Grow! Pray! Study! Daily Guide from the United Methodist Church
of the Resurrection - Wednesday, 29 January 2014 – "He gave up his
life"
Daily Scripture: John 19:
16 Then
he handed him over to them to be crucified.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
So they took Jesus; 17 and carrying the cross by himself, he
went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew[a] is called
Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either
side, with Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also had an inscription written and
put on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth,[b] the King of the Jews.” 20
Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was
crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew,[c] in Latin, and in
Greek. 21 Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write,
‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” 22 Pilate
answered, “What I have written I have written.” 23 When the soldiers had
crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one
for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven
in one piece from the top. 24 So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it,
but cast lots for it to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill what the
scripture says,
“They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing
they cast lots.”
25 And that is what the soldiers did.
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and
his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus
saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to
his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Here
is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
28 After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he
said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour
wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of
hyssop and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the wine, he said,
“It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Footnotes:
a. John 19:17 That is, Aramaic
b. John 19:19 Gk the Nazorean
c. John 19:20 That is, Aramaic
Reflection Questions:
The gospel of John sought to cast light on the inner
implications of Jesus' life and teachings. John wrote that Jesus said no one
took his life from him; he chose to give it (John 10:17-18). So verse 17's
words that Jesus was "carrying his cross by himself" weren't denying
the story of Simon of Cyrene, but stressing that Jesus bore the spiritual
burden alone. John wanted us to clearly see Jesus as victor, not victim, on the
cross, so he wrote that "he gave up his life."
All four gospels reported the sign on Jesus' cross, with slight
wording variations. John wrote it as "Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the
Jews," and added a detail no one else recorded. The Romans wrote the sign
in Latin, Greek and Aramaic, proclaiming Jesus as king in the three great
languages of the ancient world. What kind of king reigns from a cross? What has
to happen in your heart to allow you to serve that kind of king?
Mark said Jesus gave a "loud cry" and died. John was
less interested in volume, and more in meaning—in his gospel, "Jesus said,
'It is completed.'" What was completed? M. Scott Peck quoted an old priest
who said, "The only ultimate way to conquer evil is to let it be smothered
within a willing, living human being. When it is absorbed there…it loses its
power and goes no further." Are you open to allow Jesus to complete in you
the work he declared completed as he gave up his life?
Today's Prayer:
Lord, you willingly gave yourself up, and in so doing you robbed
evil of its ultimate power to hurt and destroy. Give me the trust to live in
that victory, and to live it out as a force for good in your world. Amen.
Wednesday, 29 January 2014 – Insight from Angela LaVallie
Angela LaVallie is the Member Connection Program Director at The
Church of the Resurrection. She provides oversight to our member connection
efforts through the New Member Welcome Team,
the Reconnection Team, Holy Communion preparation, and our Spiritual
Gifts Discovery classes and Placement.
For many years, the church I grew up in often put on an Easter
musical/drama, depicting scenes from the Gospels. Some of these scenes were of
Jesus’ earlier life and teachings (one year I portrayed the adulterous woman
from John 8), his miracles, the crucifixion (another year, I portrayed Mary,
the wife of Clopas), and the resurrection. Some of our performances included
live animals, pyrotechnics, and lots of theatrics. Our goal was to bring the
story of Jesus to life, to give our audience a chance to come to know who he is
and what a gift his death and resurrection is.
One year, my brother portrayed Jesus, and when he struggled down
the aisle of the church, carrying the crossbar of the cross while soldiers
whipped him (he wore padding under his costume to soften the blows), the horror
of a dear loved one being punished and tortured unjustly became more real to me
than it ever had before.
One of the things that always strikes me when reading about
Jesus, but especially after seeing his life animated through various actors, is
his humility. Most people are drawn to a humble person. Not necessarily someone
who is weak, but someone whose priority is putting others’ interests above his
own. Throughout the Gospels, that’s what Jesus did. He taught about loving our
neighbors, and he looked out for the lost and lonely, the sick and poor.
Ultimately, he gave up his life by a humiliating death on a Roman cross. Even
though he asked God to “take this cup from [him]” (Matthew 26:39 and Mark
14:35-46), he was willing to do whatever it took to put the future of humankind
above his own life.
We become like whomever we emulate. When we choose to follow a
king who is humble, who puts the wellbeing of others above his needs, we have a
chance to become more like him. It is easy to see the grandeur of a leader who
seems all powerful and strong and larger than life because of wealth or might,
but we have a king who shows us a better way.
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United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224 United States
(913)897-0120
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