Moments to Ponder

Moments at Golgotha: Where Love and Power Meet (John 19:16-27)

• Betsy Marvin • Season 15 • Episode 146

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Standing at the foot of Golgotha 40 years ago, I experienced a holy feeling that made Jesus's sacrifice tangible despite being in a modern bus parking lot. Jesus positioned himself at the center—between two criminals, between heaven and hell, between judgment and mercy—showing his role as the bridge between God and humanity.

• Jesus declared as King in three languages on the sign above his cross
• Possible acronym in Hebrew that spelled YHWH (God)
• Women and John able to stand near the cross while other disciples had to flee
• Jesus, despite his suffering, provided for his mother by entrusting her to John
• Mary and John later lived together in Ephesus where they served the church
• Jesus sees us in our darkest moments just as he saw his mother at the cross
• When we feel unseen, we can remember Jesus's deeply compassionate character

Take a moment to ponder: Where do you feel unseen right now? Invite the Holy Spirit to show you where Jesus is waiting to meet you with his compassionate gaze.


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Speaker 1:

Hey friends, welcome to Moments to Ponder. This is a podcast designed to help you spend a few moments in God's Word, gain fresh perspectives and find meaningful takeaways to ponder throughout your week. I'm Betsy Marvin and this is Episode 146. Although it was over 40 years ago, I can see it like it was yesterday. It was a warm spring day, a breeze was rustling the scraggly grass and our tour group stood in the middle of a bus parking lot. We were looking up at a skull-like face in the side of a rocky hill Golgotha Place of the Skull, as it's called in John 19. Our group was quiet. As we stood there, a holy feeling filled us, even though we were in a parking lot the physical space making what Jesus did so real. The hill feels tall, with a cliff-like rock face where the broken cisterns form the skull image. But even in that modern pavement you could feel and imagine how visible the crosses would have been to the whole city. Jesus, from up there, would have seen all across Jerusalem. We honestly can't really imagine what watching a crucifixion would have been like the brutality, the violence, the complete devaluing of human life. It would have been horrific the pain, the blood. If you've ever seen the Passion of the Christ. You kind of get the idea. Yet the gospel writers themselves don't dwell on the actual details, whether to keep it from becoming too emotional for their readers or because everyone of their time already knew.

Speaker 1:

The writers focus on Jesus' words. We begin with John 19, 16. Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus away, carrying the cross by himself. He went to the place called Place of the Skull In Hebrew Golgotha. There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side with Jesus between them. Note that Jesus is in the middle, the center between two criminals. Even in his death, jesus was among those that needed him. He was a bridge between those that believed and those that chose not to. We don't read of the interaction between Jesus and the criminals in John, but from Luke. We see Jesus in the center, the way from death to life. To take this even further, jesus was the center between God and humanity. He bore the punishment our sin deserves. He offered a bridge from death to life for us. He is the center of God's story, the center of this moment that changed all of history. Even in the placement of the cross there is meaning, verse 19. Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate change it from the king of the Jews to. He said I am the king of the Jews. Pilate replied no, what I have written, I have written.

Speaker 1:

It was a Roman custom to make a criminal wear a sign that told everyone what they had done as they walked to their place of crucifixion. Once there, the sign would be placed above them for all to see. For the men crucified beside Jesus, they would have each had a sign stating their crime. Yet Jesus had done no crime. Pilate chose to state who he was in all the major languages Hebrew for the Jews, latin for the Romans and Greek for the Alexandrian Jews who were in Jerusalem for Passover. It read Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. One commentary notes that the placard would have had the first letters of each of the main words. When it came to the Hebrew. This was known as a tentagrammaton, or we might say acronym, that could have read YHWH, y for Yeshua Jesus, h for Hanazorai, nazarene, w for Wamelech and Y for Yehudim Jesus, nazarene, king Jews. Yet interestingly enough, these letters create the word Yahweh God. If this commentator is correct, it's no wonder the priests were upset, pilate actually put the sign above Jesus, declaring to everyone that Jesus is God our Savior, and it was written in every language that was needed Verse 23.

