Easter Message

Daily Holy Week Reflections by Hayley who is currently on placement with us whilst training to be a Licensed Lay Minister in the CofE.

John 19: 17-30 - The Crucifixion of Jesus

So they took Jesus away. 17 Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). 18 There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19 And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it.

21 Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’”

22 Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.”

23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.” So that is what they did.

25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.

The Death of Jesus

28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Reflection

One of the things the Romans excelled at was execution. Crucifixion was an excruciatingly slow, and painful death.

Standing watching were Jesus’s mother and his Aunt. How awful it must have been for Mary to watch her son die, particularly in that way. Despite the agony he was in Jesus noticed how she was suffering. There was one last thing he could do for her. He spoke to John (traditionally thought of as the disciple Jesus loved) saying that saying that she was his mother. So from then on John took Mary to his house and looked after her.

Some time later Jesus said ‘It is finished!’ and died.

His friends and relatives must have been devastated, they thought it was all over. Only it wasn’t.

Heavenly Father, thank you that Jesus is Lord over death, that his crucifixion wasn’t the end. Amen.