An Utterance From the Cross 3. Behold Thy Mother John 19:18-27 First Baptist Church, Montgomery Kenneth A. Hoomes THANK GOD! Jesus did not die unlamented. There were those present who cared. That little group of sympathetic, bereaved, wondering souls furnishes a striking contrast to the rest of the mocking, careless crowd. His mother was among them. She had suffered much because of this strange Son. The gossip mongers had too many times made it unpleasant for her as they wisely hinted at His irregular birth and its only possible meaning. Jesus Himself had more than once found it painfully necessary to disregard His mother (Matt. 12:46-50). And now old Simeon s sword was piercing her very soul (Luke 2:35). But she was there! His mother s sister, the mother of the disciple John, was there. Love for her strange Nephew and concern for her widowed and grieving sister is enough to explain her presence. Mary the wife (or was she the widow?) of Cleophas, the brother of Jesus foster father, was there. Jesus had long ago won her affection. She came to Jerusalem perhaps to be of any help she could to this One in His crisis. Mary Magdalene was there. Jesus had released her from the slavery of seven devils. There was a song of gratitude in her heart at every thought of Him. She represented all that had been blessed by His miraculous ministry. John was there. He was the only one of the inner circle of disciples at the foot of the cross. He had remained faithful through it all, regardless of personal risk. Here at His feet were the nearest and dearest on earth to Him. Will Jesus have a word for this group? The first three words that Jesus uttered as He hung upon the cross, can be woven into an unbreakable threefold cord. In His first Word He embraced a world of sinners; in His second Word He gathered His first fruits in the salvation of a stranger; in His third Word He addressed His nearest and dearest. Having just provided a heavenly home for a penitent sinner, He now provides an earthly 1
home for His widowed, sorrowing mother. The first utterance was a prayer for the forgiveness of the angry crowd who had clamored for His death. The second utterance was for the felon at His side. Looking again at the first three of the Seven Words we can see that in life and in death Jesus executed the triple offices of prophet, priest, and king. His first Word from the cross was a priestly prayer of intercession, Father, forgive; for they know not what they do. His second Word was the royal promise of a king, Today shalt thou be with me. His third Word revealed Him as the great prophet of humanity, When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. Thus, as one writer puts it, His love follows us home. As the valley of the shadow of death approaches, the energies of thought are taxed to the full by last farewells and messages of love to those who have been nearest and dearest. Here Jesus singles out two members of the group, His mother and His disciple, and speaks to each of them. It must be admitted that it is a surprising word, totally different from what might have been expected. He speaks as Lord. He issued commands to Mary and to John, as if He were a king on His throne. He makes assignments, affecting position, and responsibility, to His mother and His disciple and Himself. I. What Jesus Said About His Mother He speaks first to His mother. What special position of privilege will He assign to her? What will be her station in His coming Kingdom? The Roman Catholic Church insists that Mary has been given the position of mediator, entrusted with the treasures of His grace, and charged with the responsibility of distributing His bounty. They call her the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven! Surely, nothing like that can be understood from this word from the cross. Nor is it possible to find it anywhere else in the Bible. In fact, Jesus assignment to Mary at the cross was the almost exact opposite of that, just as if He, with prophetic vision, were safeguarding future generations. How different Mary s life has been from the vision of her maidenhood. She has had to keep so much locked up inside her here, 2
lest she spoil the Messiah. Had she told the young Jesus all she believed and remembered she could have turned him into a little Joseph: elegant and proud, ruined by the legends his mother had woven in him before he was old enough to bear the tensions. What she might have done to a six-year-old Messiah! But we do not get one word in his life that he knew anything about the things she had locked up in her heart. How eager she had been for the beginning of his mission. So eager that at the wedding feast of Cana of Galilee she had called forth prematurely his powers to aid the short thinking of his host and provide more wine. But back of this was her eagerness for the Mission to begin. How plunged in despair she must have been at Capernaum when in contrast to all she had ever expected of Messiah the mission took a direction the opposite of all she had hoped for. So despairing she was that apparently she joined his brothers in the conclusion that her precious had slipped a cog. They had attempted to remove him, by force if necessary. And now this Cross! In less than three calendar years, she sees the utter collapse of the mission, and all she gets out of it, John tells, is He saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! And to that disciple he said Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple takes her unto his own. (The word home is not in the best manuscripts.) Her place is secure now. Mary is a special person, everywhere, and for always. But not then. Jesus has no garment to leave her. It was already stripped from him; he has no money, no land, and no security to give her. For that matter she would be much better off with John. He has had at least two houses that we know of, and boats. But this is beside the point too. Jesus, in the hour of his death, calls to the forestage of a desperate scene his primal relation to mankind. And again, Jesus, in the hour of his death, feels no remorse whatsoever in calling on a friend for anything. He does not even ask John if he would be willing to accept her. He just says John there she is, and he just says, Woman, there he is. There are no contracts, no bonds, no promises, just the shared obligation of being disciple and friend. This is what it is to be disciple. There is no limit to what one can ask. In these circumstances, with no remorse whatsoever, he passes over the claims of his brothers and puts her in the hands of a friend. And the mere fact that he sees her through his blind haze, is it not like a precious kiss? The only kind of kiss he can give is to see her. It is a blessing and a sanctification which Christianity has been eager 3
