The Gospel of John’s account of the death of Jesus is read on Good Friday. In this account the author shows a Jesus in control right up to his last breath;
"It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30In this final act of obedience to the Father he loved, the fabric of the universe was changed.
The author of John has Jesus the Son sent by the Father to save the whole world. Jesus, Son of Man, died on a cross, bleeding from his pierced side, trusting in the Father. Jesus, the Son of God, revealed God’s love in categories derived from human experience. Now manger and cross are forever linked. "It is finished" and now something new is possible.
This love of the Father, who Jesus loved, was not a soft affective love; it was and still is the very essence of our character and identity as post-Easter Christians. Jesus told his disciples to “Love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus loved all the world without restraint and not counting the cost.
Three women and one disciple were standing at the foot of the cross and heard the final words from the Son of Man; "It is finished." Only in the days and weeks ahead would they realize it was only beginning.
Good Friday is good because not only because we already know the rest of the story, but because, fundamentally, the relationship between God and the world was altered in Jesus’ final act of obedience.
“It is finished." Then he bowed his head and up his spirit.
Fr. Showers
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