Day 1204: They crucified Him - John 19 vs 14 - 22

14-16 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. (I.e. around noon) He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. 17 So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.

19-22 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’, but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” John 19:14-22 English Standard Version

Was there ever a time when so few words were used - to report such a momentous moment ? Verse 18 simply says: “There they crucified him - and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.” John states what happened as a mater of fact. He doesn't embellish it with any words of his own, as the News media today are inclined to do. There's no slow motion replay. No amazing adjectives to describe what actually happened. He simply says “there they crucified him.” So who were the 'they'?

It was essentially Pontius Pilate. But it was also the Jewish leaders who cried out “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!”. Lastly, it was the soldiers who carried out the sentence. But even at this moment of His deepest sufferings, the name of Jesus was lifted up. Pilate's inscription said in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

But was there another hand in the matter? Preaching on the Day of Pentecost the apostle Peter said: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know - this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:22-23)

The apostle Paul said: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) And John himself said “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.“ (John 3:16)

So those who crucified Jesus that day could not have done the deed unless God allowed it. Paul gives the reason why. In 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 he says;: “We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Isaiah 55:3 says: “He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities;upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,and with His wounds we are healed. “

The Father gave the Son to be lifted up on the cross. But was Jesus a willing sacrifice?

Hear His own words in John 10:17-18. “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” And so, without any fanfare, John simply says that: “There they crucified Him.” The most momentous moment in the history of our world. It wasn’t just the king of the Jews they crucified, it was the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. May this wonderful truth sink in.