Friday April 3rd: A Willing Victim

Good Friday

The Cross is not defeat but love freely given to the very end.

John 18:1 – 19: 42

In the Passion according to John, Jesus Christ is never simply overpowered; he moves with absolute freedom and determination toward the Cross. When the soldiers come to arrest him, he steps forward and, with clarity and purpose, says, “I am he,” offering himself before they can seize him. He chooses not to flee, not to resist, not to call down power, but to give himself over willingly.

Even as he stands before Pilate, his life is not taken from him by force; it is handed over in love. He carries his own cross, embracing the weight of it, showing that this sacrifice is not an accident of history but a deliberate gift. Every step toward Calvary reveals a love that does not cling to safety or turn away from suffering.

Instead, Jesus freely enters into the darkest places of human pain and sin, choosing the Cross so that no one would ever doubt the depth of God’s love. The cross is not defeat but love freely given to the very end.