Day 19
John 19:25-27
So the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, His mother’s sister [Salome], Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 So Jesus, seeing His mother, and the disciple whom He loved (esteemed) standing near, said to His mother, “[Dear] woman, look, [here is] your son!” Then He said to the disciple (John), “Look! [here is] your mother [protect and provide for her]!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was with God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him, not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life and life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
So, what happens when the light of the world dies? What happens when the darkness puts a crown of thorns on the light, flogs the light, mocks the light, and crucifies the light? What happens when the spoken Word made flesh appears to be consumed by silence. How do I respond upon realizing that the light endured the utter isolation of death, hell, and the grave for me? This is Jesus. He came from God. He knew me in God before the foundation of the world. He not only came as light, he came as life– eternity personified. By His Word, I exist, and by believing in his death and resurrection, I am reborn into the abundant life of God.
What could be more intimate than sharing a life? It conjures up an image of a mother and the child in her womb. There are two people, but before the child is born, the mother’s life sustains the life inside of her. Similarly, my life and Gods are intimately intertwined when, through salvation, I am birthed into Christ. I quite literally exist inside of God. He is the source and sustainer of my existence because I am his child. My divine inheritance is the eternal life that humanity forfeited in the Garden of Eden. But what child gets an inheritance before their parent dies? To gain everlasting life, the eternal one had to die. Like a mother who would give anything to save her child, Jesus Christ gave up everything for me. Imagine how much Jesus loved you. How could a dying man think of anything else but the agony he was enduring? However, John shows us that Jesus’ heart was so filled with love for those he came to save that even though the darkness killed Jesus, it could never extinguish his light. It shone so bright that even as his life faded away, he ensured his mother would be cared for in a final radical act of love. Even though the darkness could not comprehend him, for a brief moment, Jesus allowed it to consume him as he passed through the most brutal death.
The how is a mystery, but the why is clear. You. He endured it all for intimacy with you. When he was up on that cross, Jesus was looking forward to you. That’s why Hebrews 12:2-3 says, “for the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus died so we could live. We live for what he died for by dying to ourselves daily. Because of Jesus, there is no darkness you can go through that can stop you from shining as the light. By entering death, Jesus overcame it, and as his child, you can do the same. When it looks like your hope, joy, reputation, or relationships are being crucified, you can look at the resurrection and remember that death died on the cross, so your victory is certain.
Next Steps
Read John chapter 19 and take notes, making observations and asking questions as you read.
Mediate on 1 or 2 verses that stood out to you. Focus on what they reveal about God and how the Spirit is inviting you to respond. Find a helpful guide to biblical meditation here.
Write down whatever the Holy Spirit puts on your heart.
Reflection Questions
If Jesus Christ could endure the pain of death because of the joy of knowing you, what does that say about how Jesus viewed you before you did anything to deserve it?
Do you see yourself as worthy of the intimacy that Jesus died for?
Imagine how Jesus’ mother and followers must have felt watching their hope literally die on the cross. What is something you’ve lost hope in because you felt like you watched it die? How might the story of Jesus’ crucifixion help restore your hope in what looks like a dead situation?
Prayer Points
Lord, as I meditate on your sacrifice, show me how to live for what you died for with joy
Allow me to be a living sacrifice by giving me a personal revelation of how the Gospel demonstrates the radical love of Jesus
God, I declare by the power of Jesus that I will have victory in every situation that has tried to keep me bound in darkness when I am a light through Christ. Let it bow in obedience to Jesus (2 Cor 10:5)
