Today, we’re going to go to our scripture immediately. Listen now as we go to the Gospel of John for the first time this season, hearing a bit of his version of what happened that day (John 19:25-27, NKJV)…
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
No mother should ever have to watch a child die, but especially on a cross—the agonizing death of crucifixion. The third time Jesus spoke from the cross, he spoke to his mother and his closest disciple, John. It was a scene that was both moving and filled with significance for the Christian life. With our scripture for today in mind, I now invite you to consider a few ways in which these final words of Jesus speak to us today… First, I want to take a close look at this:
THE COURAGEOUS ROLE OF WOMEN IN MINISTRY… And let’s begin with the three at the cross: There were three women standing at the foot of the cross with Jesus as he suffered and died… John tells us that they were:
- Mary, the mother of Jesus;
Her sister (in-law, by marriage), Mary, the wife of Clopas (Joseph’s brother)…
Mary of Magdala (Mary Magdalene), the woman who Jesus healed of her ‘seven demons’ (seven illnesses she suffered from)…
And John also notes that he, himself, was there at the cross with these women—so an eye-witness to Jesus’ words we’re hearing today. Folks, as I consider these three women standing in the midst of what must have been a hostile crowd, I’m struck by the role women played in Jesus’ ministry. Listen to these examples…
It was the women who financially supported the work of Jesus and his disciples (Luke 8:1-3)…
It was a woman who became the first missionary to the Samaritans (John 4:28-29)…
It was a woman who anointed Jesus with oil in preparation for his death (Matt. 26:6-13), three women at the cross at the time of his death…
And I t was women who first came to the tomb and found it empty on Easter morning (Mark 16:1-8)…
It was a woman who first saw Jesus raised from the dead and, in turn, a woman who became the first to proclaim the Resurrection to others (John 20:11-18)…
Jesus regularly showed compassion, mercy, and love toward women in the Gospels, which stood out as counter-cultural in his day. His choice of twelve male ‘formal disciples’ was really a cultural sign of the times … but Jesus recognized the giftedness, courage, and commitment of women in the early church. I’m thankful we no longer live in those days and can openly celebrate women called to ministry today. And we have plenty of gifted women in this church! Now, let me talk about … Mary the mother of Jesus’ role in particular:
As we consider the role of these women in the life of Jesus, we need to also recognize that Mary the mother of Jesus is the single most important human being to God’s plan of salvation aside from Jesus himself. Don’t forget: It was Mary who gave up her life—as she knew it—in order to carry, deliver, and raise the Messiah. She told God (Luke 1:38, NLT): “…I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true….” And it did! This woman who stood by the cross seeking desperately to console and give hope to her dying son paid a great price for our salvation. Let’s not forget that, as we consider Jesus’ words for today! Here’s something else I see in this conversation:
THE GIFT OF HONORING OTHERS IN JESUS’ NAME… Perhaps the most common understanding of today’s passage is this: Even as Jesus hung on the cross dying in pain, Jesus was concerned for his mother. While Mary stood there, seeking to comfort and console her son … Jesus sought to ensure his mother would be taken care of after he was gone. So, he asked John to care for his mother, and he asked his mother to accept John’s protection and care…
In the spring of 2011, I was convicted of something in my life. It’s not often that God wakes me up in the middle of the night to tell me something, but it happened one morning that spring. I remember it as if it were yesterday; I shot straight up in bed (in the middle of the night) because I heard God speak to me clearly and all I heard was … HONOR YOUR FATHER. My dad had already been experiencing some decline in his health and was dealing with those issues as he approached his 80th birthday in June of 2011. And God was asking me to ‘honor my father’ at this time—deliberately and in some special way. So, I prayed about it and asked God what I was to do. I’d actually already done a CD of my father’s memories for Christmas 2010 for my siblings … but now what? Well, as I prayed about it, two things came to mind: 1) Throw a card party … and 2) throw him a surprise birthday party he’d never forget!
