Seven Words From The Cross - Behold Your Mother

The cross is a place of responsibility. And if you and I have come to the cross, we have a big responsibility: the responsibility of loving the Lord Jesus, and then living for the Lord Jesus, and loving others.

We come now to John 19:25 as we look at the third of our Lord’s statements from the cross. 

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

That disciple, of course, was John, who wrote the Gospel of John and bore witness of these things. If you and I had been in Jerusalem that Passover afternoon when Jesus was crucified, I wonder how near the cross you and I would have stood? You know, it’s one thing to sing "Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross," and it’s quite another thing to do it. The four Roman soldiers were there, but they were there because of duty—they had to be there. And there were four women there and the Apostle John, but they were not there because of duty; they were there out of devotion. They loved the Lord Jesus.

Mary, his mother, was there. Mary Magdalene was there. Salome was there—this is his mother’s sister. And Mary, the wife of Cleophas, was there. And John was there. Mary Magdalene was there. There was gathered near the cross a small group of people who loved the Lord Jesus. 

Now, we use this phrase "near the cross" quite often; it’s become one of our evangelical clichés, I’m afraid. We’ve prayed, "O Lord, keep me near the cross," and as I mentioned before, we sing about standing near the cross. What does it really mean to be near the cross of Jesus? Obviously, we aren’t talking about literal geography. The cross is gone, and you and I are not able to go down to Jerusalem and go outside the city and literally stand near the cross. We’re talking here about a spiritual position. We’re talking about a certain kind of relationship to Jesus Christ. 

This third word from the cross, where Jesus said, "Woman, behold thy son," and then to John, "Behold thy mother," helps us to understand what it means to be near the cross. And perhaps the best thing we can do is just talk to some of these people who were there. 

Now, let’s begin with Mary Magdalene. She’s listed last in John 19:25, but I want to start with her. If you were to walk up to Mary Magdalene that afternoon and say, "Mary Magdalene, what does the cross mean to you? You are standing near the cross. What does it mean to you?" I think she would answer, "The cross to me is a place of redemption." You see, Mary Magdalene had been delivered by the Lord Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene is mentioned in Luke 8:2; Jesus had delivered her from seven demons. This same fact is recorded in Mark 16:9 because Mary Magdalene not only was at the cross, but she was early in the morning at the tomb. 

Mary Magdalene had been in bondage to Satan. I can’t conceive of what it would be like to be possessed and controlled by seven demons. We don’t know what they made her do, but she was in terrible, terrible bondage. Now, before we criticize her, let’s remember that Ephesians 2:1-3 makes it very clear that every unsaved person is walking according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. The demonic forces are at work in the lives of unbelievers today, and demonic forces would like to oppress the minds, distress the hearts of God’s people. Satan is at work today, and Satan was at work in Mary Magdalene’s life, and then Jesus came along and delivered her from those demonic powers. 

Now, this miracle of redemption cost Him something. That day when Jesus delivered Mary Magdalene from the power of the wicked one, it cost Him something. And now Mary was seeing that price being paid. You see, He had to die that we might be redeemed. In other words, for me to move out of the darkness into the light, He had to move from the light into the darkness. For me to be delivered from Satan to God, Jesus Christ had to be forsaken by God. For me to be delivered from guilt to forgiveness, Jesus had to be made sin for me. I was once poor and now He’s made me His heir. But oh, for Him to do this, He had to become poor. No wonder Mary was standing there at the cross. No wonder she was there when Jesus was buried. No wonder she was early at the tomb on resurrection morning, because Mary Magdalene had experienced redemption. Standing near the cross, Mary said, "The cross to me is a place of redemption." 

I ask you today, is the cross in your life a place of redemption? Can you say, "I’ve trusted Jesus Christ and He’s moved me from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to the power of God, from the guilt of sin to forgiveness, from poverty to an inheritance through faith in Him"? If this is not true in your life, then right now you just simply ought to trust the Lord Jesus. Ask Him to save you, and then you can take your stand near the cross, a place of redemption.

The second person I’d like us to talk to is Salome. We know her because she was the mother of James and John, two of the disciples, and the wife of Zebedee. And we remember that she was the one who came with her sons asking for thrones. And Jesus said, "Are you able to drink the cup I’m going to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism I’m going to experience?" The cup of suffering, the baptism of the cross. And very glibly they said, "Yes, we are." He said, "You will. Indeed you will." And of course, James was the first of the apostles to be martyred. John was the last of the apostles to die, and he went through great persecution and suffering before he was called home. 

