you’re going to need a bigger library…
FRIDAY
This Week’s Reading: John 21.15-25
REFLECT
This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. John 21.24-25 | ESV
And that disciple is me, your narrator, the one who solemnly swears to the truth of all this, the one who painstakingly recorded every word of this testimony. And yet there’s so much more that could have been added to it! All the other many, many things that Jesus did!
Where to begin?
Where to end!?
I’ve barely even scratched it! And were I to undertake the recording of it all, well, I don’t suppose there are enough trees on the planet to provide the pulp to make the paper for the pages nor the world itself a big enough library to contain all the books that would have to be written… John 21.24-25 | MAV (Mike’s Amplified Version)
RECEIVE
I often encounter the supposition that we must have a correct grasp of the nature of Christ in order “to be saved” (by which we usually mean “enter our heavenly rewards later on”).
That supposition makes me smile on two levels (at least).
First, Jesus was constantly telling those he encountered “ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέν σε.” And yes, that’s foreign to us – oh so foreign! Said in this case to a woman who only knew that this was no ordinary man, and that all she had to do was touch the edge of his garment. “Your faith has saved you/ made you whole.” No understanding or grasp of Trinitarian delineations or of hypostatic union – she just grabbed the hem of his garment was healed without Jesus’ conscious engagement – power just “went out” from him, and he was left trying to figure out where.
Jesus is bigger, his reach longer than our understanding/misunderstanding and grasp of who he is. Which is a good thing, because the world can’t contain the books that would have to be written to “cover” just the three decades of his life on this planet.
We’re not even talking about his eternal nature and state!
No book can contain that, no mind can grasp it!
Which is the second reason I smile at the assumption we have to understand Jesus correctly in order for him to impact and touch us. He is the Cosmic Christ, the Eternal Word that holds all things together – including these brain cells that are trying to sort him out.
It’s more important that we allow him to sort us –
which is exactly what he has been doing on these shores of the Gospel of John.
RELATE
Which “signpost” from your journey through the Gospel of John has most impacted you? Why?
And How?
RESPOND
Lord, thank you for encountering me on these shores of John’s Gospel. Give me the courage and heart now to follow you – to take the boat of my life out into the deep and to lower my nets on the right side of the boat for a catch – and let me be caught too! Through your abundant mercies.
your business is following ME | John 21.22-23
THURSDAY
This Week’s Reading: John 21.15-25
REFLECT
Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?” John 21.22-23 | ESV
Jesus doesn’t stop or look back as he answers: “If I want him to hang around here until whenever I show again, how is that any of your concern? Your business is following me.”
And so the word spread, mouth to mouth, generation to generation, that this disciple would never die. But that’s not what Jesus said at all. He didn’t say, “He will never die.” What he said was, “If I want him to hang around until whenever I show again, how is that any of your business?” MAV (Mike’s Amplified Version)
RECEIVE
Your turn now.
Reread the entire text for this week. Actually, do more than that. Sit with the entire Gospel of John. You don’t have to reread the whole thing. Just sit with it open before you, soaking in the memories of your journey through it these past months.
This is the point.
It all comes down to this here and now: “You follow me.”
Now sit with it in silence.
Open your imagination.
What is he asking you to do with all of this?
How is he calling you to follow him right now, on this shore, at this moment.
Listen.
And then let him lead you in your response to his voice.
RELATE
“You follow me.” What does this look like for you in this season of your life?
RESPOND
Lord, free me to be about your business, and not that of others – or even merely my own! Free me to follow you in ways I have only dreamed of heretofore. Through your unceasing mercies.
Lord, what about him? | John 21.20-21
WEDNESDAY
This Week’s Reading: John 21.20-21
REFLECT
Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” John 21.20-21 | ESV
The Rock turns his head and sees that perennially favored disciple of Jesus following along too – you know, the one who leaned back on Jesus at that final meal together and whispered those words, “Lord, who is your betrayer?” Yes, the Rock sees him, and so he inquires – perhaps with a bit of a complaining tone (or was it concern?): “Lord, what about him?” MAV
RECEIVE
I believe this is the first time in this Jesus encounter that Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and he looks at his brother. I think it made Jesus smile, too.
“What about him?”
Ah, that consumes us through so much of our lives! So hard to let go. Comparisons, critiques, carping. What about his sin? What about her flaws? So I have to endure this, and what about him, then? Even when we don’t grow up with siblings, we never quite live without a healthy (or unhealthy) dose of sibling rivalry. It’s the human condition.
And it usually masquerades as righteous care or genuine concern.
Oh how we are compelled to be our brother’s keeper in all the worst ways! And generally it’s a search for our own significance which we hope to find in our comparisons with others – comparisons that typically lead to a diminishing of them so there can be an embellishing of ourselves.
Maybe none of this was at work in Peter, maybe it was just curiosity.
Maybe it was concern over John’s fate.
But I know me. I tend towards the other, and I at least like to imagine I’m not the only one (ha! comparison! again!).
Oh for the grace to look at each other for the right reasons, free of envy and self-centered, self-pitying comparisons; to look at one another on his cue because of shared connection through his ever expanding heart that embraces the heart and fortunes of us all.
RELATE
Is there someone whose status you’ve perhaps been a bit too obsessed with lately? What’s the key to quitting the comparison game we all so easily start playing?
RESPOND
Lord, forgive me for looking over my shoulder at my brother, my sister, for all the wrong reasons. Let me lose myself in your gaze so that I might truly find myself seeing others as they are, when your eyes lead me there. And let my gaze be as healing as yours. Through Christ.
follow me (btw, did I mention the cost?)
TUESDAY
This Week’s Reading: John 21.15-25
REFLECT
“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” John 21.18-19 | ESV
Then Jesus adds, “You can COUNT on this: When you were young and in control, you dressed how and when you wanted and went where you wanted. But when you get old and grey, the day is coming when they will come for you, your hands will be stretched out, and you’ll wear something you’d rather not, and they’ll take you to a place you’d rather not.” (Nudge, nudge, hint, hint – Jesus painting a picture of shameful crucifixion as his ultimate path of a God-honoring death that the Rock couldn’t miss – because feeding his flock will have its cost). And then Jesus says, motioning with his head, “Follow me.” MAV (Mike’s Amplified Version)
RECEIVE
“I’m ready to go to prison – I’m ready to go to my death for you!”
That’s what Peter said.
That’s what they all said.
Except perhaps John, content to lean on the heart of his friend. Perhaps.
I’ve done hundreds of wedding ceremonies over three decades plus of ministry. Hundreds. Hundreds of vows, of mutual “I do’s,” of exchanged rings and “repeat after me” moments. I’m increasingly struck by the fact as I perform these ceremonies that I could just as well be saying “Blah blah blah blah” not because I don’t believe them or because bride and groom aren’t sincere, but because they have no idea what they are really saying “yes” to when they say “I do.”. “In sickness and in health, for better or for worse.” No idea. How could they? Typically it’s a young couple filled with love and enough bravado to take on each other as they take on the world with an endless track of “Don’t Stop Believing” repeating in their minds.
