The Crucifixion

Use these materials to go deeper into this message on your own, or with your small group. 
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 1-12)
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 13-26)
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 27-34)

If you’d like to follow along with us using the Gospel of John Scripture Journal, you’re welcome to purchase a copy here

8:40 Service | 10:00 Service | 11:20 Service | Sermon Audio

Good morning Chapel family. If you have been paying attention as we’ve walked through the Gospel of John, you’ve noticed a certain subject that Jesus keeps bringing up. For example…

John 3:14—Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.

John 10:11—I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 12:24—Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

John 12:32-33—32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

John 15:13—Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

You see the pattern? From the very start, Jesus’ thoughts were pointed toward the cross. He knew that was God’s will. He knew that was his mission. So everything he did during his three years of public ministry was leading up to this moment.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:18—For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. If your life lacks power—if your spiritual life feels week—if you don’t feel like your relationship with God is giving you the strength to handle the hard things in your life, you need to come and get a fresh look at the cross. Because the message of the cross is the power of God. You can study the teachings of Jesus and the miracles of Jesus and the example of Jesus, but if you don’t understand the cross, you don’t understand Jesus. And you’re missing the power.

So for the next two weeks, we’re going to focus on the cross.

Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane; he stood trial before the religious authorities; they accused him of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God, but they had no authority to execute him. So they brought him to the governor, Pontius Pilate, who interrogated him and handed him over to be crucified. Here’s what happened next—John 19, starting in verse 17—this is God’s Word for us today…

17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,

“They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.”

So this is what the soldiers did.

25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. This is the Word of the Lord.

The message of the cross is the power of God. If you want to experience that power, you have to see four things about the cross.

First, The Cross is Shameful. The other Gospels provide some details that John leaves out. Like the fact that, after Pilate handed Jesus over, he was brutally scourged with leather whips that had pieces of bone and metal tied to them. Roman scourging was nicknamed “the halfway death,” because it would literally tear the flesh away from the victim’s bones. John tells us that Jesus carried his own cross, which doesn’t mean the entire cross, because the vertical piece was left in the ground. So Jesus carried the horizontal crossbeam, which weighed up to 100 pounds. John doesn’t mention the fact that partway through that journey, which we call the Via Dolorosa—the way of suffering—Jesus collapsed, so they had to recruit a man named Simon of Cyrene to carry it the rest of the way.

They reached this place called “The Skull”—the Aramaic word for skull is “Golgotha;” anybody know the Latin word for “skull”? “Calvaria.” That’s where we get the word “Calvary.” And it simply says, “there they crucified him.” Why doesn’t John give more details? Why doesn’t he tell us that Jesus was forced to lie on the ground, and that 5-7 inch nails (more like railroad spikes) were hammered through his wrists? Why doesn’t he tell us that the crossbeam was then hoisted up—with Jesus dangling from it—and nailed to the vertical piece? Why doesn’t he tell us that the feet of Jesus were then held together, and spiked into the cross with one more nail? Well, because in the first century, everybody knew exactly what crucifixion was. You didn’t have to describe it. Just those four words: “there they crucified him,” and that was enough. Everybody knew this was the ultimate in brutality; it was the ultimate in human suffering; and…it was the ultimate in shame.

The cross is shameful.

It’s easy to miss this, but verse 17 says Carrying his own cross, he went out… Meaning outside the city walls of Jerusalem. That’s significant, because in the Old Testament law, when an animal was offered as a sacrifice, the remains of that animal had to be brought outside the city walls and burned. And the person who carried out that task had to wash their clothes before they could come back inside the walls. So being outside the walls symbolized being unclean and impure and shameful. And that’s where Jesus was crucified.

It’s shameful to be stripped naked in public before you’re executed.

And it’s shameful to be crucified between two thieves. By doing that, Rome was sending a very intentional message: this is what we think of someone who dares to call himself a “king.” They are nothing but a common criminal. And yet…there was something else happening beneath the surface. Isaiah 53:12 says he was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. The men hanging on either side of Jesus were transgressors—they were lawbreakers—and Jesus was numbered with them. Like so many other times, by Rome doing what they did, they were unwittingly fulfilling centuries-old prophecy.

