Jesus, He Remembered His Mother
John 19:25-27
“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”
The dark deed was done. Cruel and cold hands had taken iron spikes and driven them through the hands of love and the precious feet which had spread good tidings of gospel peace. Strong arms had lifted the Cross upon which Jesus was crucified and dropped the Lord of Glory with a bone jarring jolt into a hole in the ground. Now the waiting began. It was a death watch for those who circled the Cross.
There was Mary the mother of Jesus. There was Mary, the wife of Cleophas.
She was the Aunt of Jesus. And there was Mary Magdalene out of whom had been cast seven demons. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved was there, as well as many others.
The people watched in sorrow and great agony. Everyone knew that Jesus was innocent. He had never hurt anyone, and had been willing and able to help everyone. It was all so unfair, so unjust, and so very cruel.
Death would come slowly to any man on a cross. Sometimes a person would linger for two and even three days, dying by degrees amidst excruciating pain. Jesus had been put on the cross at about 9 a.m. on a Friday morning.
Prior to His crucifixion He had been beaten by Roman soldiers, and whipped into a bloody mass so that He no longer looked like a man. It is a wonder upon wonders that somehow, with incredible strength and courage, Christ was able to whisper words from the Cross. Three times the Lord spoke between 9 a.m. and noon. Each time He had others in mind.
The first time Christ spoke He prayed for His enemies. According to Luke, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
The soldier beneath the Cross paused to listen to these few remarks and laughed. They did not understand, and so they took the clothes of Christ and gambled for them beneath the feet of Jesus. It is amazing how hard the human heart can become.
Time passed. Each second seemed like an hour. Each minute seemed like a day. Spasms of pain shot throughout the body of Christ as He hung suspended between heaven and earth atoning for the sins of the world. Jesus was crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem. Beside the walls of Jerusalem, Jewish priests continued their preparation for the Passover meal, they did not realize that the true Lamb of God was being sacrificed already.
There was a spiritual dimension to the crucifixion of Christ, plain enough for some to see, like the thief on the Cross. When the other male factor began to rail at Christ the thief on the cross rebuked him saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss.”
And then the thief on the cross found the wisdom and the courage to ask Jesus for eternal life. “Jesus,” he said. “Remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom.”
Such faith, such a willingness to be identified with Christ would not go unrewarded. Jesus spoke the second time from the Cross. He spoke the words of promise. He spoke the words of truth. He spoke words that made dying only an exit from time, and an entrance into eternity. Jesus said unto Him, “Verily, I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”
From that moment on, the thief on the Cross could almost forget his horrible pain. “I am going to heaven,” he would think. “I am leaving for Paradise.” “O death, where is thy sting?” “O grave, where is thy victory?” Following this brief exchange between the two thieves, and then between the repenting thief and Christ, there was silence once more from the Cross.
Jesus was still in pain. The Lord was still gasping for breath. Every nerve ending in His holy body was throbbing in pain. But through it all Jesus was thinking of others.
He was thinking of those who had crucified Him. He was thinking of saving one who had called upon His name. He was also thinking of His mother, as our passage reveals. He was thinking of her future.
The Bible says that by the Cross of Christ, stood his mother. With a broken heart, Mary stood to be as near her Son as possible. By the Cross she stood to identify herself with Him in His suffering. Like any good mother, Mary would rather have had the pain of her Son inflicted upon herself then to see Him in such agony. It does not matter to a mother how old her child becomes. To her, He is but a child when she is involved, to be protected and nursed.
Even though Jesus was 33 years of age, it seemed but yesterday that He was working as a boy with Joseph learning the trade of being a carpenter. In the hour of sacrifice, perhaps Jesus also remembered His mother in other ways. There were scenes that could have flickered through His mind almost bringing a surge of joy to His heart. For example, there was the time He was twelve years old.
“Mother, do you remember, I do. We had gone to Jerusalem to celebrate the great day of the Passover. We traveled with our relatives and when the time came to leave I did not want to go home. I waited until everyone had left and then I returned to the Temple where I was able talk to the Rabbis about the Law of Moses.”
“Yes, Son, I remember,” Mary would have replied. “Joseph and I thought you were with relatives. We were very frightened until we found you, and when we did I scolded you.” it was then that you said, “I said I must be about my Father’s business. Here I am now completing the word of redemption He gave me to perform.”
Time passed until Jesus was presented with another moment from the past in His mind. There was another memory. Had Jesus so desired He could have said, “Mother, do you remember the day I began my ministry of miracles. There was a marriage in Canaan of Galilee. You were in charge. The host ran out of wine which was cause for social embarrassment. Mother, you became anxious and a little bossy but I understood. With concern, the servants came to me.”
“Yes, Son, I do remember that young couple. I remember running out of wine. Oh, the shame! I sent the servants to you and told them, “Whatever my Son says to you, do it.” And you performed a miracle by turning water into wine. You were always turning sorrow into joy.”
“Mother, I know you did not always understand me. I remember that day when you came with my brother James, John, Judah, and Simon (Matt. 13:55, Mark 6:3). Friends of the family said I was beside myself, and you thought so too. The family came to take me home. People sent me word that all of you had come. I know what you wanted and I used the moment to teach a spiritual truth. ‘Who is my mother, or my brethren.'”
I asked those in the house. Then I looked around and said, ‘Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother and my sister, and my mother.'”
As Jesus remembered His mother, so let us remember the best about our mothers, and honor them when appropriate. John Quincy Adams said, ‘All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” Benjamin West declared, “A kiss from my mother made me a painter.”
The love of a mother reflects the tender love of God. Calvin S. Stanley tells of a young man he knew who showed unusual courtesy to all women. One day he asked the young man how he could be so competitive on the sports field and so gentle towards girls and women. And the young man replied, “I never like to refer to this, but my father told me that when I was being born, my mother’s case was most serious. The doctor said, ‘I cannot save them both. Decide quickly which one it shall be. My father stood speechless, not knowing what to say. Mother, had overheard and said, ‘I will die; let my son live.’ My mother gave her life for me.”
Jesus said, ‘ I will die. Let my people live. All who know Christ as personal Savior can say, ‘My Lord gave His life for me. ‘The wisest and godliest of mothers will not only manifest the love of Christ, but do everything within their power to lead their children to Christ by examples and by prayers.
C.H. Spurgeon wrote, “I cannot tell how much I owe to the solemn words and prayers of my good mother. It was the custom on Sunday evenings, while we were children for her to stay at home with us. We sat around the table and read verse by verse, while she explained the Scripture to us. After that was done, then came the time of pleading with God. Some of the words of our mother’s prayers we shall never forget, even when our heads are gray. I remember her once praying this.” ‘Now, Lord, if my children go on in sin, it will not be from ignorance that they perish, and my soul must bear a swift witness against them at the day of judgment if they lay not hold of Jesus Christ.”
God honored the efforts of Mrs. Spurgeon and her son helped to transform the world.
The greatest service a mother can perform is to live in such a way that the children will be able to say with Christ, “I remember mother. I remember her anxious concern for me. I remember her sacrificial service for others. I remember how she stood by me in the darkest hours of my life. I remember her great love. I remember mother.”
