Sermon Notes 29 March 2026
SERMON NOTES 29 MARCH 2026
Passover 2026 Sermon 5: BEHOLD THE LAMB –
How John Shows the Whole Bible at the Cross
PASSOVER 2026 Sermon 5: BEHOLD THE LAMB –
How John Shows the Whole Bible at the Cross
Pastor Ryan Perry
Good Hope Baptist Church
29 March 2026
Primary Texts
Today we come to the moment John calls “the hour.” The hour when the Lamb of God is lifted up. The hour when every symbol God ever gave, Passover, sacrifice, temple, priesthood, cleansing, covenant, comes crashing together at a wooden cross.
John does not describe the crucifixion as a bare historical event. John interprets the crucifixion. He pulls every thread of Scripture: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Psalms, Prophets and ties them around Jesus.
John wants the church to see that nothing happening at Golgotha is random. It is revelation.
Today we are going to see every symbol John places at the cross and why he includes them: The crown of thorns, The purple robe, The mocked kingship, The inscription “King of the Jews”, The seamless tunic, The sour wine, The hyssop branch, The blood and water, Golgotha, The garden tomb.
All of these are deliberate. All of them are biblical. All of them are telling the same story.
The Lamb is fulfilling the Scriptures. The Passover is reaching its goal. Redemption is being completed.
I. Golgotha and the Second Adam
John 19:17 - “He went out to the place of a skull.”
John gives the location because the location preaches. In Jewish memory, “the place of the skull” was connected to the burial place of Adam.
Whether historically exact or not, the symbolism is clear: The Second Adam dies where the First Adam is remembered.
Where death began, death is undone.
1 Corinthians 15:22 - Paul says it directly: “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
1 Corinthians 15:45 - “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.”
Golgotha preaches this silently: Humanity’s fall is answered by humanity’s Redeemer.
II. The Curse and the Crown of Thorns
John 19:2; Genesis 3:18 - Thorns are the sign of the curse.
John wants you to see that Jesus is wearing the curse. He is bearing the ground’s rebellion. He is carrying Adam’s judgment on His brow.
Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13 - This is how Paul explains it.
The thorns are not mockery alone. They are theology. He is the cursed One, so that you may be the blessed one.
III. The True King Revealed
John 19:2–3 - Purple is the color of royalty. The soldiers mock Him as a fake king. John shows Him as the true King.
Psalms 2:12 - Psalm 2 warned the nations.
Instead, they strike Him. But their mockery becomes a proclamation. The King reigns from a cross, not a throne.
John 19:5 - Pilate speaks more truth than he knows.
John is showing us: Here is the True Human. The righteous Adam. The faithful Israel. The obedient Son.
He is what humanity was meant to be.
John 19:19–21 - Pilate wrote an inscription… ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ The priests object, but Pilate refuses to change it.
Why? Because the nations are testifying without knowing: This is David’s Son. This is Israel’s King. This is the Messiah.
John shows sovereignty: God puts the title above His Son even through a pagan governor.
IV. The High Priest and the Offering
John 19:23; Exodus 28:31–32 - The seamless tunic detail is not fashion commentary. The High Priest wore a seamless garment.
John is showing us that Jesus is not only the Lamb. He is the High Priest offering the Lamb. He is both Offerer and Offering.
Hebrews 7:27 - “He offered Himself.”
V. The Cup of Wrath and Fulfilled Scripture
John 19:28; Psalms 69:21 - The soldiers are dividing priestly garments at the foot of the true Priest. Jesus said… ‘I thirst.’ to fulfill the Scripture.
Sour wine in the Psalms is not refreshment, it is symbolic of God’s judgment.
Jesus is drinking the cup He prayed about in Gethsemane: Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.
Isaiah 51:17 - Not a cup of water –A cup of wrath.
The cup of staggering… the bowl of the wrath of the LORD.
When Jesus says “I thirst,”, He is fulfilling Scripture and declaring that He is drinking the judgment His people deserved.
VI. Hyssop and Cleansing
John 19:29; Exodus 12:22 - Hyssop is NEVER random in Scripture. Hyssop is God’s appointed instrument for applying cleansing.
Hyssop is used to restore the unclean back into the camp.
Hyssop cleanses those touched by corpses, the highest impurity.
Not external ritual internal cleansing.
So what is John doing?
He places hyssop at the exact moment Jesus drinks the judgment wine.
Why?
Because: The instrument that once applied lamb’s blood now touches the Lamb of God.
The purifier now touches the One who becomes our purification.
Hyssop moves toward Jesus not to cleanse Him but to show that He is absorbing uncleanness.
VII. “It Is Finished” — Fulfillment of Redemption
John 19:30 - Immediately after the hyssop, the entire purification system reaches its end at that moment.