But that doesn’t change the fact that the cross is shameful. It’s publicly humiliating. It strips away any sense of dignity or privacy that the person has. And we need to see that Jesus was willing to do that for us. And we need to know that when we feel exposed or embarrassed or ashamed or like our privacy and dignity are stripped away, Jesus gets it. And he stands in it with us.

Philip Yancey wrote about a Bible study that his wife, Janet, led in a nursing home. There was an Alzheimer’s patient named Betsy who came every week. Every week, Janet—the leader—would introduce herself, and every week Betsy would respond as if she’d never seen her before. After a few weeks, Janet learned that Betsy had retained her ability to read, so Janet started calling on her to read the words of a hymn. So one Friday, the residents selected “The Old Rugged Cross,” and Betsy started reading: "On a hill far away stands an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame," and then she stopped. She got agitated, and she said, "I can't go on! It's too sad! Too sad!" Some of the seniors gasped. Because in years of living at that home, not once had Betsy shown the ability to put words together in a coherent sentence like that. Something strange was happening. Janet said, "That's fine, Betsy. You don't have to keep reading if you don't want to."

But she started reading again. And she stopped at the same place. A tear rolled down both of her cheeks. Again she said, “I can’t go on! It’s so sad!” So finally, when she calmed down, Janet led her to the elevator to bring her back to her room. And in the elevator, she started singing the hymn from memory. It was choppy and really off-key, but she sang it: “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame…” And she sang the whole first verse, with tears streaming down her face.

And Philip Yancey wrote this:

Somewhere in that tattered mind, damaged neurons had tapped into a network of old connections to resurrect a pattern of meaning for Betsy. In her confusion, two things only stood out: suffering and shame. Those two words summarize the human condition, the condition she lives in every day of her life. Who knows more suffering and shame than Betsy? For her, the hymn answered that question: Jesus does.

If you are dealing with the shame of a broken marriage, or an addiction in your family, or unemployment, or one too many hospital visits where they make you wear a gown that opens in the back, you need to know that Jesus gets it, and he’s walked through the ultimate shame for you, and he’ll walk through your shame with you.

Next, The Cross is Universal. Pontius Pilate has a notice fastened to the cross: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” The Jewish leadership is not happy with that: “Don’t write ‘King of the Jews,’ you should say he claimed to be King of the Jews.” And Pilate says, “What I’ve written, I’ve written.” In other words, “Deal with it.” I think Pilate is resentful because of how the religious leaders have forced his hand, and this notice—this sign—is his opportunity to kind of stick one to them. To remind them he’s still in charge.

But here’s the important thing: he has the notice written in three languages: Aramaic, because that was the language most understood by the Jewish population—it’s very similar to Hebrew; Latin, because that was the official language of the Roman occupiers; and Greek, because that was sort of the “international language” used for trade all across the Empire. So this announcement of Jesus as king was written in a way that every person—of any ethnicity—could understand.

And once again, God is using Pontius Pilate in a way that Pilate is clueless of. Because with that sign, he’s announcing the fact that Jesus is a King for everyone. He’s for Jews and he’s for Romans and he’s for Greeks. Fifty days after this, after Jesus had risen from the grave and ascended into heaven, on the day of Pentecost—another great Jewish holiday; the Holy Spirit was poured out on all the believers, and remember what they started doing? Speaking in other languages. Not just the three languages that sign was written in; many more languages. And so all these people, who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost, could hear these Christians declaring the wonders of God in their own language! Because the gospel of Jesus was for all of them. And that has always been God’s plan. Isaiah 49:6 says…

“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

Pontius Pilate had no idea he was planting the seeds for a worldwide missionary movement, but he was! Because the cross is for everyone. This is why The Chapel supports about 40 global missionaries. This is why we send mission teams all over the world every year. Because what happened on the cross that day paid for the sins of the world. If your spiritual life lacks power, maybe you have underestimated the scope and the reach of the cross of Christ.

Third, The Cross is Missable. A Roman execution squad consisted of four soldiers, called legionnaires. They were the men who actually carried out the crucifixion. And since victims were stripped naked, there was a small pile of clothing by the side of the cross. Every Jewish man wore five pieces of clothing: a turban, an undergarment, an outer robe, a belt, and sandals. Five pieces of clothing; four soldiers; so each guy got one piece…with one left over: the undergarment. Someone suggests tearing it into four equal pieces, but another one says, “Let’s not tear it—let’s cast lots for it.” Casting lots was like throwing dice. And once again, messianic prophecy is being fulfilled by people who had no idea they’re fulfilling prophecy: Psalm 22 says “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.”

