Word of Salvation – Vol.42 No.9 – March 1997

 

Pierced!

 

A Lenten Sermon by Rev R Brenton

on John 19:33-37

Scripture Reading: John 18:28 – 19:37

 

Dear Congregation,

Here in John’s Gospel we have preserved for us the testimony of a man who saw our Lord Jesus die and what was done to him right after he died.  This witness saw Jesus’ parched lips sip the wine vinegar, and heard him cry out, “It is finished!”  Then he saw him bow his head and give up his spirit.  But he also saw the soldiers in charge of the crucifixion inspect the bodies of Jesus and the two men who hung beside him.

Night was falling.  And that night marked the beginning of the Passover Sabbath.  The Jews, not wanting any bodies left hanging on crosses on the Sabbath Day, urged their governor, Pontius Pilate, to hasten the deaths of the crucified, and then remove the corpses.  The most efficient way to do this was by breaking their legs.  So, the soldiers in charge went about their duty, and broke the legs of the first man crucified next to Jesus, and then the other man.

But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.  They did something else instead.  Probably just to show to the Jews that the One they were so desperate to be done with was really dead, one of the soldiers took his spear and jabbed it into Jesus’ side.  One swift jab was all it took to punctuate that truth: “It is finished.”  Jesus had spoken it.  Now the spear said, “finished indeed!”

At last, everyone who cared for Jesus could say, “the cruel ordeal is over – thank God it’s over.”  Yes, some relief might even be found in the fact that for as much as Jesus suffered, at least he didn’t suffer for as long as he might have.  At least the soldiers didn’t have to do anything to him to hurry up his death.  It was finished sooner than anyone would have expected.  The spear-point just punctuated the fact that Jesus was dead already.

Well, my brothers and sisters, these are the bare facts.  And if bare facts are all you really care about, then you should be content with the two that you have before you.

Fact No 1: Jesus died probably sooner than anyone expected, making it unnecessary for his executioners to hasten his death.  Fact No 2: The point of the spear was simply applied at the end of Jesus’ death sentence as a punctuation mark.

But if you want truth – if you are searching for the meaning in these facts – then you have a man’s testimony to reckon with; not just the bare facts.  John tells us that there was a man who saw not only Jesus die, but what happened to him afterward.  There was a man who witnessed that the soldiers did not break Jesus’ legs to hasten his death but, instead, pierced Jesus’ side – causing a fountain of blood and water to gush forth.

Evangelist John vouches for this man’s testimony – not just because it gives the facts of Jesus’ death, but because the truth, the meaning of these facts, may lead you to faith.  Whoever this eye-witness may be – and it may be John himself for all we know – he tells about the point of this spear so that you, too, may believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and have life through his Name.

My friends, today, as we dwell on Jesus’ death, we’re here not just to rehearse old familiar facts.  We’re here to reckon with one man’s testimony so that we all might believe and be saved.

Listen now to the man’s testimony.  They did not break his legs.  Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.  These things happened to fulfill the scripture, which says: “Not one of his bones will he broken”; and the other scripture, which says: “they will look on the one they have pierced.”

First, let us consider what the soldiers decided not to do to Jesus.  They did not break his legs.  This happened to fulfil the scripture, which says: “Not one of his bones will be broken.”  Which scripture says this, and why?  David, Israel’s beloved King and song-writer composed this scripture for the 34th Psalm.

in Psalm 34 David tells how the Lord delivers the righteous from all of their troubles.  The righteous – those who put their trust in the Lord – can count on the Lord to save them from their troubles.  As David confesses, a righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

At the time, of course, David was speaking in very broad and general terms about the comfort the faithful can find in the Lord’s safe-keeping.  He was, after all, a God-truster himself.  From his own experience he found the Lord mighty to save and protect.

