It is Good Friday. This is the day that Jesus was executed on a Roman cross. People have been trying to make sense out of this event since the moment it happened. Why did this popular teacher willingly walk into Jerusalem and allow himself to be arrested, mocked, beaten, and executed, unjustly, with no resistance?

It doesn’t make sense.

The Revised Common Lectionary calls us to meditate on John 18:1–19:42 today. 

There are two parts of this reading that capture my imagination this year.

First, Jesus speaks of his kingdom. He told Pilate that his kingdom is not from this world. If it were his followers would be fighting. 

That’s how human systems work. They fight for power. War and violence mark most of our story. 

The Kingdom of God is not an authoritarian monarchy ruled by fear and intimidation.

The Commonwealth of the Heavens is an interdependent ecosystem where everyone belongs. The “king” of this commonwealth is the one who lays down his own life for it. The Word-become-flesh–the one whose glory is that of one in relation to the creator as a son–died to show us that God can take our violence and suffering and compost it into fertilizer for new life.

Second, I was captured by Jesus’ words to the beloved disciple and his mother. Here is your son. Here is your mother. In other words, “take care of each other. You need each other.” 

It is important to note that part of Jesus’ final words on the cross were about the relationality of our lives. We are all connected. We must care for one another. This is the point of existence. 

Below are my illustrations of this text; pages 18-22 from A Cartoonist’s Guide to John.

The images below are from my 365 Daily Devo Doodles collection.

I invite you to walk through these images and see what the Spirit of God might have to say to you and work in you as we continue the contemplation of this horrific and mysterious event.