Let's open our Bibles this evening
to John, Gospel of John chapter 19. Beginning with verse 17, John
19 verse 17. And he, bearing his cross, went
forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called
in the Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified him and two other
with him on either side one and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate
wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was, Jesus
of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. This title then read many
of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was not to
the city. And it was written in Hebrew
and Greek and Latin. Then said the chief priest to
the Jews, to Pilate, write not the king of the Jews, but that
he said, I am king of the Jews. Pilate answered, what I have
written, I have written. Then the soldiers, when they
had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts
to every soldier, a part, and also his coat. Now the coat was
without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said, therefore,
among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it,
whose it shall be, that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith,
They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they
did cast lots. These things, therefore, the
soldiers did. Now there stood by the cross
of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Cleopas,
and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his
mother and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto
his mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then saith he to the disciple,
Behold thy mother. And from that hour that disciple
took her unto his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that
all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled,
saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full
of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon
Hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received
the vinegar, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. The Jews, therefore, because
it was a preparation that the body should not remain upon the
cross on the Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was an high
day, they sought, Pilate, that their legs might be broken and
that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers and broke
the legs of the first and of the other which was crucified
with him. But when they came to Jesus and
saw that he was dead already, they broke not his legs. But
one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith
came thereout blood and water. And he that saw it bare record,
and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that
you might believe. For these things were done that
the scripture should be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken. And again, another scripture
saith, they shall look on him whom they pierced. I call our
attention first tonight to three words in verse 18. They crucified
him. They crucified him. The God-man,
Jesus Christ, was nailed to the cross and suffered until he said,
it is finished, and bowed his head and gave up the spirit. I have three divisions of the
message tonight. three divisions concerning his
crucifixion, the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. First,
here we see we have several Old Testament types and prophecies
fulfilled in his crucifixion. That's the first thing I would
like to point out to us. we have a number of Old Testament
types and prophecies fulfilled in his crucifixion. Let me point
out just a few to us. First of all, he was crucified
at Golgotha, which in verse 20 we read was near the city. He was nigh to the city. That
means it was outside the city. He was crucified outside the
city, just as the bodies of all the animal sin sacrifices which
had been offered since the law of Moses had been given had been
burned outside the camp. So the Lord Jesus Christ, he
suffered outside the city. That's a type type of the Lord
Jesus Christ that we see. And then we have these other
prophecies. They crucified him between two
malefactors. They cast lots for his garment.
They gave him vinegar to drink. They did not break his legs.
They pierced his side. And all of these were prophecies
which were fulfilled, things that were said of him hundreds,
yea, even thousands of years before they crucified him. In his words to his mother and
to John, we see him fulfilling the law of God as he did all
of his life. The law said, honor thy mother,
honor thy father and thy mother, and the Lord Jesus Christ in
bringing in an everlasting righteousness, weaving a garment of righteousness
for his people. We see the Lord Jesus Christ
here, even in his crucifixion, honoring and obeying and fulfilling
God's holy law. that you and I have broken from
the very beginning of our life here in this world. The Lord
Jesus Christ, He fulfilled, He kept that law in every jot and
every tittle. This is just one example. Those
of us here tonight who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and
know Him as our Lord and Savior, We do not follow cunningly devised
fables. We have the sure word of God. Notice how the Apostle John says
that in verse 35. And he that saw it, that is John,
I saw this. What I've written here, I saw
this. I saw this. And bear record. And his record,
my record is true. And he knoweth that he saith
true, and notice that you might believe. These things are written
that we might believe, and that we might believe and have eternal
life. This scripture, the book of God,
is not written just to entertain us and be a book of history. It is a book that is written
that we might believe, that we might know God, That's what it
amounts to, that we might know the only true and living God. For the truth contained on these
pages, the truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the means
that God has given in saving His people. So first, there are
several Old Testament types and prophecies which are fulfilled
in His crucifixion. But second, here are several
truths about his crucifixion. First, his crucifixion means
that his death was an accursed death. His crucifixion means
they crucified him. And his crucifixion means that
his death was a cursed death. There are a number of ways that
men die. There are a number of ways that
men have invented or designed to punish criminals. For instance, God, in His law,
had stoning as a way of execution. And we know the guillotine was
used in some countries. The rope has been used. Hanging
has been used. But the Lord in the Old Testament
said this about a person who was nailed to a tree. Cursed
is he that hangeth upon a tree. The Lord Jesus Christ, we're
told here, they nailed him to the cross. They nailed him. They hung him upon that tree. And because of that, he was made
a curse. And remember, The law cursed
you, and it cursed me. It curses everyone, the law of
God. And that's one reason that people
are so deceived and so foolish who believe that they're going
to obtain eternal life through their observance to the law.