Ultimately, no enemy can get through God to get to God’s people who trust in Him for protection.  God is able to save and protect His Own.  And He will.  One solid proof that a person is righteous, one of God’s own as far as David is concerned, is that although the person has many enemies, the Lord delivers him from them all and protects his bones from being broken.

When our eye-witness saw that the soldiers in charge of the crucifixion did not break Jesus’ legs, he couldn’t help but recall the promise of Psalm 34.  He couldn’t help but see that the Lord God was saving and protecting his righteous servant from his enemies.

The fact that Jesus’ legs were not broken was God proving Jesus to be a righteous man.  And indeed this is the message that must have gotten through to at least some of those who saw Jesus die.  Luke, in his Gospel, tells us that the soldier in charge of the crucifixion – a centurion – when he saw Jesus die, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”  Amen.  Surely He was.

But there is more to that scripture than we find in David’s Psalm.  In another passage – Exodus 12 – we are introduced to the Passover Lamb, God’s Lamb of Salvation.  This Lamb was specially chosen to be sacrificed and eaten.  But there was one thing the Lord commanded His people not to do to the Passover Lamb – do not break any of the bones.  A Lamb with broken bones could not be sacrificed to take away the people’s sins and turn away the Lord’s judgment against sinners.  God’s Lamb for his people’s salvation must be unblemished and unbroken.

Surely this is significant.  Especially so for the Gospel according to John.  For it is John alone who introduces Jesus as God’s Lamb.  Do you remember when Jesus was baptised?  Right after that, the Baptiser, realising who Jesus really was, pointed him out to his own followers.  “Look,” he said, “Look!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

And now, at his death, the Evangelist wants us to look again.  Look!  Is this not the Lamb of God dying on this Passover Day in sacrifice for sin?  Does he not fit the description and meet the requirement for God’s Lamb?  See!  Not one of his bones is broken.

Instead of breaking Jesus’ bones, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, opening up a flow of blood mixed with water.

Now, I could really make this message interesting by explaining the theories which account for this fascinating flow of blood and water from Jesus’ open wound.  Three theories that I know of have been shown to be biologically possible for someone in Jesus’ situation.  But I can’t tell you which of the three is most probable for Jesus because I haven’t a clue.  All we really need to know is that such a thing as blood and water flowing from a wound can happen – and that it did happen to Jesus when he was pierced by the soldier’s spear.

What’s important here is the meaning of that strange flow.  The man who saw it does not mention it for nothing; the flow from Jesus’ side is a part of his testimony – given for your faith.

This part of the testimony, like the last part, is based on an old portion of scripture, which reads, they will look on the one they have pierced.  This scripture from Zechariah is embedded in a prophecy which tells how God will revive and restore His rebellious, sin-cursed people.  God will do it, says Zechariah, by pouring out a spirit of grace and supplication.

That Spirit will move the people to look upon the One they have pierced and to mourn for him.  On that Day the people will weep over the piercing of the Righteous One, repenting of the sins that drove them to crucify and pierce the Lord.  Yes, on that Day there will be a great weeping!  God’s Spirit of grace and supplication will see to that.

But that is not all.  After the tears have been sown, God will bless the people with a harvest of salvation.  On that Day there will be a great healing!  For a fountain will be opened up to wash and to disinfect the festering sore of the sins of God’s people.

My brothers and sisters, the man who saw the soldier pierce Jesus’ side testifies that what Zechariah has foretold is now come true.  Ever since God’s people went astray, they have taken their jabs at the Lord’s righteous ones.  So, they did unto Jesus what they had been doing all along.  But Jesus they pierced!  Zechariah foretold that the Pierced One – the Wounded One – would be the Saviour – the Healing One!

The man who testifies is saying to you and to me that Jesus is the One Pierced by our sins.  He is saying that from the wound in Jesus’ side flows the healing fountain of blood and water which washes away our sins and revives us – making us alive unto God.