Just so you know, both of those things happened in June 2011. I’d pulled off the card party and he received cards from all over the world, literally, that filled 3 huge three-ring binders once my sister’d cataloged them for him. And that same sister, from Florida, and I … flew into Greensboro for Father’s Day weekend 2010 (also his 80th BD) … were at his church when he showed up for worship on Sunday morning, then stayed for a surprise birthday party at my cousin’s house that afternoon. And I’ll never forget Dad looking at both of us that morning (after he’d recovered from the shock) and he said, “I never dreamt that the two kids who challenged me the most while growing up would be here on this special day to honor me!” (We were still feeling a little guilty, I guess…) Little did we know that a little over a year later, we’d lose him…
Folks, don’t wait! We need to reclaim what was the practice throughout most of human history: caring for one’s parents as Jesus was asking John to do for his mother. How is it that we can care for our parents and love them in special ways today? How can we be about the 5th Commandment and HONOR our parents in creative and loving ways that will truly make a difference in their winter years? Finally, consider this with me…
LOOKING TO JOHN AS THE CHURCH’S MODEL… Some believe that by relating these words of Jesus, John intends more than a simple witness for us to care for our parents. He really intends for us to understand from Jesus that, as his disciples, we are responsible to care for one another, even taking the role of parent or child or brother or sister to another who needs us. Let me share a short story with you to finish up today…
Roger is an elementary school teacher in Manhattan, Kansas—a member of the Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City where Adam Hamilton is the lead pastor. One night, many years ago—as the story’s told—Roger was working late. As he was leaving the school building long after dark, he noticed one of his students—a boy named Johnathon—swinging on the playground by himself. He asked the fourth-grader why he was at the playground so late on a school night … and learned that this little boy’s mother had left the family and that his father worked all night and struggled to care for him. Roger, the teacher, showed compassion and reassured Johnathon that things would be okay; then he sent the boy home. Roger took a special interest in Johnathon and began to look for ways to help him. With the year Johnathon was placed in a foster home as his father was unable to care for him. He eventually returned to his father’s home though; but, once more, his father was unable to care for him. Knowing Johnathon would be sent back to foster care, his father asked the elementary school teacher—Roger—if he would take Johnathon into his home. Roger agreed and welcomed this child as if he were his own son. His role in caring for, mentoring, and shaping Johnathon’s life gave Johnathon a radically different future than he might have had.
As it turned out, Johnathon was a gifted child who grew up to be a remarkable man. With the help of Roger, he went to Kansas State University. He travelled across the country and to different parts of the world. He fell in love with a beautiful young woman and married her, and together they went to serve the poor in South Africa before returning to Chicago, where Johnathon now works with inner-city boys who have no place to call home.
Folks, I’m telling you this story today because this story is not only a great example of how we as people in the Church—Christ-followers—can care for others in this world who need caring for, but this story is personal! I first heard this story from Roger’s pastor, the Reverend Adam Hamilton of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City. And the young woman who Johnathon ended up marrying … was the preacher’s daughter—Danielle Hamilton. Little did Adam Hamilton know that as he was praying for the boy who would someday marry his daughter, he was also praying for the little boy whose troubled life would find stability and joy and hope because of the love of a teacher … whose faith—really, the love of Jesus—compelled him to see this child as his own. How grateful Adam Hamilton is … and I am … and many others are … that Roger heard the words spoken from the cross, “Behold, your son”…
So, do you see the LOVE? Yes, Jesus was a perfect sacrifice up there on the cross, dying to cover all of our sin … but he also wasn’t done teaching … and he’d taught John to do the same… Through Jesus words today—“Behold your son” and “Behold your mother,” we’re reminded that we should be thankful for the gifted women God has placed in our midst—especially in the life of the Church, we should be about the 5th Commandment and Honor our Parents … and we should care for all who Jesus cares for … as if they were our own family! Let’s be about that today!
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