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Lots of recent convos about capital punishment

• 1972 US Supreme Court declared death penalty “cruel and unusual,” though a 1976 Supreme Court stated that it was not unconstitutional.
• TN: A female who murdered a classmate in 1995. Recently she would face her sentence by lethal injection. However, the injections were mismanaged and she survived – only to be treated at hospital with severe damage.
• FT HOOD TX: A terrorist murdered 13 people in 2009. Recent discussions were about livestreaming his execution; which POTUS Trump vetoed the livestream.
• Pope Leo XIV declared death penalty was against the biblical standard. Yet, this contrasts both biblical practice (Gen 9:6; Ex 21; Dt 13:11; Dt 17; Lev 20; Lev 24:14-16; Rom 13:1-4) and church history affirmation (along with past Popes!).[1]
• Capital punishment’s aim is a) justice of “life for life,” and b) deterrents for attacking the sanctity of life. Jesus certainly promoted individual mercy and forgiveness (Mt 5:38-39; also cf Ez 33:11; Ro 12:17-19), but leaving justice to God through civil authority (1Pet 2:13-14).
• Overall, one should not approach the death penalty lightly, and modern society has a suspect history alongside imperfect justice system.[2]

Today’s text follows the capital punishment of Jesus Christ. Rome did not care if execution was “cruel & unusual,” in fact, that was the point! Crucifixion was meant to be painful and provoking in public view to disgrace and deter anyone from attempting to challenge Rome.

EXAMINE  Buried Hope (John 19:31-42)

³¹ Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

The Jews do not want the Sabbath to be defiled by the criminals on the crosses, so they request Pilate to expedite executions by breaking the legs of the criminals, hastening their deaths and thus allowing the corpses to be removed before nightfall.

Yet, for Jesus, he was already dead.

• Awake for over 24-hrs
• Betrayed and let down by close disciples
• Predetermined trials and painful beatings
• Deadly torture: Roman prof executioners didn’t break his legs. They also confirmed w/ piercing his side & the blood had separated from heavier red cells to the lighter plasma, so that blood and what appeared as water flowed out.
  • If you dig deeper, the statement also has double meaning. Redemption comes from blood and water – the unique incarnational birth and offspring who would enter our world and have a bruised heel, yet crush serpents head (Gen 3:15).
  • William Cowper wrote: “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains”

³⁵ He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. ³⁶ For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” ³⁷ And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

2 implications in the face of death 

In the face of death, we show honor.

³⁸ After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. ³⁹ Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds² in weight. ⁴⁰ So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.

• Joseph of Arimathea
  • Joseph of Arimathea is identified in all 4 Gospels.
  • A Joseph bookends Jesus’ life, reminding us the entire purpose for which Jesus came = born to die.
  • Arimathea = Rameh (like Samuel, the prophet)
  • A disciple of Jesus but private due to fear of Jews
    • Pr 29:25 “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.” (cf Dt 31:6; Jn 12:42-43; Ac 5:29; Heb 13:6)

Yet,

• Luke 23:50-51 “Joseph of Arimathea, an upright man, did not consent to the council’s decision and action [of crucifying Jesus].”
• Mark 15:43 “Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.”

> Pray for confidence / conviction / courage

It was common for crucified bodies of seditious criminals to be left to vultures, or exceptions were made but only to relatives,^[3] who paid.^[4] In this case, Joseph is identifying with Jesus in the most familial way, and risking association before Pilate’s erratic behavior or a bloodthirsty crowd.

• A wealthy man, owned a tomb
  • In 1^st C, most bodies would be buried or burned outside the city. Wealthy families would own tombs with the body being left to rot the first year, then bones collected in a box, which would be placed in a shelf in the wall.^[5]
  • Isa 53:9 prophecies the messiah would suffer, die, then buried on a rich man’s tomb!

• Nicodemus 
  • Only mentioned in John’s Gospel. Previously approached Jesus at night; so, another fearful & embarrassed disciple (Jn 3)
  • Brought myrrh and aloes – weighing 75lbs (muscles!)
    -Quality & Quantity of spices = royal affection
    -combats stench of death… why we pay morticians today!
    -we can conceal death’s ugly but not its reality.

• They took Jesus’ body and bound it in linen cloths.
  • Shroud of Turin (unlikely from Jesus)[6]
  • Today, we traditionally do “Sunday Best”
  • Further, we fly flags half mast, select nice caskets, ornate head stones, select funeral ceremonies with eulogies… with flowers… and future visits never walk on the grave. All these things show honor for the deceased.