How can this be?  Well, you see, the blood of Jesus is cleansing blood, the only blood which washes sin clean away and purifies people from every sin.  No other blood will do.  The water of Jesus is living water, the visible, outward sign of His own Holy Spirit who lives within the hearts of people whose sins are forgiven.  Jesus’ cleansing blood covers over all of our sins and takes them away, and the living water revives our dead spirits so that we can serve the living God.  Praise His name!

Oh, my dear brothers and sisters, can you see the glory of Jesus’ pierced side?  Do you know its power?  Think of it.  That spear-point: which was intentionally applied to Jesus’ side to prove that he was dead – yes, to punctuate the end of his life – turns out instead to be the tool which creates that opening which releases the eternal life of Jesus into the world.

There’s a telling irony – a strange twist in the turn of events which led up to the piercing. Jesus’ enemies had been conspiring to kill him for quite some time.  Jesus, you see, was attracting all the crowds.  And his enemies were jealous of his popularity.  So, they decided to kill him in order to keep the world from going after him.

Their goal was to save the world from Jesus.  Crucifying him – and finally piercing him – was seen to be the final solution to the Jesus problem.  But Jesus knew better.  He said, “When I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people unto myself.  He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.”

So, it happened as planned.  Jesus was lifted up from the earth on a cross.  He died on the cross, his death punctuated by spear-point!  It is finished!  End of Jesus!  End of Story!  The world was saved from Jesus.  So everyone thought.  But not so!  Not so, says the man who saw it all.  This is not the end of the living Jesus.  This is just the beginning.  In death, the life of Jesus is released into the world.  The world is now being saved through Jesus by the healing fountain from his side.

Just think of Jesus’ blood – that merciful, sin-forgiving blood – gushing from God’s pure, unbroken Lamb to cover sin-cursed souls, washing them clean, healing them, saving them!  Just think of Jesus’ water – the Spirit of life, reviving those who are dead in their sins, making them live anew, forever and for good in the right with God the Heavenly Father and His Son the Lord Jesus and with one another.

I must ask you today: has that powerful flow of Jesus’ new life which was released through the opening in His side caught up with you?  Have your sins been covered and cleansed by Jesus’ blood?  Are you drinking from the well of living water – are you alive with Jesus’ Spirit?

If you’re looking for the power to put your past behind you – to be rid of your sins and failures, to be cleared of your guilt, to be truly forgiven – so that you can have a bright future, a share in God’s eternal life, then look no more.  That’s what the blood and water are for!  That flow is God’s power for your salvation.  It is God’s gift of eternal life to all who believe in Jesus.

So I say to you – receive the Lord Jesus into your life.  Trust the Lord to take away your guilt and sin, and to make your life new.  The power is His.  He will do it.  Receive Him now.  Take the testimony of the man who saw it all.  His testimony is true.  He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe

Let this man – this eye-witness who knows the whole truth – lead you gently to Jesus.  Then take a good look at Jesus for yourself.  Ask yourself, on account of his bones, if he is not God’s Righteous One and God’s Lamb.  Ask yourself, on account of his pierced side, if he is not the sin-forgiver and life-saver.  I say, take a look.  And you will see God himself stooping down and reaching out to meet your deepest need.  That’s God’s grace, God’s unfailing love going out to you through Jesus.  Now is the time to see it.  Now is the time to reckon with the Lord Jesus.

If not now, the Day will come when you will be taken against your will to the foot of the cross.  In God’s plan, every eye will see Jesus.  We all must look upon the One we have pierced.  It is far better for you to be graciously led by the Word of the Lord’s eye-witness today, and to believe his testimony, than to remain in your unbelief until that Great and Terrible Day when a final judgment is made against you.

Jesus said, “Whoever hears my words and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”  The testimony of the eye-witness is more than a word about Jesus.  It is the Word of Jesus – His will for our life.

What is that Word again?  Listen one last time.  He was pierced for our transgressions – our sins – but by His wounds we are healed.  Believe it.  And live!

Amen.