Daily Worship

The sins of an entire man

April 14, 2017 0 0

John 19:25-30

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing near by, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ 27 and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

The death of Jesus

28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’ 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Lord, I am astonished.  Right there, on the Cross, in the midst of indescribable, unbearable, awful humiliation and pain, You thought of others.  You thought of Your mother and her pain, watching You suffer.  You thought of Your friend, and his anguish.  And You made sure they knew to take care of one another when it was over.  

But You thought of us too.  You thought even of me.  For every single act of selfish, thoughtless, cruel, judgmental, horribly sinful thing I have ever said, done or thought, You bore on Your shoulders that day.  All the things for which I should be punished, You endured in my place.   The sins of an entire man.

More than that: the sins of an entire world on one pair of shoulders.  The hands that created the world nailed to the Cross.  The heart of love broken for a broken world.

The eyes of my heart are on You forever, Jesus. *  I love You.

“Jesus drank the wine and said, ‘It is finished!’  Then he bowed his head and died.”  John 19:30

*Tim Hughes