Daily devotion: Step into the Bible!
John 19:25–30
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
There are times when I read God’s Word that I am taken to the very place and scene described. Not through visions or mystical experiences, but simply through meditating on what I am reading. My imagination begins to form the picture that the text paints. Such is the case with today’s passage in John’s Gospel.
I can almost sense the atmosphere—the trauma and anguish of the moment. The pain of our Lord is overwhelming, and yet His compassion shines through, even in His final breaths, as He provides for His mother Mary, who watches her Son die before her eyes.
The Bible is not just a book with lines, pages, and chapters—it is the divinely inspired, God-breathed Word of God. It penetrates to our very soul and spirit. It reaches into the deepest part of our being.
When I counsel or pray with people, I often ask whether they are in God’s Word daily—not just a verse here and there scattered through the week, but a steady, prayerful, contextual reading and meditating on Scripture. I must come to the Word in prayer before I open it if I am to hear it rightly and if it is to transform me. It is not hard to tell when someone is neglecting the Word of God—there is a flatness in their spiritual life, even in the way they speak of Him. Their words are vague and shallow.
But when I talk with those who are daily abiding in the Word, it is altogether different. There is life in their speech, a vibrancy in their testimony. It is as though all the “bars are lit” and the power of God’s Spirit is evident in their lives.
The scene before us is Jesus Christ, the innocent Lamb of God, dying on the cross for our sins. A small group of women, including His mother, stand nearby as this gruesome scene unfolds—yet all of it was planned by the Father before the foundation of the world. With every painful breath, Jesus is in His Father’s will, paying the full price for our sin.
Even today, in 2025, as I read this passage, I am drawn back to Calvary. In my mind, I stand at a distance, I feel the chill in the air, perhaps near John and the women, watching in sorrow as my Saviour hangs there in agony – for me. My heart breaks as I realise my sin put Him there. And then I hear His cry of victory: “It is finished!”—and I know His love for me has no measure.
How then could I ignore Him in my day? How could I wake to a new morning and not acknowledge Him, thank Him, and serve Him with all that I am?
My prayer is that the reality of Christ’s finished work would grip our hearts afresh—that it would fill us with a passion that never questions His love and never hesitates in our service to Him.
This week, may you take time to linger in God’s Word, and may the Holy Spirit draw you deeply into its reality. There is nothing more life-giving.
Each time you sit and are about to read the Bible, ask the Lord to open your heart, your ears to hear His voice. Then the wonder of God’s Word will cause you to desire to read it more and more as God Almighty speaks to you through it.
Read your Bible….