Though John does not use the word “tree,” the New Testament explains the meaning.
He is bearing Adam’s curse.
He is bearing Israel’s curse.
He is bearing our curse.
The Lamb becomes the cursed One so the cursed may become blessed.
VIII. Blood and Water — Atonement and Purification
John 19:34; Leviticus 17:11; Numbers 19 - Blood = atonement. Water = purification. Together they echo EXACTLY what hyssop applied in the Old Covenant.
Everything hyssop ever applied now flows from Christ Himself. He is the sacrifice. He is the cleansing. He is the purification. He is the fountain Zechariah promised.
Zechariah 13:1 - The fountain is the crucified Christ.
IX. The Garden and New Creation
John 19:41 - John is the ONLY evangelist to say “garden.” He is deliberately echoing Genesis.
Eden → fall → curse → death
Garden → cross → burial → resurrection
Where death entered in a garden, life rises in a garden.
Where Adam fell, the Last Adam stands.
John 20:15 - This is why Mary mistakes Him for “the gardener”. John does not correct her. Because it is true. The Gardener has returned. New creation has begun.
The thorns → the curse
The robe → the King
The inscription → the Messiah
The tunic → the High Priest
The sour wine → the cup of wrath
The hyssop → applied purification
The blood and water → atonement + cleansing
Golgotha → Adam’s death answered
The garden → Eden restored
The tree → curse removed
These symbols are not random. They are revelation. All of Scripture — Law, Prophets, Writings — meets at the cross.
The Lamb is slain.
The curse is borne.
The cleansing is applied.
The wrath is drunk.
The blood is poured.
The water flows.
The garden dawns.
New creation begins.
None of this is accidental.
God spent 1,500 years teaching Israel Passover, purification, sacrifice, kingdom, curse, cleansing, because He planned to fulfill it all in one Person.
Not one symbol misses. Not one promise fails.
And the question remains: Are you under the blood?
Not: “Are you good enough?”
Not: “Are you religious enough?”
Not: “Are you knowledgeable enough?”
Are you covered?
Because The Lamb has died. The blood has been applied. The curse has been lifted. The fountain has been opened. New creation has begun.
And because He lives, you shall live also!
How John Shows the Whole Bible at the Cross
Pastor Ryan Perry
Good Hope Baptist Church
29 March 2026
Primary Texts
- Exodus 12
The Passover lamb and the foundational pattern of redemption. - Leviticus 14–16
Cleansing, atonement, and priestly sacrifice. - Numbers 19
Purification through water and sacrifice. - Psalms 51
The cry for cleansing and renewal. - Isaiah 53
The suffering servant who bears sin. - Zechariah 12–13
The pierced one and the fountain of cleansing. - John 18–20
The crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. - Galatians 3:13
“Christ redeemed us from the curse… becoming a curse for us.” - 1 Peter 2:24
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.”
Today we come to the moment John calls “the hour.” The hour when the Lamb of God is lifted up. The hour when every symbol God ever gave, Passover, sacrifice, temple, priesthood, cleansing, covenant, comes crashing together at a wooden cross.
John does not describe the crucifixion as a bare historical event. John interprets the crucifixion. He pulls every thread of Scripture: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Psalms, Prophets and ties them around Jesus.
John wants the church to see that nothing happening at Golgotha is random. It is revelation.
Today we are going to see every symbol John places at the cross and why he includes them: The crown of thorns, The purple robe, The mocked kingship, The inscription “King of the Jews”, The seamless tunic, The sour wine, The hyssop branch, The blood and water, Golgotha, The garden tomb.
All of these are deliberate. All of them are biblical. All of them are telling the same story.
The Lamb is fulfilling the Scriptures. The Passover is reaching its goal. Redemption is being completed.
I. Golgotha and the Second Adam
John 19:17 - “He went out to the place of a skull.”
John gives the location because the location preaches. In Jewish memory, “the place of the skull” was connected to the burial place of Adam.
Whether historically exact or not, the symbolism is clear: The Second Adam dies where the First Adam is remembered.
Where death began, death is undone.
1 Corinthians 15:22 - Paul says it directly: “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
1 Corinthians 15:45 - “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.”
Golgotha preaches this silently: Humanity’s fall is answered by humanity’s Redeemer.
II. The Curse and the Crown of Thorns
John 19:2; Genesis 3:18 - Thorns are the sign of the curse.
John wants you to see that Jesus is wearing the curse. He is bearing the ground’s rebellion. He is carrying Adam’s judgment on His brow.
Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13 - This is how Paul explains it.
The thorns are not mockery alone. They are theology. He is the cursed One, so that you may be the blessed one.
