In The Word
Read: John 19:17-37
17 They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, carrying His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which in Hebrew is called, Golgotha. 18 There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. 19 Now Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written: “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 20 Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; rather, write that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’”22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts: a part to each soldier, and the tunic also; but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. 24 So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be.” This happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “They divided My garments among themselves, and they cast lots for My clothing.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.
25 Now beside the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 So when Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He *said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then He *said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own household.
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, *said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
Care of the Body of Jesus
31 Now then, since it was the day of preparation, to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews requested of Pilate that their legs be broken, and the bodies be taken away.32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who was crucified with Him; 33 but after they came to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 Yet one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look at Him whom they pierced.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Our Savior went out bearing His own cross. Of course we know from other accounts that this cross was so heavy that our Lord needed help to finish carrying it to the top of Golgotha. This was a very gruesome way to be punished and die. However, it had to happen because it was written. Everything we read about came to pass because it was written. Christ between the two thieves, the soldiers gambling for His garments, the mockery, His legs not broken, Christ lifted on the cross, and the spear in His side, were all fulfillments of Scripture.
When He was pierced in the side, immediately blood and water came out. This was very important because it was proof that He was dead. When a person dies the water separates from the blood. No one was be able to say that He really did not die. John, along with Jesus’ mother and other women who would not abandon Him, were witnesses to the fact that Christ, our Lord, died on the cross.
Today we decorate the cross and make it much smaller so we can wear it. We do this to show the world we believe in what happened on it. Our Lord tells us that we must take up the cross given to us by Him if we are to be His followers. This will not be a small decorated cross, but one that will test us. This will not be an easy task, but our Lord will put people in our lives to help us carry it the full distance. This cannot be avoided because it is written.