8th August 2025

It is only in John’s gospel account that we learn that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there at the foot of the cross, when he was crucified. She was there with at least three other women, in the otherwise largely hostile crowd. She was there through love and compassion and, in the words of Simeon over thirty years earlier, with “…(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also)…” (Luke 2:35). There at the beginning, and there at the end – although none of Jesus’ followers, including his mother, had yet recognised that this was not the end but another beginning. She heard his last words on the cross, “It is finished!” (John 19:30).

It’s not surprising that this detail was in John’s narrative because he was clearly there as well. The second to last words that Mary’s son spoke were directed at her and John: ‘…“Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!”…’ (John 19:26-27). Continuing in verse 27, John confirms that he  ‘…took her to his own home.’ She was probably in her late forties at this time, the mother of a man seen as a common criminal, and  she probably remained with John for the rest of her life. She would have witnessed him, along with the other apostles, continuing to preach the gospel that their Lord and Master, her son, had faithfully preached. She would have seen the power of the Holy Spirit working in those men as they accepted the risks and the danger of sharing the message that had been entrusted to them. 

Mary’s love for her firstborn son overcame any fear she might have had of the baying crowd who continued to mock him as he was suffering excruciating pain and close to death, and stirred up by their religious and political leaders. Violent, state-sponsored death was not uncommon in the Roman Empire. It was one method of exerting control. The soldiers who took part in the process would have been hardened to the torture involved, and immune to the pain experienced. Christ was not the only one crucified that day. The public nature of these executions, carried out on the side of public roads, was a warning to others who might think about any sort of rebellion. It would certainly have been the fate of Barabbas had Jesus not taken his place – the physical salvation of a man described as a murderer. (Luke 23:18-19) 

We can trust that – like Mary – Jesus has put us in a place that is spiritually safe: protected and looked after – even though at times it might not feel like that. We may, like John, have an opportunity to care for someone in need.

Local congregation:
GCI Market Harborough
9 The Point
Rockingham Road
Market Harborough 
LE16 7QU

Meeting time:
Sunday 4.00 pm

Local congregational contact:
Sinead Henderson 
Email: sinead.henderson@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church