Which is as it should be.
But those vows will be become real one day in raw depths they could not have imagined – and then they will know. Oh yes, there is a cost here, isn’t there?
The cross of Christ was also the crucible of Cephas. It suddenly became very real. He saw himself, and it broke him. Seeing himself again now through a Savior’s penetrating and healing gaze, he sees the path before him in refreshed light. This path leads not to an altar of success or an elevated platform of esteem. Prison and death did you say? Oh yes, this is coming for you. And you won’t want it, but it will come, still.
He is the Master, yes?
We could learn a thing or two from him as we make our own sales pitch for Christ, if we would. God has a plan for your life! Oh yes. You will be stretched out, and you won’t want to go.
So come on then. What are you waiting for? This way…
RELATE
In what ways has your commitment to follow Christ become “real”? What cost have you had to pay so far? What prepares us to pay the price we must in our pursuit of the God-Life?
RESPOND
Oh Lord, what quaking feet and quivering lips when I am confronted with the harsh realities of where life leads, where my calling and walk with you leads. Give me the grace to find the joy in it and in you, that even as my arms are stretched out in postures I would never assume, I will feel your pleasure, even there. Through Christ.
rooster echo in reverse | John 21.15-17
MONDAY
This Week’s Reading: John 21.15-25
REFLECT
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” John 21.15-17 | ESV
While they were wiping their mouths following this wondrous breakfast, Jesus turns and says to “I’m the Rock and I’m Listening” (that would be Simon Peter): “Simon John-son, are you truly committed to me – more than all the rest?” The Rock wasted no time looking around at the others – looking at Jesus he says, but without the former bravado, “Yes, Lord, you know I’m with you heart and soul.” Leaning towards him, Jesus intones, “Then feed my wee lambs (odd words for a fisherman!).”
Before Peter can turn away, Jesus challenges him again: “Simon John-son, are you truly committed to me?” The Rock hasn’t looked away and he repeats, “Yes, Lord, you know that I’m with you heart and soul!” Jesus repeats, “Then care for my flock.”
Peter turns away only to be challenged a third time: “Simon John-son, are you truly with me heart and soul?” Rooster echoes, only in reverse. The Rock cracks right down the middle at the verbatim third challenge: “Are you truly with me heart and soul?” and he weeps back, “Lord, you know everything and you know me – you know that I’m with you heart and soul!” Jesus says to him, hands on shoulders, “Then feed my flock.” MAV (Mike’s Amplified Version)
RECEIVE
Peter hears rooster echoes on the beach after breakfast – and I hear echoes of Joseph with his brothers for some reason. Joseph put the brothers who betrayed him, sold him, abandoned him through a bit of a ringer when they met again. He was clearly trying to see what was in their hearts – and one can’t help but wonder how much he was enjoying the whole testing process.
This encounter with the Rock, the friend who had denied him three times in the darkest hour of his life, the friend he had locked eyes with as he did it, both of them then hearing that rooster crow, this encounter is something of a testing process too. And I suspect Jesus also enjoyed it – though I would guess for different reasons.
This wasn’t so much a test so Jesus could see what was there (pretty sure he already knew that), but one for Peter’s eyes. We would probably have glossed over this. That was then, this is now. No harm, no foul. We would have been nice. Or we would have never trusted such a friend again and wouldn’t be caught dead (again!) eating breakfast with him.
But Jesus didn’t leave it or him alone.
Jesus meets us on the shore of our most bitter memories and gives us not a piece of his mind, but a piece of bread, and then gently teases out of us what we most need to process and see. And his timing is impeccable.
He’s the Master, yes?
We could learn a few things, if we would.
Notice Jesus doesn’t have this conversation the first time Jesus pops into the room, or the second. It has perhaps been two weeks since the hue of everything has changed because of resurrection. But it hasn’t changed for Peter. The shadows of his soul must be drawn into the light – and this is his moment.
Confession.
Redemption.
Restoration.
Redirection.
Peter could have been grappling with his guilt through the years, trying to cope and process through counseling – which is often what we have to do – and who knows, maybe he still did! But oh the timing and the touch of the Master in resetting the broken bone, in healing the cracked Rock through persevering presence and timely word.
RELATE
How has Jesus met you on the shores of your own bitter memories? Or is he, perhaps, with broiled fish and baked bread, waiting for you to show?
RESPOND
Lord, a gentle word can break a bone – or heal it! Let me trust your words for me on the shores of my own darkened memories, and let me receive them like the warm bread you would place into my hands there. Through your mercies.
last supper, meet the first breakfast | John 21.12-14
FRIDAY
This Week’s Reading: John 21.1-14 REFLECT
Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. John 21.12-14 | ESV
Then Jesus says to them, “Dig in boys, breakfast is served.” Awkward silence prevailed, not one of the disciples daring to come right out and ask, “So, just who are you again?” They all knew who he was, they knew it was the Lord right there with them again. So Jesus just steps right up, takes the warmed bread and gives it to them, and then does the same with the fish, a serving for each.
This was the third time his dancing presence had popped up among these disciples since he’d been raised from the dead. MAV
RECEIVE
Your turn now.
Reread the entire text for this week. Then sit with it in your own awkward silence.
Open your imagination.
Put yourself there on that beach.
We have a detailed accounting of what transpired with Peter here, but no doubt Jesus had some significant moments with each of them as they ate and laughed. Let yourself be the unnamed disciple with them. And now he’s serving you a communion of bread and fish.
What does he say to you as he serves you?
What words of warning, of reassuring, recommissioning grace,
of encouraging, provoking love does he speak to you?
Listen.
And then let him lead you in your response to his voice.
RELATE
Where in your life could you use another breaking in of the “dancing presence of God”?
What are the chances the dance is already underway – you just haven’t realized it yet?
RESPOND
Lord, I can be so incredibly slow to see your dancing presence right in front of my face! Let me see beyond the everyday loaves and fish before me to the communion you offer with me through them, your heart with my heart, your life with my life. Awaken my soul today, O God. Through Christ.
it’s déjà vu all over again! | John 21.9-11
THURSDAY
This Week’s Reading: John 21.1-14
REFLECT
When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. John 21.9-11 | ESV
No sooner had they stepped foot on land than what do they see? A charcoal fire well under way (another déjà vu moment for the Rock from the dreaded priestly courtyard with its echoing rooster crow) with fish on the fire – and loaves of bread (déjà vu all over again – to the tune of 5,000!). Then Jesus tells them: “Now let’s add some of what you just caught to what I already have going here!” The fishermen had, of course, left their record catch flapping in the water, so Peter waded back in and hauled the net up on the beach (talk about adrenalin rush!). The net was filled with HUGE fish – all told, one-hundred-fifty-three of them! And the net hadn’t so much as snapped a single thread. MAV (Mike’s Authorized Version)
RECEIVE
Give God credit: he knows how to set a table.
