Text: John 19:28-42, Revelation 21:1-4
John, the beloved, stood and watched His Savior and friend bow His head.
He saw the simple autopsy of Jesus and watched as Joseph of Arimathea carried away the Son of Man to be buried. He witnessed all of it and I can’t help but wonder if it felt like the end of a horribly sad story. A huge part of me wants John to have written a sidebar right here, to see his humanness. I wouldn’t mind a “And guys – I was SAD. It did NOT look good” right around John 19:43. John must’ve known tears, right? He knew and saw death. And while I’m sure the events that would occur three days later brought a massive spring to his step, he’d know pain and hurt again in his life.
We catch up with John years and years later, now an old man, as he’s exiled on the island of Patmos. While we might be tempted to feel bad for him – let’s peek in on the picture he’s experiencing in Revelation 21. John the Beloved got to see things he could barely describe and things we can barely dare to interpret. A new heaven, a new earth, a resurrected and returning King wiping away all the tears.
Do you know pain? Do you know someone who knows pain?
Does it feel like the end or the middle or the beginning of just another sad story?
Don’t for a second let the enemy of your heart leave you in John 19.
Ladies, He rose from the dead – compelled by love and grace and power – instilled and enlisted by His Father, to defeat sin and death and tears and pain. For the glory of God and for our restoration. And like John saw before he took his last earthly breath, He’s coming back. All the old sad stories are going to be weaved like beautiful vintage threads into a tapestry of grace and glory and Good News.
Where is your hope today? Is it in a life without tears that you couldn’t muster up if you tried or are you simply hoping for another story to begin that isn’t quite as sad as this one?
Let’s hope in a fresh start. A beautiful, true, eternal story. One that never began and never ends, but climaxed on a sad Friday over two thousand years ago and will see us through to this beautiful new place – where our tears are no more.
This message is right on time for me. I’m grateful that our God is so forgiving, so merciful. I know he won’t give me more than I can handle…
Lord please help me be patient & persistent. Thank you that my rewards & comfort are coming. Amen.
Its almost scary to think about how powerful Revelation and John is. He has endured such pain and agony and then he turns around and brings heaven into Revelation. Hes so incredibly powerful and i cant imagine what it was like being in Johns shoes all those years ago. I get discouraged because we all know people who do the things listed in Revelations that are doomed to the sulfur of fire and you pray that you can somehow save them or bring jesus into their lives somehow. With some you just hope you get the chance and do it right
Wonderful. I need this going through hardtimes now it help me a lot
Please pray for me for strength to connect myself to a church family and Godly mature women in Christ. Please pray that God would continue to build in me great faith. I am a single mom of a four year old girl and she goes to her Dads 50 percent of the time and when she’s gone I feel so alone, lost, depressed. I need Godly friends. I need family. Thank you for your prayers.
Praying for you!
Pls Lord use this jar as U c fits Ur desires. I need U Lord more than the next heart beat. More than the air a breath Lord I need U more.
2 ALL THAT READ PLS PRAY 4 MY 2 CHILDREN N I. PRAYERS NEEDED.
What a blessing you version has been to me. It seems that every time I really need to hear from God. I find him in a passage in you version that was meant just for me. What a wonderful God we serve.