John 19:25

John 19:25 says, Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and her sister Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. These three women were there at the cross with Jesus.  They did not let the threat of being associated with Jesus turn them away.  We can only wonder what must have been going through their thoughts. Mary, the mother of Jesus, had been told she was to be the mother of the Savior, and now He was on the cross.  It would be a lot for any mother to witness, but it had to be especially hard on her.  She was not there as any sort of co-savior, but as a mother in anguish.  The other two Mary's must have been wondering how this could be happening, but they did not abandon Jesus.  We today may not always understand everything that happens in our following Jesus, but even when things look hopeless, we must not abandon Jesus.  We must realize that His grace will sustain us.  The world was not defeating Jesus that day, no matter how it looked.  Verse twenty-six adds, When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the discipline standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, "Woman, behold thy son."  Jesus called her woman instead of mother, not out of disrespect, but to keep people from trying to elevate her to an almost God like status, which some have done anyway.  He was also meeting her needs.  We are not told where her other children were, but the disciple Jesus loved was there.  Had we been alive during the crucifixion, where would we have been?  Would Jesus have had enough faith in our devotion to Him to trust us with the care of His mother?  There were no governmental programs to take care of widows.  So, Jesus was entrusting Mary to the care of the disciple He loved, which most see as being John.  I have to wonder how John felt about this, but verse twenty-seven continues, Then saith He to the disciple, "Behold thy mother!  And from that hour, that disciple took her unto his own home.  He had been following Jesus, Who was now on the cross and was entrusting John to make sure Mary was provided for.  His career for three years had been following Jesus, so what was he to do now?  We, like John, have to believe that if God calls us to do something, He will provide the way.  We might also wonder where Mary's other children were, but the fact of being born to one in a right relationship with God does not mean that we have the same right relationship.  Jesus knew John believed in Him, even if he questioned what was happening.  We can only hope God would have the same faith in us.  We are His, not by birth, but by acceptance of His call and through His sacrifice on the cross.  The only way to God is through the cross.

John 19:23

John 19:23 says, Now the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also His coat: now His coat was coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.  Jesus did not leave many earthly possessions, only His garments.  Jesus was stripped bare on the cross.  Until sin came into the world, being naked was not considered wrong, and now Jesus was bearing even this first symbol of sin on the cross.  Jesus died for all sins, from the beginning to the end of time.  Verse twenty-four adds, They said therefore amongst themselves, "Let's not rend it, but let's cast lots for it, whose it shall be:" that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted My raiment among them, and for My vesture they did cast lots.  These things therefore the soldiers did. The soldiers were not concerned at all about Jesus on the cross.  They were only concerned with how much they could profit from His execution.  They were totally focused on material things, not the Savior on the cross.  Had they realized Who He really was, I think they would have changed their focus.  Some people today attempt to use Jesus only for their own gain.  They may attend worship services and religious events, but their eye is always on the garments, or how they can profit from their attendance.  Though, like the soldiers, Jesus was on the cross for them, they never look up to the cross.  When we are gathered in His name, we need to make sure that our focus is on Him.  As we go through everyday life, we need to make sure that we look to Jesus for salvation, not for material blessings.  The soldiers got a material blessing, but they missed the spiritual restoration that Jesus came to bring.  Even though they did not know it, they were fulfilling scripture.  This is another reason we can know that everything that Jesus did was not to cause scripture to be fulfilled, but that scripture was fulfilled because of what He did.  These soldiers were unaware of the scripture, but the scripture was fulfilled because of them.  We do not need to try to conform scripture to the world, because the world will be conformed to scripture.  All we have to do is keep our focus on Jesus, not the material things of this world.

