Happy Mother's Day, ladies. May your husbands love you and
your children honour you all the days of your life. May your
high calling of motherhood be both fruitful to your souls and
blessed of God to those you nurture in the faith. May the Lord grant you grace
and patience as to Lois and Eunice who taught Timothy the scriptures
from his youth. May he bestow the joy of salvation
as he did to Hannah who lent Samuel back to the Lord and was
visited by Christ for her trouble. May he grant you fullness of
years to see your children and grandchildren walking in truth
as the elect lady of 2 John. I'm reminded that the Lord Jesus
Christ had a mother. Our Saviour was born as we are
born. He is flesh of our flesh and
bone of our bone. And the gospel message that we
love and declare and upon which our hope is founded is a gospel
message that speaks of the deepest of unions that can possibly exist
between the Lord Jesus Christ and his people. Closer even than
that union between a mother and a son. And it is an essential
element of this gospel the privilege and the blessings that we possess
being united to the Lord Jesus Christ. And that union is at
every level, even to these bodies. He came as one with us. In Hebrews chapter 10, we're
told that Lord Jesus Christ declared, a body hast thou prepared me. and a virgin, a young girl, highly
favoured of the Lord, blessed among women, said the angel,
gave birth to that holy child. The Son of God became the Son
of Man, born of a woman into this wicked world. to this end,
that he might redeem for himself a people, that he might be united
to his love, that that love which had been forged in eternal counsels,
that love which had prompted and provoked all of the plan
of salvation in the triune Godhead might be manifested both in the
sacrifice that he made to accomplish his end and the union into which
that people were brought by he who died for them. He came to
save his people from their sins. And yet, though highly favoured
of God, Mary knew great sorrow and hardship. She had a mother's
lot in this world. Perhaps more intense sorrow than
any other woman has ever felt. The Lord Jesus Christ is rightly
called the man of sorrows. Perhaps it is not inappropriate
to call Mary the Woman of Sorrows. Great bitterness came into Mary's
life at so many levels in her youth. Simeon, in the temple shortly
after the Lord Jesus Christ was born, declared these words to
her. as part of the blessing that
he gave to the Lord. His words to Mary were these,
yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also. A sword would pierce her soul
and I don't think that Mary was ever far from the sorrow that
pierced her soul all the days of her life. It certainly did
at that time when she saw her son dying upon the cross. If it wasn't the scandal of her
unmarried state in the village around about it that caused her
anxiety, then maybe it was the filth of the stable into which
she had to bring this little child. Or maybe she feared the
king's wrath, who decreed that he would have that child at the
end of a sword. And Mary, Mary had to deal with
the fact that the whole kingdom was mobilised to the extinction
of her baby. And as she cradled it in her
arms, I wonder if she thought how long she would have him to
love and to nurture. The night-time flight from her
home into Egypt must have been a time that was filled with anxiety
and trouble. The years that she spent away
from her home and family in Egypt, living amongst the people of
another language, of strange customs. What was that like to
her soul? How did this young girl deal
with all the pressures, with all the emotions that that must
have brought upon her? And have you ever wondered if
there was any guilt for the bereavement of all her friends whose babies
were lost when Herod took their lives, endeavouring to slay the
child Jesus? Friends that she had known from
her earliest days had their babies taken from their arms and killed
because he was looking for her child. She stated her own sorrow when
the Lord Jesus Christ at the age of 12 went missing on the
way home from Jerusalem. She said to him, I have sought
thee sorrowing. I have sought thee sorrowing. We lose our children in the market
or we don't know where they are. We suddenly, and the panic that
fills us as we anticipate what could have happened to them.
They've suddenly been out of our sight for a few moments.
and the anxiety that builds up as to where are them? Where are
they? What's happened to them? And Mary had to travel all the
way back in the dark to Jerusalem, a day's journey they had gone
before they realized the boy Jesus was missing. Jerusalem
would have been full of people, heaving with people, all making
their way back home. He could have gone in 360 different
directions out of that city. And they went back seeking him,
sorrowing. There was constant opposition
to Mary for the sake of Jesus all the days of her life. There
was the intrigue and the conspiracy that she was no doubt aware of.
