Slices
Prepare
Take time to be quiet, becoming aware of God’s presence with you. Focus on your breathing, or prayerfully repeat Jesus’ name.
Bible passage
The death of Jesus
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’ 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken,’ 37 and, as another scripture says, ‘They will look on the one they have pierced.’
The burial of Jesus
38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about thirty-five kilograms. 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was near by, they laid Jesus there.
Explore
Eyewitness details and words of deep significance walk us through Jesus’ death and burial. What John understands in retrospect is that Jesus was sovereign over the end of his earthly life and knew the spiritual story being written (v 28). What he understood in the moment was the truth that Jesus’ fully human body was unmistakably, medically dead (v 34).
Endings, especially those unwanted or unexpected, often carry painful questions. What would the woman at the well have thought if she had heard the Living Water say, ‘I am thirsty’ (v 28)? What might Nicodemus, who first spoke with Jesus about rebirth, have felt as he buried that broken body (vs 38–40)? What about Lazarus, if he had seen the One who called him out of the tomb carried into the darkness (vs 41,42)? What about you?
Here, on the seventh day, ‘the true’ rests, and hinges into ‘the new’. The place we turn, slowly, waiting and wondering, is an ending – a tomb. Full of disappointment, full of questions, full of all that is finished… empty of breath, hope and laughter. Yet beyond our knowing, these pivotal places are pregnant with power and purpose: true life is about to birth new life.
Respond
Bring to mind an ending you are experiencing. Imagine yourself facing the truth of it. Express your feelings; ask your questions. Wait here as long as you like, allowing the picture to unfold.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Deuteronomy 31,32; Romans 8
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for Mission Partner Bridgebuilder’s Easter Cracked workshops where they introduce Year 6 children in Milton Keynes to the real meaning of Easter. Pray that staff and volunteers will be empowered as they present the material to children, many of whom have no contact with church.