Words from the Cross – 4
Jesus had been hanging from the cross for about three hours, since he had been crucified, at nine 0′ clock in the morning. It was almost noon; the sun was in the zenith; sweat was running down His whole body and He felt His mouth was dry, His tongue was stuck to His palate, He was thirsty.
Everything had happened so fast since He had had the last supper with His disciples in the upper room and had told them: “Take eat; this is my body”! (Matthew 26:26). He had left the room and spent the night praying at the place where he was used to, in Gethsemane, next to art old olive tree with a twisted and knotted trunk. There, He had felt terribly lonely as He felt the burden of the sins He had taken upon Hili1self and the closeness of the time in which He would have to pay the great debt of humanity with His own life. As a man that He was, He feared that moment. He did not want to die. His whole being rejected the idea of being sacrificed as a victim for sins He had not committed. He felt a big oppression in His heart, and He told His Father: “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from me, nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” Mark 14:36. But the Father did not reply; what He was asking for was not in agreement with His will, it was not in agree went with the covenant that both of them had made in that counsel of peace that had taken place in heaven, even before the foundation of the world, in which Jesus, the Son of God, had offered Himself to come down to earth and pay the ransom for lost humanity. So, as He did not receive an answer from the Father in heaven, He turned to men and went to His disciples to ask them to pray for Him.
He knew He would have to fulfill His mission to the last word. He found that His disciples were sleeping; it was late many things had happened in the last days and they were very tired. Then, having nobody to show sympathy and solidarity for Him, He wrestled alone in prayer to the point of agony and the sweetening of blood. At daybreak, He saw a multitude coming closer, led by one of His beloved disciples who turned Him in with a kiss that sealed his betrayal.
He was taken to the authorities to be judged. The King of the Universe! And then – the Scriptures tell us – His disciples “forsook Him and fled. “(Mark 14:50) After this, everything developed very fast. He was taken to the high priest Caiaphas, who was surrounded by the elders and scribes, and He heard many false witnesses giving false testimonies about Him, but He kept silent. And when the sun had already risen, “they bound Him, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.” (Mark 15:1) Once again, He was questioned: “But Jesus still answered nothing.” (Matthew 15:5) When Pilate heard that Jesus came from Galilee, wanting already to “wash his ~s off”, and not to get involved in such a delicate matter, he sent Him to Herodes, under whose jurisdiction, that area was, taking advantage of the fact that the governor was then in Jerusalem. Herodes, who had heard much about Jesus had “hoped to see some miracle done by Him” (Luke 23:8), asked Him many questions “but He answered him nothing.” (Luke 23:9) And while the scribes and priests accused Him, Herodes and his soldiers mocked Him and “arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.” (Luke 23:11)
Pilate, literally washing off his hands, fulfilled the wish of the crowd that asked him to set Barrabas, a common criminal, free and thus, the heavy cross was put on Jesus’s shoulders for Him to carry to the place where He was to be crucified. He felt weak, His body was black and blue, and He could hardly walk, so “they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. II (Luke 23:26) Our Saviour walked along the via dolorosa, followed by two criminals carrying their own crosses, and when they reached the place called Calvary, they crucified Him. It was the third hour, nine 0′ clock in the morning.
There, on the cross, as usual, He was aware of everything that was happening around Him and in the heart of people. He bore insult, watched the soldiers throwing cast for His clothes, felt how the hearts of some people were tom at the sight before their eyes and He knew that the plan of salvation He was now sealing with His own blood, would bear fruit up until the last moment. He knew that many of those who were around the cross would find shelter under its shadow and would be converted and follow Him, and in spite of all the pain, He rejoiced in the bottom of His heart. His mind was not turned to Himself, He did not concentrate on what He had gone through before He was crucified or what He was suffering right at that moment, but He continued looking for souls .for His kingdom.
Since noon, the sun had ,been shining powerfully on His head and His naked chest, He was at the verge of dehydration, and He was very thirsty so He dared ask something from man, as He had done before, when He had asked for water from that woman at the well- in Samaria. Now He said: “I thirst” and we read: “Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.” John 19:28) That is what humanity has to offer his thirsty God, vinegar, acidity, ‘Sourness.
Lord, forgive our wickedness and do not stop giving us from the living water, but turn it into wine, as you did at the wedding in Cana. Work a miracle, now that our vessel is full to the brim with your word. Clean the most hidden comers of our heart with your purifying blood and transform us, with the power of your Spirit, into the water of life that you promised and want us to be;
Amen.