John 19:1-42

The crucifixion is an agonizing event that once again has several participants.  We have been over this before, but we must never loose sight of the horror and glory of this historic event.

THE SOLDIERS WERE CRUEL: These hard men were used to punishing criminals, it was what they did for a living, they were following orders and doing their job.  Public floggings were a "normal" part of punishment in these days so that does not seem out of line with what they "had" to do.  However, the crown of thorns, the spitting, the purple robe, mocking Him as king, striking Him and asking Him to prophecy, ripping His clothing and gambling over his tunic were all sheer acts of cruelty and corruption.  Hard heartedness is commonly found in today's rough "macho minded" society.  If we are not careful it can infect us when we work in these rough settings.  We must strive, no matter where we work or what our surroundings might be, to be tenderhearted and kind.

PILATE WAS COWARDLY:  Several time throughout his questioning he declared Christ's innocence.  He repeatedly tried to set Jesus free, but ended up capitulating to the crowd.  When he learned that Christ claimed to be the Son of God he was moved by fear to question Him again and seek His release.  However, when the crown questioned his loyalty to Caesar, his fear of the mob and any disloyalty to the throne that his actions might communicate caused him to shrink away from what he knew was right.  Whenever we become more fearful of men than we are of God we will act in cowardice.  May God give us courage to defend the truth no matter what the cost that we might be true and useful leaders used to transform the world and not live in fear or under the influence of it.

JESUS WAS COMPASSIONATE: The words of Christ from the cross never cease to amaze me.  We don't have all of them in John's account, but they are worth looking back at if you have the time.  Here we have Jesus showing concern for His mother.  We don't know what happened to Joseph between the birth and death of Christ, but it appears that he is no longer with them, perhaps He died.  At any rate, Christ in utter and complete agony tells John to take care of His mother for Him.  What a beautiful picture of Christ honoring His mother.  What a sharp contrast His love provides to the cruelty of the soldiers who were torturing Him.

JOSEPH WAS COURAGEOUS: It took a great deal of courage for Joseph and also Nicodemus to come forward and identify themselves with Christ by asking for His body.  To this point both of them had been following Christ "secretly" out of fear of the Pharisees.  Now they overcome their fear step forward and take special care of the body of Christ.  This act put them and their families at risk and was a selfless act.  Christ had an impact on their lives and they were being transformed from fearful to faithful.  They provide an appropriate contrast to Pilate and his continued fear of men.  May we be faithful, caring and courageous no matter what the cost.

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 17, 2011 at 11:12 PM

    this one is great Dad! and the one before it too. It's all so vividly described and well worded, most definitely thought provoking and convicting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gary ParkerApril 18, 2011 at 4:13 PM

    Thanks Shae, I hope it was a blessing to you.

    ReplyDelete

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