Reading 22

John 17-20

I love reading through the gospels. I’ve probably read them more often than any other part of the Bible. I love hearing the words of Jesus and being a part, however briefly, of the journey the apostles make. The four gospels repeat many of the same stories, but they all have a slightly different focus. For a long time, I would skim over the sections that I had read in earlier gospels, half wondering why the stories were repeated, sometimes with very different details. But a few years ago, I read through the gospels in a chronological Bible, which rearranges the scriptures from all the books into the order they occurred. Reading the familiar stories from the four gospels side by side gave me a different understanding of each story, and helped me understand that different details were given by the writers of the gospels because they were writing to different audiences and had different emphases to make.

As I read through John 17-20, I encountered familiar sections from the other three gospels. But I was especially struck by how John dealt with Jesus on the cross. John devotes such little space to the final moments before Jesus died: “Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’ A 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. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

As I read this section, it really bothered me that John spent so little time on the Lord’s last moments. As I pondered this more, I realized that in all the times I’ve read through the gospels, I’ve always been very saddened by Jesus’ time on the cross. Even as I read about his resurrection and the time he spent with the disciples, I’ve held on to that sadness. I’ve missed the joy that the Lord’s resurrection brought to the disciples. But John’s refusal to dwell on the brief moment of death, and his insistence on devoting more time to what occurred after that moment, brought me to a realization: Jesus dying on the cross is sad, but that is not the final emotion of the story. It is important to take seriously what Jesus did for us, but we shouldn’t let sadness color our view of everything that occurred after. Jesus went to the cross willingly so that we can have eternal life and the peace that comes from living within God’s will. That isn’t something to be sad about—it is something to rejoice in! So now, as I read through the end of each gospel, I’m going to remember to release my sadness, and rejoice with the disciples as Jesus comes back to them and ascends to heaven to prepare a place for all of us.

Kerry

Reading #22 (audio)