7th March 2024
The last words of Jesus from the cross: …‘Woman, here is your son’
This is the third in a series of studies for the Easter Preparation season.
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother…When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing near by, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’…
John 19:25-26 (NIVUK)
Having prayed for the forgiveness of those who were murdering him, and offering words of grace to a hardened criminal, Jesus notices his mother standing near the cross. All but one of Jesus’s chosen disciples had fled the scene, and it was the women in his entourage that stood up to be counted.
Mary would have known the humanity of Jesus more than anyone else. She would have cared for him as a vulnerable baby, feeding and changing him, as well as going through all the things any mother experiences as they raise a child. Now, she is experiencing something which must be every mother’s nightmare: watching their child die.
As her son hung before her eyes Mary must have felt helpless. She couldn’t soothe his wounds or moisten his lips, and people’s taunts would have wounded her heart. I wonder if she remembered Simeon’s prophecy when she took her baby to be dedicated at the temple (Luke 2:34-35).
Now at the cross, what will Jesus say to Mary? Amazingly, even while he was suffering excruciating pain on the cross, Jesus tenderly provided for his mother. Seemingly, her husband, Joseph, had died, and he was concerned about what would become of her. Mary had cared for Jesus as a baby and a child, and he wanted to care for her during this moment of grief. So, Jesus said, “…‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26-27), establishing a new relationship between his beloved mother and his beloved disciple.
Jesus’s use of the term ‘woman’ in this context is a way of emphasising the importance of this new relationship between Mary and John, rather than a sign of disrespect. Mary was to have a motherly affection for John, and John was to have a sonly duty to Mary. It was a solemn and compassionate moment during a difficult time.
Jesus noticed Mary’s suffering and grief, and then provided for her needs when he could have been consumed with his own suffering, grief, and needs. This tells me that if Jesus did this for Mary while he was hanging on the cross, we can rely on and trust in our now resurrected and ascended Lord to notice our suffering and grief, and then provide for our needs. In dying on the cross Jesus not only takes care of our greatest need, the forgiveness of our sins by extending to us his amazing grace, but he takes care of our physical needs and concerns too. Hallelujah, what a Saviour.
Prayer
Loving Father, we thank you that in his words to Mary, Jesus showed us his compassion, empathy, and concern for others, even during his own suffering which exemplifies his teaching of love and selflessness. May we emulate his example in caring for one another in our relationships. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Study by Barry Robinson
About the writer:
Barry Robinson is a minister in Grace Communion International
and Regional Pastor for Southern England, the Midlands, and Wales
Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA
Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm
Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church