April 8
JOHN 19
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things, 25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. – John 19:23-27
JOHN 19 IRONY AT THE CROSS
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
While Jesus was dying on the cross to save mankind
The soldiers had his garments and they were gambling on them
They didn’t know that Jesus also sacrificed his life for them
They were so very blind to see their need for Jesus Christ.
This account gives us an irony. On one side, Jesus was hanging on the cross with his loved ones below the cross, waiting for him to die so they could get him down to bury him. A very tender and loving scene was depicted on this part of the cross.
The other view of this scene is the soldiers gambling over Jesus’ tunic. This scene contrasts the first one we saw. Here, we can picture the indifference of the soldiers to what the sacrifice of Jesus was. They were clueless and living their lives only at that moment and missing the other part of life which is eternity. Oxford dictionary defines “gambling” as a play of games of chance for money. Another definition says that it is to take risky actions in the hope of a desired results. With these two definitions, would you say that both Jesus and the soldiers were both taking risks but for different results? Jesus put his mortal life at stake to save us to have eternity while the soldiers were betting on that tunic so that one of them would own an extra garment.
REFLECTION
• What have you risked or given up in your life to follow Jesus?
