“Woman, behold thy son! … Behold thy mother!”
We now come to the third of seven sayings of Jesus. In John 19:26-27 we find the words. Although they are found in two separate verses, they comprise one flow of thought.
“When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.”
Here we see the tremendous love and affection of our Lord. He is experiencing unimaginable pain, yet His focus is not on Himself but on the needs of others; at this moment His mother.
Mary was a woman acquainted with grief.
- When the angel Gabriel came to her and told her she was highly favored and would give birth to the Son of God, the Bible says she was troubled at his sayings.
- When there was no room in the inn on the night of Jesus’ birth, surely there was a sense of disappointment.
- Then there was Herod’s attempt to kill the baby Jesus coupled with the anguish which came from the knowledge that many mothers were in great torment and affliction as their baby’s were snatched from them as Herod’s men went on a rampage trying to find the one “born King of the Jews.”
- In the temple Simeon told Mary that Jesus was set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel … and that a sword would pierce through her own soul speaking of the sorrow that would fill her heart on the day of His crucifixion.
- We do not have a written record of how Mary grieved during Jesus’ earthly ministry, but it must have been very difficult knowing that her Son, who did so much good, was despised and rejected by so many people.
As we look at these two verses of Scripture along with the events that surround these two verses we see several things.
- We see the anguish of Mary
- We see the steadfastness of Mary
- We see Jesus more concerned about His mother than about Himself
- We see the return of John
- We see an interesting set of events
The words of Jesus were understood by John. “John, I want you to take Mary and care for her as you would care for your own mother. And John, I want you to do that today, for me.” The Bible tells us from that hour John took her unto his own home.
At this moment, Jesus practiced so many of the lessons He taught. Below you see the references. Look them up and read them.
- John 13:34-35
- John 14:15
- John 15:13
- John 15:17
- 1 John 3:11
- 1 John 3:16
- 1 John 4:7-8
- 1 John 4:19
The love of Jesus is remarkable. He loves those who love Him. We see that in His love for Mary. He also loves those who do not love Him. His love is unconditional. Have you placed your faith and trust in Him? Is He your Lord and Savior? As we close, consider these words of the Apostle Paul. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”