READING John 19:16b-25a
16b So they took Jesus; 17and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. 18There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." 20Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 21Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" 22Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." 23When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says,
"They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots."
25aAnd that is what the soldiers did.
The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all:
for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
In the name of Jesus; amen.
We had a phrase in high school, when we would see people being intimate with one another out in public. You know what I’m talking about when I say being intimate with one another out in public… making out at the mall or touching that went beyond holding hands out on the street. The phrase we would use was: “PDA” or “public displays of affection.”
It wasn’t something we needed to see except maybe in an R rated movie or on a soap opera. Sometimes one of us would be brave enough to say out loud, “Get a room” and hope the couple would get the hint that their behavior was inappropriate.
There are some things that aren’t meant for public consumption. There are some things that should be kept behind closed doors. There are some things that should not be publicized for the world to see.
“16b So they took Jesus; 17and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. 18There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." 20Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.”
There were a lot of Jews in Jerusalem; it was around the time of the festival and Jews from all over the known world passed by the place where Jesus hung. They would have been people who spoke: Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. And there weren’t just Jews using that road. Other people, gentiles, would have found occasion to travel outside the city as well.
They would have seen the spectacle. Mothers would have shielded their children’s eyes as they passed, Fathers would have hurried their families along so that the image would have been blurred. Some would have stopped or slowed down, the way we do when we pass an accident on the road.
They would have read the sign, seen the blood, smelled the smell of death and sweat. Some would have taunted, others would have cried, and still others would have been indifferent. But they would have been witnesses and they would have known that the charge against this dying man was that he was the King of the Jews.
It was a public claim and a public death. It didn’t happen in a secluded room or in a cell deep within prison walls. It didn’t happen in an R rated movie or on daytime television when the kids are in school.
This was a PDA, a public display of affection.
Last week, I found myself explaining Salem’s Palm Sunday service to my almost 8 year old daughter. Our service is a little different than others. We focus, not on the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, but on Jesus’ passion and death. The service begins on a happy note; we wave our Palm branches and process around the church singing, “All Glory Laud and Honor to you redeemer King!” But soon enough the story of Jesus’ betrayal and death becomes more and more evident. We finish the service in silence and reflection after singing, “Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?”
“Why do we have to have services about bad things? She asked.
There is a reason why we don’t like PDA’s. They are personal moments, intimate things and we especially don’t want our children to see them, because it exposes them to stuff they aren’t meant to understand quite yet.
Except for this… except for this PDA of Jesus’ death.
“Well,” I said. “We want to remember this thing that Jesus did for us. We want to remember that Jesus loved us so much that he was willing to let bad things happen to him so that we would know that when bad things happen to us that he understands and that he is with us no matter what we go through.”
But there is more to it than just that. Jesus’ death was a public event because it was meant to be witnessed. We are meant to be witnesses to his suffering, to be pulled in and gawk at it, to experience it. It wasn’t meant to be a secret event that is whispered about or buried on the back page of the papers. We aren’t supposed to hurry past it or shield our eyes and try to forget.
This PDA is supposed to be public; this intimate act is supposed to be seen.
And it’s not just so that we get the idea that Jesus suffered for us. Hanging on the cross with Christ were all our sins and we are to be witnesses of that too.
Jesus aired out our dirty laundry on the cross and then washed it clean with sweat and blood. Publicly, Jesus took our sins, our failures, our guilt and claimed them on the cross. He let them be nailed up there with him for all the world to see and then changed them with each drop of blood and every agonizing breath.
Publicly, God recreated us in love. God threw arms around us and kissed us for all the world to see; God touched us intimately and proclaimed, “This is my love.”
It couldn’t be hidden, locked up in some room, shown only in secret when no one else was around. Jesus’ death was a public display of affection for the whole world.
Be a witness to it, let it pull you in, experience it, and live it publicly.
16b So they took Jesus; 17and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. 18There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." 20Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 21Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" 22Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." 23When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says,
"They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots."
25aAnd that is what the soldiers did.
The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all:
for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
In the name of Jesus; amen.
We had a phrase in high school, when we would see people being intimate with one another out in public. You know what I’m talking about when I say being intimate with one another out in public… making out at the mall or touching that went beyond holding hands out on the street. The phrase we would use was: “PDA” or “public displays of affection.”
It wasn’t something we needed to see except maybe in an R rated movie or on a soap opera. Sometimes one of us would be brave enough to say out loud, “Get a room” and hope the couple would get the hint that their behavior was inappropriate.
There are some things that aren’t meant for public consumption. There are some things that should be kept behind closed doors. There are some things that should not be publicized for the world to see.
“16b So they took Jesus; 17and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. 18There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." 20Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.”
There were a lot of Jews in Jerusalem; it was around the time of the festival and Jews from all over the known world passed by the place where Jesus hung. They would have been people who spoke: Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. And there weren’t just Jews using that road. Other people, gentiles, would have found occasion to travel outside the city as well.
They would have seen the spectacle. Mothers would have shielded their children’s eyes as they passed, Fathers would have hurried their families along so that the image would have been blurred. Some would have stopped or slowed down, the way we do when we pass an accident on the road.
They would have read the sign, seen the blood, smelled the smell of death and sweat. Some would have taunted, others would have cried, and still others would have been indifferent. But they would have been witnesses and they would have known that the charge against this dying man was that he was the King of the Jews.
It was a public claim and a public death. It didn’t happen in a secluded room or in a cell deep within prison walls. It didn’t happen in an R rated movie or on daytime television when the kids are in school.
This was a PDA, a public display of affection.
Last week, I found myself explaining Salem’s Palm Sunday service to my almost 8 year old daughter. Our service is a little different than others. We focus, not on the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, but on Jesus’ passion and death. The service begins on a happy note; we wave our Palm branches and process around the church singing, “All Glory Laud and Honor to you redeemer King!” But soon enough the story of Jesus’ betrayal and death becomes more and more evident. We finish the service in silence and reflection after singing, “Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?”
“Why do we have to have services about bad things? She asked.
There is a reason why we don’t like PDA’s. They are personal moments, intimate things and we especially don’t want our children to see them, because it exposes them to stuff they aren’t meant to understand quite yet.
Except for this… except for this PDA of Jesus’ death.
“Well,” I said. “We want to remember this thing that Jesus did for us. We want to remember that Jesus loved us so much that he was willing to let bad things happen to him so that we would know that when bad things happen to us that he understands and that he is with us no matter what we go through.”
But there is more to it than just that. Jesus’ death was a public event because it was meant to be witnessed. We are meant to be witnesses to his suffering, to be pulled in and gawk at it, to experience it. It wasn’t meant to be a secret event that is whispered about or buried on the back page of the papers. We aren’t supposed to hurry past it or shield our eyes and try to forget.
This PDA is supposed to be public; this intimate act is supposed to be seen.
And it’s not just so that we get the idea that Jesus suffered for us. Hanging on the cross with Christ were all our sins and we are to be witnesses of that too.
Jesus aired out our dirty laundry on the cross and then washed it clean with sweat and blood. Publicly, Jesus took our sins, our failures, our guilt and claimed them on the cross. He let them be nailed up there with him for all the world to see and then changed them with each drop of blood and every agonizing breath.
Publicly, God recreated us in love. God threw arms around us and kissed us for all the world to see; God touched us intimately and proclaimed, “This is my love.”
It couldn’t be hidden, locked up in some room, shown only in secret when no one else was around. Jesus’ death was a public display of affection for the whole world.
Be a witness to it, let it pull you in, experience it, and live it publicly.
Amen.
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