SERVICES: SATURDAY 6PM | SUNDAY 9AM & 10:45AM. 

We Livestream at www.FaithFellowshipWeb.com/livestream, through the FFC App, and YouTube.

This is Love

This is Love
Words of Faith 3-28-17
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2017
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

John 19
[31] Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. [32] The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. [33] But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. [34] Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. [35] The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. [36] These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," [37] and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."

Jesus died on the day of preparation before a “special Sabbath”. While there has been debate as to whether this was a special “Passover Sabbath” earlier in the week, there is no conclusive evidence that Jesus did not die on the Friday before a “special” or “High” Sabbath associated with Passover. The main point here is that He died. The power of the timing was that Jesus died at the Passover and was the final Passover lamb.
The Romans usually left the bodies of criminals on their crosses for some time as a warning to others. Bodies would normally decay and be destroyed by animals and birds over time. For all the thousands of crucifixions, archeological remains of only one were ever found. Animals surely destroyed the rest. It was extremely offensive to Jewish religious observance to have the bodies of executed criminals remain on the cross over this special Sabbath (Deut 21:22-23; Josh 8:29). For this reason, a concession was made to hasten death and remove the bodies from public view.
In order to hasten death, the soldiers typically broke the legs of the living victims. This was, in fact, an act of mercy. The fracture of the femur bones prevented the crucified victim from raising himself to breathe and death soon followed.
In the only known archeological find of a crucifixion (1968), the skeletal remains reveal that a single blow had shattered the lower legs. Because Jesus had already died, His legs were not broken. Instead, just to make sure, a soldier pierced Jesus’ side with a spear.
The result of the piercing of Jesus’ side was a sudden flow of blood and water. Some have suggested this as evidence that Jesus died of a broken heart. If the fibrous membrane surrounding the heart were full of blood and serum, this could indicate a rupture of the heart as a physical cause of death.
Perhaps most important was the fulfillment of prophetic Scripture that we see here. Jesus, as the true Passover Lamb, did not have any of His bones broken (Ex. 12:46; Num. 9:12; Ps. 34:20) and people in the future will look on the pierced One (Zech. 12:10; Rev. 1:7).
John was emphatic in His insistence that he had seen these events and given testimony to these facts. At the time John wrote, there were a variety of false religious cults claiming that Jesus did not really die, that He only appeared to die. John insisted that he told the real truth, and testified “so that you also may believe”.
The point is to believe, not just with our heads but with our whole being. The event of Jesus’ death is the single final atoning work that justifies a believer in the sight of God. We are called by the Spirit to trust wholly in this single completed act. There is no more need for sacrifices. There is no cause for “re-sacrifice”. Any effort or work on our part cannot save us. He did it all.
At the bottom line is this truth: This is love. This is the love of God poured out for you. There is nothing you can do that could make God love you any more than this. This is nothing you can do that could make God love you any less than this. We have but one choice and that is to believe, to trust wholly in the work of Jesus.

Lord Jesus, I give thanks for Your atoning work for me upon the cross. Forgive me for trying somehow to add to that work. Forgive me for trying to earn that which I cannot earn or deserve. I trust today only in You and what You have done for me. In Jesus’ name.