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“Over his head they hung their accusation: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”, (John 19:20).
In the depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus, almost all have the iconic sign above the cross saying INRI, a Latin acronym for, “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum” meaning “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”. The Romans often attached a sign above those they crucified identifying their name and charge. The Gospel of John 19:19 of course have it in Greek, the lingua franca that time: “ Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων” and the gospel informs that the famous sign above Jesus’s cross contained the same phrase in Latin the official Roman language and of course Hebrew, the language of the Jews, and could have have been written this way:
ישוע הנצרתי ומלך היהודים
literally translated to ‘Jesus the Nazorean and King of the Jews’. Shortening these four words into an acronym, we get יהוה (YHWH), the revealed and holiest name of God in Scripture.
This is not the first time that Jesus alluded to himself using the sacred name. Earlier, he said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am” (John 8:28), and in many other εγώ έιμι or “I am” discourses in the gospel of John, the phrase alluding to the divine name that God first revealed to Moses at the burning bush: ‘ehyeh asher ehyeh’ – “I am who am” (Ex. 3:14). These names have something in common; the Hebrew root HYH (היה), meaning “to be”.�Jesus was careful not to explicitly refer to himself as God for fear of offending the authorities. Instead he did so subtly, by using names that point to the Hebrew name YHWH. His disciples could have understood these references.
Good Friday is at the heart of our faith. It is the day when Christ, the Son of God, out of love for us, suffered and died for our salvation. It is a time of deep reflection, prayer, fasting and repentance. It reminds us of the depth of God’s love. We are invited to reflect on our own lives, turn away from sin, and accept the gift of salvation and be disciples of love in return.
As we kneel before the Haly Cross, let us pray:
Christ our teacher, for our sake you were obedient even to accepting death,
teach us to obey the Father’s will in all things.� Christ our life, by your death on the cross you destroyed the power of evil and death, may we die with you, to rise with you in glory.� Christ our King, you became an outcast among us, a worm and no man, teach us the humility by which you saved the world.
Christ our salvation, you gave yourself up to death out of love for us, help us to show your love to one another.� Christ our Savior, on the cross you embraced all time with your outstretched arms, unite God’s scattered children in your kingdom of salvation.