II. to share. But it is more, much more. How much of human life passes in little incidents! What Jesus said about His Disciple John, in reporting his presence at the foot of the cross, identifies himself as always as the one whom Jesus loved. That is a glorious identification. I am not sure that we can say that Jesus loved John any more than He loved the rest. But John seems to have had a greater capacity for appreciating His love than some of the rest had. And this designation may have brought to his mind the many precious experiences that he had had with Jesus. It is a marvelous thing to be able to be classified as one whom Jesus loves. Ask: Kenny, the one whom Jesus loved. Does it surprise you a bit that nothing is said here about Jesus loving Mary? Probably it means no more than that John is for the moment forgetting all others in his fondness for thinking about what the love of Christ meant to him personally. What is John s assignment from the cross? The third word of Jesus makes John His substitute in His responsibilities that have to do with the flesh. Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! It is your assignment, John, to be a substitute son. It is your task, in view of My sacrifice, to be a comfort and stay to her. Tradition assures us that John understood his assignment to include the physical well-being of Mary as long as she lived. One account has it that Mary lived with John in Jerusalem for about eleven years until her death. Another is to the effect that Mary lived with John in Ephesus and died there. The important thing is that John was faithful to his task. An assignment from the cross meant something to him. Substituting for the Substitute! That was John s mission. There is no more glorious mission on the earth. Such substituting is certainly taught in the New Testament. Christ is the Head of His Church; the membership constitutes the body His body. And, as the human body has many members with many different functions, this body which He calls His Church has many members with differing functions. And each member is to be under the direction of the Head, doing on the human plane what the Lord commands substituting in the physical for Him. As Annie Johnson Flint has so beautifully expressed it: Christ has no hands but our hands 4
To do His work today, He has no feet but our feet To lead men in His way, He has no tongue but our tongues To tell men how He died, He has no help but our help To bring them to His side. Here is a responsibility we cannot ignore except by despising the cross. When His love reaches you and me from the place of His sacrifice, it comes with the definite assignment of a sacred mission that we dare not neglect. It is not our duty, it is our privilege to substitute for the Substitute! III. What Jesus said about Himself In dealing thus with Mary and John is Jesus by any chance obligating Himself? Is He, also assuming an assignment? Indeed, He is! This is the primary significance of the third word. For we must never forget that Jesus not Mary, not John, not the penitent thief, not the crucifying crowd Jesus is the central figure in this scene. My quarrel with many interpreters of the third word from the cross is that they make Mary the central figure. That is Romanism, not Christianity! Jesus is supreme on Mount Calvary. The least we can say about Jesus third word and its significance is that He is showing His interest in fulfilling the last detail of the law. Moses had said, Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother. Literal and worldly minded humanity would interpret that in terms of food and clothes and shelter. So He instructs John to provide the food and clothes and shelter as a dutiful Son. John could with such service make a partial payment on his debt of love. Then no one will ever be able to recall the presence of His mother at the cross and say that He neglected her. How careful He was always to avoid the smell of the fires of sin upon His garment! Satan is robbed of any just reason for accusing Him before God. Every jot and every tittle of the law are fulfilled. I repeat, this is the least thing we can say as to the significance of the third word for Himself. But it is not the last, or most important. The most significant thing that can be said about the Savior s third word is that it is possible the clearest, most easily understood demonstration of His self-denial to be found in the New Testament. By this word, He cut Himself off from mother love. He forsook the 5
best earth had to offer Him. He renounced every tie that might interfere with His Saviorhood. He removed even the obstruction of family devotion. He gave up all for sinners like you and me. The whole world watches this man dying. No man ever died in the presence of so many witnesses. He dies for, and in view of, the whole world; and yet, in the moment of his dying, for the whole world, we see him reach out to identify with the primal of manly, human relationship. Behold thy mother. At no point in his journey does he become more completely man than here. Nor at any point in his journey is he more completely worthy of being called Son of God. The practical application that you and I should make of our Lord s third word from the cross is simple. First, there is no hope except in the Saviorhood of Jesus. Mary, who had been honored of God, visited by an angel, and loved by the faultless Son, found her hope not in the memory of these high privileges, but in the mercy of a Savior who died for her. And a worthless, guilty thief discovered himself equal to blessed Mary in the privileges of grace. Mary and the thief! We must take our place with them, on the same sin-level, and look to Jesus for forgiveness and life. Second, there is no usefulness except in the Lordship of Jesus. That is where John found his high calling substituting for and serving the Lord Jesus. By yielding to Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we find our place in God s plan for time and eternity. And we find joy unspeakable. 6
An Utterance from the Cross 3. Behold Thy Mother... John 19:18-27 Jesus did not die alone... - His was among them. - His sister, the mother of John. - the wife of Cleophus. - Magdalene was there. - was not there. - was there. I. What Jesus Said About His A. How different Mary s life has been from the vision of her. B. Jesus has no to leave her. C. The only kind of he can give. II. What Jesus Said About His A. John identifies himself as. B. The third word of Jesus makes John His. C. It is our privilege to for the. III. What Jesus Said About A. is the central figure in this scene. B. His interest in fulfilling the last detail of the. C. The Savior s third word is the clearest, most easily understood demonstration of His. D. There is no hope except in the of Jesus. E. There is no usefulness except in the of Jesus. Please join us next week. March 18, 2009 My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken... Matthew 27:46-48 www.fbcmsenioradults.com. 7
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