when so many enemies of the Lord rose up against him. She was
conscious, doubtless, of the danger that her beloved son faced
throughout his ministry. And no one knew him better than
she did. She had seen him from those earliest
days when she first mopped his brow with her hand and first
directed his steps and first looked after his care and his
well-being. She saw how he lived. She saw how he spoke. She saw
how he reacted. She was aware that this was a
special child and she saw the love that he showed and the respect
that he had. and the honour that he gave and
the obedience that he exercised to those to whom it was due. And she couldn't understand why
so many people sought to hurt her beloved son. but oh the soul-piercing that
Mary endured during the hours of the Lord Jesus Christ's suffering
on the cross. What anguish this mother must
have felt. It was her son that was being
crucified. It was her child that was up
there. All these people, all this baying
crowd, all these soldiers, they were all there in order to inflict
as much suffering on her boy as they possibly could. She was the first to kiss his
face, to wipe his face, but she couldn't
wipe the blood out of his eyes as it trickled down his forehead
from the crown of thorns that they pressed into it. She couldn't cradle his feet
or his hands that were pierced there on the cross. All she could
do was stand and watch. The disciples forsook him. The
disciples had run away. God forsook him. but Mary stood at the foot of
the cross. And there she stood, and she
stood without hysterics. She stood without crying. She stood without shouting. There's no reference to tears.
There's no reference to any words spoken. I believe she stood dignified. I believe that as her heart broke
there for the pain that was being inflicted upon her son, that
she stood with dignity. And she probably had it in her
mind that she wouldn't aggravate his sufferings anymore. by causing
him to be anxious about her. John chapter 19, verse 25, we
read, now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother. There stood by the cross of Jesus
his mother. What a picture. of courage and
strength we see in that woman. I've got a few points that I
want to draw your attention to with respect to what was happening
here at the cross. And the first one is this, that
as Mary stood there at the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ saw her. The Lord Jesus Christ saw her.
I don't know how many familiar faces there would be around the
cross. We're told in Matthew and in Luke that there were a
few women who stood afar off. And if I can take and put a few
of these verses together, it kind of appears as if these women
stood afar off in the early stages of this crucifixion, which extended
for somewhere around three hours, that the crowd would be there
at the beginning. And then as they got hungry,
and as the spectacle began to quieten down, I guess they started
to move away, back to their homes, back to the city, back to their
daily activities. And as they did so, this small
group of women, and Mary amongst them, crept closer and closer
to the cross, to the point at which, in this 25th verse, we
are told, there stood by the cross Jesus' mother. And in the midst
of all that the Saviour was enduring, in the midst of all the pain,
probably towards the end of that time of suffering. In the midst
of all that he had inflicted upon him, as far as the wrath
of God is concerned, in his soul, body and soul, Christ suffered
there on the cross. and the Lord Jesus Christ, in
the midst of his travail, saw his mother. The Lord thought
about his mother there on the cross. It speaks to us of that
natural affinity and affection. It speaks to us of the fact that
while the Lord Jesus Christ was going through that hell of suffering
in his soul and in his body. When the high priests were mocking
and laughing, when the soldiers were stealing his clothes, when
the people were throwing their insults at him, Is it nothing
to you, all ye that pass by? Says Jeremiah to the Lamentations,
speaking prophetically of those who were around the cross of
Christ. Is it nothing to you? Is there any sorrow like unto
my sorrow? Such was the intensity, such
was the greatness of the suffering of
the Savior. And there in the midst of it,
he thought of his mother. And he saw her there at the foot
of his cross. He saw her as his mother. But he also saw her as a poor,
lost sinner who needed a saviour. Perhaps This picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ hanging on the cross and his mother there at the foot
of the cross epitomizes Christ's love for his people that drove
him to the cross. In Isaiah chapter 53 and verse
11, we read these words. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. What does that mean? It means
this, that the Lord Jesus Christ's soul was travailing. It was travailing
because of the exertion of the work that he was fulfilling. It was travailing, it was in
sorrow, it was in labor. Because of these things which
he was enduring, He was bereft of his disciples. He was bereft
of his friends. He had been abandoned by everyone
that he cared for in this world. And he had been abandoned by
God. And there at that moment, in
the intensity of his suffering, in the midst of his travail,
he saw Mary. He saw his mother. and he saw
his people, he saw those for whom he was dying. And the only time that we're
given any indication that there was any peace or satisfaction
or pleasure given to the Lord is at this moment in that prophetic
word. He saw of the travail of his
soul. He saw for whom he was travailing
and he was satisfied that this was the only way that those that
he loved could be redeemed from their sins and brought into union
with himself. Mary had called him in the earliest
days of the revelation of the incarnation, God my saviour. And here at the cross when the
Lord Jesus Christ beheld her, he was providing that salvation
that she required. Salvation was being accomplished
even as she watched him suffer and die. In the midst of that
baying crowd, there amongst the smirking priests, the callous
