Context: Jesus has been beaten and he's been nailed to the cross. At his feet the soldiers divided up his clothing. His mother, his aunt, Mary Magdalene, and John the apostle watch him suffer.
Text:
28Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"[a] 37and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."[b]
Footnotes:
a) John 19:36 Exodus 12:46; Num. 9:12; Psalm 34:20
b) John 19:37 Zech. 12:10
taken from www.biblegateway.com
Did anyone ever tell you something about your newly born child that stuck with you throughout the years? When our youngest daughter was born, a neighbor who was into astrology told me that she and I would get along well and that we'd be great friends. I wasn't a Christian at that time, and I never really believed in the zodiac-stuff. I just smiled and thanked her and went on my way.
But even though I didn't believe she had insight into the future, I have never forgotten the conversation, and I've often thought about her statement...especially after really good conversations with my daughter and also after we've had disagreements. It's such a nice prophesy...I hope that it will continue to be fulfilled.
Mary heard a prophesy about her son, Jesus. When she and Joseph had taken him to the temple to offer him to the Lord (following Jewish tradition), a righteous man named Simeon met them in the temple courts. Simeon was full of the Holy Spirit, and God had told him that he'd not die before he saw the Lord's Christ. Simeon took the child in his arms and foretold the salvation of the Jews and Gentiles. Almost as an afterthought he turned to Mary and said, "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." (Luke 2:34-35)
I imagine that Mary thought about that prediction often throughout Jesus' life. When he ran into the corner of a table as a toddler and split open his head, when he was lost in the temple as a preteen, and when he was heartbroken, unable to find love as a teenager and seemed destined to live out his life alone. All of these experiences can feel like a knife in the soul when you are a parent. But now, thirty-three years later, she truly understands what Simeon meant. It's likely that she physically felt that sword being thrust into her own soul. She couldn't imagine that the pain would ever end.
And I'm sure she would have traded places with Jesus if it would relieve the suffering of her firstborn.
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