III. The True King Revealed
John 19:2–3 - Purple is the color of royalty. The soldiers mock Him as a fake king. John shows Him as the true King.
Psalms 2:12 - Psalm 2 warned the nations.
Instead, they strike Him. But their mockery becomes a proclamation. The King reigns from a cross, not a throne.
John 19:5 - Pilate speaks more truth than he knows.
John is showing us: Here is the True Human. The righteous Adam. The faithful Israel. The obedient Son.
He is what humanity was meant to be.
John 19:19–21 - Pilate wrote an inscription… ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ The priests object, but Pilate refuses to change it.
Why? Because the nations are testifying without knowing: This is David’s Son. This is Israel’s King. This is the Messiah.
John shows sovereignty: God puts the title above His Son even through a pagan governor.
IV. The High Priest and the Offering
John 19:23; Exodus 28:31–32 - The seamless tunic detail is not fashion commentary. The High Priest wore a seamless garment.
John is showing us that Jesus is not only the Lamb. He is the High Priest offering the Lamb. He is both Offerer and Offering.
Hebrews 7:27 - “He offered Himself.”
V. The Cup of Wrath and Fulfilled Scripture
John 19:28; Psalms 69:21 - The soldiers are dividing priestly garments at the foot of the true Priest. Jesus said… ‘I thirst.’ to fulfill the Scripture.
Sour wine in the Psalms is not refreshment, it is symbolic of God’s judgment.
Jesus is drinking the cup He prayed about in Gethsemane: Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.
Isaiah 51:17 - Not a cup of water –A cup of wrath.
The cup of staggering… the bowl of the wrath of the LORD.
When Jesus says “I thirst,”, He is fulfilling Scripture and declaring that He is drinking the judgment His people deserved.
VI. Hyssop and Cleansing
John 19:29; Exodus 12:22 - Hyssop is NEVER random in Scripture. Hyssop is God’s appointed instrument for applying cleansing.
Hyssop is used to restore the unclean back into the camp.
Hyssop cleanses those touched by corpses, the highest impurity.
Not external ritual internal cleansing.
So what is John doing?
He places hyssop at the exact moment Jesus drinks the judgment wine.
Why?
Because: The instrument that once applied lamb’s blood now touches the Lamb of God.
The purifier now touches the One who becomes our purification.
Hyssop moves toward Jesus not to cleanse Him but to show that He is absorbing uncleanness.
VII. “It Is Finished” — Fulfillment of Redemption
John 19:30 - Immediately after the hyssop, the entire purification system reaches its end at that moment.
Though John does not use the word “tree,” the New Testament explains the meaning.
He is bearing Adam’s curse.
He is bearing Israel’s curse.
He is bearing our curse.
The Lamb becomes the cursed One so the cursed may become blessed.
VIII. Blood and Water — Atonement and Purification
John 19:34; Leviticus 17:11; Numbers 19 - Blood = atonement. Water = purification. Together they echo EXACTLY what hyssop applied in the Old Covenant.
Everything hyssop ever applied now flows from Christ Himself. He is the sacrifice. He is the cleansing. He is the purification. He is the fountain Zechariah promised.
Zechariah 13:1 - The fountain is the crucified Christ.
IX. The Garden and New Creation
John 19:41 - John is the ONLY evangelist to say “garden.” He is deliberately echoing Genesis.
Eden → fall → curse → death
Garden → cross → burial → resurrection
Where death entered in a garden, life rises in a garden.
Where Adam fell, the Last Adam stands.
John 20:15 - This is why Mary mistakes Him for “the gardener”. John does not correct her. Because it is true. The Gardener has returned. New creation has begun.
The thorns → the curse
The robe → the King
The inscription → the Messiah
The tunic → the High Priest
The sour wine → the cup of wrath
The hyssop → applied purification
The blood and water → atonement + cleansing
Golgotha → Adam’s death answered
The garden → Eden restored
The tree → curse removed
These symbols are not random. They are revelation. All of Scripture — Law, Prophets, Writings — meets at the cross.
The Lamb is slain.
The curse is borne.
The cleansing is applied.
The wrath is drunk.
The blood is poured.
The water flows.
The garden dawns.
New creation begins.
None of this is accidental.
God spent 1,500 years teaching Israel Passover, purification, sacrifice, kingdom, curse, cleansing, because He planned to fulfill it all in one Person.
Not one symbol misses. Not one promise fails.
And the question remains: Are you under the blood?
Not: “Are you good enough?”
Not: “Are you religious enough?”
Not: “Are you knowledgeable enough?”
Are you covered?
Because The Lamb has died. The blood has been applied. The curse has been lifted. The fountain has been opened. New creation has begun.
And because He lives, you shall live also!
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