Word 3: Behold Your Son, Behold Your Mother (3/8/15)

Posted by on Mar 10, 2015 in Sermons | 0 comments

On Sunday March 8 2015, Pastor Jim continued his lenten series on the seven final Words of Christ from the cross.  His message this morning was from John 19:26….

Woman, behold your son.

Click on the below “Play” button to start the recording.  Scroll down and follow along.

The scripture  was from John 19:25-27.  Open the drop down box to read…

 

John 19:25-27

25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”

27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. NKJV

Mary is standing at the cross; watching her son die.  Her baby; her boy.  When Jesus speaks to her He is acknowledging that special relationship.  But He’s also telling her that things are changing.  The song “Mary Did You Know” (which was sung before the sermon), includes the line “And the One that you delivered, will soon deliver you.”  With these words, that truth is now being revealed.Crucifixion _Evgraf_Semenovich_Sorokin

Jesus demonstrates a wonderful care, concern, and compassion for His earthly mother.  There was a human mother-son relationship built on the love of a mother who cared for her “baby” throughout his earthly life.  As any mother who saves locks of hair, kindergarten drawings, and a life full of tender moments,  Luke 2:51 says that Mary “treasured all these things in her heart.” Let’s look at things from Mary’s perspective…

Luke 1:30-33

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.   And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.    He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. NKJV

Luke 1:46-48

And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,   And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.   For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

NKJV

Luke 2:18-20

And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.   But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

 

NKJV

Luke 2:34-35

Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “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.” NKJV

Matt 2:16-17

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. NKJV

Luke 2:46-50

Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.   And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.   So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”   NKJV

Mary- Did You know that He was the Messiah?

Erwin Lutzer, the senior pastor of the historic Moody Bible Church in Chicago wrote a beautiful poem about this scene (in his book “Cries from the Cross”):

She who had planted kisses on the brow of that little Child
…Now saw those hands pierced with nails.

She who had cradled Him in her arms
… now saw Him writhing along on  the garbage dump of Jerusalem.

She who loved Him at birth
… came to love Him even more in death.

Although Mary knew this day was coming, how was she to prepare?

Nearly 1000 years before Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Holy Spirit inspired David to write about the crucifixion.   We read these words in Psalm 22:9-11…

But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
I was cast upon You from birth.  From My mother’s womb
You have been My God.  Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;  For there is none to help.   NKJV

“Honor Your Father and Mother”

In this tender conversation He was having with Mary, Jesus was honoring the 5th Commandment which states, “Honor Your Mother and Your Father.” (Exodus 20:12).

Right to the very end, Jesus demonstrates that command for us to follow.  Throughout His ministry, He reminded people of the importance of this command (and Paul picked up on it later)…

So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”  He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’   ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” NKJV
For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother‘; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’   But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban” — ‘ (that is, a gift to God),   then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother,   making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.” NKJV

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.   “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise:   “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” NKJV

Woman behold your son…

Jesus doesn’t say “Mommy.”  Addressing someone as “woman” in our culture may be taken as a sign of disrespect, but it wasn’t taken that way in the time of Jesus.  Instead, Jesus is living out His mission statement even while dying on the cross.  In Luke 19:10, Jesus told us why He came to earth:   “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” In this moment; hanging between earthly life and divine glory, Jesus is telling Mary to “Behold your Savior.”

Relationships are changing.  Jesus is teaching us four things…

 

1:  Repairing Relationships

When Jesus was arrested, all of the disciples took off.  But John came back and showed up at the cross.  So Jesus tells John, “It’s OK.  I know your heart.  I trust you, and I want you to take care of my earthly Mom.”  John ditched Jesus, but Jesus is restoring the relationship.  The work of God is left in broken sinful hands.

His relationship with Mary is changing:
Mary needed to be saved by the grace of God just like every other human who ever walked on the earth. 

Woman.  We have a new relationship now.  Jesus came to restore relationships; relationships between God and people.

 

2:  Providing an Example

John was asked to care for Jesus’ mother.  As far as we can tell, she was a widow.  She was part of the “Church.”  Jesus instructs John to care for her.