John 19:19

John 19:19 says, And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross.  And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS. Pilate was still trying to placate the Jews and humiliate Jesus, but he published the truth.  Pilate may have also wanted to make himself look better to Caesar, but the inscription as written had no charge worthy of death.  All Pilate did was publish the truth for all to see. When the world attempts to discredit Jesus today, it can never be done with the truth.  Any attempt to discredit Jesus must be made on lies.  Pilate, with his title written above Jesus on the cross was a witness to the world of Who Jesus really is.  Nothing that was written there brought any disgrace to Jesus.  Verse twenty adds, The title then read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh unto the city, and it was written in Hebrew,and Greek, and Latin. Jesus was not crucified in some remote location where few people would ever see Him.  Part of the purpose of a crucifixion was to put a certain fear into others, so the officials wanted it to be witnessed by many people.  Since Pilate had the title written in three of the everyday languages of that day, he became a witness to Christ not only to the Jews, but to nearly everyone else around. It is always ironic when in an attempt to discredit Jesus that people point others to Him.  Many of those passing by that day might not have known Who Jesus was had Pilate not told them.  Pilate also, by writing the title in three languages, implied that Jesus was the Savior, not only of the Jews, but of the whole world.  Pilate had acknowledged that any fault found with Jesus was with the Jews, but he proclaimed Him to the world.  Verse twenty-one continues, And the said the chief priests of the Jews unto Pilate, "Write not the King of the Jews, but that He said I am King of the Jews."  They did not want the truth published.  They were trying to discredit Jesus, and Pilate was proclaiming Him to be exactly Who He said He was.  When God's truth is proclaimed, those who teach a false religion or those who teach falsely about the One God do not like it.  Verse twenty-two concludes, Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."  Pilate may have wanted to put the chief priests in their place.  He had allowed the crucifixion based on their claim that Jesus was a threat to Caesar, and this would be a statement about what happened to those who opposed Caesar.  As followers of Christ, we a called on to present the truth of Who He is, no matter the situation.  His people that day failed, but His truth was still proclaimed.

John 19:17

John 19:17 says, And He, bearing His cross, went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha.  They had scourged and beaten Jesus, attempted to humiliate Him by dressing Him as royalty, and now the final humiliation before His crucifixion was to have to bear His cross.  The Jewish leaders, who were the leaders of God's people, thought they were finally to be rid of Jesus, Who was indeed the long-awaited Messiah.  They were wrong.  We may sometimes say that we cannot do something that we feel God wants us to because it would be to embarrassing.  When we do, we need to remember what happened to Jesus.  When we think that God is just asking too much of us, remember Jesus carrying His cross to His crucifixion.  Though it may be portrayed otherwise in movies, I believe that Jesus' thoughts were only on the heavenly Father, as they were in the Garden.  For that reason, I believe that when we feel life has become to hard to bear, we need to turn our thoughts to the heavenly Father and focus only on His will.  If we do, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will never be defeated by the world.  The world may think it has defeated us, but if we are true to God's calling, it never will.  Even burdened with the cross, beaten and abused, Jesus was not on His way to defeat, but to victory.  We need to remember that God has assured us the victory through the cross of Jesus.  Verse eighteen adds, Where they crucified Him, and two other with Him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.  The world saw Jesus as nothing special, even at His crucifixion.  He was just one of three being put to death on a cross.  As Jesus was hanging there, the religious leaders and the crowd must have felt victorious. The religious leaders probably felt self-righteous satisfaction.  They had preserved their status.  When the world sees the cross today, if it means anything, it means the defeat of a long-ago person called Jesus.  To the leaders of some religions, it means the same thing.  It was nothing special.  To the Jews today, again it was nothing special. As followers of Christ, to us it must mean everything.  There is no other way to God but through the cross of Christ.

