John 19:16-37
Jesus is Crucified
16 So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,
“They divided my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.”
So this is what the soldiers did.
25 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 nearby, 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.
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.
31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
Luke 18:31-34
Jesus Predicts His Death for the Third Time
31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; 33 they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”
34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
Matthew 5:4
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Luke 1:26-38
The Holy Spirit Comes Upon Mary
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Mother Mary stood near the cross of her Son...Also His Mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood nearby...When her Son saw His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your Mother.”...From that time on, this disciple took her into his home...
Mary might have remembered what He had said at the Sermon on the Mount...There He said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."...She knew He was and is...After all, she knew how she became impregnated by the Holy Spirit...And she a virgin, would give birth...She knew how different He was from her other children, and how different He was from all children...He would always be her Child, no matter what was happening...Would she at this time remember that her Son would be called the Son of the Most High?...Would she remember the LORD God would give him the throne of His Father David?...And that her Son would reign over Jacob’s descendants forever?...And His kingdom will never end?...
But Mary now watched her Son hang from the cross...And then He died on that cross...And He died before she died...And the question that might be ask, because of who He is, was His early death a blessing for her...Surely Mary must have wondered and had thoughts as these events unfolded -thoughts like, "God what are You doing, I really do not understand"?...After all He is the Father of her Son...I actually believe Jesus would have prepared His Mother as best He could have for this situation and time...After all, He told His Disciples three times that He would go to Jerusalem and die...But even if He had prepared Mary as best One could, when this moment was actually upon her, the reality of it would maybe feelings of unreality, as He hung on the cross in front of her...How can one be prepared for their Son dying, right in front of their eyes?...How could a Mother not grieve when she has loses a Child?...Surely this day and the next two were as hard on her, as it was His Disciples...
This blessing is an unlikely blessing...As she mourned, we can better see some of the meaning of His Sermon on the Mount...Blessings may happen at unexpected and different times, in different places, and in unexpected and different ways...Her mourning, grief, and sorrow would be gone in three days...Mary's Son would defeat death...His life would rise again after the third day...Sinners would be set free from their sins, because a Mother's Son...An unexpected blessing in an unexpected place, and at an unexpected time...