April 8
“When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home,” John 19:25-27.
In this Third Word from the lips of Jesus, as He hung on Calvary’s cross, He was fulfilling the Commandment that required love and honor for His mother. While it is not stated in Scripture, Bible scholars assume that at this point in time, the Virgin Mary’s husband, Joseph, had died. This assumption is based upon the fact that Jesus placed His mother into the care of the disciple who was present. There is also another assumption here – namely, that this disciple was John. While it is generally agreed that “The disciple whom He loved” was John, the Bible does not mention the disciple by name.
When Jesus saw His mother, He said, “Woman, behold your son!” In that hour, Jesus did not address her as His mother. As He hung on the cross, His relationship to Mary, His mother, and to all other people was the relationship of Savior. He was suffering and dying for all sinners, and that included His mother, Mary. Mary was not sinless, as some think and teach. In the song of Mary, called the Magnificat, she said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,” Luke 1:46-47. Mary said, “MY Savior!” If Mary was sinless, she would not have needed a Savior!
In the words to His mother and to the disciple whom He loved, we behold the compassionate Christ, the promised Messiah and loving Savior of the world, who was expressing His love for those standing at the foot of the cross then, and for all people who have, with faith in Jesus as their Savior, stood in spirit in the shadow of the cross since that day.
Mary needed to hear those words of Jesus addressed to her and the disciple whom He loved for her own comfort. Forty days after Jesus’ birth, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple to fulfill the Law of the Lord and offer the required sacrifice. A God-fearing man by the name of Simeon came to the temple that day. He held the Baby Jesus in his arms, and he said to Mary, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed,” Luke 2:34-35. Standing at the foot of Calvary’s cross, and with a mother’s love, seeing her Son suffering and dying on a cross like the worst of criminals, a sword pierced her heart! The comfort for her was in knowing that He was dying to redeem her and all people who ever lived and ever will live until the end of time. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” John 3:16.
Out of love for His Lord and Savior, the apostle whom Jesus loved took Mary into his own home and provided for her from that day on. The love of the Lord Jesus and the love of the disciple whom He loved demonstrates for us the love and honor that we should show for our own mothers and fathers!
As we, in spirit, stand at the foot of Calvary’s cross, we confess our sins of failing to show the love that the Savior asks of us. And we thank the Lord Jesus for washing away our loveless sins and all other sins with His holy, precious blood.
“Jesus, loving to the end,
Her whose heart Thy sorrows rend,
And Thy dearest human friend;
Hear us, holy Jesus.
May we in Thy sorrows share,
For Thy sake all peril dare,
And enjoy Thy tender care;
Hear us, holy Jesus.
May we all Thy loved ones be,
All one holy family,
Loving for the love of Thee;
Hear us, holy Jesus.” Amen.