You know, people say, well, you know, I just believe I'll keep
the Ten Commandments. Well, first of all, you can't
keep the Ten Commandments. But the law, because you break
that law, it pronounces a curse upon everyone. And the Lord Jesus
Christ, He was made a curse by being hanged upon a tree, that
He might redeem us from the curse of the law. The second thing
about His crucifixion, His crucifixion means that His death was a shameful
death. It was a shameful death. There
was nothing pretty. about the crucifixion. And most
of the pictures that artists have come up with probably don't
even come close to capturing or putting on canvas what took
place at the cross, at his crucifixion. It was a shameful death. The
Roman law reserved this death That is death by crucifixion,
by dying upon a cross, by being crucified on a cross. The Roman law reserved this death
only for slaves, only for slaves. And not even all slaves could
be put to death by crucifixion. This reveals unto you and I tonight
what men think and how men value the pearl of great price, that
he was put to a shameful death. I saw this past week that a diamond
sold for $50 million, $50 million for one diamond. And yet the Lord Jesus Christ,
they weighed his price, 30 pieces of silver, and that was the price
of a slave. His death was a shameful death,
a death by crucifixion which was reserved only for slaves,
and that's how he was valued, 30 pieces of silver. That was
the price of a man's servant under the law. When I think of this, I think
of those words in Hebrews chapter 2 where the apostle said, how
shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? When we hear
about the crucifixion and look at the crucifixion again tonight,
how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation when we see
what it costs what it costs the Son of God, what it costs God
the Father to redeem men and women like you and I. To put
Him to an accursed death and to a shameful death. And third,
His crucifixion means that His death was a painful death. To
have His hands and feet pierced with the nails, That had to be
excruciating pain. And then that cross, and there's
some discussion about what the cross looked like, whether it
really was, as we see it in most of the pictures, a beam across
another beam, or if it was just one solid beam. But whatever
it was, and if it had been important for us to know, God would have
told us, right? And it wasn't nearly as high
as you see the artists make it. It wasn't lifted way up. But
when his hands were nailed to that cross and his feet were
nailed and that cross was placed in that socket, that hole that
they had for it, can you imagine the pain that he experienced? His crucifixion was a painful
death. You know, it's described by the
psalmist like this in Psalm 22. I am poured out like water. I'm poured out like water. All
my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted
in the midst of my bowels. And all my bones are out of joint. My strength is dried up like
a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws. When the Lord Jesus
Christ said, I thirst, he wasn't just saying that because scripture
had predicted that he would say that. Scripture did, but he said
that because he thirsted. As the psalmist said, my tongue
cleaveth to my jaws. And number four, his crucifixion
means that his death was punishment, punishment for guilt. The religious
leaders and the civil rulers condemned him to crucifixion,
though he was not guilty. That's true. Even Pilate said,
I find no fault in him. But we know tonight that God
himself condemned him to die when, as the prophet Isaiah said,
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. And when we read, thou
shalt make his soul an offering for sin, it means more than just
his soul, it means his soul and body, the person the Lord Jesus
Christ was made an offering for sin. Yes, I've just mentioned
his physical sufferings, which were real, but his soul sufferings,
My soul, he said, is exceeding sorrowful even unto death. Though the Lord Jesus Christ
himself knew no sin, had no sin of his own, but he took upon
him our iniquities as though they were his own. I like the
words of that hymn we sometimes sing, He took my sins and my
sorrows and made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary
and suffered and died alone. He took upon him our iniquities
and his death by crucifixion shows that it was a punishment. His death was a punishment for
the sin, for the guilt of sin rather. He took our iniquities
upon Him. He was made to be sin for us
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. And in the sinner's place, in
the sinner's stead, He suffered and He died in our place, that
He might redeem us, that He might save us from the wrath of God. Psalm 90 was read back in the
prayer meeting just a few minutes ago, and I was especially brought
to that word, who knoweth the power of his anger? Who knoweth
the power of God's anger? Christ. Christ. He's the only one. The third
part of my message is, here's several things accomplished in
His crucifixion. Several things accomplished in
His crucifixion. And I'm going to limit myself
tonight to five things. There are others, I'm sure, that
we could mention, but here are five things that are accomplished
in His crucifixion. First of all, in His crucifixion,
He crushed the head of the serpent. God made true on his word that
he pronounced in the presence of Adam and Eve when he spoke
to the serpent, the seed of the woman shall bruise thy head or
crush thy head. And that's one thing that took
place. All of his schemes, that is Satan's schemes, all of his
works came crushing down at the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He destroyed him who had the
power of death. That's what the scriptures speak
of him as he who had the power of death, that is Satan. And
yet it was at the cross and his crucifixion that he crushed the
head of Satan. In 1 John, we read, the Son of
God was manifest that He might destroy the works of the devil. And it was at the cross that
He dealt Satan a death blow. Small principalities and powers
and natives show of them openly, triumphing over them. The second
thing that I wanted to mention tonight to us, in His crucifixion,
He opened the fountain for sin and uncleanness. Look with me
in Zechariah, Zechariah chapter 13. In His crucifixion, He opened the
fountain for sin and uncleanness. Zechariah chapter 13, in verse
1 we read, In that day, what day? The day that Jesus Christ
was crucified. In that day there shall be a
fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. In his crucifixion
he opened the fountain for sin and uncleanness. You know cities
build fountains. I read one time that the U.S.
