15th April 2022 (Good Friday Service)
Title: Jesus Dying on the Cross
(Scripture Readings: John 19:17-30)
By Heeyoung Lim
Many of us have experienced a dying family, friend or relative. Many in our congregation are acquainted with grief. Today’s text brings our congregation together as we stand at the foot of the cross, suffer with our Saviour and friend Jesus, and see him draw his last breath. It is an opportunity to share the experience and to get strength from one another.
None of us would have done what Judas did. Betrayed Jesus? We can say “No”. Have we ever pushed someone in a similar way because of our own impatience and greed? Is there anything of Judas in us?
None of us would have done what Peter did. He promised to follow Jesus to the grave and then denied him because a servant girl asked a question. Who knows what we would really do under the circumstances? Have you ever imagined Peter who sat in that chilly courtyard denying Jesus? Is there anything of Peter in us? None of us would have done what Caiaphas did. Have we never weighed a difficult situation and then chosen the lesser of two evils?
None of us would have done what Pilate did. He shuttled back and forth between Jesus and his accusers, hoping for an easy answer, and escaping responsibilities. How many times have we listened to the wrong voice when we knew what to do, just because the right thing was neither the easy thing nor the popular thing? None of us would have done what the chief priests did. They shouted out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Then again, have we never been part of an angry crowd?
None of us would have done what the soldiers did. They mocked Jesus, dressed him in purple, and put a crown of thorns on his head. None of us would have nailed him to a cross, or gambled for his clothes, or pierced his side. Then again, good soldiers do what they are told to do. They are commended for it. Sometimes innocent people die because of that kind of wrongdoing.
None of us would have done what Mary did, would we? Stood there at the foot of the cross and watched a son’s life drain away? Or risked our lives like the disciple Jesus loved, by standing there with her? Some of us have watched as loved ones drew their last breath, painful as it was. Some of us have stayed by the bedside in that last hour. It is not hard to imagine the one who is dying saying to other family members, “Take good care of Mom.” Eventually we can say our good-byes.
Jesus also needed to say goodbye to his mother on the cross. The real meaning of this story is that Jesus was caring for his mother and thus fulfilling the Old Testament commandment to “honour your father and your mother”. (Exod. 20:12) Though this is the first of the “seven last words” recorded by John, it is in fact a third in the recognized seven words.
1. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34)
2. “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43)
3. “Dear woman, here is your son” . . . “Here is your mother” (John 19:26-27)
4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)
5. “I am thirsty” (John 19:28)
6. “It is finished” (John 19:30)
7. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46)
“Dear woman, here is your son” & “Here is your mother” (26-27)
Looking down Jesus said, “Woman, here is your son.” It means, “I am no longer your son. But then he said to the beloved disciple, “Here is your mother.” “Mother, I’m giving you a new son. Son, I’m giving you a new mother.” Jesus was forming a new family on the cross. Jesus said to His disciples before He completed His mission on earth. “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you,”
Jesus tells us on the cross at His moment of deepest grief, Jesus is calling us to live as if strangers are our brothers and sisters. Church is where we are gathered with first time strangers in Jesus’ name and called to look after brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus was telling His disciples about a new family on the cross and He wanted us to love and look after each other as a whole new church family.
Our families are a wonderful source of love and grace for us, but sometimes tragic stuff happens in our families. Mary suffered from the most painful moment watching her son of the cross. We may also see our suffering family members in our lives. May our suffering family and neighbours be recovered in the love of God. I hope we can remember that we have a new family in Christ looking after each other.
Today is Good Friday. Are we standing at the foot of the cross? Maybe this is where we need to stand. We are not betraying Jesus, not denying him, not judging him, not condemning him, not rejecting him, not mocking him, not cursing him, and not killing him, but we are standing at the foot of the cross with others who love Jesus. May we put our arms around each other for comfort and strength.
There are three last words of Jesus in John’s Gospel: “Woman, here is your son.” “[Son], here is your mother” (26); “I am thirsty” (28); and “It is finished” (30). John’s is the only Gospel that has three Marys standing near the cross, and Jesus entrusting his mother and the Beloved Disciple into one another’s care (25–26). For John, this act signifies more than that of a dutiful son caring for his mother at his death, or even of a Good Shepherd caring for his own until the end. In this simple act, Jesus also sows the seeds of the new family or community to come, in which family is redefined in ways that are not restricted to blood kin and in which members of that family are called to be responsible caretakers of one another.
Thus, all of those who stand at the cross on Good Friday, weeping over all the unjust, untimely, inhumane, and undeserved deaths they have known, may also find comfort and hope in the new community that Jesus provides for them, even in their moment of greatest grief.
Jesus is fulfilling his God-given mission. “It is finished” (30) is more than acknowledgement that Jesus’ life is coming to an end. It is affirmation that Jesus has finished the work God gave him to do, that he has loved his own until the end, and that even in his very act of dying, God is being glorified.
Jesus’ sacrifice is a voluntary self-offering, and by this Lamb’s blood we are welcomed and led into life of abundant and eternal. Though Jesus is betrayed, falsely accused, mocked, and condemned to death, yet God is sovereign. Today, we see and feel Jesus dying on the cross. On this day, Jesus was crucified. On this day, according to John, the Good Shepherd willingly offered his own life for his sheep. On this day, God won the ultimate victory over death and evil, even as death and evil appeared to have the upper hand.
The cross revealed the glory of Christ in his obedience to God, his care for other people, his innocence, and his control of the gates of glory. May we praise God for all He has done for us on the cross. May we commit ourselves to God. I pray that we can trust Jesus no matter how dark the storms.
May God’s grace, mercy, and strength be with you.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
(Ref. Bible, commentaries, theological books, UCA materials)