Repeated déjà vu moments on the shore: A charcoal fire around which we last saw Peter warming himself in that high priestly courtyard on that dreadful night filled with fearful denials; loaves and fishes harkening back to that anchoring miracle of all miracles in the feeding of the five thousand – not to mention last supper overtones as the last supper meets the first breakfast. But he’s not content to merely tag these signal events from their recent and more distant past.
He invites them to add to it, to bring what they have just caught to the table. The wise Preacher might have said, “Whatever God does endures forever and nothing can be added to it,” but the truth is he invites us to do just that. “And greater works than these will ye do.” Yes, bring from what you have caught, and add it to what I have prepared for you.
And look at Peter go!
It took two boats and at least six other guys to get the net to shore, but, as John paints the scene, Peter hauls it the rest of the way in by himself. And then they count. Leftovers matter, and every fish counts.
All 153 of them.
And what endless speculation we engage in over that number! Back to Augustine and beyond the debate has raged. Why 153? What is the significance of 153? At least, to my knowledge, no one has died over the issue! Perhaps there is some deep significance – there are always layers, it seems. But then, sometimes a dogfight near a cheese factory is just a dogfight near a cheese factory.
Maybe it’s nothing more than the fact that this was their biggest catch – and their last catch.
And they never forgot it.
Their last catch, added to the first breakfast of a new life.
I think I would remember that number too.
RELATE
When most recently have you found yourself in your own divinely arranged, marvelous déjà vu moment? What happened?
RESPOND
Lord, thank you for managing to turn the sights, sounds and smells of my worst memories into the renewing aroma of a new day’s breakfast that redefines and reshapes all I have known and been into pure, life-giving grace. Yes, God. Do that again. And show me how to share the meal today. Through Christ.
salvation waiting on the shore | John 21.4-6
TUESDAY
This week’s reading: John 21.1-14
REFLECT
Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. John 21.4-6 | ESV
The fruitless night of fishing seemed to wear on forever, but then, before they knew it, there was the sun pressing over the horizon, another new day beckoning, revealing the Son, their Salvation, standing right on water’s edge – though, as per usual, none of them had a clue it was Jesus. Salvation shouts to them from the shore, “Hey guys! You have anything to eat?” They shout back: “No!” “Try the right! Lower the net on the right side of the boat and I think you’ll find something,” he said, continuing the early morning exchange. So they did (why not?). And the boat lurched to the right, the net straining to hold the catch, the net so heavy with fish they couldn’t haul it anywhere. MAV
RECEIVE
I confess.
This is one of my absolutely most favorite-est stories in all of Scripture.
These key disciples have gone back to what they know – and what they formerly left, for good, presumably. “’Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ And they left their nets and followed him.’” On at least one level this could be viewed as a defection – and some do. Some see in Peter’s invitation more than a suggestion of a wee fishing trip while they waited for Jesus to show, but rather a throwing in the towel and picking up their former trade. In such a scenario, standing in His place, some of us would be tempted to turn our backs, to sulk, or to show up when they returned to shore and give them a piece of our mind.
At the very least it’s a great “O ye of little faith (and of even little-er fishing ability)” moment.
He could have popped into the midst again out on the boat, or done a repeat performance of the whole “walking on water” routine, but instead Salvation stands playfully on the shore. I say playfully because he doesn’t tip his hand as to who he is.
How he loves coming to us in another form!
And rather than the “O ye of little faith” rebuke that would feel so good to us, he offers them the ultimate deep sea catch. The disciples weren’t the only ones good at rewinding! Standing at the end of his story with them, Jesus brings them full circle to its beginning.
Oh the endlessly creative ways God has of tipping his hand – and getting us to see his face.
RELATE
In what unexpected way have you most recently encountered God on the shore of your life?
RESPOND
Lord, remind me, when I turn to you empty-handed for the umpteenth time, that you don’t weigh me down with shame or guilt, but instead fill the nets of my expectations in ways I wouldn’t have imagined possible. And let that be a lesson to me – and through me. Through Christ.
rewind: back to the sea | John 21.1-4
MONDAY
This week’s reading: John 21.1-14
REFLECT
After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. John 21.1-4 | ESV
Fast forward (or is it rewind? – and you thought we were done)…
Could be days, could be weeks. But now we’re no longer with the disciples behind barricaded doors in Jerusalem. No, the scene of the next Jesus manifestation was on the wide open waters of the imperially tagged “Tiberias Sea” (but we know it as the Sea of Galilee – talk about a vast pool of proof!).
And this is how it happened.
They were together, a bunch of them – Simon “I’m The Rock and I’m Listening” Peter, along with “Think Twice” Thomas, “Gift of God” Nathanael from Cana (the “Sticks”) of Galilee, Zebedee’s (“the Giver’s”) two sons, and at least two others (which would make this a party of seven). Peter has evidently had enough of waiting for Jesus to pop in again and decides to go back to what he knows. “I’m getting back to fishing, guys!” “Wait for us,” they all chimed in, “we’ll join you.” Back to Galilee. Back out on the lake. Back in the boat. Just like old times. And just like old times, they worked it all the night long and came up with…not. one. thing. MAV
RECEIVE
Is it just me, or did it feel like the Gospel of John concluded in the last chapter with that grand finale sounding flourish in stating his purpose? So why this final chapter? Some scholars go so far as to infer chapter 21 is a clear later addition to John’s Gospel considering the clear ending of chapter 20.
Clearly they’ve never seen a Peter Jackson film.
Thank God for the extended edition we have before us, in that case, because there are treasures to be fished out of these final scenes.
First among them is another glorious view of the humanity of these first disciples – with resulting insight into our own. How marvelous that Peter returns to Galilee not out of obedience to Jesus’ post resurrection instruction to “go to Galilee because I will appear to you there,” but because he appears to be tired of waiting for Jesus to show. Or perhaps they all returned to Galilee in obedience to Jesus’ instruction, but then Peter tires of waiting and motions to his friends and former partners, “I’m headed back out to fish.”
Whichever way it happened, Peter is now back out on the lake, doing what he knew best: fishing – and catching nothing. The temptation to spiritualize or allegorize is almost irresistible all through John 21. So I’m not even going to try not to.
This is us.
Everyone one of us.
We can spend a lifetime waiting for God to show (okay, in the story it’s just days or weeks at most, but it always seems like so much more at the time) – and how much easier is it to simply go back to what we know?
And how often, when we do, do we find ourselves coming up empty-handed, no matter how hard or long we work it?
Oh yes, this is us.
This is so us.