>> Jesus’ burial is proof of His death. Jesus’ lungs gasping for air stopped breathing. Jesus’ heart throbbing stopped beating. Jesus’ brain went flat-line. Jesus’ body was cold and lifeless. When Jesus saw a dead corpse, He wept (Jn 11). So, let us not rush to resurrection passages. But let it sink in that suffering, death, and burial are part of God’s plan. Jesus is like us in every way, walking with us through wild storms, winding valleys, callous cruelty, and even occupied graveyards.

>> Spiritually, we must bury sin and actions that suffocate Jesus’ life in us (cf Romans 6)

>> We honor deceased by speaking their name and by supporting their families

>> We honor deceased by weeping, but also working to bring others in the comfort and hope of Jesus.
*2Pet 3:11-12 “since all will be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God”

*1Cor 15:58 “be steadfast, be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain”

Jesus’ lungs gasping for air stopped breathing. Jesus’ heart throbbing stopped beating. Jesus’ brain went flat-line. Jesus’ body was cold and lifeless. When Jesus saw a dead corpse, He wept. So, let us not rush to resurrection passages. Let it sink in that suffering, death, and burial are part of God’s plan. Jesus is like us in every way, walking with us through wild storms, winding valleys, callous cruelty, and even occupied graveyards.

In the face of death, we show hope.

⁴¹ Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴² So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

• The tomb was near a garden; an ironic contrast of death and life. We bury the dead in tombs. But in gardens we bury a seed believing that in a future season hope will spring.
• Garden (κῆπος) = something substantial, an orchard or a plantation.^[7] So, biblically, we should recall that life began in the garden of Eden, but so did death. Now, sin’s curse is being reversed with death resulting in life.
• Jesus’ body was the only one laid in this new tomb. There would be no mistaken the presence (or absence!) of Jesus’ body in this tomb. In days to come, the female disciples sought to finalize the preparations and continue to show Jesus honor by visiting the tomb. Yet, their time at the tomb would be short-lived.
• The tomb was the first short-term air-bnb : ) And today, every person that is laid to rest in Christ are planting a seed of hope. The grave is not your final address. The tombstone does not have the final word. Death is but an eyeblink into eternity. We bury a seed that God promises to grow into a fruitful tree.
  • Jn 5:24 Jesus says, ‘whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. You will not come into judgment but pass from death to life.”
  • Jn 11:25 Jesus says, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though you die, yet shall you live.”
  • Jn 12:24 Jesus says, ‘unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
  • 1Cor 15:55 “Death is swallowed up in victory. where is your victory? Where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
• Day of Preparation. The Passover event was complete with the lamb of God sacrificed. And the next event to celebrate was the exodus – God’s people exiting slavery and entering new life with the hope of the Promised Land.

>> Face death with hope by having tears in our eyes and trust in our heart that God is powerful to conquer the grave and God is faithful to all His promises.

APPLY/TAKEAWAY

Overall, in this passage…

>> Influence and wealth could not prevent death.
We don’t know the day or means of our death, but we do know it’s coming for each of us.                     (start at bottom of list)

• 1 in 6 heart disease
• 1 in 7 cancer
• 1 in 26 stroke
• 1 in 84 opioid overdose (accidental)
• 1 in 89 a fall
• 1 in 97 gun (all intents)
• 1 in 101 of dying in a motor-vehicle accident.
  YET, SPBC has had 5 connections in 17-years : (
• 1 in 1,025 drowning
• 1 in 1,365 fire
• 1 in 2,367 choking on food
• 1 in 10 million lightning
• 1 in 11 million plane crash
• 1 in 112 million vending machine
• BTW 1 in 175 million chance of winning Powerball lottery 
• 1 in 250 million falling coconut – 150 each year
• 1 in 300 million shark attack or roller coaster
• 1 in 7K years a person will die by an asteroid

Some member families have experienced this recently, and other families on the horizon… 

>> Pray for one another… and also caretaking roles

>> *1Thes 4:13, 18; 5:14-18 “we grieve but not without hope… encourage one another… admonish the idle, comfort the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all, and don’t repay evil for evil but seek to do good; give thanks and pray without ceasing”

>> Maranatha. Come Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus.

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[1] https://erlc.com/resource/capital-punishment-an-overview-of-christian-perspectives/

[2] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/why-i-oppose-capital-punishment/

^[3] George R. Beasley-Murray, John, vol. 36, Word Biblical Commentary (1999), 358.

^[4] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2014), 308.

^[5] Ibid., 123.

[6] https://biblearchaeologyreport.com/2026/03/31/weighing-the-evidence-is-the-shroud-of-turin-authentic/

^[7] D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 631.