Bible Text: John 19:31-20:8 | Preacher: Pastor Joe Ricchuiti | Series: A Tale of Two Gardens, John

Recap of 3/31/13 (John 19:31-20:8):
1.  John emphasizes the literal fulfillment of prophecy.  Repeatedly in his gospel he cites Old Testament passage fulfilled in Jesus Christ as in 19:35-37.  Jesus as the Passover Lamb did not have a bone broken (Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12; Psalm 34:20) and as prophesied in Zechariah 12:10, the Jews would look on the One they had pierced (which will be fulfilled completely at His Second Coming.  Scripture, prophecy included, should always be interpreted literally, plainly, allowing for figures of speech.  “When the plain sense makes good sense seek no other sense.” (Dr.
2.  On the surprising courage of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus: “Their faith is like a glow of sunset at the close of the dark day of cruel and murderous unbelief; but as we turn from its shadows let us remember that Jesus does not ask for secret disciples; He bore the painful cross for us, and He expects us openly, courageously, willingly, to take up the cross and follow Him.” (William Erdman)
3.  On the empty tomb and the grave-clothes as evidence for the resurrection: “For the moment Peter was only amazed at the empty tomb; but things began to happen in John’s mind.  If someone had removed Jesus’s body, if tomb-robbers had been at work, why should they leave the grave-clothes?  Then something else struck him—the grave-clothes were not disheveled and disarranged.  They were lying there still in their folds—that is what the Greek means—the clothes for the body where the body had been; the napkin where the head had lain.  The whole point of the description is that the grave-clothes did not look as if they had been put off or taken off; they were lying there in their regular folds as if the body of Jesus had simply evaporated out of them.  The sight suddenly penetrated to John’s mind; he realized what had happened—and he believed.”  (William Barclay)
4.  On salvation: “A saint is one, who, discovering himself at Calvary, lies in despair with the nature of sin uncloaked to him.  Then, rising in the glamour of amazement and discerning Jesus Christ as a substitute for sin, calls out, ‘Jesus, I should be there.’  To his astonished spirit, he receives justification from all his sinfulness through the atonement at Calvary” (Oswald Chambers)