This is us at our perpetually rewinding best…exchanging present suspending uncertainties of waiting for God to show for the more “down to earth” realities of our past that are, at least, familiar territory.
RELATE
So, what is your own rewind version of “let’s go fishing”? How does your “rewind” experience compare with Peter’s?
RESPOND
Lord, as I rewind (over and over) in my life, exchanging present uncertainties of faith for the familiarity of the well-worn ruts of the past, thank you for waiting for me to come up empty – again – so that you can fill my nets with something much better. Through Jesus.
a vast pool of proof | John 20.30-31
FRIDAY
This week’s reading: John 20.19-31
REFLECT
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20.30-31 | ESV
So. Do you need more proof? This is just dipping our collective little toe into the vast pool of proof Jesus dunked his disciples into – most of it uncharted waters passed over in silence in this telling of the tale. But where I’ve broken that silence and invited you to join me in these waters of Jesus’ life and work, it’s been for one reason only: to open a spring of faith and trust deep within you that Jesus is the Messiah, the Chosen, the Son of God – and in that spring of faith to be saturated with Life, bubbling up from the subterranean depths of who He is. MAV
RECEIVE
Your turn now.
Reread the entire text for this week. Then sit with it in silence. Open your imagination. Put yourself there with Thomas. See through the eyes of Thomas. You’ve held out so long from believing.
You want proof.
You have issues.
And where is he, after all?
And now, suddenly, here he is.
Right here in the room, by the lake, on the patio, wherever you happen to be.
What does he look like?
What does he show you?
What does he ask you?
What do you say?
Look.
Listen.
And then let him lead you in your response to his voice.
RELATE
How would you summarize the “pool of proof” God has used in your own journey of faith? Has it issued in a spring of faith within you “saturating you with life” – or are you still waiting?
RESPOND
Lord, you say it only takes a mustard seed of faith. Just a mustard seed. Give me that, that with the distressed father I can truly pray, ‘Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!’ Through Christ.
to see or not to see | John 20.26-29
THURSDAY
This week’s reading: John 20.19-31
REFLECT
Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20.26-29 | ESV
A full week passes, plus a day.
“Think Twice” must surely be thinking all the rest of them would be thinking twice by now, since the Lord is still a no show. Perhaps it was right in the middle of another “I told you so” moment – Thomas with the rest of the disciples back in that room, the door still securely locked and bolted. And he does it again. Jesus suddenly right in the middle of them, saying, “Shalom ya’ll!” aka “Hey there!”
Classic moment.
Faces etched in astonishment, though Thomas’ seems to have been drained of all color. Jesus immediately seizes upon “Think Twice’s” no doubt often repeated faith challenge over the past week, saying to Thomas, “Take your finger and examine my hands, then take your hand, insert, and explore my side, and let this be the catalyst that transforms your calculating distrust with full-bodied trust.” Thomas could only blurt out, “My Lord and my God!” To which Jesus says, “So now belief and trust have awakened within you – now that you see it. How very happy they are who don’t have to travel your wearying route of seeing and proving and sorting all the evidence – but who, like a child, yet know how to believe.” MAV
RECEIVE
“He that doubteth is damned.”
Okay, that’s not the full statement from Paul’s pen, but it might as well be, because it’s what we tend to believe. Doubt is one of those things that’s only cool to confess after you no longer have it. We frequently observe that doubt isn’t the problem, it’s what we do with it that counts.
Fine.
But perhaps it’s better to take note of what he did with it. Perhaps it’s just me, but Jesus seems almost a bit mischievous in these resurrection appearances. Yes, he demonstrates with “many infallible proofs” that he was alive, that he was a human being and not a phantasm of some sort – only what Luke considers “infallible” clearly wasn’t for everyone who witnessed the events.
Yes, some doubted. Perhaps it had something to do with the way he came at them in a different form. The way he would just show up – and then vanish. The way he would show up and then simply stay away for eight days. It’s almost as if he allows the natural skepticism of Thomas to fully mature before popping right into the room with an almost casual “how you doin’?”
In how many creative, mischievous ways does he pop into our own midst inviting us to poke and prod him even as he pokes and prods us? How often, I wonder, do we even notice?
And one more question: Did Thomas have to touch and poke him – or did the sight of Christ finally enable him to see with a different set of eyes?
RELATE
Describe your own journey to faith (even if you haven’t gotten there yet). What have been the key factors for you?
RESPOND
Lord, in this cynical world, show me how to see wonder as a child again, and believe. Through Jesus.
seeing is believing…or not | John 20.24-25
WEDNESDAY
This week’s reading: John 20.19-31
REFLECT
Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” John 20.24-25 | ESV
Now one of their number was missing from that empowered circle of joy – Thomas, the one they liked to call “Think Twice” or “Second Guessing” was nowhere to be seen when Jesus showed up right in the middle of that former huddle of fear. When he finally showed, they all jumped him with joy, “He was right here, the Lord was right here, and every last one of us saw him!” Thomas was totally true to his name. “No way, I won’t believe a word of it! Not unless I myself lay my eyes on the nail print in each of his hands and then can stick my finger into each of those nail holes and while I’m at it stick this hand right into the gash in his side. Nothing short of such hands-on proof will nudge me one bit towards faith. Period.” MAV
RECEIVE
Think Twicers.
Second Guessers.
There’s a bit of Thomas in each of us, yes? We want to see, we clamor for proof, we hound after facts and certainty, yet always holding ourselves back as imagined impartial judges just waiting for someone to make the case – and there’s a whole apologetics industry ready to feed us in our egoic pursuit.
But the reality is that faith is more than seeing – or at least is seeing with different eyes. Hence, “we walk by faith and not by sight.” Which should make us stop and ponder a bit why we are all so all-fire obsessed with getting others to see our case when faith requires something more, something deeper than grasping our arguments.
Need proof, O Second Guesser?
Matthew relates that when Jesus went to Galilee and showed himself there to “his brothers” that when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted (Matthew 28.16-17). And no, this is not talking about Thomas in that upper room. Different time, different setting. Maybe this was the occasion Paul speaks of when he says that “over five hundred of the brothers saw him at once.” If so, isn’t it telling that only 120 evidently believed what they saw enough to actually stick around?
Oh elusive sticking place of faith!
When will you come home to rest in this weary, wandering, reason-wrestling heart?
RELATE
Do you see your faith as more product of an intellectual process or as divine gift? Or both?
Explain (if you dare).
RESPOND
Lord, teach me how to see with those different eyes – those eyes from which fresh visions of faith arise. Give me eyes remade for wonder. Through Christ.
holy breath of God | John 20.21-23
TUESDAY
This week’s reading: John 20.19-31
REFLECT
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
John 20.21-23 | ESV
The disciples stood there, dumbstruck with joy. So Jesus repeated his greeting – “Peace y’all!” – but with special emphasis on the “peace.”
