September 4
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IT IS FINISHED!
23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. 24 So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be”; this was to fulfill the Scripture: “THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS.” 25 Therefore the soldiers did these things. 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 then 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!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” 29 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. 30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
– John 19:23-30
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In this gospel account, we witness the fulfillment of the prophecies that was spoken about in Scripture long ago before Jesus was born. The garments of the Lord will be divided through casting lots. These soldiers had no idea that they were players in the whole scheme of God’s plan: to bring the only Son to die on the cross to save mankind. There had to be people who will bring about such wickedness to fulfill the victory of righteousness.
What a loving trait Jesus portrayed in this final work of salvation. He was still thinking of His mother and ensured that his beloved disciple John took care of her now that he was gone. In those times, widows are the most helpless since no one is going to look after them. Mary’s husband Joseph must have passed on a long time ago because we hear how Jesus was responsible for her needs to be met. He passed on that responsibility to look after Mary to his most beloved disciple, John. Who else can He rely on but the one who loved Him so? This scene was the final end to Jesus’ humanity and also the completion of the work of salvation that He was doing for His Father.
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REFLECTION
• Why is completing a work for the Lord important in a Christian’s life?