God's Word. Psalm 34, 19, 20, Many are the
afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out
of them all. He keepeth all his bones, Not
one of them is broken. The church of the Lord Jesus
Christ is His mystical body. Marvelously complete in Him. And the scripture says concerning
God's people, none of them are ever going to be broken. None
of His bones are ever going to be broken. But also, Jehovah. The Lord powerfully kept the
bones of the Lord Jesus Christ from being broken because He
was the fulfillment of the Passover lamb. And of that lamb, back
in Exodus, here's what it said concerning the Passover lamb.
They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any bone
of it. According to all the ordinances
of the Passover shall they keep it. So, here's the Lord. pierced side. Here's what Zechariah
12 10 says, I will pour upon the house of David upon the inhabitants
of Jerusalem the spirit of grace, of supplications. They shall
look upon me whom they pierced. They shall mourn for him as one
mourning for his own son and shall be in bitterness for him
as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. What a promise. Father promised, I'm going to
pour out upon the house of David, upon the house of the Lord Jesus
Christ, His church, His elect. He said, I'm going to pour out
the blessing, His grace, mercy, I'm going to illuminate and comfort
His people. Psalm 43, 3 and 4, O send out
thy light and thy truth, let them lead me, let them bring
me unto thy holy hill, to thy tabernacles. Then I will go to
the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy. Yea, upon the
harp will I praise thee. What a marvelous fulfillment
of God's promise. Here's men doing just exactly
what they wanted to do. They wanted to kill Him. And
all the while, you see the Word of the Lord, Scriptures just
being opened up and fulfilled. Teaching God's people, I'm not
going to leave you. I'm not going to forsake you.
Lord, bless the Word to our heart for Christ's sake. Amen.