Lessons from John 19: Keep the Sabbath Holy

We begin with the proof of Jesus death and we can see from verse 31 that Jesus death was of the utmost importance to the Jewish Religious Leaders. Why? Because not only was it the day of Preparation, the day before the celebration of the Passover Feast, it was also the day before the Jewish Sabbath. A day in which the Jewish people did not take lightly. In fact, they did everything within their power to keep the Sabbath holy by not doing any work on it.

Now, it’s interesting that the Passover feast did not always fall on the same day as the Sabbath. In Exodus 12, we are told that God had instructed Moses and Aaron in Egypt that in the month of Nissan (which refers to the month of March or April) on the 10th day each man was to take a lamb for his family, one for each household, one without defect and take care of him until the 14th day, when all of the people of the community of Israel were to slaughter their lambs, at sunset. Then they were to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses, where they were to eat the lambs.

They were to eat in haste and burn the leftovers, leaving nothing for the morning. Because on that same night God promised to pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. Proving that He was the Lord or God over all! He said the blood would be a sign for you on the houses where you are: and when He saw the blood, He promised to “passover” His people and that no destructive plague would fall upon them or their household when He struck Egypt.

And in remembrance of that day and in recognition of God’s divine providence in freeing the Jewish people from their slavery to the Egyptian people, the Israelites were instructed by God to come together once a year one, in celebration of what God had done for them.

Little did they know, that this year’s celebration would turn out quite different. God was doing something new, which had been told or prophesied about since ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Not only had God freed them for the slavery of the Egyptians in the past, but this year God’s Son, the perfect man, had come to give His life for the remission of the sins of the people. Setting those who believe in His sanctifying work one the cross free from the guilt, shame, and penalty of their sins.

This should have come as no surprise to them for it had been prophesied of throughout the holy scriptures. In fact, it was the next event on the holy calendar, yet they missed it. They missed it because they were so self-absorbed, so self-focused, that they even denied the great signs that occurred that day. Signs such as the devastating darkness, the great earthquake, and the tearing the of the temple curtain that had already taken place.

Do you ever get like that? I believe we all do! In fact, I believe we live in a world that is so distracted by other things that we have a hard time focusing for long on anything! That is the great deception of the enemy! To try and distract us and the world from the things that are really going on, to tempt us to become so self-absorbed that we are so earthly minded that we are no heavenly good!

So what do we do? What’s the answer? Disconnect! Give yourself a time out! Scripture tells us to, Be Still and Know that He is God! Matthew 6:33 commands us as God’s people to, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” So, the question is, Are you taking time out each day to be still and see and recognize the things God is doing not only in your own life but also in the lives of others! Do you see or know what He is doing in your community and the world as a whole.

Satan would like nothing better than to tempt us to be so busy that we too miss the sign of the times! Because ladies if we really understood the times we are living in we would spend less time on self and more time telling others about Jesus Christ.

Well, it’s interesting that though these Jewish Religious Leaders were zealous for getting ready for the Passover Celebration and keeping the Sabbath holy, they were equally zealous to crucify and kill an innocent man out of envy and jealousy!

Now, though the Romans would have left the bodies on the cross to die and allow the vultures to feast upon them, the Jews could not.

You see, according to the Law in Deuteronomy 21:22-23, “If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree (or cross) overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” And so if there was no family member who came forward to claim the body of the deceased criminal they were thrown into a common grave with other criminals, where their bodies would then rot and decay.

So, in order to expedite the death of those on the cross that day, so that the Jews could continue on with their Passover and Sabbath Celebration, which began at sunset and was now just hours away, the Jewish Religious Leaders went before Pilate and requested that the legs of these men be broken. You see, as I said last week, these men’s feet would have been nailed together on their crossed so that they could push themselves up, which would open up the chest cavity and allow air to get in, which would prolong their suffering. But, if their legs were broken, they could no longer push up and receive the life-giving oxygen that they need and therefore death by asphyxiation would come quicker!

And so, with Pilate’s approval, the soldiers took an iron mallet and broke the legs of the two thieves who were hung alongside Jesus that day. Yet, when they came to Jesus, these professional executioners found that Jesus was already dead. So, they did not break His legs. Another sign that Jesus was indeed the Son of God and Man, because God had said through the prophets in Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12 and Psalm 34:20 that, “He protects all His bones, not on of them will be broken.” And they were not!

Yet, just in case there was any question that Jesus was not dead, one of the soldiers who stood by, took his spear and pierced Jesus side with it. And when he did, we are told that a sudden flow of blood and water came pouring out from Jesus side.

Now in your notes, you will find a whole section on the mixture of blood and water that flowed from Jesus side.

But, I would also like to add that from John’s point of view, as an eyewitness, we are told in verse 35 that it is probable to connect what John saw with what had been written in I John 5:6-8. In both passages, water and blood and testimony are mentioned. In this context, John seems to be saying that the water that flowed out of Jesus side was a symbolic reference to the Holy Spirit who would now be given because Jesus was now glorified.

Remember in John 7:39 Jesus said, Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water (the Holy Spirit) will flow from within him. Blood and the show of blood that flowed from Jesus side pointed to the sacrificial system in which a lamb was offered as the Passover sacrifice. This should have revealed to the Jews that Jesus was indeed the Passover Lamb. They were the experts in offering sacrifices to the Lord, in which the priest was to pierce the heart of the sacrificial animal in order to allow the blood to flow forth freely at the instant of death so that it could be used for sprinkling.

And so this flow of blood and water revealed to John, and to us today, that Jesus had indeed departed and returned to the glory which He had with the Father before the creation of the world, just as Jesus had stated earlier in John 17:5.

Well, John goes on in verse 36 to tell us that these things happened so that the scripture might be fulfilled; that no one of His bones would be broken, which they were not and as verse 37 says, “They will look upon the one they have pierced.” Now by the time of John’s writing, the events of Acts 2 had already taken place and the people had indeed been horrified when they realized what they had done to their own Messiah.

In fact, the scripture tells us that after hearing Peter preach the truth of these events the people were cut to the heart and asked Peter and the other disciples, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Peter says, “This promise is not only for you but for your children and for all who were far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

And so, it happened just as John the Baptist stated in John 1:29, Jesus, the Lamb of God came to take away the sins of the world and therefore all who place their faith and trust in Him have been given new life! For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Principle: Jesus, the Lamb of God opened the way for lost sinners to be reconciled to God.

Terri Hamman

Faith & Fitness Coach