April 18, 2025

Today's Reading: John 19:17-30

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 12:29-32; 13:1-16; Lamentations 5:1-22, Hebrews 6:1-20, Psalm 22

“he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’” (John 19:26b-27)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Dying is very deadly. Dead is dark. The light of the world is no longer shining. Darkness has covered the world. The curtain in the temple is torn. The clothes of Christ have been divided up between the pagan Roman soldiers. The disciples have all fled but one. Peter has denied knowing the savior. Jesus hangs naked between two thieves in the local landfill with only one disciple and His mother nearby. He entrusts His mother to John and declares that His father has forsaken Him. He drinks and breathes His last. Dying is very deadly.

His final words on the cross are comforting. His final words on the cross are words that draw our attention to the garden of Eden when God gave us the gift of marriage. In Genesis 2:24, God gives us the fundamental premise of marriage when He says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” From the cross, Christ separates himself from His earthly mother in John 19:26-27: “…he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!...” Christ has left His mother. In Matthew 27:46, Christ calls from the cross, “...My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Christ is separated from His Father. The son leaves His father and mother and holds fast to his wife. In the death of Christ, a marriage vow is fulfilled. The groom has loved His bride to the point that He dies for her. Scripture is fulfilled in the final sacrifice. When His side is pierced, blood and water pour from His side. In the first Adam, his wife comes from his side. Adam stands by as she eats from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Death is ushered in through their disobedience. The marks of the church in word and sacrament come from the side of the second Adam, Jesus, as water and blood pour out. He is bound to His bride, the church, in the fulfillment of Scripture. Where Adam failed to die for his bride, Christ has fulfilled the debt owed by us in His death on the cross.

All our sins went to the cross on Good Friday. All our sins went to the tomb when He was buried. He who knew no sin became sin for us. Sin is buried. All your sins are covered in the blood of Christ. All your sins are atoned for in His deadly dying on the cross. All your sins went to the grave on Good Friday and were buried. The covenant is complete; the atonement for the sins of the world is finished.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, graciously behold this Your family for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed and delivered into the hands of sinful men to suffer death upon the cross; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for Good Friday)

-Rev. Timothy Davis, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Visit the timeless rhythms of the Christian life with award-winning author Harold L. Senkbeil. As he addresses the concerns and pressures of the world today, you'll discover that even while the world is dying, Christ's death brings about life. True life. One that He offers to you. Order Now!