So you have to picture this: with the greatest person who’s ever walked the earth slowly dying just feet away, these guys are throwing dice to see who gets a piece of long underwear. Which shows us: the cross of Christ is tragically missable. You can be right next to it, and not see it.

Last year, Norma Jean and I were in New York, and we decided to take a little sightseeing tour around the New York Harbor. It was way better than we thought it would be. Perfect summer evening, the sun was setting. The highlight was passing right in front of the Statue of Liberty, which was spectacular—I took this picture on my phone. Right across the aisle from us there was a group of three young women—they were international tourists. And for the entire cruise—I’m not exaggerating—for the entire 3 hours—they were taking selfies. Of themselves; of each other; they were changing their poses, changing their seating positions, they were asking other people to take

pictures of them. One of the greatest landmarks of our country was right next to them…and they were missing it.

Just like the soldiers were. They had seen so many crosses, and carried out so many crucifixions, and seen so much death. It was just part of their job…and they were numb to it. And the same thing can happen to us. See, here’s the problem for some of you: you have been around so many churches, and so many church people, and you’ve heard so many sermons…you’ve become numb to it. It’s just noise.

This past year at The Chapel, we ran a course called Alpha. It’s a basic course for people who are exploring Christianity. We had about fifty people go through that class, and some of them were people who had been at The Chapel for years, but they felt like they were missing something. So at the end of the 10-week course, I sat with some of the participants and asked them how it was. Several people told me, “I have heard the message of the cross and salvation so many times, but for some reason, I never got it—it never clicked. I see it now! And it’s changed everything.”

So if the message of Christ and the cross has become too familiar and it just doesn’t thrill you, don’t continue to miss it! Ask God to open your eyes to the power of the cross. Maybe by taking Alpha—we’re doing it again this fall. Or maybe just by truly being present when you come on Sundays. You can miss it! But don’t.

And then one more thing: The Cross is Familial. Pick it up in verse 26: 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. Jesus’ mother, Mary, is probably in her late 40s or early 50s; she’s apparently widowed. It’s not clear why one of Jesus’ biological brothers isn’t there to care for her—maybe because they don’t yet believe in Jesus at this point; maybe because they just aren’t around. But the point is: from the cross, Jesus focuses on the well-being of his mother. He sees John standing there—that’s “the disciple Jesus loved—and he says to his mother, “Here is your son,” and he says to John, “Here is your mother.” In other words, from the cross, he creates a new family.

Remember the time when Jesus is teaching a group of people, and somebody says, “Rabbi, your mother and brothers are outside—they want to see you.” Remember what Jesus says? It’s in Matthew 12:48. 48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” So Jesus has always been about building a family that’s deeper than biological connections. And here at the cross, he was placing Mary into that family. You might have great relationships with your biological family—I hope you do. Or you might not. But here’s the great news: there is a family that will outlast our biological families.

Have you opened yourself up to that spiritual family? This summer I’m going to spend some time at the Jersey Shore with a couple of friends that have become my family. They’ve seen me at my best, and they’ve seen me at my worst. They’ve heard me stand up and preach, and they’ve seen me argue with my wife over petty things. And they still love me. I can’t wait to hang out with them. Have you tasted some of the joy of being known and loved by people that you don’t share any DNA with, but you have the cross of Christ in common—and it’s stronger than family? If not, you’re missing the power of the cross.

So let me come back to what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:18—For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. So if

your spiritual life lacks power, come to the cross. If you’re getting confused by all the details of the Bible, come to the cross. If you’re forgetting what this faith is all about, come to the cross.

The cross is shameful, so we can know Jesus will stand with us in all our shame.

The cross is universal, so it drives us outward to share Jesus with the nations.

The cross is missable, so open your eyes and see it freshly.

And the cross is familial, so open yourself up to the power of a spiritual family.

About two years ago, we decided to redesign the logo of The Chapel, and we thought about a few options. But ultimately we decided to make it super simple. And you know what it is: it’s the cross. Honestly, to some people it probably looks simplistic, or even foolish. But that’s okay. Because to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.