John 19:23-24
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:
“They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”
Therefore the soldiers did these things.
One of the things about the Bible that makes it unlike any other book is the frequent fulfillment of prophecy. Surrounding the events of the cross there are many Old Testament prophecies that are fulfilled in amazing detail. John references Psalm 22:18 where it says, “They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”
Read Psalm 22.
Another well known scripture that speaks about the cross is Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
Psalm 69:21, “They also gave me gall for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
The Old Testament also contains foreshadowing of the cross in events. In Exodus, the blood of the lamb placed on the top and sides of the door caused the angel of death to pass over the house. Exodus 12:13, “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
Again in Exodus when the people faced a plague of poisonous snakes The Lord had Moses make a bronze serpent and raise it on pole. When anyone looked upon it they would be saved from death. Exodus 21:8,9, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.”
Jesus referenced this in John 3:14,15, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
The cross was not some random event. It was planned from the beginning of the world.
Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
The prophecies and foreshadowing of the cross given hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus show us God’s love for us, his plans for our good and his power to bring them all to fruition.
brotherpayne 