John 19 — The Crucifixion, Death, and Burial of Jesus
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If this were the last chapter, the end of the story, I would find it too difficult to read. As it is, I find it hard to read the account because of the cruelty of Roman torture, but we know it is not the end of the story. Our Daily Bread’s devotion today was based on the last few verses of the Bible and titled “Believing in Advance.” We anticipate the second coming of Jesus, we wait with great expectation.
The current text very briefly describes Pilate’s interaction with Jesus. Pilate goes in and out of the palace several times, each time apparently trying to escape the ultimate order to have Jesus crucified. In an attempt to wash his hands of the murder, Pilate has a sign attached to the cross, “It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 17:19) as an explanation for his crucifixion. Anyone claiming to be king other than Caesar would certainly be a rebel. Against the protests of the Jewish leaders, and to be clear, “the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek” (17:20b).
Since the Sabbath was upon them, the Jewish leaders went about making their preparations, but “Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus” (17:38) and “Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds” (17:39) to properly bury Jesus (huge amount of spices!). From some of the writings on crucifixions by the Romans, the bodies were often simply discarded, but the Jews didn’t want that to tarnish their Sabbath. Perhaps they knew about Joseph and Nicodemus’ plan to bury Jesus and disregarded the kindness as an expedient way to remove the public display. After all, they really just wanted him out of sight and out of mind!
It always amazes me how God’s plan works through all things. The Jewish leaders certainly wished this was all over, but God was far from finished. Tomorrow we conclude the book of John with great hope and anticipation. Praise God this was not the last chapter!!