Does John's Gospel Present Jesus' Burial as the Fulfillment of Scripture?

Tom Stegall is trying hard to find some biblical basis for his removal of Christ's burial from the gospel of salvation. Now he believes he has found it in the Gospel of John, of all places! Regarding this, Stegall says: "John's Gospel does not present Jesus' burial as the fulfillment of Scripture".[1] Really? Actually it does! Jesus Himself predicted His burial in John 12:7. And the Gospel of John details the fact of it in John 19:38-42, thus fulfilling Jesus' prediction. Is Stegall prepared to say that the words of Jesus are not "Scripture"?[2] In the very first chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus is said to be "the Word" of God (see John 1:14). But according to Stegall's reductionist reasoning, "the Word" of God (i.e. Jesus' prediction in John 12:7) is not "Scripture"! How sad. Furthermore, the Bible says that "all Scripture is God breathed" (2 Tim. 3:16). But if Jesus' words in John's Gospel are not "Scripture," then Stegall has bigger problems than Christ's burial in the gospel, because now he (Stegall) is calling into question the very inspiration of John's Gospel! It seems that Stegall has quite the dilemma on his hands. 

Another example of where John's Gospel presents Jesus' burial as the fulfillment of Scripture is found in John 5:39, when Jesus says that "the Scriptures...bear witness of Me"! The "Scriptures" that Jesus is referring to, of course, are particularly the Old Testament Scriptures (i.e. the Law and the Prophets). Are we to turn a blind eye to those "Scriptures" which predict His burial (e.g. Deut. 21:23; Psa. 22:15, 40:2, 85:11; Isa. 53:9)? Unfortunately, this is exactly what Stegall is doing. As God says in the Old Testament, none are so blind as those who will not see (Isa. 42:18-20). But the question bears repeating: are we not allowed to appeal to the Old Testament in John's Gospel? Jesus does! (See Jn. 5:39.) Are we to exclude those Scriptures which predict His burial? In regards to the burial of Jesus, we can of course appeal to Isaiah 53:9 as an Old Testament Scripture that can "bear witness" to it: "His grave was assigned with wicked men, but He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit found in His mouth" (Isa. 53:9; cf. Jn. 8:45-46, 19:18-42). 

There is also John 5:46, where Jesus told the unbelieving Jews that Moses "wrote of Me". Are we to turn a blind eye to those passages in the Pentateuch which predict the burial of Christ? Deuteronomy 21:23 clearly makes reference to the burial of Jesus when it says: "his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance" (Deut. 21:23; cf. Jn. 19:38-42; Gal. 3:13). 

There is also the statement in John 12:24, which Stegall has tried to say only refers to Christ's death and resurrection, not His burial.[3] Such an interpretation however, appears to be a case of "special pleading" (i.e. "an argument in which a speaker deliberately ignores aspects that are unfavorable to their point of view"), because Jesus clearly says that the grain of wheat "falls into [Gr. eis] the earth" (not "to the earth" but "into the earth"). This is clearly figurative language for burial! The fact that Jesus reverses the chronological order of death and burial when He says that the seed "falls into the ground and dies" does not preclude the burial, because Jesus is obviously describing the normal process of the seed as picturing His own death, burial, and resurrection. Indeed, Dr. C. I. Scofield in his Reference Bible writes the following insightful comment, affirming this very truth. Scofield says: "The wave-sheaf (Lev. 23.10-12) typifies the resurrection of Christ, but a sheaf implies plurality. It was a single 'corn of wheat' that fell into the ground in the crucifixion and entombment of Christ (John 12.24); it was a sheaf which came forth in resurrection."[4] Commenting on this same passage, Warren Wiersbe affirms that "Jesus compared His death and burial to the planting of a seed (John 12:23-24)".[5]

