John 19:26-27 * Midweek Lent 6,
PERSONALITIES OF THE PASSION:
JOHN
Dear Friends in Christ,
We may not see it happening as often now in many of our new mission congregations, but in years past, when Lutheran congregations formed and wished to provide themselves with a name by which to be identified, they often chose the name of a disciple. I am not sure why and how this custom arose, but it was the general rule for a goodly number of years. We can all think of churches which begin with the word “Saint…”
Such was the case with the forefathers of this
congregation. In 1882 they chose to name
this congregation after the disciple John.
And so for almost 125 years now we have been known as
A brief history of John would go something like this…
He was the son of Zebedee and the brother of James, who was
also one of the Twelve Disciples.
Zebedee was a successful fisherman residing near
Scripture also infers that John had most likely first been a follower of John the Baptist. However, when Christ appeared on the scene he switched allegiances with John’s the Baptist’s blessing. Shortly thereafter he was “officially” called out of a larger group of Jesus’ followers to be one of the Twelve Disciples.
John, along with his brother James and Peter, also became
one of the inner circle of the Twelve.
As such he was privileged to accompany Jesus when He raised Jairus’
daughter from the dead, when He was transfigured, and when He agonized in
prayer in the
Other indications that John had a special place in Jesus’ heart and Jesus a special place in his heart is the description of John, as seen in our text, as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Certainly Jesus loved all His disciples and, in fact, every human being past, present and future; but while on earth we do seem to find a special bond of friendship between Jesus and John. For example…
At the Last Supper, it was John who sat next to Jesus. After the betrayal, it was John and Peter who followed Jesus to where he was being questioned. As our text again indicates, John was present at the crucifixion where, at Jesus’ command, he took in Mary, the mother of Christ, since Joseph was evidently no longer around. John was also the first of the Twelve to witness the empty tomb on Easter morning.
After Jesus ascended into heaven John was very instrumental
in the beginning of the New Testament church and is referred to as one of its
“pillars” by Paul in his letter to the Galatians. To this end, he is mentioned several times in
the beginning of the Book of Acts. But
about half-way through, when the Book of Acts concentrates on the missionary
journeys of Paul, we lose track of John.
It is commonly believed that he settled down in the city of
The latter years of first century were marked by a number of
officially sanctioned persecutions against Christians. During one of them – probably in the A.D.
90’s – John was exiled to a little island named
A reliable church historian reports that John was eventually
released and returned to
Moving on to John’s character, we might describe him as having two natures. At times the Gospels portray him as being somewhat quick tempered and easily provoked. One example comes to mind. When a certain village did not respond to Jesus in a way he felt was satisfactory, John suggested that Jesus rain down fire and brimstone on it. Jesus rebuked John for this. Maybe it was this characteristic which prompted Jesus to call John and his brother James “Boanerges,” which means “sons of thunder.”
On the other hand, John is also known as the “Apostle of Love.” The first letter of John repeatedly emphasizes love as the distinguishing mark of the Christian; a love which reflects the great love God showed us by sending His Son to be our Savior. The well known and familiar Bible passages: “God is love,” and “We love because he first loved us” are found in First John. And it is as the disciple of love that we see John in our text for today, and the very special part he played in the passion of Christ…
The backdrop of our text is the crucifixion. Jesus hangs on a cross. Those who are closest to Him are there,
painfully taking in the whole ordeal. “When Jesus saw his mother there, and the
disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Dear woman,
here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her
into his home.”
Jesus spoke seven times while being crucified. What we just heard is generally considered
the third “word” from the cross. He
spoke it because it was undoubtedly added suffering for Him to see His mother
in her maternal pain. It is entirely
consistent with the person and nature of Jesus Christ, the compassionate lover
of the world, to make provisions for Mary.
And who better to help out than John, the “disciple whom Jesus loved.”
So he said “woman”
– perhaps He chose that word because to call her “mother” would have been too
painful for her, as well as to impress upon her that He was first and foremost
her Savior – “here is your son.” And to John He said, “here is your mother.” He
didn’t need to say anymore. The beloved
John responded immediately. And “from that time on, this disciple took her
into his home.”
What part did John play in the passion of Jesus Christ? Let’s consider this against the backdrop of the two other disciples we’ve examined during these devotions. In the disciple Judas and his actions, we needed to be warned against any form of betrayal of our Lord. In the disciple Peter and his actions, we needed to be warned against any form of denial of our Lord. But in the disciple John and his actions here, there is no warning of something to be avoided. Rather there is an example of something to be embraced. And that is a spirit of devotion to Jesus. John was the devoted one.
And it is that we can learn from him and apply to our lives as Christians today.
Think again of the circumstances of our text. When Jesus was taken captive in the
But Scripture also places John as the only disciple present at the foot of the cross. What can we make of this? What changed? Could we not say that John’s love for Christ ultimately conquered his personal fear for himself? Can we not surmise that as John gathered himself, devotion to His Lord trumped all personal doubts and reservations? His presence would seem to indicate that.
The reason this transformation came about is because John understood some things. The entire ramifications of the Gospel message may not have been as clear to him standing at the foot of the cross as it would be later on, but John certainly knew that Jesus Christ was the embodiment of a self-sacrificing love the world had never seen before.
And John certainly knew that Jesus Christ was not dying for his own sins. He died for John’s sins. He died for our sins. He died for the sins of the world. Later on John would express it in these words: “… the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies US from all sin.” As a result, we are redeemed, restored, forgiven. We are right with God. We are heirs of eternal life.
Such wondrous love inspired devotion to Christ in John. Such wondrous love moved John to fearlessly fly his flag for his Lord and put aside all fears of what may happen because of his close relationship to Christ. Such wondrous love drove John to be at his Savior’s side on Good Friday despite any personal risks
And such wondrous love has the same effect on us. To know Christ means to love Him and live for Him because, like John, we understand the cross. And the cross creates and inspires within us the single-minded devotion we see exemplified in John, our sixth and final personality of the passion…
So as we bring these midweek Lenten devotions to a close, let us conclude by reviewing where we’ve been, whom we’ve met and what we’ve seen.
In Jesus Christ and His willingness to suffer and die for us, we see the full embodiment of God’s wondrous love.
In Judas, who betrayed Christ, we learned that disillusionment with God comes only to those who do not see the real reason why Jesus came, to save us from our sins.
In Peter, who distanced himself from Christ, we found warning against denying Jesus with our lives and our lips.
In Herod, who demanded a miracle from Christ, we learned the shallowness of judging Jesus only by what we think he ought to do for us.
In Pilate, under whom Jesus suffered and was sentenced, we find warning against doing the expedient thing as opposed to the right thing.
And in John, who stood at the cross, we are given an example of love and devotion to Christ, knowing that we love Him because He first loved us.
Let us now move into Holy Week with its twin emotional peaks of Jesus death and resurrection, prepared to once again receive refreshment for our souls. Amen.