"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand."
Today's quote tells us that, as Jesus hung there, in what must have been almost unbearable pain, looked toward His mother, and while referring to John, His earthly brother, said, "Woman, behold thy son!" Then He said to John, "Behold thy mother!" By doing that, Jesus was following Jewish law and tradition by passing responsibility for the care of His mother on to John, His younger half brother.
This establishes that Jesus, being the oldest Son, had been the head of His family from the time His stepfather, Joseph, had died until the day He was crucified for our sins.
In the body of a feeling human man, and even while enduring those horrible events, Jesus, the Son of God, still had the presence of mind to do His duty as head of His earthly family.
The latter part of today's quote tells us there were many prophesies fulfilled that day and how Arimathaea, a Jew and one who was a believer in Christ, owned a new tomb and persuaded Pilate to allow him to bury our savior there.
The lessons that can be taken from the events of that fateful day are many, from the total lack of interest demonstrated by the Roman soldiers, who created a contest to decide the ownership of Jesus' clothes, to the total heartbreak of those, very devoted disciples, who had followed Jesus from the beginning. None of whom fully understood the divine awesomeness of what was happening that day.
We, as Christians, should take the time to read over all four accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus, being careful to analyze all the events and try to understand the awesome significance of them as they would then, and later, apply to the lives of every human being, past, present, and future.~
No comments:
Post a Comment