Behold, They Crucified Him

“Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one,

and Jesus in the midst.”

(John 19:18)

This verse encapsulates the essence of the Gospel message succinctly.

1. The manner of Christ's death is significant: It was the death of the cross. This form of execution was chosen to vividly illustrate the weight of sin that Jesus our LORD willingly bore for His people. Galatians 3:10-13 emphasizes the curse of sin which Jesus took upon Himself. He was bound to the cross as a Sacrificial Offering, fulfilling His role as the Savior appointed for this purpose by God. His crucifixion, suspended between Heaven and earth, served to reconcile and justify elect sinners to God through His shed blood, Romans 5:9-11. This brutal death underscores the severity of our sin before a Holy God, highlighting the depth of God's love as expressed in Romans 8:32 where He spared not His own Son for our redemption.

2. Christ's companions in death were not incidental:They were intentionally chosen by God. Two others were crucified alongside Him, fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 53:12 that He would be numbered among transgressors. Among them was a malefactor who, though initially reviling our LORD Jesus yet was chosen by God for salvation. This illustrates the sovereign grace of God, Who chooses whom He will save while ensuring that all whom He chooses will indeed turn to Christ. Despite both being guilty sinners only one was elected by the LORD, to whom Jesus declared, "Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)

3. Jesus bore the reproach of sinners, taking upon Himself the sins of many, Hebrews 9:28: He endured the shame and disgrace of being crucified among criminals so that those chosen by God would not bear it themselves. His death was not among sacrificial animals in the temple but among condemned individuals, signifying His role as the Just for the unjust, 1 Peter 3:18. It was by His sacrificial death that He once and forever, fully, freely and finally redeemed, reconciled and justified those that the Father gave Him before the foundation of the world, Hebrews 10:10-14.

In summary, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ exemplifies the depth of God's love, the extent of His Grace and the magnitude of His Sacrifice for sinners that He purposed to save from before time and did save in time in the death of His Son, Galatians 4:4-6.