Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
John 19:28-37 (NIV)
The Death of Jesus
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
How is the death of Jesus real to you?
I was blessed to learn about Your death on the cross and resurrection on Easter Sunday when I was a young child. I knew the story well and celebrated it each year. Although I was grateful, I don’t think I really took it personally until I saw the movie “The Passion”. The story wasn’t new and I already knew the ending, but watching it unfold on that big screen had a dramatic impact on my faith. Seeing how you were brutally beaten and suffered made it more real to me than hearing about it. I saw many pictures of You on that cross but Your suffering was muted. But when I saw the movie, I was horrified by the reality of Your gruesome and violent death. How could people who sang Hossana less than a week prior yell crucify Him and watch You get beaten to a pulp and killed? I would have fully expected You to quit on us at that point. How You could refrain from calling upon the angels to stop the vicious, cruel, and evil treatment, is astounding. You could have, but You didn’t. You endured the savage treatment, the taunting, the humiliation, the ripping of Your flesh, the nails in Your hands and feet out of Your amazingly deep love for not only mankind but specifically for me. I am stricken by Your love. Even when You were struggling to breathe and stinging from open wounds, You demonstrated loved. You forgave those who crucified You and welcomed the criminal next to You to paradise. You took the darkness of my sins onto Yourself and it weighed heavy on You. I’m so sorry Lord, for how I hurt You. Thank You Jesus for loving me so much to die for me, even though I’m utterly unlovable. Thank You Jesus for taking my place to receive the punishment and death that I deserve. Because of Your forgiveness, I can look forward to spending eternal life with You. Because of Your grace, I can have a personal relationship with You. I can’t get over what you have done for me by Your Amazing Grace. Let me live with confidence and joy in the fact that You conquered sin and death. No evil will ever defeat You. Not even the evil today. Help me to share that victorious joy with all I meet. Help me to walk in Your love as I forgive, and serve others. Amen