Day 44 – It is finished

John 19:28-42

After this, knowing that everything was now finished and done, Jesus fulfilled Scripture by saying, “I am so thirsty.” Now a jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop stalk, and brought it to his lips. When Jesus got this, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

As it was the Preparation Day for the Sabbath, and the next day was a special Sabbath, the Jewish leaders did not want bodies remaining on crosses, so they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and the other who was crucified with him; but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. The man who saw this has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, so that you too may believe. For these things happened to fulfil the Scripture, “No bone of his will be broken.” And as another Scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

After these things, Joseph of Arimathaea asked Pilate for permission to take away Jesus’ body. Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jewish leaders. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and took the body away. Nicodemus, the one who at first came to Jesus by night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing a talent, about thirty kilograms. So they took Jesus’ body, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden. In the garden was a new tomb in which no-one had ever been laid. So, because it was the Jewish Preparation Day, and the tomb was near, they laid Jesus there.

For reflection

What has Jesus done here? How many reasons for Jesus’ death have you encountered, and how are they meaningful to you?