Fulfilment of Prophecy
December 30, 2019
Commentary
There were four Roman soldiers at the crucifixion. These four divided up Jesus’ clothes, which would have included his robe, his sandals, his belt, and his head covering. Each would have received one of these. His Tunic, however, was woven in one piece from top to bottom. They did not want to destroy it by ripping it into four parts (vv. 23-24). Instead, they gambled for it, thus fulfilling the Scriptures (Psalm 22:18).
In contrast to the four Roman soldier, John tells us of four women present at the crucifixion. These were Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary’s sister (Jesus’ Aunt), Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Of the four gospel writers, only John mentioned Mary the mother of Jesus being at the crucifixion. Jesus was concerned about His mothers’ welfare. One of His last requests was for John to take care of His mother (vv. 25-27). John was Jesus’ cousin on his mother’s side, making him a natural choice for this duty. Jesus’ half-brothers were absent from the crucifixion. They likely did not believe in Him until after His resurrection.
The life and death of our Lord was a fulfillment of many prophecies. When He said, “I thirst,” this was also a fulfillment of Scripture (Psalm 69:21), as well as the putting of vinegar to His lips (vv. 28-29). There were physical reasons for His thirst (Psalm 22:15), but there were also spiritual reasons (Psalm 42:1-2). When He said, “it is finished,” He meant that His redemptive work was complete and that the debt for sin had been paid in full (v. 30). The blood of the Old Testament sacrifices could never take away sin; it only covered sin. The blood of the Lamb of God, His Son, can take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).
Application
Think of the reality of Jesus dying on the cross to pay for your sin and mine. It is something that I will never fully understand in this life. I need to thank Him more often for dying for me.
John 19:23– 30 (NET)
23 Now when the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and made four shares, one for each soldier, and the tunic remained. (Now the tunic was seamless, woven from top to bottom as a single piece.) 24 So the soldiers said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but throw dice to see who will get it.” This took place to fulfill the scripture that says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they threw dice.” So the soldiers did these things.
25 Now standing beside Jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 So when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, look, here is your son!” 27 He then said to his disciple, “Look, here is your mother!” From that very time the disciple took her into his own home.
28 After this Jesus, realizing that by this time everything was completed, said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty!” 29 A jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a branch of hyssop and lifted it to his mouth. 30 When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Illustration: Henry Martyn’s Accomplishments
Henry Martyn, a Cambridge University student, was honored at only 20 years of age for his achievements in mathematics. He was given the highest recognition possible in that field, and yet he felt an emptiness inside. He said that instead of finding fulfillment in his achievements, he had “only grasped a shadow.” After evaluating his goals, Martyn sailed to India as a missionary at the age of twenty four. When he arrived, he prayed, “Lord, let me burn out for You.” In the next 7 years that preceded his death, he translated the New Testament into three difficult Eastern languages. These achievements were certainly not passing “shadows.” (Our Daily Bread, January 21, 1994).