Tag: John 19

Holding Fast to Hope

Old Testament: Job 17 & 18

Poetry: Psalm 39

New Testament: John 19

The world is filled with a great deal of uncertainty and challenges, much like a battlefield.  At many times, life is so filled with ambushes and snares that we should abide by the military mantra, “expect the unexpected.”  Consequently, if we live our lives dodging bullets and treating everyone like they are the enemy, we may survive but we aren’t following orders.  You can desert God’s plan and work on one of your own but the glory of God cannot be yours without taking his marching orders.  Whatever unforeseen opposition comes our way, we shouldn’t change our battle plan.  We have to expect the expected, meaning what we hope for does not change by any circumstance that is thrown our way.  Our hope only grows closer in these circumstances, and our faith brings clarity in tumultuous times.

“Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.” – Job 17.9

In the midst of Job’s trials and sufferings, Job speaks that the righteous are true to their pledge.  The same hope exists in times of peace and times of war.   However, when we are battle-tested and endure, our faith is made stronger, much like tree roots that dig deeper into the soil during a storm. There will be waves of doubt and despair that will combat our hope, but when we are firmly planted in the ground with a source of Living Water, there is nothing that can make us shakeable, to lose the fruit of the Spirit that we bear.

“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” – Psalm 39:7

Conversely, in the fog of war, there is confusion.  The next step can seem unclear. In the midst of doing ministry, fighting off sin, or disciplining your children, we must look to the Lord. His solutions are not based in our fleeting circumstances.  His answers are not temporary solutions to momentarily cover our wounds. His resolution will be based in eternity.  Our hope is in the one whose hands hold the world. We are secure in seeking Him because He is unchanging.  He clears the fog and leads us by our faith and not our sight.

“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” – John 19:30

We must always bear in mind that Jesus Christ completes this hope.  He believed, he hoped that His death on the cross would not only lead to resurrection for himself, but resurrection for us all who put our faith in Him.  He fulfilled the hope of so many who were looking for a Messiah in the Old Testament, and he completes the hope of us all who desperately need a Savior.  What a great hope is this that while we still struggle with our sins, Christ has already died for us as an offering, so we can be in His kingdom.  The cross defeats addiction.  The cross defeats abuse.  The cross defeats poverty.  The cross defeats shame.  The cross defeats sin.  The cross defeats every power in this age, including the enemy of death.  It is in the power of the cross that we have a hope, so we can march on with our banner held high proclaiming the hope that we have and instilling fear in our enemies.

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. Where do you put your hope? How would you describe it to an unbelieving neighbor?
  2. What can someone who feels they are in a hopeless situation learn from Job, David and Jesus?
  3. What do you learn about God from today’s passages?
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The Unlikely Pair

John 19

April 16

Each year, we talk extensively about Jesus’ death on Friday and resurrection on Sunday. The in-between often gets skipped in our remembrance, those long hours of grieving—and for Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus—burying Jesus’ body.  

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. 

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were both secret disciples. They feared making their public allegiance to the controversial Jesus. Both were members of the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish council—the same institution that crucified Jesus. They used their status as religious elite to approach Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body to bury properly. 

They used to follow Jesus in hushed voices and under the veil of night. Now, they are boldly professing their faith in the same circle they once feared persecution. 

Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.  At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:38-42)

Although Joseph and Nicodemus were an unlikely pair to care for Jesus’ body, they were chosen by God for two apparent reasons. 

First, belief in the resurrection hinged on the testimony of those who witnessed Jesus’ lifeless body. Joseph and Nicodemus weren’t one of Jesus’ ragamuffin friends whose testimony would likely be questioned. No, they were respected and trusted as members of the religious elite. In this way, Joseph and Nicodemus were two of the first agents of Christian apologetics. 

Second, ordinarily, crucified criminals like Jesus would have been buried anonymously in a field. Joseph, however, brings the body to his own designated tomb. This fulfilled the prophecy that Jesus would be buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9)

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53:9)

Ultimately, God positions people for His purposes. Joseph and Nicodemus were perfectly positioned for this holy task, which begs the question: what has God positioned you to do? 

Child of God, you are chosen and well-equipped. 

-Mackenzie McClain

Discussion Questions: 

  1. What has God positioned you to do? Can you recall any circumstances in your life that God used for His purposes?
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Between the Darkness and the Dawn

John 19

John 19 30 b

Last night, Christians worldwide, celebrated and lamented Good Friday. We do not call it Good because we are happy or rejoice at what took place with Jesus on the cross, but because in the crucifixion of Jesus, we are bought and redeemed. Jesus went to the hill of Calvary, in the area known as the Place of the Skull, carrying a cross down the Via Dolorosa for us; Jesus knew that if he did not walk that path, to that place, and march up that hill, all people would be stuck in darkness. We would be forever covering our sins, and never removing them. We would be forever wishing to be better, but never having a Counselor to teach us truths and transform our hearts.
Can you imagine what it was like that first Good Friday and Holy Saturday? Jesus hangs limply from a cross; his disciples had abandoned him, denied him, betrayed him. On either side, two criminals, now with two fates, both die laboriously. Women, who followed this man they called Messiah, crowned with thorns, now lifeless. All creation waits with baited breath for what comes next. Sitting in cosmic darkness, existence waits for Light to dawn.
In our area, sister churches gathered together to commemorate this moment. One thing we tried to experience together was silence. Silence and solitude are twin spiritual disciplines; tragically, they are both neglected in modern Christianity. As you today, sit in the space between Crucifixion and Resurrection, find some space for silence and solitude.
Turn off the phone
Power down the computer
Turn off the background Netflix
Enter into silence, find a place of solitude.
We may find we are sitting in darkness. Don’t be afraid to admit that. Darkness comes, and after that, the Dawn.
Silence can be awkward and uncomfortable. Most of us run from it at the first chance. But when we calm ourselves, when we take a moment to appreciate the silence and the stillness, we come to find that our souls have more to say than we previously thought. Our souls may weep at a chance to speak, having been pent up for so long. As Nicodemus and Joseph leaped at the opportunity to serve the rabbi they followed from a distance, so our souls, in silence and solitude, leap up to tell us their deepest desires. But we must allow them.
And when they speak, we will find that they desire the one who died on the cross, the one who will set them free.
In this time of cosmic twilight, we are betwixt our darkest moment and the brightest day, let us do well to remember the words of Christ.
It
Is
Finished.
-Jake Ballard