Cross Words - The Cries of Jesus From the Cross
3 - A Sensitive Son and a Mourning Mum
John 19 Verses 16 to 27 - "Woman, behold your son!" and son, "Behold your mother!"
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest last will and testament ever written was made up of 4 enormous volumes, containing 95 thousand 9 hundred and 40 words. That was the longest last will and testament. The shortest had only three words, “All for mum.”
In John chapter 19 Jesus gives His mother His last will and testament.
As He dies, He cries. Seven times. The seven sayings from the cross. His cross words.
The first word: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. His second word: Today you will be with Me in paradise. His third cry, His third saying, His third word: : "Woman, behold your son!" and son, "Behold your mother!" (NKJ)
Imagine the scene. The priests and the scribes and the religious leaders are all shouting: "He saved others and now He can’t even save Himself. If You’re really the King of Israel, come on down from the cross and then we might just believe You”.
And yet in the middle of all this commotion, in the middle of all this noise, our attention is drawn to three main characters. The spot light falls on Mary, John and Jesus.
Let’s read what it says in John chapter 19 (verses 26 and 27). When Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!". And then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
To begin with: the dignity of Mary.
Put yourself in her shoes. Here she is standing at the cross; heartbroken, shattered, sad, full of grief, she’s in deep mourning.
And yet she’s quiet and composed and still and solemn. Isn’t that something.
What did the angel say in Luke chapter 1 verse 28? "You’re highly favoured and blessed among women." (NKJ)
The most privileged lady in all the world. She’ll conceive within her womb the Son of God.
And yet, along with that great privilege comes great pain.
You remember Simeon prayed for the baby Jesus. And then he looked Mary straight in the eye and made this staggering prediction: “A sword shall pierce your soul also”. (Luke 2:35 NKJ)
And that prediction came true. For thirty three years Mary knew nothing but pain and sorrow. And now Mary’s watching her son die the most horrific death imaginable. And, don’t forget, Mary knew He was completely innocent of every charge. He was guiltless of any crime.
The face she kissed a thousand times is now contorted with pain. The blood she wiped from His childhood cuts is now flowing from His side. The hands she held, the feet she guided to take their first steps, are now nailed to a cross.
She’s grief stricken, but still she doesn’t run; she isn’t hysterical, she isn’t out of control. She stands there with quiet and calm and solemn dignity.
The Dignity of Mary.
And then the deity of Jesus. The theme, of course, of John’s Gospel deity of Christ.
He’s not just good or godly or Godlike, but truly and really God. And on the cross we see His deity coming to the fore again and again. And now, as God, He gives some orders, some commands, some instructions: "Woman, behold your son!" and son, "Behold your mother!"
Of course, to us, ‘woman’ sounds hard and harsh. But it wasn’t hard or harsh in the east. A better translation might be, “Lady. My dear lady. Madam.” Jesus is in so much pain and yet He shows great courtesy. He’s polite. “Woman! Madam! My dear lady!”
Notice please, He didn’t set her apart as one to be worshipped. No, He simply said “Madam! Woman! Lady!”
You see, Jesus knew that Mary was a sinner. And what’s more, Mary knew she was a sinner like everyone else. That’s why she called Jesus, in Luke chapter 1: “My Saviour”. (NKJ)
Just think for a moment. Every time Mary went to the door of that house in Nazareth and called out, “Jesus! Jesus!” What was she saying? She was saying she was acknowledging Him to be the Saviour of sinners. To be her Saviour. And so Jesus entrusts her to the care of John. In referring to her as, “Woman”, He was also protecting her. The Soldiers, who’d just unleashed their hatred on Him, would’ve turned on her, if they’d known who she was. How thoughtful, how wonderful.
So, the Dignity of Mary and the Deity of Jesus.
And that brings us to the discovery of John.
He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" And then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. (NKJ)
Remember who John is. He’s the youngest of all the disciples. He’s just a teenager. Along with his brother, John worked in his father’s fishing business. And then it happened. Jesus arrived on the scene and John’s life was never the same again. He left everything and followed Christ.
But not only was he one of the twelve, he was one of the three. Peter, James and John saw what no-one else ever saw. And here he is, standing in at the cross. And Jesus speaks to him.
Earlier, John run away with the rest. He’d deserted. He disowned His Master.
And yet, even although John run away, he couldn’t stay away.
When John writes his Gospel, it’s no wonder he calls himself: “the disciple, Jesus loved”
He was so grateful, so thankful, that Christ didn’t cast him off. That Jesus didn’t throw him to the side or toss him onto the scrap heap.
And now we find Jesus gives him a work to do: “Look after my mother!”
The dignity of Mary, the deity of Jesus and the discovery of John.
Now, how does this apply to you, to me, to us.
Well, there’s an exhortation to us to trust Jesus. To trust Jesus like Mary. That’s what she’s doing. She’s looking to Jesus; not as her son but as her Saviour. And if she needed to do that, if she needed a Saviour, so do we.
And there’s also an encouragement in times of extreme pain and trauma and horror, the grace that strengthened and sustained Mary is sufficient for us. And what’s more like John, when we flee and fall and fail, remember failure isn’t final; and when we repent and return there’s still a work for us to do for Him.
An encouragement; an exhortation; and an example. Again, Peter said in 1 Peter that Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow in His steps. In His death Jesus shows us how to live. We’re to live the way He died; and how did He die? Well even when He was weighed down by the heavy burden of our sin, as our sin bearer, enduring unparalleled agony, still all His sympathy is directed towards someone else.
And that's how we're to live! Never so overwhelmed by our own pain that we lose sight of the pain of others. Never so preoccupied with our own hurts that we miss seeing the hurts of those around us!
"Woman, behold your son!" and son, "Behold your mother!"