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The Death of Jesus
(Matthew 27.45-56; Luke 23.44-49; John 19.28-30)
33About noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until around three o'clock. 34 Then about that time Jesus shouted, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”
35Some of the people standing there heard Jesus and said, “He is calling for Elijah.” 36 One of them ran and grabbed a sponge. After he had soaked it in wine, he put it on a stick and held it up to Jesus. He said, “Let's wait and see if Elijah will come and take him down!” 37Jesus shouted and then died.
38 At once the curtain in the temple tore in two from top to bottom.
39A Roman army officer was standing in front of Jesus. When the officer saw how Jesus died, he said, “This man really was the Son of God!”
40-41 Some women were looking on from a distance. They and many others had come with Jesus to Jerusalem. But even before this they had been his followers and had helped him while he was in Galilee. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joseph were two of these women. Salome was also one of them.
Jesus Is Buried
(Matthew 27.57-61; Luke 23.50-56; John 19.38-42)
42It was now the evening before the Sabbath, and the Jewish people were getting ready for that sacred day. 43A man named Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to ask Pilate for the body of Jesus. Joseph was a highly respected member of the Jewish council, and he was also waiting for God's kingdom to come.
44Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, and he called in the army officer to find out if Jesus had been dead very long. 45After the officer told him, Pilate let Joseph have Jesus' body.
46Joseph bought a linen cloth and took the body down from the cross. He had it wrapped in the cloth, and he put it in a tomb that had been cut into solid rock. Then he rolled a big stone against the entrance to the tomb.
47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were watching and saw where the body was placed.
Reflect
Thwack! Thwack! Ominous thuds jerked me awake and propelled me to the window. Something hard, striking something hollow. Then, raging shouts and pleading cries.
I didn’t want to look. I had to look. I did look.
A man lay on the street, curled in a fetal position. Pleading. Another stood over him, cursing and kicking his head. A red river flowed onto the pavement.
My stomach churned. I barely made it to the telephone to call for help. A compulsion to do something, anything, to stop the horror, overwhelmed me. Fear and perhaps a measure of common sense kept me inside, fighting nausea, but peering out anxiously until aid arrived.
I didn’t know the man on the ground. In spite of that, a tsunami of emotion gripped me—pity and rage that one human being could treat another so viciously.
How much greater those emotions must have been for the three women who stood within view of the Perfect Sacrifice, knowing, as his blood ran free, that love alone hung him there.
Perhaps they had seen crucifixions before—but not this one. Not HIM. I wonder if they had to link arms to stop each other from rushing forward and doing something foolhardy, or if they froze harder to the spot with each hammer blow, each insult.
The women who had followed and served Jesus in life, who stood at a distance as he died, also followed him after his death. Motivated by love and a tsunami of emotion that demanded they serve somehow, they followed their broken Saviour’s body to its final resting place.
Oh, if there’s one thing those of us who follow Christ today must never become cold to, it’s the very real, very human emotion surrounding his life and death on earth. It’s what keeps us tuned to the needs of the human beings he died for. Us. For when our emotions are stirred, our hearts are moved. And when our hearts are moved, we are motivated to respond. In love, in service, and in surrender.
Respond
Lord, so many needs surround us. Move my heart to compassion, so I, like these women, may love enough to serve those you would have me stand beside.
Kathleen Gibson
Kathleen began following Jesus at six. The Word and words have captivated her ever since. Her career has included time as a freelancer, columnist, broadcaster, conference speaker, workshop leader and magazine editor. She has authored two books and currently works full-time as constituency and communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Kathleen and her husband, Rick, spent thirty years pastoring churches across Western Canada. They have two children and six grandchildren. Publications: Practice by Practice, the art of everyday faith, 2010, Word Alive, Winnipeg; West Nile Diary, one couple’s triumph over a deadly disease, 2009, BPS Books, Toronto; Sunny Side Up, Faith and Life newspaper column, published weekly since 2001. (Also posted weekly at www.kathleengibson.ca/sunnysideup); 90 second inspirational radio spot, Simple Words, airs on a syndicated program in over twenty countries