JOHN 19:1 – 42
Bible Study Notes Rev. Betsy Perkins
Jesus is Crucified and Buried
- What is the most painful thing you have had to endure?
Joe Boyd, Bible Experiment – Gospel of John (RightNowMedia), 1:46:30 – 1:57:45
King or Man? (19:1-5)
- What does Pilate’s purpose seem to be for having Jesus tortured and teased (verse 5)?
- In Genesis 1:27, what is unique about God’s creation of mankind? What was God’s purpose for mankind?
Pilate says the words that still haunt us: ‘Look! Here is the man!’ Here is the man! Here is the true image of the true God. Here is the one who has brought God’s wisdom into the world. Here is the living embodiment of God, the one who has made the invisible God visible. Here is the king.
N.T. Wright
- How is Jesus reflecting the image of God in this scene?
Crucify Him! (19:6-16a):
- When Pilate again declares that Jesus is has done nothing deserving execution, what is the accusation the Jewish leaders then make against Jesus?
- Why did Pilate become afraid? (also see Matthew 27:19)
- Who is holding the power in this situation? Who holds greater responsibility, and therefore, greater guilt?
- What is ‘abuse of power’? Where do we see it in this situation? Where do we see it today?
- Read Psalm 44:3-4 and 47:1-2, as well as Isaiah 9:6-7. Who had God intended to be the king of His people? Who do the Jewish leaders now claim to be their king?
- Can you think of modern day situations in which religious leaders pledge loyalty to an earthly ‘king’ in order to gain or to retain power?
The King of the Jews (19:16b-27):
- A placard stating the person’s crime or the reason for their execution was usually fixed above them in Roman times. What is the ‘crime’ for which Jesus is being crucified?
- What is the chief priest’s objection to the ‘crime’ as Pilate wrote it?
- John points to the fulfillment of Psalm 22:18. Read Psalm 22 and find other ways in which Jesus’ experience is foreshadowed in David’s psalm.
- Which of Jesus’ followers stay close to Jesus during his difficult ordeal?
- We know that Jesus had other living siblings, so why does he entrust his mother and a disciple to one another’s care? Which disciple was it?
The Death of Jesus (19:28-37):
- What do you think Jesus meant when he said, “It is finished”? What had been completed?
The word that I’ve translated ‘It’s all done!’ is actually a single word in the original language. It’s the word that people would write on a bill after it had been paid. The bill is dealt with. It’s finished. The price has been paid. Yes, says John: and Jesus’ work is now complete, in that sense as in every other. It is upon this finished, completed work that his people from that day to this can stake their lives. N.T. Wright
- Read Deuteronomy 21:22-23. Why was it important to the Jewish leaders that Jesus’ body be taken down from the cross instead of being left there for days as was typical?
- What is the regulation about the Passover lamb in Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12? How did this also apply to Jesus as the Lamb of God?
- Read the prophesies of Zechariah 12:10-13:1 and Isaiah 53:4-5. How was this fulfilled in Jesus’ death?
- Why does John carefully point out the ways in which scripture was fulfilled in Jesus’ death? Is that still important for our understanding today?
The Burial of Jesus (19:38-42):
- What do we learn about the man who buried Jesus from these verses in John? What more do we learn from Matthew 27:57-61 and Mark 15:43-47?
- How is Isaiah 53:9 fulfilled by this man’s actions?
- Who else was present at Jesus’ burial? What did these people risk by their presence and actions?
Joseph and Nicodemus brought what they could… a hundred pounds of spices (in our weight-system, about eighty pounds): a hundred times the amount that Mary had poured over Jesus in Bethany (12:3), and that had caused people to grumble at the extravagance. It was the kind of quantity (and quality, for that matter) that you might use for a king. That was probably the point. Joseph and Nicodemus agreed with Pilate’s notice, though for very different reasons. If Israel ever had a king, surely this was the man. N.T.Wright
- As the sun set, it was the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. Jesus’ body is in a garden. What connections might John want us to make?
In light of this passage and our discussion, what one truth about God and about yourself stand out as something to “take to heart” this week?
Are there steps you will take, by God’s grace, to more fully apply it to your life?
Resources: NIV Zondervan Study Bible, 2015
N.T. Wright, John for Everyone, 2002
Max Lucado, Life Lessons from John, 2018
Joe Boyd, Bible Experiment – Gospel of John (RightNowMedia), 2014
Add Your Comment