Salome, we want to ask you, "What kind of a place is the cross? You’re standing near the cross. What does it mean?" And she answers, "The cross to me is a place of rebuke." I wanted my two sons to have the places of honor. I wanted them at the right hand and the left hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. And now I stand here seeing Him, not on a throne, but on a cross, and I’m ashamed of myself. Well, indeed, she might well be ashamed of herself. Her prayer was a selfish prayer. You see, there’s no crown without a cross. There’s no throne without the cross. There’s no wearing of the crown without the drinking of the cup. And our Lord Jesus Christ Himself did not get to the throne except by way of the cross. And the cross to her was a place of rebuke. 

It’s no wonder we sing, "When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast save in the cross of Christ, my Lord." Mary Magdalene tells us that the cross is a place of redemption. Have you been redeemed? Salome tells us that the cross is a place of rebuke. Our lives, as we stand near the cross, have their selfishness and their pride and their sin revealed. 

Now we want to look at Mary and at John. Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, and John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. If you were to go up to Mary there at Calvary and ask her, "What kind of a place is this? What does it mean for you to be near the cross?" I think Mary would have replied, "The cross to her is a place of reward." 

It’s interesting to note that we find Mary at the beginning of the Gospel of John and at the end of the Gospel of John. We find her in John 2 and in John 19. But the two incidents are in contrast. In John 2, Mary is attending a wedding. She is involved in the joys of a wedding. In John 19, she is involved in the sorrows of a funeral. In John 2, the Lord Jesus Christ displayed His power; in great miracle power, He manifested His glory and He turned the water into wine. But here in John 19, our Lord Jesus Christ is dying in weakness and in shame. Now, He could have exercised His power and delivered Himself, but had He done so, He would not have completed the plan of salvation. Had He done so, He would have been out of the Father’s will. He did not come to save Himself; He came to save us. 

In John 2, we find Mary speaking. But in John 19, Mary is silent. That’s interesting. In fact, it is very important. We expect her to say something; in John 2, they had run out of wine. Now, this was a social disgrace back in Jesus’ day. In fact, I read somewhere that a person could be fined for inviting people to a feast and not having sufficient wine. Mary came to Jesus and said, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "My hour is not yet come." It’s not yet time for me to pour out my life on the cross. But He met the need, didn't He? And He did it out of His gracious heart of love. And Mary spoke in John 2, but here in John 19, Mary is silent. 

Now, let me tell you why. The one person who could have rescued Jesus from the cross was His mother Mary. All Mary had to do was walk up to those Roman soldiers and say, "I am His mother. I understand Him better than anyone else. What He says is not true, therefore would you deliver Him?" Had Mary given witness of some kind, she could have saved the Lord Jesus, but she kept quiet. And you know why she kept quiet: she could not lie. As she stands there by the cross, her silence is testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 

Now, the cross was a place of reward for Mary. In what sense? Well, in the sense that the Lord Jesus Christ is now completing His work and He does not ignore her. I want it to be made very clear that Mary is to be honored but not to be worshiped. We are told in the Gospel of Luke that Mary herself said that she rejoiced in God her Savior. Mary was saved by faith like anybody else. The angel did not say to her, "Blessed art thou above women"; the angel did say, "Blessed art thou among women." And we do bless Mary because she was a woman who suffered. Simeon said to her, "A sword shall pierce through thine own soul also." And she did feel that suffering. 

When she was discovered with child, she began to suffer, didn’t she? She was misunderstood; there was shame, there was gossip. She was married to Joseph; there was poverty. She gave birth to the Lord Jesus in a lowly manger. She was feeling the sword. And then they had to flee from Bethlehem and escape the sword, and yet there were some innocent children that died because of her baby. I wonder how she felt about that? Oh, she rejoiced that her baby was delivered, but she must have felt the sword in her own soul when she heard that others had died. 

