Lent Day Thirty Eight
“John 19:17-30”
John 19:17-30 The Passion Translation
17 Jesus carried his own cross out of the city to the place called “The Skull,” which in Aramaic is Golgotha.
18 And there they nailed him to the cross. He was crucified, along with two others, one on each side with Jesus in the middle.
19-20 Pilate had them post a sign over the cross, which was written in three languages—Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. Many of the people of Jerusalem read the sign, for he was crucified near the city. The sign stated: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
21 But the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “You must change the sign! Don’t let it say, ‘King of the Jews,’ but rather—‘he claimed to be the King of the Jews!’”
22 Pilate responded, “What I have written will remain!”
23 Now when the soldiers crucified Jesus, they divided up his clothes into four shares, one for each of them. But his tunic was seamless, woven from the top to the bottom as a single garment.
24 So the soldiers said to each other, “Don’t tear it—let’s throw dice to see who gets it!” The soldiers did all of this not knowing they fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among them and gambled for my garment.”
25 Miriam, Jesus’ mother, was standing next to his cross, along with Miriam’s sister, Miriam the wife of Clopas, and Miriam Magdalene.
26 So when Jesus looked down and saw the disciple he loved standing with her, he said, “Mother, look— John will be a son to you.”
27 Then he said, “John, look—she will be a mother to you!” From that day on, John accepted Mary into his home as one of his own family.
28 Jesus knew that his mission was accomplished, and to fulfil the Scripture, Jesus said: “I am thirsty.”
29 A jar of sour wine was sitting nearby, so they soaked a sponge with it and put it on the stalk of hyssop and raised it to his lips.
30 When he had sipped the sour wine, he said, “It is finished, my bride!” Then he bowed his head and surrendered his spirit to God.
Today’s reading is inviting us to step into a scene we’d often rather avoid. Instead, try as you read it to follow Jesus in your imagination. He is carrying his own cross and you are one of the very last few disciples who have the courage to follow all the way to the cross.
There is nothing solemn or sacred about this scene. There are no choirs of angels, no moving instrumental music in the background. Just a noisy, vicious and overexcited crowd of people all jostling and some arguing. The Jewish accusers still wanting the statement of Jesus’s crime clarified, the Roman soldiers more preoccupied with the potential side benefits of their grisly activity. The shouts, screams and cries from the three men being crucified. The stench, (this is all happening in a rubbish dump), the dogs drawn by the smell eager to lick the blood.
And in the middle of all this there are two moments of love. The first is the very human arrangement made by Jesus for his mother Mary to be cared for by John. The second is the sigh of relief and the words that escape from Jesus, carried on his final breath: ‘It is finished, my bride’. The inclusion of ‘my bride’ is unique to this Passion Translation of the Bible. The translators have prioritised the meaning and motive behind the literal words. So, in this instance they are seeking to convey who was in the mind of Christ at the moment he died.
Imagine two people walking along a canal tow path. They are deeply in love. We will call them John and Mary. You don’t see what happens but suddenly you hear John shout, ‘I love you Mary,’ and then you hear that he has thrown himself into the water. The scene makes no sense until you turn the corner and understand that Mary, who does not know how to swim, had previously slipped on the edge of the canal and fallen into the water. It was this that prompted her lover’s response.
The cross is many things. A sacrifice? A reconciliation? A payment? But above and beyond everything else, it was an act of love. And it was personal. It was for me and it was for you.
Activate Your Life
Exists to equip, resource, train and inspire Christian women to be active in sharing God's love in natural, meaningful ways.
Sheila Bridge
Sheila Bridge is Associate Minister St Matthews Salford Priors and part of the Activate Team.