So let's return to the question at hand, "Does John's Gospel present Jesus' burial as the fulfillment of Scripture"? It certainly does! To say otherwise is to impugn the very nature of Christ as "the Word" of God! Because Jesus Himself predicted His burial in John's Gospel! (See Jn. 12:7.) Furthermore, Christ pointed out that "the Scriptures...bear witness of Me" (Jn. 5:39). In regards to Christ's burial this would include Scriptures such as, for example, Isaiah 53:9 and Jonah 1:17. Christ also said that Moses "wrote of Me" (Jn. 6:46). In regards to Christ's burial this would include quotations from the Pentateuch such as Deuteronomy 21:23: which is a clear Old Testament reference to Christ's death "on the tree" and His ensuing burial, for the text says: "you shall surely bury him" (v. 23). And then there is Jesus' own statement in John 12:24, where He likens Himself to a seed that falls "into the ground" (εἰς τὴν γῆν) but then springs up "out of the ground" (cf. Psa. 85:11, ἐκ τῆς γῆς in the LXX) in order to bear much fruit: clearly picturing His death, burial, and resurrection! Have you believed this Good News? If not, do so today!

 

References:

[1] Thomas L. Stegall, That You May Believe: The Evangelistic Purpose and Message of John's Gospel in Relation to Free Grace Theology (ThD thesis, Grace Biblical Seminary, 2017), p. 232.

[2] The words of Jesus are Scripture! Both the Bible itself and early church history testifies to this fact. An example of the words of Jesus being called Scripture is seen by comparing Luke 10:7 with 1 Timothy 5:18. Notice that in Luke 10:7 Jesus says that "the laborer is worthy of his wages." Gregg F. Swift explains the point well when he says, "this part of the verse is not found anywhere in the Old Testament. But in 1 Timothy 5 Paul refers to this part of the verse, 'The laborer is worthy of his wages' as Scripture." (Swift, "Is the New Testament Considered 'Scripture'?" Christian Beliefs 101 website, July 11, 2021.) Commenting on the statement of Jesus in Luke 10:7 that "the laborer is worthy of his wage" (10:7b), theologian Charles Ellicott writes the following in his commentary on the passage: "The exact reproduction of the words by St. Paul in 1 Timothy 5:18, as a citation from 'the Scripture,' is every way interesting. The Apostle could scarcely have failed to have become acquainted, during his long companionship with St. Luke, with the materials which the Evangelist was collecting for his great work. We can hardly doubt, accordingly, that he quotes this as one of the sayings of the Lord Jesus, as he quotes another in Acts 20:35, and clothes it with the same authority as the older Scripture." (Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, commentary on Luke 10:7, emphasis added.) Commenting on Luke 10:7, New Testament scholar A. T. Robertson affirms: "For the labourer is worthy of his hire (αξιος γαρ ο εργατης του μισθου αυτου). In Matthew 10:10 we have της τροφης αυτου (his food). 1 Timothy 5:18 has this saying quoted as scripture." (Robertson's Word Pictures, commentary on Luke 10:7.) Furthermore, in The Epistle of Barnabas (a non-canonical Christian letter written sometime between 70 and 132 A.D.), the words of Jesus from Matthew 22:14 are referred to as Scripture. Barnabas 4:14 says: "Moreover understand this also, my brothers. When ye see that after so many signs and wonders wrought in Israel, even then they were abandoned, let us give heed, lest haply we be found, as the scripture saith, many are called but few are chosen."  (The Epistle of Barnabas. Translated by J. B. Lightfoot. Early Christian Writings website.) There is also an ancient Christian homily known as II Clement (written to the Corinthians circa 150 A.D.), in which the author quotes the words of Jesus from Luke 5:32 and likewise calls it Scripture: "Again another scripture saith, I came not to call the righteous." (Second Clement. Translated by J. B. Lightfoot. Early Christian Writings website.) From these pertinent examples from both the Bible and early church history, it's clear that the words of Jesus are indeed to be considered Scripture!

[3] Thomas L. Stegall, The Gospel of the Christ (Milwaukee: Grace Gospel Press, 2009), p. 586.

[4] C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Reference Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 1917), p. 1042.

[5] Warren Wiersbe, Be Holy (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1994), p. 128.