Narrative Lectionary for Maundy Thursday, 17
April 2014
Lectionary Scriptures:
John 19: 23 Then the soldiers,
when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every
soldier a part; and also the coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from
the top throughout. 24 Then they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but
cast lots for it to decide whose it will be,” that the Scripture might be
fulfilled, which says,
“They parted my garments among them.
For my cloak they cast
lots.”[a]
Therefore the soldiers did these things. 25
But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s
sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 Therefore when Jesus
saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his
mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold,
your mother!” From that hour, the disciple took her to his own home.
28 After this, Jesus, seeing[b] that all
things were now finished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I am
thirsty.” 29 Now a vessel full of vinegar was set there; so they put a sponge
full of the vinegar on hyssop, and held it at his mouth. 30 When Jesus
therefore had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished.” He bowed his
head, and gave up his spirit.
Footnotes:
a. John 19:24 Psalm 22:18
b. John 19:28 NU, TR read “knowing” instead of
“seeing”
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Commentary on John
19:23-30 by Thomas B. Slater
It was customary for
Roman soldiers to keep the garments of persons they had just executed.
They divided Jesus’
garments as a prize among themselves. The tunic was so well made that they
thought it better not to tear it but to gamble for it. Surely, gambling for the
clothes of the condemned constituted the final indignity for the prisoner who
sees this while he is slowly, helplessly, and painfully dying.
John sees this as a
fulfillment of Psalm 22:18, the same psalm quoted in the Synoptic Gospels but
at a different point: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me” (Psalm 22:1).
Evidently, this psalm played a major role in the early church’s understanding
of the mission and ministry of Jesus. Moreover, while the fulfillment of
Scripture has been primarily associated with Matthew’s Gospel, this reference
tells us that fulfillment of the Old Testament was important in early
Christianity beyond Matthew’s church.
Reflections on John
19:25-27
In this section, Jesus
shows concern for his mother. In first century Judaism, a woman was considered
the ward (to put it politely) of her oldest, closest living male adult
relative. This usually meant her husband, her father, or her oldest son. In
some instances it could mean a grandfather, uncle, brother, or cousin. It was
believed that women needed to be protected and have someone to provide for
their needs. While there were numerous contradictions to this belief at every
level of Roman society, cultural norms often outlive their applicability and/or
relevance. This one is no different.
Note the manner in which
Jesus addresses his mother, “Woman” (see also John 2:4). This would not have
been seen as disrespectful then as it is today. As her oldest adult male
relative, Jesus was both her protector and provider and could speak to her in
this manner. This is a cultural norm and not a theological one.
John identifies four
women at the cross as Jesus dies (slowly). Two are relatives and two are
disciples. By being there, they have risked being identified with him and
opening themselves to arrest. Their presence connoted their fidelity to,
affection for, and piety toward Jesus. The only man mentioned, and presumably
present, was the Beloved Disciple. His presence would have connoted the same
manner and degree of fidelity, affection, and piety associated with the woman.
If this fact were
unclear to any reader, it becomes clear when Jesus says to his mother, “Woman,
behold, your son!” And he says to the Beloved Disciple, “Behold, your mother!”
Jesus empowers the Beloved Disciple to take his place as the senior son, the
provider and protector of his mother from that moment on. To the original
readers this would have been a powerful sign that the Beloved Disciple was “the
man,” the true successor to Jesus not only in Jesus’ biological family but also
in the family of faith, Christianity.
The Beloved Disciple’s
closeness to Jesus was probably in dispute in some early Christian circles
because he was not a biological relative. Also, we should note that he was
never called an apostle in the Gospel of John. This scene would have conveyed
that even without those credentials he was Jesus’ most dear confident and
colleague and, more importantly, that the Beloved Disciple has passed on to his
group of early Christians a true, valid Jesus-tradition.
In turn, this would have
been a tremendous boost to Johannine Christianity in succeeding generations.
They could point to the closeness between Jesus and the Beloved Disciple as
proof of their religious propriety. This would have been important as Johannine
Christianity encountered other Christian traditions that were not exactly like their
own, for example, law-abiding Matthean and Lukan Christian movements and
law-free Pauline Christianity.
Finally, we would be
remiss if we did not also mention the very human element in this scene: Jesus
loved his mother so much that as he was dying he asked a worthy friend to take
care of her for him.
Reflections on John
19:28-30
Again we note the
fulfillment of Scripture identified by the fourth evangelist (Psalm 69:21).
These fulfillment-references in this section are generally consistent with
their original contexts, but they also indicate that the Crucifixion was not an
expected event and the early church sought Scripture for explanations. (During
the first Christian century, the collections considered Scripture by most
Jewish Christians were probably the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.)
Jesus suffers another
indignity: he asks for water and the soldiers give sour wine to a man dying a
slow, painful, and dehydrating death. Compassion clearly was on vacation. The
means of grace received no grace.
Jesus then announces
that his mission has been completed and he breathes his last and dies. His hour
has come. He accepts it. He moves on to the next stage. Jesus provides a good
example for all sorts of transitions. We need to accept when it is time to move
on and do so. All around us we see examples of people who need to retire or who
need to step aside at church so that someone else might have the joy of
serving. Or we see parents who still want to govern the affairs of their adult
children or, worse, their adult grandchildren! Clearly, they need to recognize
what time it is and govern themselves accordingly.
When Michael Jordan was
voted into the NBA Hall of Fame, his comments were that now he knew that there
could not be a comeback to play in the NBA. How sad that when one lives so
completely in the past that one cannot enjoy the present. In turn, one cancels
out the future. Without the death, there is no Easter and its glory. As with
Jesus, unless our pasts die in some way, our futures cannot be born.
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John Wesley’s
Notes-Commentary for
John 19:23-30
Verse 23
[23] Then the soldiers,
when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every
soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from
the top throughout.
The vesture — The upper
garment.
Verse 24
[24] They said therefore
among themselves, Let us not rend it, but 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.
They parted my garments
among them — No circumstance of David's life bore any resemblance to this, or
to several other passages in the 22d Psalm. So that in this scripture, as in
some others, the prophet seems to have been thrown into a preternatural
ecstacy, wherein, personating the Messiah, he spoke barely what the Spirit
dictated, without any regard to himself. Psalms 22:18.
Verse 25
[25] Now there stood by
the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of
Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
His mother's sister —
But we do not read she had any brother. She was her father's heir, and as such
transmitted the right of the kingdom of David to Jesus: Mary, the wife of
Cleopas - Called likewise Alpheus, the father, as Mary was the mother of James,
and Joses, and Simon, and Judas.
Verse 27
[27] Then saith he to
the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto
his own home.
Behold thy mother — To
whom thou art now to perform the part of a son in my place, a peculiar honour
which Christ conferred on him.
From that hour — From
the time of our Lord's death.
Verse 29
[29] Now there was set a
vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon
hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
A stalk of hyssop —
Which in those countries grows exceeding large and strong. Psalms 69:21.
Verse 30
[30] When Jesus
therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his
head, and gave up the ghost.
It is finished — My
suffering: the purchase of man's redemption.
He delivered up his
spirit — To God, Matthew 27:50.
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