David Bahn – Reflections

John 18:23-27

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic.^[d] But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, ²⁴ so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

So the soldiers did these things, ²⁵ 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 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!”And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

Many communities proscribe the locations of certain establishments such as bars or liquor stores, requiring that they be more than 300 feet from a school or place of worship. One such establishment went to great lengths (literally!) to argue that they were in compliance. They built a fence along one side of their building that required one to walk more than the required distance in order to enter the establishment if you were coming from the school. Others have argued that the proscription should not apply to property line distance, but door-to-door distance.

The reality of life, however, brings together disparate ideologies, behaviors, and values and people rub shoulder to shoulder in the warp and woof of life. Co-workers may hold different values about liquor consumption while school children, parents, and teachers act differently in regard to speech, TV and movie choices, religious practice, and political viewpoint. We live in a highly pluralistic society.

The interplay between religion and secularism is nothing new. In the few verses around the account of Jesus’ crucifixion we see two remarkably distinct value systems on display. In one case soldiers gamble for Jesus’ garment. They have shamed him by taking his garments from him. Now they decide that rather than tear it into pieces they will cast lots to see who will get it. As this is going on Jesus, John, and Jesus’ mother are nearby. Jesus gives Mary to John, and John to Mary as mother and son. And from that hour John takes her into his own home.

The contrasting choices may not be as stark for you today. But we all will encounter some degree of possible faith and life choices. While we may choose the way of Jesus, John and Mary, others may well cast lots to see who gets the trophies of others’ shame. The time and space of life will be filled today with either those things which bring honor to Christ or celebrate other people’s shame.

Caring for widows and orphans, and distancing ourselves from those who celebrate others’ shame – if only by our actions – are the marks of true religion (cf. James 1:27). Others may build fences in an attempt to justify their evil deeds. But faith embraces a godliness of love that rejects loophole religion. Faith rejects anything that mocks the shame of Jesus on the cross, and sees Jesus’ sacrifice as our greatest hope and the motive for true godliness.

John 18:16b-27

So they took Jesus, ¹⁷ and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. ¹⁹ Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. ²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” ²² Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

²³ When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic.^[d] But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, ²⁴ so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

So the soldiers did these things, ²⁵ 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 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!”And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.