“HERE IS YOUR SON”
Nothing brings us closer to the cross of Christ than the
last words of Jesus. As we meditate on these words, rolling them around in our
minds, and considering their importance for our lives, we can even imagine
ourselves at the foot of the cross. In our mind’s eye we can almost reach out
and touch the nailed feet of Jesus. Or at least I hope we can do that.
The
cross of Christ is central to our salvation. As Anabaptists we focus on the
life of Jesus, his teachings, seeking to follow in his footsteps and be like
him. But we cannot deny that the culmination of everything Jesus did and taught
is found in the Crucifixion event. Without the Cross we just have teaching.
Without the Cross we have no salvation. Without the Cross there is no resurrection,
and ultimately there is no hope of eternal life.
As
Christians then, it is entirely appropriate for us to focus on the Cross of
Christ, and to consider Jesus’ final words.
This
morning we have read the Scriptures regarding the third saying from the cross.
It is admittedly an odd word. “Woman, here is your son…Here is your mother.” I
have studied it from different angles and have not been satisfied with the
various interpretations. I confess that my own application of this saying is my
best attempt at interpreting a very difficult text beyond its own context.
Why
study it then? Because John included it for a reason that involves the reader
of the gospel. John was not being arbitrary in selecting scenes to include in
his gospel. He wrote that “these are
written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that
by believing you may have life in his name,” (Jn. 20:31).
Join
with me as we investigate this scene and discern its meaning for ourselves. If
nothing else, let us gaze upon the scene and worship the Lord Jesus who hung
upon the cross.
1. Jesus’ enemies loot his stuff
a) Cold greed –
We begin our investigation with the context of the scene. Pilate has condemned
Jesus to the cruel death of the cross to appease the will of the people. He
carried his own cross to Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”) or
Calvary (Latin for skull). Jesus is crucified between two thieves. Pilate, in a
successful attempt to annoy the chief priests places a title over Jesus head,
“Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” They protest.
Then the
camera zooms in on four soldiers. The execution squad was always a group of
four. It is plain to see that this execution is just another in the business of
a Roman soldier. They ignore the man they nailed to a cross and instead begin
to gamble for his clothes.
How
could they be so callous, so cold? How could they not know that the man they
crucified on this day was no ordinary man? They were clearly desensitized to
the violence of their work. By the time of Christ, crucifixion had become the
favorite method of execution for non-Romans in the Roman Empire. Historians say
that Rome had already crucified more than 30,000 people in and around Judea by
this time. These soldiers were numb to the agony of Jesus.
b) The
undergarment – Roman law gave the soldiers the right to the clothes of the
executed man, “they took his clothes,
dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment
remaining,” (23).
Most
paintings of Jesus on the cross depict him with a loin cloth on him, as if it
were underwear. John does not go into gory details about his wounds or the
crucifixion – he is matter of fact – his readers know how horrible the cross
can be. So he also assumes his readers know that Christ was naked on the cross.
It was further humiliation for the victim of the cross. That they divide up his
clothes is clear indication of this fact.
You may
find it appropriate that Christ was naked as he died for our sins when I remind
you of the Garden scene. When Adam and Eve sinned and realized their nakedness,
they hid in the garden when God came for a walk (Gen. 3:10). Somehow the shame
of nakedness is connected with sin, and here Jesus is bearing that shame on the
cross.
c) Prophecy
fulfilled – The soldiers divide up Jesus’ clothes into four piles. Perhaps
he had sandals, a belt, and a head covering. He would certainly have had an
outer garment that was sewn together. But his undergarment, the fifth piece,
was woven in one piece and could not be divided lest it lose its value. So the
soldiers threw dice with each assigned a number to designate who the winner
might be.
John
tells us that this is a direct fulfillment of the prophecy in Psalm 22:18 where
David’s tormentors cast lots for his garments. This is applied to Christ.
According to biblical scholars there are 332 distinct prophecies in the OT that
have been directly fulfilled in the person of Jesus.
In one
sense, Jesus could not have made the soldiers do what they did. They gambled
for his clothes out of their natural inclinations. On the other hand, God
prophesied through David that they would do this – how amazing is that?
d) A gift from
Mother? The undergarment is the key to the scene as we move from the
gambling soldiers to the weeping women at the cross. According to legend, his
mother gave this undergarment to Jesus. Mothers typically gave their sons a
gift like this when they left home. If this is true, then as Jesus watched the
soldiers gamble for his clothes, his eyes would have landed on the garment and
triggered his thoughts of mother. In some translations there is a comma between
v. 24 and 25, connecting the garment to what happens next. Some say “But there were standing near the cross of
Jesus…” the four women and John.
Chuck
Swindoll writes, “Why now? She’s been there all along, watching and weeping.
Why hasn’t He acknowledged or spoken to her? His outer garments were
insignificant. But when they touched the tunic, they touched something very
near to His heart – the garment made for Him by His mother.”[i]
2. Jesus’ family gathers at the Cross
a) Relative
connections – In the midst of Pilate’s petty rivalries with the chief
priests, the callous gambling of the soldiers, and the pain and humiliation of
the cross itself, the scene is softened by Christ’s compassion for his mother.