During the communion service before yesterday’s District Day of Learning, our District Superintendent Rev. Jisun Kwak reminded us of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:18 (“As you have sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world.“)  We are called to be the hands of feet of Jesus for widows and children and the lost of the world.  As Jesus calls John to care for this widow, Jesus calls us to a similar ministry. God calls us to care for the world’s needy…

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Galatians 6:9-10  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Isaiah 1:16-17 wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong. Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.
Matthew 25:41-43 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ (see Matthew 25:34-46 for the entire passage).

By this example of asking John to care for His mother, Jesus is asking us- His Church- to care for others.

Author Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.  The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.  The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly man who had recently lost his wife.  When the little boy saw the man cry, the boy went into the man’s yard,climbed up on his lap,  and just sat there.  When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing.  I just helped him cry.”  

Is there anyone you can help cry?  As He called John, Jesus is calling us.

 

3: Announcing the Coming Church

It’s important to remember that the Christian Church is a group of people who have been called by God, redeemed by God and given entirely new relationships.  We’re called  to relate to each other as “brother”and “sister,” doing whatever we can to care for each other.

 They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.  Everyone around was in awe — all those wonders and signs done through the apostles!  And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.   

Acts 2:42-45, The Message

The church is here to help you connect with God and with others.  Take advantage of it!

 

4:  Illustrating Adoption

From that moment on, John was to care for Mary as his own mother, and Mary was to see John as her own son.  In a sense, Jesus was authorizing the adoption of each other to each other’s care.

In the same way, because of the crucifixion of Christ, we can be “adopted” into the family of God.  Check out Romans 8:12-17…

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.  For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.   For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”   The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.   NKJV

And that remains God’s desire throughout all time.  God is patient- “long suffering.”  He wants us to come to repentance and be adopted as His children…

2 Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
1 Timothy 2:3-4   For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Habakkuk 2:3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.
Isaiah 30:18   Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
Psalm 86:15  But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.
Romans 2:4   Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
Exodus 34:6  And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.

As the Lord waits and as we wait on  the Lord, we have been growing in God’s heart…

One day a first grade teacher showed her class a picture of a family.  One little boy in the picture had different colored hair than the other family members.  One child suggested  that he was  probably adopted. Just then a little girls said,  “I know all about adoptions because I was adopted.  To be adopted means that you grew in your mommy’s heart instead  of her tummy.”

 

So What’s it all Mean?

The relationship between Mary and Jesus is changing.  For about 33 years, Jesus has been the human son of Mary.  But, He was also the Son of God.  He took on human flesh- thanks to His mother-  so  He could become the Redeemer of the world.  And that is why He is now on the cross.

On the cross the human life of Jesus is slipping away.  The physical and the spiritual are mysteriously coming together in some sort of timeless eternal way.  There is almost a divine transference taking place.  The old order is passing and the relationship between Mary and our Lord is changing.

As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:18…

“The old things have passed away, and all things have come new.”

As Mary stands at the foot of the cross, in her grief and in her sorrow, she must have been crying out, “My son, my son!”  But in saying “Woman, behold your son,” Jesus is saying, “No, you must no longer think of Me as your son.  Woman, behold your son.  From now on John is to take  that place in THIS life.  Regard him as your son.”

From that moment on, Mary is to regard Jesus as Savior and Lord.

“Woman- Behold  your Savior!”

Jesus goes to the cross and lays down the life He had drawn from Mary.  Mary’s son dies, and in His death the son becomes her Savior.

Mary looses an irreplaceable son and she gains an incomparable Savior.  Mary’s gain was far greater than her loss.

  • She lost the love of a Son who was taken from her in death.
    … But she gained the love of a Savior who death could never take from her.
  • She lost the joys of a son who had brought her happiness on earth.
    … She gained the joys of a Savior at whose right hand in heaven there are pleasures forevermore.
  • She gave him life in the flesh for a time.
    …He gave her life in the Spirit for eternity.

And today, He offers you life and me life, if we will take it.

People, behold your Savior!

 

 Quiz Time!

As you reflect on what you’ve just heard/read, give this quiz a try.  If you don’t understand an answer (or if you disagree with the “correct” answer, post a comment)…

 

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