When someone is nearing death and speaking their last words to those around them, those words suddenly become some of the most important words they will ever hear.
It’s no longer a distracted audience.
No one is scrolling their phone and half listening.
No one is running to grab a coffee real quick.
They are hanging on to every word like every breath and every word is priceless. There is no more time. Time is up.
Today was that day for Jesus.
And we can learn a lot about his character and His heart from what He chose to say.
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
“Today, you will be with me in paradise.”
“Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother.”
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
“I thirst.”
“It is finished.”
“Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.”
Let’s not rush to skip to resurrection morning without a pause and a deep lament that acknowledges the pain of today.
We see His humanity and His struggle in His words and even in the midst of agony, we see His concern for others before Himself.
When He said, “Woman, behold your son,” He was speaking to His own mother. And I cannot even imagine the pain He could see in her eyes.
In that statement, He was asking John to look after Mary, whose own soul was being crushed in that moment and He was reminding Mary that while she was losing a son, she was gaining John.
And John was a son worth having. He was a fiercely loyal friend and one of the only ones who stayed, even for the cross.
Beloved, God is careful about all things concerning you.
I know sometimes it feels as though God is sitting on His hands. Jesus wrestled with this too and felt forsaken.
So as we pause on this Good Friday, let’s remind ourselves that if it feels anything other than good right now, it’s because it’s not the end of the story.
God is careful with all things concerning you.