The risen Lord was about to be revealed, first to Mary, then to the women who had come to complete his burial, and finally to the disciples and all those in his inner circle of on hundred and twenty devoted supporters and friends.
Gospel of John: The Sayings of Christ
John must have been there to hear everything Jesus said, and those words must have sunk deep into John’s soul. Over the centuries, these words were gathered lovingly by the church to become the Seven Sayings of the Cross.
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Gospel of John: King of the Judeans
John and James had asked for the place of honor, on Jesus' right and left, when he came into his glory. Now, as John stood at the foot of the cross, he understood why they had been denied.
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Gospel of John: Crucify!
I am completely without fault and guiltless from this one’s blood. Take heed, all of you!
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Gospel of John: Bar Abbas
Pilate stood and shouted over the fray, Which of the two do you all want me to pardon and set free to you? Bar Abbas? Pilate bit out his name with a look of contempt, or Jesus who is called Christ? The comparison was obvious: Did they still want to free a villainous murderer, or would they take the nobler option of freeing this gentle holy man who had been falsely accused?
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Gospel of John: He is a Galilean
Caiaphas waited expectantly. He had been forceful in his insistence that Jesus was an agitator, inciting trouble all over Judea, having started his insurgency in the northernmost reaches of Jewish territory and bringing subversion all the way down to Jerusalem.
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Gospel of John: What is Truth?
Jesus’s spiritual kingdom of truth apparently had borders that extended far beyond Judea and even Rome. His kingdom had no borders, because every person who wanted to know the truth would listen to Jesus and become a citizen in his kingdom.
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Gospel of John: Lamb of God Judged
If God did not judge sin it would mean that God was indifferent to the existence of right and wrong, good and evil. But the Lord is not indifferent. God's wrath, grief, and intense pain over sin is the necessary and only right response.
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Gospel of John: Blasphemy!
“And you all will see the Son of Humanity sitting at the right side of the Almighty, then coming with the clouds of heaven.”
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Gospel of John: Annas and Caiaphas
This is commentary written in story form, in an experiment mixing narrative criticism in a creative nonfiction writing style.