He quickly added, “Abba gave me a job to do, sent me out on assignment – and now I have one for you.”
Then he took a deep breath as they waited. Then he released that deep breath on his circle of friends.
“Breathe in the Holy Breath of God – inhale deeply! Now you are agents of life and forgiveness, breathing into others the empowering grace of God, freeing them from death grip of all their mess of sin and rebellion – but not everyone wants to breathe in the breath of life you offer, preferring to remain right where they are. And so they shall. Let them be. You just keep breathing.” MAV (Mike’s Authorized Version)
RECEIVE
“Whoever’s sins you forgive are forgiven; whoever’s sins you retain, they are retained.”
Now just try not letting that go to your head! Jesus’ pronouncement sounds foreign to these Protestant ears. This just sounds Catholic-y. Forgiving and retaining sins.
What?
Seriously.
What??
But rather than getting caught up Catholic vs. Protestant comparisons and debates, or lost in imagined scenarios of absolving this person or condemning that one (visions of Harry Potter with his magic wand come to mind), perhaps we need to pause.
And breathe.
Yes, perhaps there’s the key to understanding this entire passage. Jesus breathes on them, he breathes on his circle of friends. And then sends them out to do the same. It is the Holy Breath of God that is breathed into us, which we in turn breathe out on others in a holy, life long exercise of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in the world.
It’s just not everyone is ready for the breath.
All lungs don’t share the same receptivity and capacity. All we can do is keep breathing, and let it be. Or, changing the metaphor, all we can do is keep giving off the aroma of Jesus, and let other’s nostrils decide whether to “ahhhhh” or to “ughhhh.” Perhaps there is more here than this Protestant is ready to see – but there is at least this.
The question is: will we continue to breathe?
Or will we persist in holding our breath?
Will we join the parade?
In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse. 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 | MSG
RELATE
In what way or ways do you need to breathe in the holy breath of God today – and pass it on?
RESPOND
Lord, breathe on me – and let your breath not only invigorate me, but let it flow through me to others, bringing newness of life and forgiveness. Through your mercies.
huddled in fear | John 20.19-20
MONDAY
This week’s reading: John 20.19-31
REFLECT
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. John 20.19-20 | ESV
Then evening fell on that day of days, that first day of the week. The doors had been sealed tight – locked, bolted, and chained – the disciples huddling behind them in fear, terrified that they would be the next targets of the religious powers that be. And then, poof!, right in the middle of that huddle of fear stood Jesus – and before they even had time to react he breathed the words “Shalom alecha!” meaning “Peace be with you” or in every day lingo, “Hello there!” No sooner had he breathed the greeting than his hands were on display right before their faces showing the tell-tale marks of crucifixion, and then he lifted up his tunic, exposing a nasty wound in his side marking the impact of that lethal spear thrust. Fear beat a hasty retreat before the joy that now flooded the soul of each of the disciples – they saw the Lord, and one look was all they needed! MAV (Mike’s Amplified Version)
RECEIVE
This is so us.
Huddles and puddles of fear.
We live in a nation that spends, what, $500 billion annually or whatever amount on defense? Let’s not go all political here, but we tend to become reflections of the prevailing culture around us. We seek the security of locked doors, impenetrable walls, building defensive works in our lives more elaborate than those of the Japanese on Iwo Jima.
Yes, we are all huddled with the disciples behind those locked and barred doors. And what a high cost our imagined security extracts! The beauty of this upper room moment is that Christ doesn’t “stand at the door and knock.” He just pops up right in the middle of our insecurities, saying, “Peace, y’all!”
We so desperately need to be infiltrated.
We so desperately need to let ourselves be infiltrated.
By peace.
Hope.
Joy.
Presence.
By the reality that John many years after this upper room moment celebrates in his letter to later huddles of fearful disciples:
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.
We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first. 1 John 4:17-19 | MSG
RELATE
Where in your life right now do you sense you are huddled in fear? How might Jesus already be popping up in your own circle of fear, announcing his peace? How can you embrace him and his peace?
RESPOND
Lord, I welcome you into the midst of my huddle and puddle of fear today. Give me eyes to see your wounded hands – wounds not only now healed, but healing. And let that glimpse of you make all else beat a hasty retreat before me. Through Christ.
rabbouni | John 20.15-18
FRIDAY
This week’s reading: John 20.15-18
REFLECT
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. John 20.15-18 | ESV
Mary totally assumed it was the groundskeeper talking to her, and so she asked him the same question as she looked away – “Please sir, if you’ve carried him off somewhere, please just tell me where you put him and I’ll come take him off your hands.” Then he says to her, Jesus does, “Miriam.” Mary’s eyes shot back to the ‘groundskeeper,’ and her ears having opened her eyes she gasped in their shared native tongue, “Rabbouni!” (translation: “Oh my dear teacher!”). Taking hold of her hands now grasping at him, he tells her gently, “You have to let me go! Soon I’ll be heading back – going up, more like it! – to my Abba. So off to my brothers, and tell them where I’m going – up to Abba, mine and theirs; up to God, mine and theirs.” Now it’s Miriam the Magdalene who’s making tracks, spilling all this at the feet of the disciples: “I have seen the Lord! And he said thus and such to me!” MAV (Mike’s Amplified Version)
RECEIVE
Your turn now. Reread the entire text for this week. Then sit with it in silence. Open your imagination. Put yourself there at the tomb. Disciples have come and gone, and you still stand there with tears from tortured questions. And then you see him – but you don’t know it’s him. “Why all the tears?” you hear him say to you. You turn away to explain, but then he says it. One word. The one word that breaks you, that melts you. What does he call you? What does he say to you? What does he tell you to do?
Listen!
And then let him lead you in your response to his voice.
RELATE
Mary seems to be trying to hold on to the Jesus she had known and Jesus is telling her to let go.
What outdated images of Jesus, of the Divine, do you need to release?
RESPOND
Lord, give me the grace to cling to you as you are, not as I remember you being or wish for you to be. Confront me with the fresh possibilities of resurrection life outside the tomb of my own shattered dreams. Unleash resurrection in and through me! Through Christ.
why all the tears? | John 20.11-15
THURSDAY
This week’s reading: John 20.1-18
REFLECT
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” John 20.11-15 | ESV
But Mary stayed put right in front of the tomb – she wasn’t ready to go anywhere. And she stood there, weeping. And then, looking through her tear-filled eyes, she peered into the tomb as well – and observes not the empty clothes but two heavenly messengers dressed in white and sitting one at the head, the other at the foot of the slab of rock Jesus’ body had been lying on. They spoke to Mary in unison: “Woman, why all the tears?” “They’ve taken my Lord and I have no idea where they’ve put him!” she exclaimed tearfully. And, perhaps hearing a footfall behind her, she spun around to see Jesus standing right there – only she had no clue it was Jesus. Jesus calmly asks her, “Woman, why all the tears? Who are you looking for?” MAV
RECEIVE
It’s come to be known as the Via Dolorosa – the Way of Grief, of Suffering, of Pain. An ancient trail of tears from the old city of Jerusalem to the place of the Skull. It’s just about 2,000 feet long. Mary Magdalene still thought she was walking it. Sometimes so do we – and sometimes we are.