soldiers, in a world of unbelievers, stood a small group of Christ's
sheep. And they represented all his
elect. They represented his church. They represented his bride. They represented those for whom
his soul travailed. And they represented that greater
number. that throughout the ages would
be brought because of the blood that he was shedding that day
into union with him as their Redeemer. The Lord Jesus Christ
saw his mother. The second thing that I want
to show you is that the Lord Jesus Christ provided for his
mother. He thought on her. He saw her
there and thought on her. And he provided, he provided
a ransom. He provided a redeemer. He provided
a lamb to be sacrificed that she might be redeemed, that her
soul might be saved, that she might be brought into that relationship
with him. And these disciples, these disciples,
and we must assume presumably the mother of Jesus also, seemed
to understand so little, even then, about what the Lord Jesus
Christ was doing. And I can't but imagine that
Mary wished herself dead too, as she watched her Saviour and
her Son dying there upon the cross. Very often grief, especially
those that we love the dearest, can cause us to wish that our
own lives could come to an end. rather than go on in the vacuum
of the loss that those that we have loved have left. What joy did Mary have to look
forward to in this world? What happiness did she have left? This woman that had seen so much
hurt and hardship throughout her life, what more could she
bear in her soul? She saw there something perhaps
that few others that day saw. She saw the intensity of the
depravity of humankind. No one knew the Lord Jesus Christ
like she did. His loveliness, his beauty, his
care, his gentleness. the honour that he had shown
her, the blessedness of his company, the history, the experiences,
all that she had enjoyed of him. And now she sees it smashed and
mangled and broken before her. She saw the depths of depravity
there that day. But what she didn't see and what
she didn't understand, at least at that stage, was that there
at that very moment, in the depths of her loss and sorrow, her Saviour
was securing for her that salvation that she needed, that soul deliverance
that she could never accomplish for herself. but which the Lord
Jesus Christ was able and willing to secure. And that eternal joy
and peace with God that would last all ages was being won for
her there and then in those three hours of her deepest sorrow,
the Lord Jesus Christ was gaining for her eternal peace and happiness. Yet here's another aspect, too,
of that provision that the Lord Jesus Christ gave. The Lord also
provided for her needs now, today, today. This wasn't something
that she would have to wait for and look forward to. The Lord
Jesus Christ, as He hung upon the cross, as He suffered as
He did, had sufficient presence to realize that here was this
woman, and he provided for her immediate needs also. In John
19, verse 26, we read, when Jesus therefore saw his mother and
the disciples standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother,
woman, behold thy son. Let me just give a little aside
here, if I may, for a moment. The Lord Jesus Christ called
Mary woman. He didn't call her mother. I
don't think there's an occasion when he calls her mother. She
is called the mother of Jesus, but the Lord always addresses
her as woman. I think the reason for that is
that the Lord knew The terrible heresy that would rise around
his mother, Mary. And he never once gave any support
to the notion of Mary, the mother of God. He called her woman. Woman. It may also be that as
they anticipated this break of the natural relationship, the
relationship of nature, that he was anticipating that new
relationship that he would have with her in glory. He says to Mary, woman, behold
thy son. So what have we learned? We've
learned that he beheld her. and we learn that he calls to
her from the cross. One of only seven statements
from the cross that are recounted and related to us is directed
to this woman. Only seven times in those three
hours did we hear that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke. Several times
to his father and here to Mary, his mother. And he called her
to look at him. He says, woman, Behold thy son. There's eye contact. There's
eye contact right there. In the midst of his suffering,
he calls his mother to look into his eyes. And I think that what
transpired there, what passed between them, would be love beyond
words. there needn't be more said. He knew that she knew, and she
knew that he knew. And they shared that moment,
looking at each other there on the cross. Feelings beyond expression. Christ left her nothing. He had nothing to give to her,
nothing to leave her. He had no money. He had no home. He had no clothes. She had given
him this coat, a coat that had been sewn from top to bottom. It was a good garment, so good
that the Roman soldiers said, well, let's not tear that. Let's
gamble for it. They stole his clothes. He hung
there naked. He had nothing to give to his
mother at his death. But we need nothing if we have
his love. And she had his love. And that
look said it all. Listen, friends, if we lose everything
in this world and yet have the love of the Lord Jesus Christ
for our souls, that's better than everything else. That's
better than everything else. Behold the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold the Lord Jesus Christ. What passed between them in that
moment? And what is it that passes between
the Saviour and a sinner in that moment when the sinner is first
called by the Saviour to behold the Son? Behold the Son of God. that taketh away the sin of the
world. Behold the Son of God that loves
you. Behold the Son of God who shed
his blood for you. Behold the Son of God who has
provided all things that are needful. Behold the Son of God. I trust that each one of us will
have that opportunity to have that moment of eye contact with
the Lord Jesus Christ when he calls us to behold thy son. John. John. John had returned. John had come back. I don't know
when, I don't know whether he crept up with that group of women.
