Procession to the Throne
John 19:6-17 NRSV
When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.” Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore, the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.” When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, “Here is your King!” They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the emperor.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So, they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.
“Give up your life, your way of thinking and living . . . and you will have your life!” says Jesus. “Embrace me and my words so that you may be embraced!” We, whose lives were lost under the power of sin, have been recovered by the Messiah, who came to redeem us by embracing his own cross. Cross-bearing is a joyful thing because, in it, we find the one necessary thing: Jesus himself. This is the Gospel’s outcome: Those of us who have cast aside how we think life should work find our very lives restored. When we bear the cross, we discover that it will carry us. (Justin D. Clemente, “At the Cross,” p. 71)
Let us admire that love of Christ which, St. Paul declares, “passeth knowledge,” and let us see an endless depth of meaning in the expression. There is no earthly love with which it can be compared, and no standard by which to measure it. It is a love that stands alone. Never let us forget, which we ponder this tale of suffering, that Jesus suffered for our sins, the Just for the unjust, that he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, and that with his stripes we are healed. (Bishop J. C. Ryle)
1 Peter 2:21-24 NRSV
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
Crown Him
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
