Last Words of Jesus, Part Three

When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.
John 19:26-27

Today we are looking at the third thing Jesus said while He was on the cross.  This saying is a bit more personal, and we are still able to see what was on Jesus' heart during this time.  On Monday, we saw that Jesus was thinking about forgiveness.  Yesterday, we saw that Jesus was still looking to save all that came to Him.  Today, we see that Jesus still showed love and concern for those He loved.

While Jesus was on the cross, He looked down and saw His mother, Mary, watching.  How excruciating this must have been for Mary!  Jesus did not look at her with a blank stare; He did not ignore her, even though He was in agony and pain.  He loved Mary.  He also saw John, arguably Jesus' closest friend while on earth.  He told Mary to look at John and consider him to be her son.  He then told John to look at Mary and consider her to be his mother.

On a practical level, we do not know why Jesus felt the need to ask John to take care of Mary.  Since Joseph does not appear in the Gospels after the Christmas story, many think that Joseph passed away some time before this point.  But Jesus also had earthly brothers.  Did He not think they would take care of Mary?  One possible explanation for this is that Jesus' brothers did not believe Him (John 7:5).  During Jesus' ministry, they tried to dissuade Him from preaching (Mark 3:1).  Other times, they mocked Him (John 7:3-4).  Of course, after Jesus rose again, His brothers believed (Acts 1:14).  James and Jude wrote books of the Bible, and James becomes a pillar of the Jerusalem church (Gal 2:9). (By the way, Jesus' brothers' faith is great evidence for the resurrection!)  But perhaps at this point in time there was a wedge between Jesus' unbelieving brothers and his believing mother.

Whatever the reason, Jesus commits His mother to the care of John, and John accepts.  From that point on, John took care of her.

What does this reveal about the heart of Jesus?

In each of the three first sayings of Jesus, his love was constantly turned outward.  His love for the soldiers sought their forgiveness.  His love for the criminal sought His salvation.  And His love for His mother sought her earthly care.  It is quite extraordinary that as Jesus fought this great spiritual battle while on the cross, He still recognized earthly realities.  Mary was getting older, and someone must care for her.  His closest friend would care for her faithfully, and Jesus ensures that she would be okay.

On the one hand, this tells us that earthly needs still matter!  Jesus does not expect His disciples to only be concerned with spiritual needs, nor did Jesus' ministry neglect to help people where they were.  He healed bodies, not just souls.  He fed people both physical and spiritual food.  We should follow His example in loving people any way we can.

On the other hand, this adds a deeper picture of the love of Christ.  As He suffered and died for the sins of humanity, He still found a moment to love Mary.  And you can rest assured that whatever is going on in the world today, He is not too busy to love you!

He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calvary and
Suffered and died alone.
When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
'Twill be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me!
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
Is my Savior's love for me!

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