He was young. Maybe he just looked, maybe he
had a slight figure. Maybe he was wrapped in a coat
and they couldn't tell that he wasn't a girl, a woman. But he, of all the disciples,
came to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm so glad that
John returned to the Saviour's side. John could say that he
was that disciple whom Jesus loved. And there in that moment
also, the Lord Jesus Christ had the opportunity of speaking to
the disciple John. Everyone had forsaken him. They
had all been offended. It was self-interest. The word
is scandalised. They went away out of a sense
of self-interest. It's not going to be any good
for us to hang around here. They sought their own safety
when the Lord Jesus Christ was being taken and crucified. But
we better not condemn these men for forsaking the Lord and fleeing. All that happened there, hear
this, all that happened was that the sustaining grace that they
had enjoyed for the three previous years of the Lord's ministry
had been withdrawn and they did exactly what was in their natural
hearts to do. And you and I would do exactly
the same under those circumstances. they forsook him and they fled. If it is not for the preserving
grace of God, that's exactly what all of us would do, forsake
him and flee. But here we see that John has
returned. And when he returns, what is
it he says? He says he is still the disciple
whom Jesus loved. You see, John had forsaken just
like all the rest of them, but it didn't change the love that
Christ had for him. Nor indeed did the Lord Jesus
Christ condemn him for abandoning him, but he gave him such a privilege
of taking care of the Lord's mother for the rest of her days. There's a wee lesson there for
us too. Maybe we have abandoned the Lord. Maybe we have grown cold in our
souls. Maybe it's a long time since
we had eye contact with the Lord. Maybe it's a long time since
we had that familiarity of beholding Him. But coming back to Him, we discover
that He still loves us. And coming back to Him, we discover
that He still has a role for us to play, a responsibility
still to be fulfilled. Come back to Jesus. Come back
to the Lord, you who have wandered, you who have forsaken. And the
Lord will receive you as those that He loves. In John 19 verse 27, we read
that Jesus addressed John as part of this interaction with
his mother. Then saith he to the disciple,
behold thy mother. And then we read this, and from
that hour, that disciple took her unto his own home. How these two, must have shared
memories of their love for the Lord Jesus Christ in the coming
years that they spent together, Mary living in the home of John. What wisdom the Lord demonstrated,
even there on the cross by putting these two together, these two
who so loved Him, John would lean on his master's breast. John was the one whose testimony
is characterized that there was this special union. The Lord
loves all his people and he loves all his people the same. But
it seems as if John understood the love of Christ more than
any of the other disciples. And the Lord loved him. And the
Lord loved his mother. And the Lord put his mother and
the disciple whom he lived together in the same house. And I'm sure
they spent many pleasant hours reflecting upon the love that
each of them had for the Lord Jesus. Is that not a good thing
for the Lord's people to do? to tell one another about the
love that they share for the Lord, to speak to one another
about these things which thrill our souls, that we understand
and see in our own experience. The Lord thereby gave Mary comfort
and security in her old age, and he gave John a friend. when
the Lord himself was no longer there, able to walk with him
day by day. But I saw something the other
day that I'd never seen before. And if you've seen this, then
why didn't you tell me? From that hour, that disciple
took her into his own home. This was the day in which the
Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. It was the Friday, on the Sunday.
On the Sunday morning, the first day of the week, the women, not Mary, the women
went, not Mary, the mother of Jesus, the women went to the
tomb and they found that the door was open. And they went
back and they told the disciples that something had happened at
Jesus' tomb. We're told two disciples ran
to the tomb. John and Peter. John was a young
man. He got there first. And he stooped
down and he looked into the tomb. Peter came after and he went
into the tomb. The next thing we're told is
this. Then, John chapter 20 verse 10,
then the disciples, listen, then the disciples went away again
unto their own home. Ah, why did they say they went
to their own home? Why did the disciples split up
there and go to their own home? Because John knew that that's
where Mary was. Mary had been in his home from
that night when Christ died. And he went to tell her the first
thing he did. And I've never seen that before.
