Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: John 19-21
Key Verse
John 20:8 — “Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.”
Devotional Thought
It is the last day of the year, and the reading plan brings us to the last chapters of John’s Gospel—the end of one story and the beginning of another. Here stands Jesus before Pilate, scourged and crowned with thorns, robed in purple in bitter mockery. “Behold the man!” Pilate declares, and “Behold your King!”—yet the crowd cries, “Crucify him.” On Golgotha they nail Him between two thieves, and Pilate’s title, written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, refuses to be softened: JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. From the cross Jesus cares for His mother, gives Mary into John’s keeping, thirsts, and speaks the words that close the work of redemption: “It is finished.” A soldier pierces His side; blood and water flow. Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus, one secret disciple and one who once came by night, lay Him in a new tomb in a garden.
But the story does not end in that garden tomb. Early on the first day of the week, while it is yet dark, Mary Magdalene comes weeping and finds the stone rolled away. She mistakes the risen Lord for the gardener until He speaks her name: “Mary.” “Rabboni,” she answers. That evening Jesus stands among the fearful disciples behind shut doors and says, “Peace be unto you.” Thomas, who would not believe, is invited to reach out his finger and hand; he confesses, “My Lord and my God.” By the sea of Tiberias the risen Christ feeds His weary fishermen and restores Peter three times over a fire of coals: “Lovest thou me? … Feed my sheep.” Then the plain, daily word: “Follow me.”
There is something fitting about reading these chapters on December 31. We end a year the way the disciples ended that long weekend—with hopes buried, doors shut, nets empty, questions unanswered. Perhaps your own year has held a Golgotha or two: a finished thing, a grief, a failure you would rather forget. Yet the same Lord who said “It is finished” also said “Peace be unto you,” and He still calls His own by name in the dark. Peter’s restoration reminds us that our worst denials are not the final word over us. The year closes, but the risen Christ does not.
Notice, too, how quietly John ends his account. Jesus does not scold Peter for his past or explain the future; He simply says, “Follow thou me.” As this year ends and another begins, that is still the whole of the Christian life—not resolution-keeping in our own strength, but following the One who has already finished the work. We do not know what the coming year holds, and we need not. We know who goes before us.
Reflection
- Where in this past year has the Lord spoken your name in the dark, as He did to Mary, and how did you respond?
- Like Peter by the fire, is there a failure you need to bring to Jesus for restoration before you step into the new year?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, King of the Jews and King of our hearts, we come to the close of this year beholding You—scourged, crowned with thorns, lifted up, and yet risen and alive. Thank You that “It is finished” means our salvation does not rest on our own striving. Speak our names as You spoke Mary’s; stand among us with Your peace as You stood among the fearful disciples. Restore what we have broken, forgive what we have denied, and feed us with Yourself. As this year ends and a new one begins, give us grace simply to follow You, wherever You lead, until we see You face to face. Amen.