John 19-21
What I Noticed Today (John 19-21)
John 19
In verses 1-5, (See also Matthew 27:27-56 and Mark 15:16-20), Pilate had Jesus flogged. The soldiers made a crown of thorns, placed it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him. They taunted Jesus and slapped Him.
Pilate went back outside and said for the third time he found no grounds to charge Jesus with a crime. Jesus was brought out, and Pilate said, here is the man.
Note: Pilate may have thought that punishing Jesus by flogging Him would satisfy the crowd.
In verses 6-17, the chief priests and temple police demanded Jesus be crucified, but Pilate again said he found no grounds to charge Jesus. He told them to crucify Jesus themselves, but the Jews said Jesus needed to be crucified because He claimed to be the Son of God.
Note: The claim to be the Son of God was blasphemy, according to the Jewish leaders, and this, they said, demanded the death penalty.
Pilate was more afraid than ever, so he asked Jesus where He was from, but Jesus did not answer (fulfilling Isaiah 53:7). Jesus told Pilate he had no authority except that which God gave. Again Pilate tried to release Jesus, but the Jews said if you release Him, you are no friend of Caesar’s.
Note: Pilate was an appointed Roman governor. Pilate was not about to allow a bad report to go back to Caesar that suggested Pilate was not loyal to Rome.
Pilate had Jesus brought back out, took a seat at his judging bench, and told the Jews, here is your king. It was about 6 am on Passover (Friday).
Note: Friday, the day of Passover, was also called the day of preparation for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which followed immediately after Passover.
The Jews again cried out they wanted Jesus crucified, claiming they have no king but Caesar. With that, Pilate relented and turned Jesus over to be crucified.
Note: The Jews’ claim that they had no king, but Caesar was certainly ironic since they had just denied their true king and Messiah.
In verses 17-37, (see also Matthew 27:50, Mark 15:20-37, and Luke 23:26-46), John describes the crucifixion and death of Jesus.
They took Jesus to the place of the skull (Golgotha, which means; it of the skull or skull place). They crucified Jesus with two others, one on either side of Him. Pilate had a sign made and placed on the cross that said, Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews. It was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The chief priests objected to the term King of the Jews, but Pilate refused to change it.
The four soldiers divided Jesus' clothes among them and cast lots for His tunic (fulfilling Psalm 22:18).
Standing near the cross was Jesus’ mother, Mary’s sister Salome (the mother of John), Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Jesus said to His disciple (John), here is your mother.
Note: In His final moments, Jesus assigned the care of His mother to John. Mary was likely a widow in her early 50’s with no personal assets or income. Jesus fulfilled the commandment to “honor” His mother by providing for her care.
Note: Between verses 27 and 28 was the three hours of darkness mentioned in Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s gospel.
Jesus realized everything had been fulfilled according to scripture. He said, “It is finished,” bowed His head, and gave up His spirit.
Because it was preparation day and the Jews didn’t want the bodies hanging on the crosses over the Sabbath, they requested Pilate order the men's legs to be broken to speed their death. They broke the legs of the two men who were with Jesus, but they found He was already dead when they came to Him. To be sure Jesus was dead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, and blood and water came out (fulfilling Zechariah 12:10).
In verses 38-42, (See also Matthew 27:57-60, Mark 15:43-46, and Luke 23:50-54), John describes the burial of Jesus.
Joseph of Arimathea, who was secretly one of Jesus’ disciples because he was a member of the Sanhedrin, asked Pilate for Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission, so Joseph took Jesus’ body. Nicodemus brought a mixture of about 75 pounds of myrrh and aloe, and together with Joseph, they wrapped Jesus’ body in linen cloth along with the spices. They then took Jesus to a new tomb that was nearby and laid Him there.
Note: It was important to care for Jesus’ body before sundown when the Sabbath started, and all work had to stop.
John 20
In verses 1-10, (See also Matthew 28:5-8, Mark 16:2-8, and Luke 24:1-11), John describes the empty tomb of Jesus.
On the first day of the week (Sunday), Mary Magdalene came to the tomb while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been removed from in front of the tomb. She ran to report this to Peter and the other disciple (John). Peter and John started running to the tomb, but John got there first and saw the linen cloths lying there. When Peter arrived, he also saw them and went into the tomb. Then John entered the tomb, saw, and believed.
Note: The mention of the head wrapping being folded up seems trivial but indicates that Jesus’ departure was unhurried. Later there would be claims that Jesus’ body was stolen, but it makes no sense for someone to steal His body and then carefully fold the linen headcloth.