The first thing John did was go and tell Jesus' mother that
her son was alive. He's not dead. He's alive. John had learned that the Saviour
was risen and he went to tell Mary, the mother of Jesus, the
good news. The Lord Jesus Christ saw his
mother, and he provided for his mother. And the Lord Jesus Christ
honoured his mother. Paul writes in Ephesians chapter
two, sorry, chapter six and verse two, honour thy father and mother,
which is the first commandment with promise. that it may be
well with thee, and that thou mayest live long on the earth. Ephesians chapter six, verse
one says, children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this
is right. Children, obey your parents in
the Lord, for this is right. And the Lord Jesus Christ did
that. The Lord Jesus Christ obeyed his parents and to Luke chapter
2 verse 51 we read that he was subject unto them. And we encourage our children
to parental obedience. Jesus was a boy and he gave his
parents. the obedience that they were
due. Yet honour goes much further than that because honour continues
beyond the age when obedience to your parents is no longer
required. You and I don't have to obey
our parents any longer because we're beyond the age of owing
them obedience. but we still owe them honour.
We still owe them honour. And the Lord Jesus Christ honoured
his mother. The likelihood is that Joseph
was dead. He's not mentioned, he's not
in the narrative at all. The implication is that he had
died sometime during the Lord's childhood, perhaps. But here
we see that this honour of the Lord for his mother is something
that he maintains right to the very end of his life. And the Word of God enjoins you
and I to remember our parents and to honour them, to honour
them for all of our lives. because they deserve it as our
parents. Respect and esteem for our parents
and condemnation for those who don't honour their parents is
a frequent and common thread of scripture. But here we see something else
in the Lord honouring his mother. He is demonstrating, even in
this relationship with her, that he is perfectly fulfilling the
law of God. Here he showed himself, even
in this small way, to be evidencing himself as the worthy sacrifice. There was no spot, there was
no blemish in the Lord. He was that lamb that was taken
and any examination that you might like to give to the Lord
shows that he was perfect and holy and just and true. and there
was nothing in him deserving of death. The law came to him,
the law which says the wages of sin is death. The law came
to him and found nothing, for he had fulfilled every aspect
perfectly. What is the promise of the fifth
commandment? Paul writes it. Ephesians 6 to
honor thy father and mother which is the first commandment it's
the fifth commandment it's the first of the second table so
called but it is the first commandment of promise that it may be well
with thee and thou mayest live long on the earth that is taken
from Exodus 20 verse 12 where it's written honor thy father
and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which
the Lord thy God giveth thee Well, did the Saviour, who was
perfect and pure and sinless and without fault, did He live
long upon the land that was given to Him? Isaiah 53 verse 8 says,
He was cut off out of the land of the living. For the transgression
of my people was He stricken. The Lord didn't enter into the
blessedness of the promise. He did honour his mother, but
he never had the promise. He never enjoyed the long life
in the land that was given to him. In 1 John chapter 4 verse 9 we
read, And this was manifested the love of God towards us, because
that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might
live through him. here in his love, not that we
loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the
propitiation for our sins. The Lord Jesus Christ died that
we might live. He who knew no sin did not have
the blessing of the promise of sinlessness because he took our
sin and from that substitutionary work, the blessings that he had
earned became ours. The promise was never fulfilled
to Christ, but its benefits have accrued to his people, those
for whom he died. All God's promises of grace,
all God's promises of mercy, all God's promises of happiness
and joy flow to the church because the Lord Jesus Christ died. 2 Corinthians 1.20 says, for
all the promises of God, in him are ye, and in him, amen. Unto the glory of God by us. And it's interesting to see that
Paul, in taking that verse, changes the language of the Old Testament. commandment from Exodus 20. He
changes the language and he enlarges it. Exodus 20 12 says that thy
days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee. That's the land of Canaan and it was a temporary promise
to the Jewish nation. Paul alters that language and
he is authorized to do so by the Holy Spirit who has recorded
this in the scriptures. Paul altered Moses law and he
said That thy that it may be well with thee and thou mayest
live long on the earth Well so much for the unalterability of
the Ten Commandments as a rule of life to believers Paul changed
it He enlarged it We have broken every law. We have transgressed
every precept. We have called down upon our
own heads every judgment. And yet, because the Lord Jesus
Christ paid the debt, the enlarged promises have become our portion
and our possession, that it may be well with thee. Truly, It
is well with my soul. Forgiveness of sin. Righteousness
imputed. Peace with God. It is well with
my soul. It was well with Mary. Her Saviour provided for her
every need. It was well for John. the disciple
whom Jesus loved. And it is well with your soul
and with mine if we behold the Son in faith, knowing, believing,
trusting that he has supplied our every need according to his
riches in glory. Lord, we thank thee for the beautiful
pictures so simply, so perfectly provided in this account of Mary's
presence at the cross. We bless thee, thou didst behold
her and called her to behold thee. We thank thee. for all the provision made for
time and for eternity, for her and for all thy people. Amen.