Community Group Discussion Guide

John 19:16b-42 – Weekend of July 28 & 29

I. Starter Question:

Have you ever been wrongly accused and disciplined for something you did not do? How did you handle that?

II. Discussion of Scripture:

Background & Context: In his prologue (vv 1-18) John tells us much about who Jesus is. He is the Word who was with God in the beginning. The Word Himself was God. All things were created through Him. Life was in Him, and this life was the light of man. His light shines through the darkness and the darkness did not even comprehend it. The great tragedy is that the Word became flesh, came into the world He created, to His own people, and they did not know Him or receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. John wrote his gospel so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in His name (John 20:31).

John 19:16–42 (ESV) 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion So they took Jesus, 17 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 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 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. 21 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.’ ” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

“They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

So the soldiers did these things, 25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

The Death of Jesus 28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar

full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Jesus’ Side Is Pierced 31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the

Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

Jesus Is Buried 38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the

Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

Teaching Points and Questions for Discussion: 1. This passage is represented as #87 on the timeline above.2. Jesus is crucified and buried

a. Verse 17: The word “bearing” is in the emphatic position in the Greek. Therefore it emphasizes Jesus bearing His own cross. Jesus did not deserve to bear the cross: we did, but He bore it in our place. We’re reminded that a prerequisite of being His disciple is that we bear our own cross (Luke 14:27). Picture Him as He bears His cross and what that would mean for your life as you seek to follow Him.

b. Verse 18: There, at Golgotha, they crucified Him. Our word “crucify” comes from the Latin “crucifigo.” Our word “excruciating” is a compound word meaning “out of the cross.” Jesus literally endured excruciating pain… pain out of (from) the cross.

c. Verses 19-22: The King of the Jews. Pilate has this label written on a sign in three languages: Aramaic (the local dialect), Latin (the language of the Romans) & Greek (the language of everyone else). Everyone can read Pilate’s sign and know who they were looking at.

i. Why do you suppose Pilate wrote this inscription for everyone to read? d. Verses 23-24: The soldiers divide Jesus’ garments and cast lots for His clothes.

i. Why is this an important part of the story? ii. This fulfills a prophecy in Psalm 22:18. What does that Psalm have to do with

Jesus’ situation on the cross?

e. Verses 25-27: John and Mary. This is Jesus’ 3rd saying on the cross.i. Read this passage carefully. What exactly does Jesus mean when He links

John and Mary in His mother-son statement?f. Verses 28-30: The death of Jesus.

i. Jesus’ 5th statement on the cross is a simple one, “I thirst,” a mere 4-letter word in the Greek.

1. For a man perhaps minutes from death, it may seem strange to cry out that He was thirsty. Why do you suppose Jesus mentioned His thirst here?

2. Jesus had springs of living water to give, that whoever drank from that water would never thirst again (John 4:14).

ii. Jesus’ 6th statement on the cross is still reverberating around the world even today. This saying is also a single word in the Greek… tetelestai. Usually translated as “It is finished,” the verb tetelstai is in the perfect tense in the Greek. This special verb tense depicts a past completed action with effects that are still going on at the present. This is amazingly significant because Jesus’ death finished His work and paid for all sins for all time (Heb. 7:27; 10:10,12,14; 1John 2:2). There is now no longer any [other] sacrifice for sins (Heb. 6:6; 10:26). Jesus is enough. This word is still reverberating through time to the present. The verb tense and the verses in Hebrews tell us that Jesus’ sacrifice is more than enough to take our sins and save us, even 2,000 years later.

iii. Jesus bows His head and gives up His spirit. The natural order here is reversed. Normally when one dies the spirit leaves then the head bows. This goes to prove what Jesus said earlier in John 10:17-18, where He says no one takes His life but He gives it up on His own accord. He has the power to lay it down and take it up again. Consider that, even as our Savior hang naked and beaten, hands and feet bound, tied and nailed fast to the cross, in His humility and drenched with our shame, in that most vulnerable position, He was in complete control, sovereign even over the moment of His death. Now consider that if He was in control of that situation, how much more is He in control over the situations we face daily, and over those which seem to burden us the most, even causing us years of pain. Know that no one takes what rightfully belongs to Him. He is sovereign over that painful situation in that relationship, over that job loss, over that terminal illness, over that wayward child. When we are helpless and hopeless, He is our Helper and our Hope (read Romans 8:31-39 & 1John 5:4-5).

g. Verses 31-37: Jesus’ side is pierced

i. The smashing of the lower leg bones was called in Latin the crurifragium. This caused death to occur fairly quickly by shock, loss of blood, and inability to breathe (the chest cavity would bear the pressure of the body’s weight after the legs were broken). Without this procedure, a person could live for many hours or even days. This crurifragium was done to the two thieves on each side of Jesus. (Bible Knowledge Commentary)

ii. Why is it significant that the soldiers did not break Jesus’ bones? iii. John reaffirms his reason for writing in verse 35, “that you also may believe.”

Why does John focus so much on this mission statement? What can we learn from this?

iv. Other religions downplay who Jesus is, and some deny He was crucified, and actually died in this manner. John goes to great lengths here to get the point across that Jesus was really, really dead.

1. Why is Jesus’ death and later resurrection important to our faith (as opposed to just faking a death, being resuscitated and walking out of the tomb later?

2. Why do you suppose people downplay the death and resurrection of Jesus?

h. Verses 38-42: the burial of Jesusi. Joseph and Nicodemus were very influential men. They were secret disciples

during His life, but now came public. It would have been very easy to stay in secret at this time.

1. Why do you suppose they went public after Jesus’ death? 2. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? 3. Are there secret disciples today? 4. What does it mean to be a secret disciple today? 5. Is a secret disciple a true disciple? 6. How can we minister to secret disciples to help them become bold in

their faith?

III. Responding in Prayer: Pray for your brothers and sisters in your Community Group that you all would be

emboldened in your faith, and encourage one another to live for Jesus openly in your neighborhoods and in your places of work.

Pray for yourself that you would trust that Jesus paid for your sins once for all time, and He has taken your past guilt and shame and nailed it to His cross. Trust him to overcome your current situations as you look to Him. “And the things of the earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

Pray for Henderson Hills and our worship pastor search, that God would continue the good work He is doing to equip this local body for many years to come, to trust in Him as He uses us to further His kingdom locally and globally.