The text of Scripture in the lectionary for today, Good Friday—John 18:1-19:42—is filled with scenes which remind us that the story of Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God incarnate, is the story that “God so loved the world that [God] gave [God’s] only Son…” (John 3:16). This reminder is made in the face of the accounts in the text that Jesus was betrayed by one of his disciples, Judas, and that Peter denied that he was one of Jesus’ disciples. Further, Jesus was questioned by Jewish religious leaders and then appeared before Pilate, the Roman governor, who had Jesus flogged, and eventually crucified on the cross.
Now, as the text brings us to the end of Jesus’ life through the violent act of crucifixion on the cross, we read the moving account of Jesus’ care for Mary, his mother, and for the disciple whom Jesus loved. He commends them to each other! In God’s love for the world through Jesus, each one is a subject, not an object. Paul Gerhardt, the 17th hymnwriter, movingly declares:
A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth, to save a world of sinners. He bears the burden all alone, dies shorn of all his honors. He goes to slaughter, weak and faint, is led to die without complaint; his spotless life he offers. He bears the shame, the stripes, the wrath; his anguish, mockery, and death for us he gladly suffers (v. 1 of #340, ELW).
‘… Jesus said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.’ Even in the face of the brutality, violence, and shame—which Jesus experienced—through the power of the Spirit, Jesus remains faithful to his mission of love, God’s love for the world! Amen.
Prayer: O God, I give you thanks that Jesus refused to have any other way of glory, but that of the cross, in order that all may know and experience your unconditional love. I thank you that the Holy Spirit continues to call us all through the Gospel and empowers us to point to Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, for the salvation of the world. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
