The Cross According To St.

John
The Gospel of John has often been called The beloved Gospel. John is repeatedly referred to as the disciple whom Jesus loved. His book therefore was written by one who was especially intimate with Jesus, in the same way that Jesus was intimate with His Father. We are privileged to have Johns insight on The Cross. The story of Jesus crucifixion in the Gospel of John begins and ends in a garden (John 18:1, 19:41). The story itself falls into three parts. First, there is a section describing the betrayal, arrest, and indictment of Jesus (John 18: 1-27). The central section of the story is concerned with the trial before Pilate (John 18:29 to 19:16. Finally, the crucifixion itself and then burial of Jesus are described in John 19:16-42. John gave a vivid account of Jesus passage to Calvary.

We are told that Judas, a disciple of Jesus betrayed Him. While Jesus was in the garden, Judas accompanied by a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees approached Jesus and took Him to Annas. He was quite assertive in His encounter with Annas (John 18:2023). He challenges both the secretiveness of His arrest (I said nothing in secret) and the legal procedures being followed.

He was then led to Caiaphas, the high priest into the judgment hall where He met Pilate who asked Him if He was the King of the Jews. He took Jesus and scourged him. The soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put it on his head and put on him a purple robe and cried Hail King of the

Jews. They smote him with their hands and cried crucify him. Pilate told them to take him away and crucify him even though he found no fault in Jesus. When John the Baptist saw his cousin Jesus approaching, John said to his followers, "Behold the lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world," John 1:29. The cross deals with the sin of the world in that our Lord absorbs in himself, and the Father with him. John expresses that in some sense the death of Jesus stands in place of every other human being. In John 12: 31-33 Jesus shows that the cross results in the condemnation of Satan and of sin in a mighty act of judgment. The cross also becomes a wonderful magnet of attraction that draws all men to Jesus, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me, John 12:32. John's understanding of the cross is God's unfathomable compassion. First John tells us that Jesus must be "lifted up". Then he tells us the ground and consequence of our Lord's being lifted up: God so loved the world that he gave, himself, ultimately, so that we might live in him. Anyone with even minimal exposure to the church and its message has heard of John 3:16: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life". Few people have lingered long enough, however, to grasp the next verse: "For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." It is God's compassion, only his unfathomable compassion, which can get us past the condemnation we deserve. Over and over in John's gospel Jesus speaks of his hour. "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified, John 12:23. Our Lord's "hour", however, is not an hour of fame and adulation but an hour of public humiliation, of mental anguish which outstrips even physical agony, of

abandonment and isolation. This is what his "hour" is all about. No wonder it preoccupied him the day he began his public ministry, if not before. John teaches that the death of Jesus is absolutely necessary. In John 2:4; 7:6, 30 and 8:20, Jesus stated that his hour was not quite yet, and in John 12:23, 27; 13:1: 16:32; 17:1, his hour finally came clearly and decisively. What is this hour or necessity? Well, it is the necessity that comes from the fulfilling of the Old Testament. John 19:23 and 24 refer to the division of Jesus garments. Then the soldiers, when they crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, each soldier getting one part. But His tunic, which was seamless, was woven from top to bottom in one piece. Therefore, they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it as to whose it should be." This was in fulfillment of the Scripture which says, "They parted my garments among them, and for My coat they cast lots" (Psalm 22:18). This, therefore, was what the soldiers did. In John 19:28 Jesus, knowing that everything had been done to fulfill the Scriptures, said, "I am thirsty." He was given vinegar and when Jesus had taken the vinegar, He said, "It is finished." And, bowing His head, He died. He is thirsting, is a quote from Psalm 69:21 and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Jesus legs and side being pierced in John 19:32-37 are like the Passover Lamb in Ex. 12:46; Zech. 12:10. What does the cross mean? John emphasizes that the cross is Gods way of glorifying Jesus, revealing him in his true and wonderful fullness and glory, John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32. You do not need to wait for the resurrection to see Gods glory. The glory of God is seen in the cross as much as in the resurrection, John 12:16, 23, 28, 41; 13:31; 17:1.

The cross is a victory, the victory of light over darkness and Satan thinks he has gained a victory but he is in fact cast out and defeated, John 12:31 Now is the judgement of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. The cross is also seen as a supreme expression of the love of God, John 3:14, 16; 13:1; 15:13. It is also seen as a response of obedience to the will of the Father, John 14:21; 15:19; 16:27 Finally, it is worth saying that there is an enormous emphasis on the cross and resurrection. John has seven entire chapters John 13 -19 dealing with just that 60 hours. The content of what John includes in the passion narratives is different from what Matthew and Mark have and more like what Luke has. He does not have a Lords Supper, breaking of bread, and he adds the trial before Annas. He has a very full account of the trial before Pilate and, when it comes to the resurrection, he has the extra appearance to Mary Magdala and the scene by the lake side in Galilee in chapter 21. What is so attractive about the cross? Above all else, the cross affirms the incredible value of the human person. Ellen G. White in Gospel Workers, p. 184, said One soul is of infinite value; Calvary speaks its worth. God so loves every human being that Jesus would have died for even one (John 3:16). The cross of Jesus on Calvary is God's symbol of salvation and it reveals the love of God and it was here that divinity met and embraced all humanity in the God-man, Jesus Christ.The Saviour left heaven and came to dwell with and in humanity to reveal to both men and angels the merciful love of God. Ellen White wrote, "Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by

His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His.''

Conclusion
The death of Jesus on the cross was mandated by God and necessary if all mankind were to be able to achieve forgiveness for our sins. As our sacrifice Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Our sins were nailed to the cross with Jesus if we will trust His sacrifice and believe that He took our sins upon Himself on the cross. As Creator of the entire universe, Jesus possesses in His Person infinite value. In dying for you and for me, Jesus testified to the infinite value He places on every one of us. And the value we have in the Cross is a value that does not change, no matter what we do or whom we become. The Cross is the place where human value and meaning are established. Christ paid an infinite price for us, and according to the price paid He desires us to value ourselves.