1.

Pilate found no basis for a charge against Jesus. Yet he handed Jesus over to be crucified. What does this tell us about Pilate? About Jesus?

** Pilate regarded his job’s security as more important than the truth. 

** Jesus was sinless. 

2.

In John 19:7 the Jews insisted that according to their law Jesus must die because he claimed to be the Son of God. The Scriptures say that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. What does this suggest to us about the meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice? (1 John 4:10)

** His sacrifice on the cross is the expression of God’s absolute love for us. Adam and Eve fell because they doubted God’s absolute love. If God gave His son to forgive us of our sins, what else wouldn’t he give freely? Therefore, we should never sin against him, for every sin is a result of doubting God’s love for us. So, in absolute faith in God’s absolute love for us, we must live as His children, holy and righteous. 

3.

Jesus suffered great injustice before and during the crucifixion and yet remained quiet. Why did he keep silent? What does Jesus’ attitude towards the people who harmed him tell us about Jesus? 

** He kept silent because he saw that it was God’s will for him to die for our sins. 

** He is the embodiment of God’s love. In love, he did not retaliate. In love, he chose to be accused of the sins he did not commit. His actions also show us that he had faith in God who would raise him from the dead. 

4. 

John 19:14, 31 and 42 say that it was on the day of Preparation of Passover Week that Jesus died. What do the Scriptures say about the day of Preparation? (Exodus 12:6-14; Leviticus 23:4) What does this observation tell us about the meaning of Jesus’ sufferings and death? 

** Exodus 12:6-14 and Leviticus 23:4 say that it is on this day that they had to kill the Passover lamb and apply its blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses the Israelites were living in. They were also to completely consume the lamb along with bitter herbs and bread without yeast. It was on this day that they were to completely remove from their houses any hint of yeast. The obedience to these requirements did two things for them: gave them exemption from the judgment (the hands of the angel of death striking the firstborn), and the exodus from the grip of the Pharaoh into a new life under God. 

** Jesus’ sufferings and sacrifices mean for all who believe in him: 1) Exemption from God’s judgment for our sins; 2) liberation from the grip of the devil (Satan); and 3) the new beginning of the life under the grace and truth of our Heavenly Father, the life that is free from the power of sin and Satan, the life that worships God the Father, and the life that lives as members of the kingdom of priests and a holy nation. 

5.

What do the following utterances of our Lord Jesus on the cross tell us about Jesus? (John 19:26-27, 28, and 30)

** 1) “Dear woman, here is your son; here is your mother.” These statements show us that Jesus came to build a new family, the family born of God’s spirit of love and power.

2) “I am thirsty.” This statement shows us that Jesus came to quench the thirsts of our souls through the shedding of his blood on the cross, the blood that cleanses us of our sins. Sin wars against our souls. It separates us from God the Father causing us to be like a branch cut from a tree. Isaiah saw this thirst quenching love of God and said in Isaiah 55:1, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” Speaking of the same work to be fulfilled, during his public ministry Jesus said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37-38). Consider also what Jesus promised to one thirsty Samaritan woman in John 4 and what she received from Jesus.  

3) “It is finished.” Jesus came to finish the work His Father sent him to do, that is, to fully reveal God the Father through his full obedience to God’s will to save all who would believe in Him. John 17:1-5. 

6.

John 19:24, 28, and 36-37 emphasize that Jesus died in fulfillment of the Scriptures. Why is this important?

** This means that Jesus is the only Savior whom God the Father promised to send and indeed at Gods’ appointed time sent. 

7.

What do Joseph of Arimathea (John 19:38) and Nicodumus (19:39) have in common? What do their actions tell us about Jesus?

** The two had many things in common. For example, both of them were Sanhedrin members. They were also very rich, famous, and powerful. They were however afraid of the Jews, so they followed Jesus “secretly.” Perhaps the most important point which they shared together was their spiritual thirst. They achieved much, perhaps to satisfy themselves, but nothing could satisfy them. But they found what they needed and therefore were searching for, for a long time, in Jesus. Then, Jesus’ death on the cross, especially the way he died, deeply moved them. They then came out of their closets, and lived as powerful disciples of Jesus as well as partners of Jesus’ gospel. 

** Jesus is the true source of satisfaction that can satisfy the needs of our souls. In a way, no one can really satisfy as he really does. 

The end.