They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out,
bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is
called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other
men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription
and put it on the cross. It was written, "JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF
THE JEWS." Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place
where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin
and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, "Do
not write, 'The King of the Jews'; but that He said, 'I am King of the
Jews.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written."
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and
made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was
seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, "Let us not
tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be"; this was to
fulfill the Scripture: "THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR
MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS." Therefore the soldiers did these things. But
standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary
the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, and the
disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" From that hour the disciple took her into his
own household. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been
accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, "I am thirsty." A jar
full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour
wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when
Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He
bowed His head and gave up His spirit. Then the Jews, because it was the day of
preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (
for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken,
and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of
the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus,
when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of
the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water
came out. 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. For these
things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, "NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE
BROKEN." And again another Scripture says, "THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM
WHOM THEY PIERCED." John 19:17-37
What began with a star over a manger in a cave ended with a
dark mid-afternoon walk to an old olive tree and a piercing spear.
His last words—to His mother, the woman who raised Him, and one
of His closest disciples—were instructions to take care of each other. He acknowledged His humanness—thirst.
Then He acknowledged to His Father and everyone throughout creation that His
job on earth was done. It was finished. What He came to do, He had
accomplished. God the Father sent Him to earth to teach us how to live—how to
follow God’s commandments—and for Jesus to take on the sins of the world like a
Passover Lamb to be sacrificed.
But the story doesn’t end there with the death and burial.
The rest of the story so to speak is Jesus’ resurrection. He finished His work
here on earth…and the rest happens in Heaven. He’s preparing a place for us—a home
in Heaven where He will call us home to have a great feast. He has angels
fighting spiritual warfare and following God the Father’s plan. It is all so wonderful.
We just have to put our trust in Him. Commit
your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. Psalm 37:5.
Lord, I commit my way
to You and trust that You will guide me all the days of my life—through this
Christmas season and all through the coming year.
© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New American Standard
Bible (NASB).
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