This is the beauty of the Passion narrative.
What starts off as a trail of indescribable suffering, unbearable pain, and unquenchable tears, yields to a place of springs, a place of Life, of tears of joy. Life is thoroughly woven together with those two long, teary threads – trails – of suffering and celebration.
Both trails meet at the empty tomb.
Of course it wasn’t empty to start with. Just a day before it had been filled with the sickly sweet smell of a corpse laid to rest, the stone rolled before it with the finality of death itself, sealed and guarded by the powers that be. Now it contains an empty cocoon watched over by angelic sentries whose very garments brighten Sheol ‘s gates, causing them quite literally to shudder, and the stone, rolled in place by man’s hand as if to end the Story with an indelible, giant, deathly period, is rolled back by Another.
A new thread.
A new story.
A new trail watered by unstoppable tears of joy.
If we follow Jesus long enough, we will come to this place – the place where our endless trail of tears finds its end in the happy question, “Woman, why all the tears?”
Wait for it.
RELATE
Where in your life are you ready to see the tears of suffering replaced with tears of celebration?
RESPOND
Lord, there are still so many tears so often blinding my eyes, obscuring my vision. How I long to hear that question, “Why all the tears?” Sustain me along the Via Dolorosa as I am still faced with it here with clear echoes of that question at the tomb. Give me occasion to weep for joy. Through Christ.
seeing is believing | John 20.8-10
WEDNESDAY
This week’s reading: John 20.1-18
REFLECT
Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. John 20.8-10 | ESV
Now that other disciple (you know, the one who got to the tomb first?) stepped in. And getting a closer look, he believed – for even though ancient Scripture made clear he had to rise from the dead, they were oblivious to that. So off they went, the disciples back to home base trying to sort it all out.
MAV (Mike’s Amplified Version)
RECEIVE
This is so human, so like us. Real life doesn’t play out like a script.
With hindsight we see ancient texts that clearly point to resurrection – from “You are my Son, today I have begotten you” in Psalm 2 to “You will not allow your Holy One to see decay” in Psalm 16. We read those repeated “heads-up” moments of Jesus with the disciples: “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
And then we shake our heads and wonder, “What was wrong with them?” Why aren’t they camped outside the tomb waiting for the blessed moment? Why instead are they cowering in the dark behind closed doors, fearing every strange knock in the night? Oblivious to the Scripture they heard week after week in their own synagogues, likewise oblivious to what seem to be point-blank, can’t-be-missed statements of Jesus made right in their faces.
Yes, so like us.
We too tend to miss it for the most part, don’t we? Resurrection life breaking in around us, in us, through us, and we stand there breathless with Peter and John in the empty tomb before empty grave clothes, slowly connecting the dots, slowly concluding, “He must have risen.”
It’s why I believe this story.
Not only did it happen – it still happens.
And we are its living and reliving characters.
RELATE
What have you seen that caused you to believe? Or are you still running to the tomb for proof?
RESPOND
Lord, here I stand, breathless in the tomb before the undeniable evidence of Life beyond it. Let the reality of Life sink into this too often hard, cynical, disbelieving heart, and let genuine faith arise in me. Through Christ.
empty cocoon | John 20.3-7
TUESDAY
This week’s reading: John 20.1-18
REFLECT
So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. John 20.3-7 | ESV
They lit out – Peter and that other disciple did, heading towards the tomb. They were running together, the two of them – but that other disciple outran Peter, reaching the tomb first. But he just peered inside, taking note of the grave clothes lying there, quite empty, but he would go no further. Then comes Simon “the Rock” hot in his tracks, rolling right past him into the tomb. He saw the grave clothes lying there quite empty as well, studying them carefully – along with the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head, the facial cloth in its place, the strips of burial cloth in their place, all wrapped up in place like an empty cocoon. MAV
RECEIVE
It’s quite the task, reconciling these resurrection eyewitness accounts. Who all came to the tomb, what they saw, what they did. For some that is an evidence of falsity, for others of veracity. I’ll leave it for you to chase that rabbit through the apologetic texts of your choice, if you wish. I would just observe that births tend to be confusing, disorienting, messy scenes experienced from multiple perspectives. Yet one fact remains: a child was born; a tomb was empty. And this is perhaps most important for us to see in this resurrection story: the resurrection itself is unobserved.
No one sees Jesus exit the tomb.
There’s no moment by moment recounting of his body being regenerated, of him slowly sitting up – or was it a leap? – and then of his dramatic departure – what, through the stone? The resurrection itself is not seen or chronicled. It happened behind the concealing stone, out of their view, out of our view.
All we have here are a group of confused and muddled human beings suddenly confronted with the absence of death and soon with the very real presence of Life – and then the race is on to sort it all out.
Welcome to church.
The catalyst of resurrection works like yeast out of sight in us too, behind that seemingly unmovable slab of reality. And then suddenly that reality rolls, leaving exposed the empty cocoon of our old existence, leaving us like Peter and John wide-eyed and jaw-dropped as we try to come to grips with the wondrous, messy, unexpected reality of Life.
Yes, welcome to church.
RELATE
Do you see your old life as an empty cocoon of burial clothes lying in the tomb, or are you still waiting for new life to emerge? Is there anything we can do to help this resurrection to happen? If so, what?
RESPOND
Lord, wake me up to the reality of resurrection right before me this day. Unleash resurrection in and through me. Through Christ.
a new day beckons | John 20.1-2
MONDAY
This week’s reading: John 20.1-18
REFLECT
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” John 20.1-2 | ESV
Sabbath is now done. A new day beckons over the horizon, and Mary Magdalene (“bitter tower”) presses into it in the fading darkness, arriving at the tomb – only to see the stone removed from its opening. So she runs to Simon (the Rock) and to that other disciple who was always enjoying such a special place in Jesus’ affections and she bursts in, “They’ve taken the Lord! Right out of the tomb! And we’ve no idea where they’ve put him!” MAV (Mike’s Amplified Version)
RECEIVE
“Our four Gospel writers all complete their narrations of the gospel of Jesus with a story, or stories, of Jesus’ resurrection. They come at it from different directions and provide different details, but one element is common to each of them: a sense of wonder, astonishment, surprise. Despite the several hints scattered throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and Jesus’ three explicit statements forecasting his resurrection, when it happened, it turned out that no one – no one – expected it. The first people involved in Jesus’ resurrection were totally involved in dealing with his death. Now they had to do a complete about-face and deal with a life. As they did it, they were suffused with wonder.”
