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Book: John
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John 19:25
I. "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus."
A. The other gospels tell us that there were many woman from
Galilee who had been ministering to Jesus who were standing
afar off watching His crucifixion.
1. They name Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and
Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee, and
Salome as being in that crowd.
2. Evidently when Mary Magdalene saw Mary the mother of
Jesus, standing close by with John and Mary's sister
in law also named Mary, she came near and joined them.
3. There is another Mary that is not named as being there.
One might well wonder where Mary the sister of Lazarus
was.
4. We know that Peter was somewhere in the crowd also, for
he declares in his first epistle that he was an eye
witness of His suffering.
C. Can you imagine what must have been going through the mind of
His mother at this time?
1. Quite possibly she was remembering the visitation of
the angel Gabriel to her, when he first announced that
she had been chosen by God to bring His Son into the
world.
2. Where is now the promise, that "He shall be great, and
be called the Son of the Highest?"
3. Maybe their flashed into her mind the words of the
prophet Simeon when she had brought Jesus into the
temple to present Him to the Lord, after she had
finished her days of purification, and after he raised
the child unto the Lord, he had said strange words to
her, "Behold, this [child] is set for the fall and
rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which
shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce
through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many
hearts may be revealed.
4. There had been many things that she had been pondering
in her heart through the years, and now they were
beginning to make sense. For as she stood there
watching her Son being crucified, surely a sword was
piercing through her heart.
D. Knowing from the scriptures the quality of the character of
Mary the mother of Jesus, I am sure that if she had made up
the story of the angel appearing to her to announce that she
as a virgin would bring the Messiah into the world, to cover
her promiscuity, she would at this point stopped the whole
proceeding and confess her sin, so that her Son might be
spared. She surely would not have let Him die for her sin.
1. Yet He did die for her sin, and the sins of the whole
world.
2. There is nothing at all in the scriptures that would
indicate that Mary was sinless, or that she was
immaculately conceived. She needed the saving grace of
God that was being provided for their on the cross,
just as much as any of the rest of us.
II. "When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by
whom He loved."
A. Jesus no doubt looked down and saw His mother standing there
weeping.
1. I can imagine that she had been a model mother.
2. She had understood the whole time that this was a
special child.
3. She had kept many secrets bottled up inside her heart
for many years.
4. She was also probably expecting Him to set up the
kingdom and reign over the whole earth. The angel
said, "He shall be great and shall be called the Son
of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto Him
the throne of His Father David, and He shall reign
over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom
there shall be no end."
5. It looked like things were coming to an end right
here.
B. Jesus speaks to her, "Woman, behold thy son." He no doubt
nodded toward John.
C. To John he declared, "Behold thy mother."
D. His first words on the cross were directed to His Father,
"Father forgive them, they know not what they do."
E. The second were addressed to the malefactor being crucified
next to Him, "Today, you will be with Me in paradise."
F. His next words were addressed to His mother and then to John.
1. This seems to be His final act on the human level,
from here on, He is going to be taking care of
eternal matters of redemption.
2. He first prays for those that are crucifying Him.
3. He next comforts the thief beside Him.
4. Now He makes arrangements for His mother's care in the
future.
G. The Catholics use this as a proof passage for the perpetual
virginity of Mary. If as the scriptures declare that He had
other brothers and sisters, surely they would have taken Mary
in and cared for her, and He would not have to committed her
to the care of John.
1. You must remember that His brothers did not believe in
Him until after the resurrection, John said that
neither did His brothers believe in Him.
2. The bonds that tie us together in the family of faith
are stronger than those that tie us together in human
relationships, the one is temporal and the other
eternal.
3. Mary at this point was closer to John the disciple
described as the one that Jesus loved, than her own
son named John who did not believe at this point in
Jesus.
H. His commission to John was to take care of Mary His mother.
John understood Him to mean that, so that from that hour, that
disciple took her into his home.
1. Five times in the scriptures John is identified as the
disciple whom Jesus loved.
JOH 13:23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples,
whom Jesus loved.
JOH 19:26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing
by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy
son!
JOH 20:2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other
disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken
away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they
have laid him.
JOH 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is
the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he
girt [his] fisher's coat [unto him], (for he was naked,) and did
cast himself into the sea.
JOH 21:20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved
following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said,
Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
2. Every time it is in the gospel of John which was
written by John himself.
3. No other gospel calls him by that name or indicates
that John was loved more than any other.
4. John just felt this about himself, and declares it of
himself.
5. I feel that every disciple around Jesus felt the same
way, that they were loved by Jesus.
6. The scriptures tell us that d His own which
were in the world, He loved them to the end.
7. There are some people that have a way about them that
just make you feel special. Like you are the closest
friend that they have.
8. I have heard people say about one of my closest friends
that they were his closest friend, but I know that I
am.
9. Those who have been around Jesus very much feel that He
loves them in a special way, and they are correct. You
are very special to Him.
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