Rev. Jacob Dandy, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church and School in Terra Bella, CA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study John 19:31-42.
The Jews ask Pilate to break the legs of those who are crucified in order to hasten death. Jesus’ bones are not broken because He is already dead; this fulfills Scripture and reminds us that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. When the soldier pierces Jesus’ side with a spear, blood and water flow forth. This does not only indicate that Jesus is, in fact, dead. This event fulfills Scripture and points to Jesus as the source of true eternal life as He pours it out through His means of grace. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus receive the body of Jesus from the cross in order to give their Lord an honorable burial. The location of Jesus’ new tomb in a garden is significant. By His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus is undoing the curse of sin that came about in the Garden of Eden so that He can take us to the eternal garden of the new creation in the resurrection of the dead.
“The Word Made Flesh” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the Gospel according to St. John. The disciple whom Jesus loved wrote his Gospel account as an eyewitness to Jesus’ life and ministry. As we read the Word of God recorded by St. John, the Holy Spirit works in us so that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so have life by faith in His name.