Speaker 1:

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said, rather than tearing it apart, let's throw dice for it. This fulfilled the scripture that says they divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing. So that is what they did. Standing near the cross were Jesus's mother and his mother's sister, mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her Dear woman, here is your son. And he said to this disciple here is your mother. And from then on, this disciple took her into his home. This disciple, we believe this is John speaking of himself. So we have the women, mary, mary, Mary and Mary's sister, and they're all standing near the cross with John.

Speaker 1:

Nt Wright commentates that in times like this, when conflict is afoot, men would have been seen as a threat, while women were not. Later, women and men would be persecuted for their faith, but at the time of Jesus's crucifixion that wasn't happening. The disciples had to run. They were in fear of retaliation or arrest, but the women could be with Jesus. No one was going to bother to arrest them. No one was going to bother to arrest them. Yet we do see that the disciple Jesus loved was with them, meaning John. So how is it that John is there and not arrested?

Speaker 1:

It may have been that John was so young. The soldiers didn't even see him as a serious threat, so how would he raise up a revolt? We know the disciples were young men, but we have no idea how young they were, most likely a variety of ages. So John could have been a young teenager, not even old enough to grow a beard. And as he stood with the Marys, the soldiers probably didn't think twice about him. But Jesus did, so much so, in fact, that he commissioned John to take care of his mother, which brings a question why John? Why ask John to take this on? Jesus had siblings. One of them could surely have taken care of their mother, right? There are a lot of theories as to why John was chosen to take Mary in. Joseph. Mary's husband was most likely already gone, and so, as the eldest, the care of their mother would fall to Jesus. He could have asked one of his brothers or sisters, but none of Jesus' siblings believed in him at that time. Mary needed to be with someone that would support her in her faith and, with John's young age, he would be around for a while.

Speaker 1:

There are a few takeaways for us from this section in John 19. There's the connection to Jesus as the center between heaven and hell, judgment and mercy, and his desire to be the center of our story today. There's also the fact that Jesus was declared king in every major language of that time, so that all would know who he really is. We could be asking how can we continue to declare this in our world? For me, however, what stands out in this passage is the deeply personal and compassionate nature of Jesus in the midst of what's happening to him spiritually, emotionally and physically.

Speaker 1:

As Jesus looked over the crowd of people watching that day, his eyes meet his mother's as she wails and holds on tight to the other women, meet his mother's as she wails and holds on tight to the other women. John and the Marys watch helplessly as Jesus struggles to take every breath, the darkness that had fallen, echoing the feelings of despair as they huddled together in their grief. Each word Jesus speaks requires tremendous effort, each moan of pain piercing their hearts. And then Jesus looks directly at them, at her. In the middle of all the brutality and pain, he sees his mom. He can't leave her alone. She's been with him since the beginning. So he speaks to John, the one he loves In his last moments. He's thinking of him since the beginning. So he speaks to John, the one he loves In his last moments. He's thinking of her care and provision.

Speaker 1:

Jesus knew that of all the disciples, john would be the only one to grow old. All the other disciples will die through persecution, but John would live a long life. But John would live a long life by asking John. Jesus knows that his mother will be cared for for the rest of her life, and she was John and Mary lived in Ephesus. They worked in the church there and they are buried there today. I think Mary probably would have understood if Jesus didn't see her from the cross at that moment. She wasn't thinking of herself on that hill. Her heart was breaking for him, but to the very end, he was providing for her, showing her how much he loved her by entrusting the one he loved with the one he loved, dear one.

Speaker 1:

I know that when darkness shadows our lives, we can feel unseen by the one who says he loves us.

Speaker 1:

Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble, but when trouble comes we tend to think that Jesus isn't paying attention. In those moments, may you remember, mary, that even when his lifeblood was ebbing away and his breath was coming in gasps, he saw those he loved, and he sees you. Jesus is never too busy or too occupied to not see you. So here's a question Is there an area in your life right now where you need to be reminded that Jesus sees you, that he will provide for you, just like he did for his mom? Where do you feel unseen? Jesus' character is the same yesterday, today and forever. His deeply personal and compassionate heart sees you just as it saw Mary, and he went through all that he did so that you could have the Holy Spirit speak into your life and remind you that you are seen. I encourage you to just take a moment and ponder, invite the Holy Spirit to show you where you might be feeling unseen and allow Jesus to meet you there. His tender eyes are waiting to meet yours. Praise God, amen.