John 19:25-27 "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. (26) When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! (27) Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."
"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother." These words
strike a very dear place in my heart. At the lowest point in Jesus' life, Mary
stood by Him. When His disciples forsook Him and fled away, Mary stood by Him.
When false accusations were hurled at Him, Mary stood by Him. When His deity
was denied by the "church folk", Mary stoody by Him. Though her
heart was breaking, Mary stood by Him. I wonder if the words of Simeon
came back to her at this moment. When Joseph and Mary had taken the baby Jesus
to the temple "to present Him to the Lord," there they met a man
named Simeon who had been waiting because the Lord had promised he would
"not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ." He took
Jesus into his arms and began to bless God. He then told Mary, "Yea, a
sword shall pierce through thy own soul also." No doubt that moment of
piercing had arrived, but Mary stood by the cross of Jesus.
Jesus, the ever obedient Son, looked upon His mother with that same compassion
that had been shown so many times throughout His life. By this time, John had
come to this place. One of the last actions performed by Jesus was to
commend His mother into the care of that disciple whom He loved. When Jesus
said, "Behold thy son," He was not telling her to look at Him. He was
telling her that John would care for her just as if he was her own child. Then
He looked at John and said, "Behold thy mother." John
understood what Jesus was doing. He was telling John to look after her, provide
for her, protect her, and make sure she is taken care of. Treat her as if she
is your own mother. We can be sure that John fulfilled that commission
until the day Mary died.
Isaiah wrote that all who would see Him were astonished, which means their
stomachs were turned. As Mary, John, and all the others were looking at
Jesus on that cross, they were seeing something that literally turned their
stomachs. Though we can visualize this scene, we do not have to stand by the
cross of Jesus. You see, He is not on that cross anymore. He died once
and after that judgment was passed. As Jesus hung on the cross, He was
made to be sin for us because our sin was placed upon Him. The next time they
would see Jesus, He would be without sin. How do I know that? He came out
alive. Atonement was made. Satisfaction was given through the death of Jesus
Christ. The Father passed judgment upon all His children through the work of Jesus
Christ. We have passed from condemnation to freedom. We have been justified
through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
In these last moments of our Lord upon the earth, He was still caring about and
caring for others. We can be sure that He still is doing that today. He
cares about us and cares for us. Today as we stand beside Jesus, we stand
before His throne of grace. By faith, we enter His presence where He still
shows love and compassion. We enter with thanksgiving and praise for the
blessing of forgiveness of sin and the cleansing through His blood. We stand
before Him, redeemed and whole. Praise His Holy name!