Daily Devotion for Wednesday 30th July 2025

St John 19: 26 – 30 

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’  Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfil the scripture), ‘I am thirsty.’  A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth.  When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Reflection

These four women and one man are known to Jesus and stand by the Cross in His final hours. The Gospel is silent on how much of prior events these five have witnessed.  Previous verses give an account of the crowds who clamoured for Jesus’ death, and there were the soldiers who carried out the triple execution. How must it have felt for those five, while all around them were jeering and mocking? I wonder if any of those bystanders spotted the five’s different behaviour and what they said in this tender exchange.

All the Gospels are filled with accounts of Jesus drawing alongside people in times of need: these five are doing for Him what He did for so many. It must have taken amazing courage to remain there in Jesus’ darkest hour. Jesus entrusts His mother and John into each-other’s care. One tradition is that they remained together. If you have visited Ephesus (in Türkiye), you will almost certainly have been shown the little stone house where it is believed Mary lived until her death.

And the sour wine? Some commentators consider it to be nothing more than the cheap, everyday, wine drunk by the soldiers. Remember that water is not always safe to drink. And the hyssop? A common plant in that region, symbolic of cleansing.  

The Greek word for “finished” is τετέλεσται (tetélestai) occurs twice (verses 28 and 30), and a related verb in verse 29 (“fulfil”). Greek scholars describe the verb as perfect tense which is used to describe a completed action which produces results still relevant in the present.  That means that Jesus’ death on the Cross is just as pertinent today as it was 2000 years ago when God’s own Son completed the task for which He came into the world: to reconcile humankind with the Creator.

Prayer

Loving God,
thank you for Jesus,
for His death on the Cross.
Thank you for His sacrifice,
and Your sufficient grace.
Amen.