John 19:16

John 19:16 says, Then delivered he Him therefore unto them to be crucified.  And they took Jesus, and led Him away.  Pilate had a battle raging in his conscience, and what was easier won over what was right.  He still had found no fault with Jesus, but he was turning Him over to be executed.  When we, as followers of Christ, begin to do what is easiest for us instead of what is morally correct, we are just as guilty as Pilate of rejecting Jesus.  That does not make us lost again, but it does make us guilt of following self-will instead of following God's will.  Pilate turned Jesus over to the Jews instead of His soldiers.  He was still trying to put the responsibility on others, but it was his alone.  We may attempt to put the responsibility for our actions on others, but they are ours alone.  If you have learned anything about what I believe the Bible teaches, it is that free will is always the determining factor.  Just as Pilate could not excuse his responsibility in the crucifixion, neither could any individual Jew who was a part of the crowd who led Him away.  We cannot excuse our actions just because everybody, or even most Christians, is doing it.  Not being Catholic, he is not my Pope, but the Pope just made a statement that Christians have a responsibility to make sure that any "news" they pass along is true.  In the age of social media, it is easy for a lie to be passed along as truth, and many times Christians pass these lies along.  Sometimes, if you attempt to correct them, they get angry at you, but as followers of Christ, we have a responsibility to seek the truth.  If we cannot verify that something is true, we need to not repeat it, no matter how many likes or comments it gets.  The Jews that day could no more excuse themselves for calling for the crucifixion of Jesus because everyone there wanted it than could Pilate for turning Jesus over to them.  They each had an individual responsibility, as do we today when it comes to the truth.  We, as followers of Christ, we cannot justify our actions based on anything except what Jesus would do.  We can never find fault in the will of God.  As I have said before, God's will applies to every decision we make.  If we do something wrong, we cannot just decide to do better on our own.  We must ask God's forgiveness if we are truly His.  We can neither excuse nor forgive ourselves.

John 19:14

John 19:14 says, And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour:  he saith unto the Jews, "Behold your King." The Jews had another reason to hurry.  It was almost Passover, and they needed Jesus crucified so it wouldn't intefere with their worship plans.  They were spending time persecuting Jesus when they should have been purging their lives of sin.  As followers of Christ, though not on the scale of what they were doing, we can be guilty of spending worship time thinking hatefully about others and doing anything but purging sin from our lives.  When we acknowledge it, all time should be a time to worship God, not to condemn and hate others.  Pilate told them to behold their King.  He was likely showing them how little of a threat Jesus was to Caesar, which showed the absurdity of their claim.  He was also saying that if they wanted Jesus as King, there He was.  Yet, though he didn't know it, Pilate was proclaiming the truth.  Jesus was their King, and all they had to do was accept Him.  Jesus may be presented to the world today by those who do not believe in Him with scorn or ridicule, but He is still King. Jesus may not be the ruler in the sense that people think He should be, but He is still King.  The world may think that they have beaten Him, but Jesus is still King.   Verse fifteen adds, But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him."  And Pilate saith unto them, "Shall I crucify your King?"  And the chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar."  They did not want Jesus in their sight anymore unless He was on the cross.  They did not want to claim Him as one of their own, much less as King.  Until we see Jesus on the cross, we cannot see Him as our Savior and Lord.  We are not one of His until we accept what He did for us there.  When Pilate asked if he should crucify their King, they said away with Him and crucify Him.  May we as His people never choose the world, or even religion, over Jesus.

John 19:12

John 19:12 says, And thenceforth Pilate sought to release Him: but the Jews cried out saying, "If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever makers himself a king speaketh against Caesar."   Pilate was again ready to do the right thing.  He was going to release Jesus.  He had attempted to do it and still placate the Jews, but now he was ready to just do his duty and release Jesus.  When we attempt to justify doing right on the based on the actions of a mob, we are ultimately going to have to decide whether to do right or not regardless.  The Jews then accused Pilate of not being Caesar's friend if he released Jesus.  If they could not convince Pilate based on false charges, then they would appeal to him based on fear for his own safety.  If he released Jesus and a revolt broke out, he would be responsible.  If we deny Christ based on what the world may think of us or do to us, we are just like Pilate.  We are letting fear rule our lives instead of faith.  Though Jesus had said His kingdom was not of this world, His people, the Jews, were using the claim that He was going to establish an earthly kingdom to get Pilate to do what they wanted.  We need to ensure that we, as followers of Jesus, never allow fear to rule our relationship with Him.  Verse thirteen adds, When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and set down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, or in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.  Pilate, having already found no fault in Jesus, was ready to judge Him again.  Pilate was now more concerned with how Caesar would view his actions than he was the innocence of Jesus.  When people of the world today cannot convict Jesus on one lie, they will look to another.  When we as His followers allow the crowd to determine our faithfulness to Jesus, we will never be the witness we should be.  When we, like the Jews, actually work against Christ to be accepted by the crowd, there is something fundamentally wrong with our faith in Him.  We must stand for what is right, even if we stand alone.  Again, Christ is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.  We cannot say that there are areas of life where morality does not matter and truly follow Christ.