But, finally, who pierced and nailed him to the tree? Can we blame only the Jews who condemned him and the Romans who crucified him? Of course not.

He was pierced for our transgression,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
(Is 53:5, emphasis mine).

It was my sin that held him there. It was your sin that held him there. And John says, "Look at him. Look at him and mourn. But let that mourning be the mourning of repentance that brings you to faith in Christ and eternal life through him.”

John's portrait of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ is now complete. He has taken us right into the consciousness of the dying Jesus and shown us that Jesus knew that his death was not a failure and defeat, but rather the greatest achievement in history, fulfilling the plan of God for the whole of creation. And then John has put us in the place of an eyewitness, enabling us to see what he saw. And as we see the scene through John's eyes, we also see it through the lens of Scripture that he holds up. He tells us to understand the death of Jesus as God's own sacrifice, the self-sacrifice of the Lamb of God taking upon himself the sin of the world, so that we might have life and salvation.

He was lifted up to die;
"It is finished!" was his cry;
Now in heaven exalted high:
Hallelujah, what a Saviour!

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Extract from:

(UK) Let the Gospels Preach the Gospel: Sermons Around the Cross, by Christopher JH Wright (Langham Preaching Resources, 2017
(US) To the Cross: Proclaiming the Gospel from the Upper Room to Calvary, by Christopher JH Wright (IVP, 2017)

 

PRAYER:

O how we praise you for Jesus, His death and resurrection which brings us life and salvation. Amen.