You lead me beside still waters and make me lie down in green pastures, you restore my soul, your tender mercies follow me all the days of my life. I will trust in you alone as I stand before another year of life you have gifted me.
”You have been and still are a precious sheep in my flock of lovers, bound for the eternal home I have prepared for all of you. Your loved ones who have preceded you wait for you to join them so that you all can relish the ultimate pleasure together. Time, not restricted, with Me in My presence. Time to enjoy the best I have for you. Time to enjoy Me who represents the best you could ever inherit and enjoy. Your love is precious and I continue to cultivate it as I woo you into a deeper and deeper relationship with Me.”
As we read today’s passage, John 19:16-27, we should have the sense of entering a holy space, observing and participating in the key moment of God’s entire plan for humanity coming together. The moment when Jesus opened the way for us to the Father in heaven, so momentous that the earth shook.
The story is so familiar to every Christian that we may miss some of the subtle points. So let me make some observations:
The actual act of crucifixion is described in 1 verse, vs 18. Compared to that 4 verses describing the name under which He was condemned: “The King of the Jews”. Then a further 2 verses describing the dividing up of Jesus’s clothing and 3 verses describing the role of the women and His care for His mother.
So what was John wanting us to hear?
Jesus is described as carrying His own cross. No mention of help. Presumably this is to emphasise His loneliness. He is facing this enormous task now without any human support. Then, crucified between two criminal strangers. Have you ever felt you are facing difficulties on your own, no friendly support, only those who seem against you or are indifferent? Jesus has been there.
The fact that He is crucified with criminals and then the detailed description of how His clothes were divided up is clearly emphasised, to link with some of the prophecies in the OT. (Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53) Both those chapters are devoted to the explanation of what is happening here before the eyes of the people who had received these promises and before our eyes. It is John’s way of explaining the whole purpose of that terse statement “Here they crucified Him”.(vs 18)
Beside this purpose, it is also a reminder of how God has planned everything that is happening, down to the last detail. And it is all working out, despite the fact that the people involved were antagonistic towards Him. And as we stand back we need to remind ourselves that if we had been there we would have been among the mob crying “Crucify, crucify!” Because that is the only way we could ultimately be saved.
But standing further back as we view this whole scene, there is a huge comfort. No matter how dire our circumstances are, God IS in control of them. These are not just nice words, this passage again reminds us of that reality.
Then finally the picture of the women. What a beautiful reminder of the role you, my dear sisters, play in our lives and in the unfolding Kingdom. The emotional makeup and faithful love you show is a massive encouragement to how God has balanced the kingdom membership and reminds us of your unmissable role and place in our kingdom lives. The touching words of Jesus to John to look after His mother are a fitting end to the chapter reminding us of His continued, tender compassion.
May this reading be a real encouragement to you all during these cold, grey days as we remind ourselves of God’s intimate care and knowledge of ourselves.