DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Saint John 19:6-35
(9/14-9/27) The
Exaltation of the Precious and Life-giving Cross
The Power of The Cross: Saint John 19:6-35, especially
vs. 11: “Jesus answered,
‘You could have no power at all against Me
unless it had been given you from above.
Therefore, the one who delivered Me to you has
the greater sin.’” A correct intuition prompted Pontius Pilate to hesitate
during the judicial proceedings against Jesus; for when Christ our God pointed
out to Pilate that his power was finite, the Roman Governor wavered (Jn.
19:11,12). However, the Church is
blessed for our Lord reveals the full power of the Cross to Her, a truth Pilate
sensed momentarily but brushed aside that he might go on with the trial before
him.
Knowing the personal power of God in the Cross, we address
what essentially is an instrument of execution in personal terms - adoring it,
greeting it and falling down before it as the footstool of Christ our God. By it we experience God’s capacity
to guide, heal, raise the dead, and deify men. God provides the Passion accounts to
help us understand the importance of the Cross. Let us then examine part of this record,
especially the words of the Lord Himself.
To begin, consider the Lord Jesus’ statement quoted
above (vs. 11). It was His only
statement in response to the charge of blasphemy - that “...He made
Himself the Son of God” (vs. 7).
The Jewish leaders did not actually deliver Him to Pilate on this basis. Rather, they insinuated that He was
‘an evildoer,’ a criminal (Jn. 18:30). Only when they had mob pressure
clamoring for His crucifixion did they accuse Christ of claiming Divine
sanction.
The Lord Jesus was a puzzle for the Chief Priests: He did not
fit the popular expectation of the Messiah, yet He assented to their question,
“...Are you then the Son of God” (Lk.
22:70), conveying that He knew He was, and was thus, in their eyes, blaspheming
(Lk. 22:71).
In a similar way, our Lord’s answer to Pontius Pilate
signaled that He accepted the title, ‘Son of God’ and the claim to
be the Messiah. For Pilate,
Jesus’ reply suggested that He thought of Himself as the Messiah, a fact
that conveyed a political potential for rebellion and popular uprising. The Crucifixion accounts and records of
the entire Passion of our Lord affirm that men crucified God Incarnate, yet
only did so by the Lord’s allowance (Jn. 19:11).
The records show that the Jewish leaders prevailed over
Pilate’s hesitation (Jn. 19:12,15); they were
determined to be rid of Jesus (Jn. 11:53).
However, the next word the Lord of the Universe spoke was delivered from
the Cross, (Jn. 19:26) His ‘footstool.’
Christ said to His mother, the Theotokos,
“Woman, behold your son,” and to Saint John, “Behold, your
mother” (vss. 26,27). Thereby, He assents,
I was “...born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem...” all who
are under the Law (Gal. 4:4,5). He silences those who spiritualize the
Gospel, for He declares that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to
Himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). See
how greatly God values humanity, even to share our pain and death with us!
To make clear that all was according to
His plan, when He was dying, the Lord said, “I thirst” (vs. 28; but
see Ps. 68:26). As Saint John Chrysostom observed:
“this Death was of a new kind...in the power of the Person dying, for
death came not on His Body before He willed it....Therefore also He said,
‘I have power to lay down My life; and I have power to take it
again’” (Jn. 10:18).
Understand: God has the power of life and of death as He wills.
Finally, being God and knowing that His redemptive work was
completed, the Lord Jesus added, “...It is finished!” (vs. 30).
“Today, as the Cross is elevated, evil spirits are driven away;
today the whole creation is delivered from corruption...all gifts have shone forth upon us.”
O Lord, save Thy People and bless Thine
inheritance, granting to Thy People victory over all their enemies; and by the
power of Thy Cross preserving Thine estate.
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