city that had the most beautiful fountains is Kansas City, Kansas. I've never been there, so I don't
know if that's true or not, but we all love to see fountains.
There are several fountains around Houston. But most fountains are
constructed to be admired. In fact, there used to be a fountain,
I guess it's still out at the end of Main, South Main, there
was a fountain there right before Rice University. But what do
you think would happen if you decide to take a bath in that
fountain? Well, the police would be there
soon and they would haul you off. Fountains are mainly constructed
to be admired for beauty. I remember when I was a child,
there was a fountain here in Houston that was lighted, had
all kinds of colored lights around it. And at night, it was a beautiful,
for a small child, it was a beautiful fountain. But it was just to
be admired. God did not open this fountain
to be admired. Now He didn't. If you're here
tonight and you have never bathed washed in this fountain, why
not? God didn't open this fountain
just to be admired. He opened this fountain to be
used, that man might wash and be clean. You know, in the book
of Revelation we read, that John saw a great multitude which no
man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues
standing before the throne and before the Lamb. And they were
clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. And John
asked the angel, who are these? Who are these? And the angel
responded, these are they that came out of great tribulation
and have washed washed their robes, and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb. At His crucifixion, He opened
a fountain for sin and for uncleanness, and sinners, just like you and
I, sinners, plunge beneath this flow, a fountain filled with
Emmanuel's blood, lose all our guilty stains. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't it wonderful tonight to
wash in this fountain? Who loved us and washed us, lathed
us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests
unto God. A fourth thing, or a third thing,
in his crucifixion, he blotted out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us. Turn with me to Colossians chapter
two. In His crucifixion, He blotted
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us. What was
that? Well, that was God's law. That
was God's law. It had all of those commandments,
all of those ordinances, and they were against us because
we could not obey. We didn't have the power. We'd
lost that in our head, Adam. We didn't have the strength to
obey. You know, Pilate, he made a sign,
he made a sign, or had it written, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of
the Jews, and he nailed it there to that cross. But let me tell
you something, Christ, he nailed something to this cross. And
we read here what he nailed to this cross. Colossians 2 and
verse 14, blotting out the handwriting of ordinance that was against
us. It was contrary to us. took it out of the way, nailing
it to his cross. He blotted out, by his crucifixion,
he blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us. We enjoy such liberty and such
freedom in worshiping God. Why? Because we have a high priest,
my friends, who ever lives to make intercession for us. In his crucifixion he ratified
the new or the everlasting covenant. Remember he said that night,
this is my blood when he took the cup. He didn't mean that
wine in that cup, but he meant his blood. This is my blood of
the new covenant or the new testament which is shed for many. The covenant was ratified by
his crucifixion, by the shedding of his blood. And this covenant,
this everlasting or new covenant, is special to all of us, isn't
it? Because all of us, I know, we
feel like David when he came to die and he thought about himself
and his situation. And this is what he said, although
my house be not so with God. And all of us feel the same way
about ourself. We're not what we would be, right?
We're not what we would want to be. Although my house be not
so with God. Yet hath he made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure. This, for this is all
my salvation. This is all my salvation. that
he made a covenant and it's ordered in all things and sure because
Jesus Christ is a surety of this covenant. And he has fulfilled
all the stipulations for the saving of his chosen people. And the fifth and last thing,
in his crucifixion, he opened heaven for all who look to him. All who looked to him, just like
that man that was crucified on one side of him, looked to him
and said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
And the Lord Jesus said, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. And the hymn writer said, the
dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day. And there
may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away. I trust the Lord would bless
this word to all of us here again. The crucifixion, they crucified
him. and all that was accomplished
in his crucifixion. I want us to sing this hymn. When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died, my riches gained I count
but loss and poor contempt on all my pride. Number 118, 118. And let's stand as we sing.