John 19:25-27 (NIV)
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
Even in His last moments, when every word was pure torture, and every breath a challenge, Jesus was a loving and caring Master and son.
As He hung on the cross, His eyes swept over the groups of people in the immediate area. Some were travelers, headed into or out of the city. Some of them stopped to read the signs over the heads of the dying men, interested in what crimes had brought them to that end. They looked briefly at the bruised, suffering faces and passed on. Others, repulsed by the sights and sounds, kept their eyes downcast as they hurried past.
The religious leaders had their representatives present, and they were gloating over the hideous victory they had won. From time to time a few of them would shout out taunts: “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the chosen one.’ (Luke 23:35 NIV)
Nearby stood the soldiers in various modes of attention. Their only real duty at this point was to make sure that nobody tried to help any of the criminals. But from time to time they joined in with the mockers: “If You are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
But what caught Jesus’ eye as He scanned the groups of people was a clump of them nearby. Most of them were women, their faces, swollen and contorted with their weeping, barely recognizable. There was His mother, her heart breaking, feeling keenly the agony of her son’s suffering, like a sword piercing her very soul (Luke 2:35). There was also Mary Magdalene, Salome, and several others. (Mark 15:40-41)
But there with the women was someone whom He had not expected to see: John, the disciple that He loved, standing right next to His mother. In the garden, when it became evident that Jesus would not resist being arrested, the disciples scattered as Jesus knew they would. But John and Peter had only gone a short distance and had then doubled back and had followed the crowd into the courtyard of the high priest. While they were there, Peter had denied Jesus three times, and then, as soon as the rooster had crowed, had fled in shame, leaving John alone.
John had been in the crowd at Jesus’ trial, and had gone to the execution spot after Jesus was condemned to die. His heart would not let Jesus be alone in this moment of suffering. And there he had found the women. They had all watched, weeping together, as the nails were driven, and as Jesus was left hanging on the cross.
As Jesus’ eyes moved to His mother, He gathered His strength and said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son,” His eyes moving purposefully to John. And He held John’s gaze while He took another painful breath and added, “Here is Your mother.” There could be no mistaking Jesus meaning. He, the eldest son, could no longer be responsible for the care of His mother, so He was handing the responsibility over to John, the disciple He loved, and the disciple who loved Him enough to stick by Him, even in this time of suffering.
Father, it makes me wonder how many blessings we miss out on when we don’t stay close to Jesus, when we sense danger in following Him and pull back, or when we simply grow carless and distracted and wander off for a while. This passage seems to point out that those who stay close, even in the dangerous and scary times, receive blessings that the less committed will miss out on. Help me, Lord, to stick close to You at all times, even when times are difficult, scary, or dangerous. I don’t want to miss out on a single blessing. Amen.
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