Eugene Peterson, Living the Resurrection
The premise of Peterson’s book Living the Resurrection is that the resurrection of Jesus is not merely a fact of history to be observed and established, but a present reality to be lived. We fight intensely for the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus, but then leave it on the shelf as we begin our religious exercises to improve and shape ourselves into what we think God wants us to be.
But resurrection is not just a past fact, it is a present catalyst.
Peterson continues:
“We live the Christian life out of a rich tradition of formation-by-resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection provides the energy and conditions by which we ‘walk before the Lord in the land of the living” – the great Psalm phrase (116:9).The resurrection of Jesus creates and then makes available the reality in which we are formed as new creatures in Christ by the Holy Spirit. The do-it-yourself, self-help culture of North America has so thoroughly permeated our imaginations that we ordinarily don’t give attention to the biggest thing of all – resurrection. And the reason we don’t is because resurrection is not something we can use or control or manipulate or improve on.”
More is at hand as we now transition from Passion narrative into Resurrection story. More is called for than mental acknowledgement of an ancient event.
The Sabbath is now done.
A new day beckons over the horizon.
And, with Mary, we now arrive at the tomb. And as we do, with her we press into that new day in the midst of the fading darkness into a life opened by his suffering but lived by his resurrection.
RELATE
In what ways have you experienced resurrection as a “present catalyst” in your own life? What are some areas of your life where you’d like to see this catalyst applied?
RESPOND
Lord, as I spend these weeks pondering the resurrection and the events surrounding it, flowing from it, let the reality of the resurrection be lifted off historic page and be absorbed into the marrow of my existence. Let me be defined not only by the fellowship of your sufferings, but also and ultimately by the power of your resurrection. Unleash resurrection in me, and through me. Through Christ.
burial. | John 19.38-42
FRIDAY
This week’s reading: John 19.17-42
REFLECT
After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. John 19.38-42 | ESV
Now after all of this had played out as it did, Pilate had one more request, this time from a man named Joseph from the Heights (local town – Ramah, or Arimathea), he was in reality a Jesus follower, but he kept that very quiet since he feared the reaction of his religious peers. Joseph asked Pilate for permission to take the body of Jesus for a proper burial, and Pilate acquiesced to his request.
So Joseph went and claimed the body – with Nicodemus in tow (you remember him – the one who approached Jesus that one night). Nicodemus had his own contribution: a jar of fragrant myrrh and aloes to prepare the corpse properly for entombment. A jar nothing! It was more like a barrel – he brought nearly 75 pounds of it!
So they commenced their labor of love, taking the body and wrapping it in a cocoon of linen strips interlaced with the spices, which was the custom in those parts – at least for more upscale burials. And they didn’t have to carry the body far. Not far from the Skull, the execution spot, was a garden spot, and in that garden was a family burial tomb as yet unused by anyone. They didn’t waste any time – the Sabbath celebration was coming on quickly, and the tomb was right there, so that’s where they put Jesus.
And then.
Rest.
MAV (Mike’s Amplified Version)
RECEIVE
Once again pan to the right and watch Joseph tentatively stepping into Pilate’s palace, risking the defilement and the loss of Passover privileges, asking for the body of Jesus. Now follow him back to the cross where you sit, still. Watch as Nicodemus joins his solemn, lonely procession. Smell the fragrant spices he carries, let that aroma mingle with the smell of death all around you. Watch as they gently carry the body of Jesus away.
Follow them.
See them spot the tomb.
Watch them lay Jesus to rest there.
Watch them meticulously, tenderly, wrap that body with the linen strips, smell the overpowering fragrance as seventy-five pounds of spices are wrapped up in those linen strips.
Watch them roll the stone over the entrance and walk away.
Sit in the silence of the darkening tomb.
No words.
Hold your breath. And then…breathe.
RELATE
How is the Spirit nudging you to minister to the body of Jesus right now? What spices can you bring?
RESPOND
Lord, birth the prayer of Job within me as I witness these Golgotha scenes:
“I’m speechless, in awe—words fail me.
I should never have opened my mouth!
I’ve talked too much, way too much.
I’m ready to shut up and listen.”
Amen.
blood and water | John 19.31-37
THURSDAY
This week’s reading: John 19.17-42
REFLECT
Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.” John 19.31-37 | ESV
The local religious crowd hardly blinked. All they could think of now was getting those bodies down as quickly as possible since it was Preparation Day for the religious observance of their high and holy Sabbath in this Passover season and they didn’t want anything to tarnish that. So they sent a request to Pilate to have the legs of the crucified broken, insuring their swift demise (since they would no longer be able to position themselves to breathe) and expedient removal.
Word was passed along to the squad of soldiers carrying out the executions, so they came and broke the legs of the one and then of the other of those crucified with Jesus, but when they came to Jesus, they didn’t touch his legs since they saw he was already dead.
But just to make sure, one of them with his spear pierced his side, and it was like a fountain of blood and water gushing from Jesus. This is what happened. The one standing there saw it. He offers his sworn testimony to what he saw, and we have no doubt that testimony is true and you can count on it. Totally. Once again, all of this was simply carrying out to letter the cues of the Script:
“He had not a single busted bone.”
And then there’s the other line:
“They will peer on him they pierced.”
MAV (Mike’s Amplified Version)
RECEIVE
Pan from the cross to the right. Watch the robed religious crowd discussing how to protect the sanctity of their holy day while Jesus hangs a bloody corpse, and two other wretches still fight and gasp for air. Watch Pilate give the order to break their legs; centering back on the crosses before you, don’t cover your ears or close your eyes as bone is smashed and two human beings simultaneously enter their final death rattle. Now watch as spear pierces cooling flesh and feel the mist from the unleashed torrent of water and blood. Then add these words from John to your reflection:
Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. 1 John 5:6-10 | ESV
No more words now.
Be still.
Breathe.
RELATE
What one new thing have you seen, heard, or realized as you sat before the cross this week?
RESPOND
Lord, forgive me for powering by the cross far too frequently in my life, for allowing my eyes to be drawn to brighter fields when they need to rest here, even if just for a moment. Let such moments as these work the momentous in me – and through me. Amen.
skull scene | John 19.23-27
TUESDAY
This week’s reading: John 19.17-42
REFLECT
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,
“They divided my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”
So the soldiers did these things, but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. John 19.23-27 | ESV
After crucifying him, the squad of soldiers in charge took his clothes, splitting the garments four ways between them – but they couldn’t bring themselves to tear his tunic, the inner garment he wore next to his skin (think extra long t-shirt), because it wasn’t pieced together as most are but was perfect and seamless, woven as one solid piece from the top down. They all agreed, “Let’s not tear it, let’s play for it and see who ends up with it.” They thought this was just their idea, but all they did was read from the Script:
Lost were all my clothes,
all on a couple of throws.
