John 19:25b-30 – Three precious moments from the cross

Beyond the shadow of a doubt, our Lord had a tremendous heart of love and care for those who are His. In all, the four Gospels recorded seven last words that He uttered from the cross. A reflection on them would show us the depth of His love for us. Here John, in his Gospel, recorded only three of the seven utterances from the cross. They all reveal to us the great depth of Christ’s love, even in His dying moments.

The first of the three is found in verses 25b-27. They were His words of concern for Mary, His own earthly mother. Here John tells us that present at the cross, where Jesus was hung, were three persons by the name of Mary. The first was Mary, Jesus’ earthly mother, the second was Mary, the sister of His mother who was also the wife of Clopas, and the third was Mary Magdalene, whom Jesus had delivered from the crutch of demons recorded in Luke 8:2. Looking from the cross, Jesus’ eyes was focused on two persons standing nearby: His mother and the disciple whom He loved. It is believed that this disciple was John, the beloved. Jesus first addressed His mother, saying, “Woman, behold your son!” Then turning to John, He said, “Behold, your mother!” From that moment on John took Mary to his own home. This implied that he took care of Mary henceforth.  

In His terrible agony and anguish that had gone on for hours, yet Jesus had deep regard for His earthly mother. He had the consideration for her and gave her what every mother would need – a son to protect and look after her. And also to John what every son would require – a loving and understanding mother. Bear in mind that Mary already had four sons who could quite easily provide and care for her. But they were not believers in Christ as yet. They all only came to faith in Him after Jesus’ post- resurrection appearance to them. What Mary needed at that point was a compassionate understanding of her sorrow, something the other sons of hers could not empathize. John of course accepted the responsibility and took Mary to be his own mother from that point onward.  

The next words from the cross, John captured the expression of Jesus’ terrible torment and physical distress. Verse 28 recorded Jesus saying, “I am thirsty.” We are also told that “A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.” A thirst, when deprived of water, is certainly more agonizing than physical pain. Nothing can be worse than not having a thirst quenched. The very reason Jesus cried out “I am thirsty” was in fulfilment of the Scripture.

Finally in verse 30, John recorded what Jesus expressed on receiving the vinegar. He cried out loudly with His dying breath, “It is finished.” This expression is one of great relief. The whole ordeal of Jesus, and what mankind would have to endure, was now over. The ultimate solution to the sin problem of humanity is provided. Christ had completed the work He came to do and the enemy is now defeated. In those three hours we are told that the sun refused to shine and the whole land was covered with a strange darkness. Matthew 27:46 recorded the fearsome battle He had with the power of darkness when He cried, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" “It is finished” tells us that Jesus had made accessible the way for mankind to be reconciled with God. It provided the way into the very heart of God. The foundation for our redemption is virtually laid and sealed with this cry. At this point John said that Jesus gave up His spirit. It proved what He had said earlier in His discourse on the Good Shepherd. He said in John 10:18, “…I have authority to lay it (my life) down, and I have authority to take it up again.” This is something only Christ could do. He personally decided when to give up His spirit and die.

Paul gave us the reason as to why Jesus had to endure the horrible agonizing death. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, he wrote, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God.” Christ became a curse for us and was separated from God, so that we will never have to experience the horror of eternal separation from a loving God. None of us can even begin to imagine the horror of a life being cut off from God eternally. But because Christ had paid the price required for our sins, we can now come to Him as we are and through Him to become truly what He wants us to be. It would be a gross insult if we seek to be reconciled to God through some good works or merits of our own. Like the thief who asked to be accepted by Christ, we all must come to Him empty handed, clinging simply to the cross that He had provided. Nothing more, nothing less.