When our Lord Jesus was a youth, He said to her, "Don’t you know I must be about my Father’s business?" There began to be a time of separation, a growing separation. There was one point at which Mary did not really understand Him. Mary and His other earthly brethren felt that He had lost His mind, that somehow He was deranged. The sword was going through her own soul. The Psalmist said it so eloquently in Psalm 69:8—it’s a Messianic Psalm where the Lord says, "I am become an alien to my brethren, a stranger to my mother’s children." The sword was going through her soul, and now at His death. She suffered because He died, and she suffered because of the way He died—on a cross, numbered with the transgressors. And she suffered because of where He died—out there in public, with all sorts of people going by. Such a cosmopolitan crowd that Pilate wrote that declaration in three different languages. Our Lord was not crucified in a corner somewhere; openly, publicly, shamefully He was crucified. And there Mary stood and she was going through sorrow. 

But Jesus saw her and Jesus assured her of His love. You know, my friend, you may be going through a Calvary experience. You may be standing by and suffering intently because of something that’s happened. I want you to know that the Lord Jesus Christ always assures us of His love. He said to her, "Woman," which is a title of respect, "behold thy son." Now, did He mean Himself? I don’t think so; I think He was talking about John. And then He said to John, "Behold thy mother."

What was He doing? He was setting up a new relationship. He was saying to Mary, as it were, "I am going to go back to heaven. I shall die, I shall be placed in the tomb, I will be raised from the dead, and I shall go back to heaven. And you and I must have a whole new relationship. But in order to give peace to your heart, in order to heal up your broken heart where the sword has pierced so deeply, I’m giving you John." He assures her of His love, and He took His choice disciple and He said to Mary, "He is your son." In other words, they were all one big family, weren’t they? The Lord Jesus felt her sorrow, He knew her loneliness, and He rewarded her by giving to her His choice disciple. He gave John to Mary, and then John took her from that very hour into his own house. To Mary, the cross was a place of reward. There ultimately comes that time when God rewards those who have suffered. 

And now we must speak to John. John, what kind of a place is it to be near the cross? And I think John would answer, "It is a place of responsibility." Our Lord Jesus reigned from the cross. He was in control. It was He who was giving the orders. It was He who was directing His own followers and His loved ones. He restored John. You see, John had forsaken Him and fled. They all had done this. The shepherd had been smitten and the sheep were scattered. But John came back to the cross. I like that. You know, my friend, you and I may stray, we may disobey, we may, we may even deny our Lord, but we can come back. And John came back to the cross. That wasn’t the safest place to stand; wasn’t the easiest place to stand. I have watched people die, but not in that kind of a situation. 

And so the Lord Jesus restored John. And it was John who one day would write, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." But more than that, He honored John. Now, I want you to get this—this really blesses my heart—He said, "John, you’re going to take my place. I’m no longer going to be on earth to watch over my earthly mother Mary, but you’re going to take my place. You are going to take my mother and you are going to be a son to her." Now the interesting thing is this: all of us are taking His place. He said, following His resurrection, "As the Father hath sent me, so send I you." You and I represent Jesus Christ to others. 

John would love Mary because he would be taking our Lord’s place in Mary’s life. You and I are to love others the way the Lord Jesus has loved us. John was the disciple whom Jesus loved, and John was the disciple who loved the Lord Jesus. It’s interesting to note in the latter chapters of the Gospel of John how that John showed his love for the Lord Jesus. In John 13:23, we find him leaning on Jesus’ breast, learning His secrets. Love is always close to the heart, isn’t it? In John 19:26, he stands. It’s one thing to lean on the breast privately in the upper room, but it’s quite something else to stand publicly by the cross. But love always stands and suffers, doesn’t it? In John 20:2, we find love running; he runs to the sepulcher. In John 21:7, we find love recognizing; John says, "It’s the Lord." Love always sees the beloved one. In John 21:20, love follows; Jesus says, "Follow me," and John begins to follow the Lord Jesus. In verse 24 of John 21, love testifies; John says, "I’m testifying of these things. I saw them. I know that they are true." 

The cross is a place of responsibility. And if you and I have come to the cross, we have a big responsibility: the responsibility of loving the Lord Jesus, and then living for the Lord Jesus, and loving others. Near the cross, it’s a place of rebuke. Oh, how all of our pride and our selfishness just fades away as we stand at the cross and see the Lord Jesus suffering for us. Near the cross, it’s a place of reward. Woman, behold thy son. Son, behold thy mother. It’s a place of responsibility. And when we come to the cross through faith in Jesus Christ, we can’t run away, we can’t hide. We stand there identified with Him, the fellowship of His sufferings, and then we go away to do the work He’s called us to do. Whatever God’s called you to do, my friend, do it. If you’ve come near the cross, then you’ve discovered what a wonderful place it really is.