So read the Script, and so did the soldiers.
During those excruciating moments, Jesus mother had stood right there, right there by the cross, and she had company: his aunt and the other Marys – Clopas’ wife and the Magdalene. Jesus sees her there – and now that disciple Jesus really loved was standing next to her. He seizes the moment to provide for her. “Woman, look, there’s your son, right there.” Then he turns to this disciple. “Look, there’s your mother, right there.” And so it was, right from that moment, that disciple taking her in as his own. MAV (Mike’s Amplified Version)
RECEIVE
Sit at the foot of the cross.
Watch the soldiers take Jesus’ clothes and gamble over that seamless undershirt.
Watch a son give away his mother to his best friend.
See what else you see.
See who else you see.
Then listen.
Write or draw if you feel so led, but don’t feel you have to.
Just. Be.
Here.
RELATE
When you come to the cross is it primarily to take for yourself or is it to give?
RESPOND
Lord, meet me at the cross today. Give me the courage not to avert my gaze. And let my greatest takeaway be the giveaway of my own life poured out for others. Amen.
God’s Master Stroke | John 19.17-22
MONDAY
This week’s reading: John 19.17-42
REFLECT
So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” John 19.17-22 | ESV
So they took Jesus in hand, and, bearing the cross on his own shoulders, he went out to the place the Greeks called Cranium, the Romans Calvary, the Jews Golgotha – in any language, it’s “The Skull.” And that’s where they crucified him – and he wasn’t alone. A condemned duo was crucified there with him, here and there with Jesus right in the middle. Pilate composed and placed a placard spelling out Jesus’ crime for all to see, right there on the cross: Jesus the Nazarene – the King of the Jews. Many of the locals passing by read it – they couldn’t miss it!
The “Skull” where Jesus was crucified was right next to the city and the placard had the charge written in the three locally significant languages (Hebrew, Latin, Greek). When the religious authorities got wind of this, they were quite miffed. They ordered Pilate to change the wording. “Don’t write The King of the Jews, but rather This Man Said ‘I Am the King of the Jews.””
Pilate wouldn’t budge. “I’ve written what I’ve written,” he said. MAV (Mike’s Amplified Version)
RECEIVE
“You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s master stroke, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified. I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.” 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 | MSG
This week we enter into the holy ground of Golgotha, Calvary, the Skull.
It is the centerpiece of the Gospel Message, the Divine “master stroke.” To the Corinthians, Paul emphasizes that the crucifixion of Jesus, as unpleasant and scandalous as they have deemed it culturally, socially and religiously (remember that the symbol of the cross to them was not an object of devotion but a symbol of ultimate humiliation), was at the very heart of his message; it was the very foundation of their existence as the ekklesia, the church.
Each of the four Gospel writers concur as they slow down their whirlwind narrative of all that Jesus said and did, and focus ever so painstakingly on the events of that climactic day.
We’re going to take our cue from them this week, and slow down. At least that’s the challenge. The crucifixion of Jesus is not so much something we must study, but something we must allow to study us. The challenge is to truly take in this event, and to be taken in by it.
So we will let the telling of John do the speaking this week.
No more comments here.
Read John’s telling aloud each day.
Sit with it.
Sit with Him.
Under the shadow of those crosses planted in the Skull, alongside gambling soldiers and a weeping mother; with callous religious hearts picking at the wording of the accusation, and demanding the breaking of crucified legs not to mercifully speed death but to keep their religious celebration on track; with trembling disciple hands stepping out of the shadows to claim the body, to do in death what they were afraid to do in life – owning Him, honoring Him.
Yes. We will find ourselves in these faces as we sit beneath these crosses, watching Him, watching all.
But we must be still.
We must see.
And we must listen.
RELATE
Why is the crucifixion of Jesus “God’s master stroke”? What does the death of Jesus mean to you?
How has it changed you? How does it need to change you still?
RESPOND
Lord, they sat and watched you there. Give me the grace to do the same this week. Stop me at the cross. Let me not bypass or rush it for resurrection glories following. Let the cross do more than give me pause, let it accost me, arrest me, assault me. Let it leave splinters in my soul. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear. And don’t let me walk away the same. Amen.
check mate | John 19.12-16
FRIDAY
This week’s reading: John 19.1-16
REFLECT
From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. John 19.12-16 | ESV
Pilate so desperately wanted to cut Jesus loose. But the religious assemblage at his door wouldn’t let him off the hook – they set the hook all the harder into his political jaw: “You let this man go, then you’re no friend of Caesar! Anyone posturing himself as ‘king’ is defying Caesar to his face – and so, ‘friend,’ how can you just sit there and do nothing?”
In this chess game of politics, they just shouted,“Check!”
Pilate refused to be cornered. He brought Jesus out one more time, moving the proceedings to the final political chessboard – the Great Stone Floor (though the locals called it “the High Slab”). The sun was just making its way over the horizon, but for Pilate it was high noon. Passover was on the doorstep. Pilate makes his move. “Look, he’s one of your own – and he’s your king!” That just got them started into another round of loud chanting, “Away, away – nail him to a cross!” Pilate makes his final move: “Your king? Really, shall I crucify your king?!” One loud priestly chorus answers him: “Caesar is our only king!”
Check mate.
Pilate was done. There was nothing else to do but surrender the “king.” He handed him over as they wished for crucifixion. MAV (Mike’s Amplified Version)
RECEIVE
A high stakes political chess match with cosmic consequences.
That’s how this tragic scene plays out.
Move and counter move.
Check and check mate.
You feel the hapless desperation of Pilate to free Jesus – caught between the fear of what the death of this mysterious “god-man” might cost him personally and the fear of the political fallout if he spared him.
How hard he tried to escape both.
Matching his desperation is the hardened determination of the religious crowd to have their way. How fitting that in its final act the “game” moves to the huge chess board of Gabbatha, the Pavement, the High Slab – which was evidently composed of large square stones arranged like a mosaic. So easy to see Jesus as the mere pawn moved around by self-supposing “kings” – for that is how he allowed himself to be used, though he was, in reality, the only King on the board.
Perhaps the disciples’ prayer is the most fitting way to conclude this week’s reflection – as a reminder that ultimately there is only one Hand that plays on this or any chessboard in life:
“Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,
‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” Acts 4:24-28 | ESV
Selah.
RELATE
Where on the chessboard of your life do you most need the reminder that God’s hand is sovereign?
RESPOND
Lord, when the power struggles of life threaten to drag me down and under, lift my eyes to see once again that it is Your Hand that is sovereign in each and every move; and let this not lull me into a fatalistic sleep, but invigorate me with fresh passion to engage in the game of life. Through your mercies. Amen.
REFLECT | RECEIVE | RELATE | RESPOND 