May 8, 2025 - John 19:18 - "Behold, They Crucified Him"

John 19:18

"Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst."

This scripture stands as one of the most sobering and yet glorious declarations in all of Scripture: "Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst." In this brief verse, the apostle John encapsulates the essence of the Gospel message succinctly yet profoundly. Here is the eternal Son of God, the spotless Lamb, crucified between two malefactors, numbered with the transgressors as foretold by the prophets. He is not merely the victim of injustice but the willing Substitute, bearing the sins of His people under the wrath of God. This is where divine justice and mercy meet—in the shame and agony of the cross, where Jesus Christ accomplished redemption once for those elected sinners given to Him by the Father (John 17:9-19). Every word of this verse directs our hearts to the heart of God's redemptive purpose: “they crucified him.” It is here that the glory of God's sovereign grace in saving sinners by Christ alone shines brightest. 

1. The manner of Christ's death is significant: It was the death of the cross. This form of execution was chosen to vividly illustrate the weight of sin that Jesus our LORD willingly bore for His people. In Galatians 3:10-13 we read, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"

These verses emphasize the curse of sin, which Jesus took upon Himself. He was bound to the cross as a Sacrificial Offering, fulfilling His role as the Savior appointed for this purpose by God. His crucifixion, suspended between Heaven and earth, served to reconcile and justify elect sinners to God through His shed blood, "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement" (Romans 5:9-11). This brutal death underscores the severity of our sin before a Holy God, highlighting the depth of God's love as expressed in Romans 8:32 where He spared not His own Son for our redemption, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"

2. Christ's companions in death were not incidental: They were intentionally chosen by God. Two others were crucified alongside Him, fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 53:12, "Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." Among them was a malefactor who, though initially reviling our LORD Jesus, yet was chosen by God for salvation. This illustrates the sovereign grace of God, Who chooses whom He will save while ensuring that all whom He chooses will indeed turn to Christ. Despite both being guilty sinners only one was elected by the LORD, to whom Jesus declared, "Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43) 

3. Jesus bore the reproach of sinners, taking upon Himself the sins of many, Hebrews 9:28: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second timewithout sin unto salvation.” He endured the shame and disgrace of being crucified among criminals so that those chosen by God would not bear it themselves. His death was not among sacrificial animals in the temple but among condemned individuals, signifying His role as the Just for the unjust, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" (1 Peter 3:18). It was by His sacrificial death that He once and forever, fully, freely and finally redeemed, reconciled and justified those that the Father gave Him before the foundation of the world, "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:10-14).  

    In summary, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ exemplifies the depth of God's love, the extent of His Grace and the magnitude of His Sacrifice for sinners that He purposed to save from before time and did save in time in the death of His Son, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:4-6).