Sara Spohr

John 19:1-3

Wednesday, March 28

1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. 3 They kept coming up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and striking him on the face. – John 19:1-3

How does death demonstrate love? Why did Jesus have to die? Where is the love to be found in the story of a cruel and humiliating death? Couldn't there have been some other way for God to show his love?

The cross is all about God demonstrating the deepest kind of love.

John's Gospel reminds us that the love of God was present from the time of creation. He says: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. God desired to reveal Godself to us, to communicate with us and interact with us in the world. God had a sermon to preach and God didn't call a prophet, but wrapped it up in vulnerable human flesh. In Jesus the messenger is the message, and the most powerful message he gives is through suffering and death. The cross is a moment when God is preaching. It is meant to touch your heart and to move you.

We also hear a message from the cross about God's deep love for a broken world. God looked at us and saw all of these broken things and didn't want to wipe us out, but fix us, heal us, redeem us, transform us from the inside out. The cross is God's desire and determination to demonstrate grace for us in the face of our brokenness. When we look at the cross we can say "God loves me," and know that this is the magnificent grace of God. This man gave his life for me.

Questions for reflection:

• Do these words from the crucifixion story cause you to ask hard questions?
• What do you see when you look at the cross?
• How have you experienced the depth of God's love?

Prayer:

God, I can scarcely comprehend the lengths you will go to share your love with me. Thank you Jesus. Amen