In verses 11-18, Mary stood outside the tomb, crying because Jesus was gone. She saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been. Mary thought the angel was a gardener and asked where he had taken Jesus’ body. Jesus called her by name, and she recognized Him and called Him Rabbouni (Teacher). Jesus told her not to cling to Him because He had not yet ascended to the Father but to go and tell the others that He is ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God. Mary went and told the disciples what she had seen and what Jesus had told her about ascending to the Father.
Note: The disciples, Peter and John, had left, but Mary remained. It is then that the angels appeared, and Jesus made Himself known to her. In Jesus’ instruction to Mary, do not miss the personalization that occurs when Jesus says My Father and your Father, My God and your God.
In verses 19-23 (See also Mark 16:14 and Luke 24:36-43), John describes the commissioning of the disciples.
On the evening of the first day of the week (Sunday), the disciples were together when suddenly Jesus appeared in their midst. He showed them His hands and side, and they rejoiced. He commissioned them saying as the Father sent Me, so also I am sending you. He breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit if you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven if you retain the sins of any they are retained.
Note: Verses 22 and 23 are difficult to understand. Did Jesus give the Holy Spirit at that moment when we know from John 7:39, the Holy Spirit would not come until Jesus had been glorified (returned to heaven)? Did Jesus give the disciples the power to forgive sins when scriptures tell us clearly that only God can forgive sin? Most likely, the disciples, based on someone’s confession of faith, were given the authority to declare sins forgiven. If someone rejected Jesus, then their sins stayed with them.
In verses 24-29, Thomas was not in the room when Jesus first appeared, so Thomas said, if I don’t personally see the marks on Him, I will never believe. After eight days, when the disciples were together again, Jesus suddenly appeared in their midst. Jesus spoke to Thomas, telling him to look and touch His wounds, not to be an unbeliever, but to believe. Thomas believed and said, My Lord, my God.
In verses 30-31, John writes Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of the disciples that are not written, but these were written so you would believe Jesus is Messiah.
John 21
In verses 1-14, John describes Jesus’ third appearance to the disciples.
Note: “After this” in verse 1 refers to the feast of Unleavened Bread the following Sunday. After the Feast was over, the disciples went to Galilee by the Sea of Tiberius (Galilee). Peter, Nathanael, James, John, and two other disciples were together when Peter announced that he was going fishing. They went out in the boat but didn’t catch anything all night. At daybreak, Jesus appeared and told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat. They did and caught so many fish they could not pull them all in. John said to Peter; it is the Lord!
Peter jumped overboard and swam to shore to be with Jesus while the rest of the disciples rowed to shore with the net full of fish. They had caught 153 large fish. Jesus invited them to join Him for breakfast. Jesus blessed the bread and the fish, and they ate.
In verses 15-19, when they had finished breakfast, Jesus turned to Simon Peter and asked him if Peter loved Him more than these (probably referring to the other disciples). Peter answered, yes, Lord, You know that I love You. Jesus said, feed my lambs. Jesus asked a second time, and Peter confirmed his love for Jesus a second time. Jesus said, shepherd my sheep. Jesus asked Peter a third time, and for a third time, Peter confirmed his love for Jesus. Jesus said, feed my sheep. Then Jesus said, follow me.
Note: There are six words for “love” in Greek (agape, phileo, eros, lutus, pragma, philautia). “Agape” means to love in a social or moral sense. “Phileo” means to be fond of or to love in a brotherly sense. When Jesus asked Peter the first time, Jesus asked, do you “agape” me? And Peter answered he “phileo” Him. Same words in the second question. In the third question, Jesus asked, do you “phileo” me, and Peter responded, you know I “phileo” you. Peter had denied the Lord three times. Now the Lord required Peter to affirm Him three times.
Jesus also told Peter when he was young, he could come and go as he pleased, but when he grew old, someone would tie him up and lead him where he did not want to go.
Note: In verse 18, Jesus foretold the death of Peter as a martyr.
In verses 20-23, Peter turned around and saw John following them. Peter asked Jesus what about him? Jesus said, if I want Him to remain until I come, what is that to you? Do not worry about John; you should just follow Me. So Peter reported to the other disciples that John would not die, but that is not what Jesus said or what He meant.
In verses 24-25, John closed his gospel, attesting to the fact that he wrote the gospel and the truth of what was written. He added that many other things were done by Jesus that was not written down, and all the books in the world couldn’t contain a record of all He did.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- Peter and some of the disciples returned to Galilee to their old lives as fishermen but were unsuccessful. When they followed Jesus’ direction, they were very successful. Regardless of expertise and years of experience, we will always be more successful in our endeavors when we follow Jesus’ direction!
- Despite Peter’s denial of Jesus, Jesus reaffirmed him, calling him again to follow Him. We may slip and fall in our walk with the Lord. We may even deny Him like Peter. But Jesus is full of grace and is willing to redeem us just as He did Peter.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.