Standing
at the cross that day was four women and the disciple whom Jesus loved – John,
as we understand. Many women followed Jesus during his ministry and were very
loyal. These women were related to Jesus specifically.
Mary – his
mother; John does not mention her often in his gospel account. She appears at
the wedding at Cana and here. When she and Joseph presented Jesus as a baby at
the temple, old Simeon told her he would be great and that a sword would pierce
her soul. This was the day.
Mary’s sister
– Mark tells us her name was Salome and that she was the one who asked Jesus if
her sons, James and John, could sit at the right and left of Jesus in his
kingdom. No doubt she saw the horror of what she asked for as Jesus “sat upon
his throne,” the cross, that day.
Mary, the wife of
Clopas – another aunt of Jesus, she was the wife of Joseph’s brother,
according to tradition.
Mary Magdalene
– Jesus cast 7 demons out of her, changing her life forever.
And John, his
youngest disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. All the other disciples ran away,
but John came back.
b) Looking after
Mother – Jesus looks down at Mary and remembers his responsibility to her
as the oldest son. He has to take care of her. Jesus says to Mary, “Woman, here
is your son,” and to John, “Here is your mother.”
Jesus
had brothers and sisters, why not leave Mary in their care? “In his concern for
his mother he puts her in the care, not of his natural brothers who at this
point do not believe, but of the other side of his family, in the person of his
cousin John, where she would find a believing and supportive relationship.”[ii]
c) Why he called
her “woman” – Did you notice that he called her woman? Not a very
affectionate term is it?
You
remember the wedding at Cana? Mary comes up to Jesus when the wine ran out and
said, “They have no more wine.” Jesus replied, “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come,” (Jn.
2:3-4). It seems like a tart reply but Jesus is not being disrespectful. He
knows the law that says, “Honor your father and mother.”
There
are two sides to calling her “woman.” One is that in Jewish culture,
instructions given by a dying man were like a last will and testament. Jesus
was telling them his “will” and executing it at the same time. Knowing that he
could not take care of his mother, Jesus entrusts her to John. As a widow she
would have no support or CPP for her old age, so John would care for her. John
records that, “From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”
Sharon
and I heard the legends when we were in Ephesus eight years ago. When John went
to minister in Ephesus, Mary came with him, and according to tradition, died
there. John’s tomb is also in Ephesus bearing witness to a promise kept.
The
other side of calling his mother “woman” has to do with a theological
separation. Both in John 2 and here in 19, Jesus calls her “woman” to indicate
that he initiated the separation process from his mother. Jesus wants her to
know that all earthly ties are over. It is not out of disrespect for her but
out of necessity. More than a son, Mary needs a Savior. She was essential to
the plan in Jesus’ becoming a man, but now she needs to see her place as a
follower of Christ.
Mary is
not a co-redeemer as one church views her, the Queen of Heaven, but as one in
need of redemption, just like we are. The sword pierces her soul and reveals to
her that she is a sinner who needs Jesus to hang on that cross for her sins.
You see how difficult it is to apply this passage in a
direct way to our lives? Here is my attempt at finding an application:
There
are two kinds of people pictured in the third saying from the cross. The first
kind of people are gamblers. Not one person who has ever lived or lives today
is really very far from the cross. Christ’s cross casts a shadow over the whole
world and, as Paul says in Romans 1, men are without excuse. So in the shadow
of the cross of Christ, with their backs turned to the ugly truth that Jesus,
the Lamb of God, had to die for the sins of every person.
These
people are gambling that the material things of this life will satisfy their
inner longings. Men and women scramble to get what they can, to get their
share, and to grab whatever scraps are left lying around by poor losers.
Some
have turned towards the cross and admire it. They respect Jesus as the model of
love and compassion, just as he showed to his mother while dying. What a good
man he was. They may even worship him and revere him coming just short of committing
their whole lives to him. They are gambling too, that partial devotion will be
enough.
The
second group of people are a different sort. My second point was titled for a
double meaning: “Jesus’ family gathers at the cross.” The cross is not to be
respected, admired, or even revered. At the cross, with knees bent in humble
submission, the sinner sees himself or herself upon the cross in the person of
Jesus. At that moment of realization and acceptance of the saving work of
Christ, we are adopted into the family of Christ. A new family is forged at the
cross. Mary was adopted into God’s family when she put her faith in Christ for
forgiveness of sins and salvation.
Once
when Mary and her sons came to drag Jesus away from this “insanity” of being
the Messiah, someone told Jesus his mother and brothers wanted to speak to him.
Jesus replied, “Who is my mother, and who
are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples he said, “Here are my mother and my
brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and
sister and mother,” (Matt. 12:48-49).
The
family of Jesus gathers at the cross. Recognizing the brothers and sisters of
the cross, we model the compassion of Jesus by caring for one another as if we
were tied by our genetics. Our whole family dynamic is revolutionized. Behold,
your brothers and sisters in Christ (look around). This is your family.
AMEN
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