Broken Heart

God is speaking to anyone who would listen. All we have to do is open the Bible and read. The final scene from the cross will frame our conversation today. Let's read John 19:31-37 together and then reflect back over it. What is he wanting us to hear?

...[T]hey came to Jesus and found that he was already dead.... [O]ne of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. (v. 33-34)

The notes in my NIV Study Bible explain that the phenomenon of water flowing along with the blood could be caused by the spear piercing the sac that surrounds the heart (pericardium) and the heart itself. That fact tells me three important things.

One, Jesus was really human. Yes, he is fully God, but he's also fully human. There were other times in Scripture where God or an angel took human form. They made themselves look human to interact with humans, but they didn't really become human. This was not one of those times. Jesus wasn't just God in human form. He was God in human flesh. And that means he experienced the human condition. He knows how it feels to be a man. He can relate to me. He understands me. And I can aspire to be like him. I can lay aside those thoughts that I can never be the kind of person that he was. I can't do it perfectly like he did. But by his grace and strength, I can be Christ-like.

Two, Jesus was really dead. Accepting the reality of Jesus' resurrection from the dead is no small thing. I need evidence. And this is one solid piece of it from an eyewitness who had nothing to gain and a lot to lose by lying about it. Could Jesus maybe have just been unconscious? in a coma? mostly dead but not all dead? And then he just woke up in the tomb and broke out? Not a chance. His heart was run through with a spear head.

Three, in bearing the brunt of my sins, Jesus' heart was broken. It cut him straight to the heart, literally. He was broken-hearted about my plight, my stubbornness, my brokenness and my hopelessness. And he cared so much for me that he took it all on himself, even though it killed him. He has literally changed my life, made me whole and given me hope and a brilliant future. I don't want to break his heart anymore. I want him to feel how much I love him, and I will show him everyday.

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