His Very Life

The Mighty One Has Done Great Things For Me

4.7.23 [John 19:25-27] River of Life (Good Friday)

So much of what was happening on Good Friday was brutal & gruesome. The bloodthirsty cries of the crowd. The repulsive way the Roman soldiers gloated over and even profited from the suffering Son of God. There is so much unspeakable and almost unimaginable ugliness everywhere on Calvary that we shudder in horror at the thought.

In a desert of human depravity and hellish wickedness, these verses are like an oasis of beauty and goodness. it is simultaneously heart-warming and heart-breaking. A dying son doing the best he could to take care of his mother. Jesus’ words (Jn. 19:26) Woman, here is your son. are deeply moving.

But if we dare to move closer, if we try to even imagine the sorrows this woman was facing and feeling in this moment, we may develop a different perspective. We may ask some different questions.

Would these words bring Mary any solace? What mother would want a substitute son as her own flesh and blood is being crucified?

Mary is among the most well-known women in human history. Yet, most of what we know about her is found in two separate vignettes from the same chapter of Luke’s Gospel. The first is her encounter with the angel Gabriel when she found out that she would serve as the mother of our Lord. The second is shortly after when she traveled to her relative Elizabeth’s home to share the life-changing news.

If we consider both accounts together, we see Mary in a full way. She is very human. Like any of us would have been, she was frightened and (Lk. 1:29) troubled by the angel Gabriel’s appearance & greeting.

Mary is also quite thoughtful. She asks the logical question: (Lk. 1:34) How can I become the mother of God when I am a virgin? She notices things. When the Bethlehem shepherds came to visit her son in the manger, she (Lk. 2:19) treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

But most of all, Mary was faithful. Humble and obedient. When God called her to this task, she replied (Lk. 1:38) I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled. She, along with her husband Joseph, made sure that Jesus was raised right. Circumcised on the 8th day and given the name Jesus as God had instructed. They brought him to the temple and trained their son up in the word of the Lord.

Mary was even poetic. After hearing Elizabeth’s encouraging blessing, Mary sang: (Lk. 1:46-29) My soul glorifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my Savior. He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me. Mary instinctively and joyfully praised the Lord her God for his mercy and goodness to her.

But that goodness must have been hard to see on Good Friday.

Watching as her son, and the Son of God, was encircled by proud, violent men. Watching as her son, and the Son of God, was executed by the rich and powerful rulers of Israel. Watching the arms of her son, and the Son of God, stretched out on a cross, lifted up to a place of ignominy and shame. Hearing the people of her generation and the next calling down curses upon him.

Where was the angel Gabriel at this moment? Where was her Lord now? Had the Lord Almighty forgotten his promise to give Jesus (Lk. 1:32) the throne of his father, David? That this Jesus was to (Lk. 1:33) reign over Jacob’s descendants forever and have a kingdom that never ends?

There are times when the goodness and power of God can be hard for us to see, too. When we or our loved ones are suffering terribly. When the people of God are abused for their faith or under attack for stand up for God’s Word. When the promises of God seem under attack or impossible to fulfill. When our crosses are heavy.

When we find ourselves at these kinds of cross road moments: when the promises God has spoken in his Word seem at odds with what we are beholding with our eyes, we need to stand where Mary stood. We need to be at the foot of the cross.

There on the cross, God’s justice and his mercy intersect perfectly.

It wasn’t beautiful to our senses or our minds, but it is beneficial for our souls and our eternity. What was happening to Jesus on the cross was not misfortunate, but planned by God from eternity.

It wasn’t an accident. It was the very purpose of his life. Jesus came to be humbled. To die. To sacrifice himself for the sins of the world. Your sins and mine. The sins of his mother and the disciple he loved.

And even under this heavy weight, even as he was experiencing the righteous wrath of God against sinners, even as he was shamefully pouring out his lifeblood on the cross, Jesus (Php. 2:3) valued others above himself. He was looking to the interests of others. And his mother Mary had great needs at this moment.

It could be that upon Jesus’ death she would be left without any family to take care of her material needs. I doubt that, since there are mentions of (Mt 12:46) brothers trying to speak with him.

(Jn 7:5) It could be that Jesus knew that his own family did not believe in him as their Savior at this point and would be unsympathetic to his grieving mother. Mary certainly had material needs like anyone else. And John, upon receiving this command, did take her into his home and meet this material needs.

But understanding these words as merely a material command would make them unlike anything else Jesus said from the cross.

Jesus is giving a material and a spiritual directive. He is meeting her needs here and now and for eternity. (Jn. 19:26) Woman, here is your son. He has been with me for the past many years. He can tell you what I have done, what I have said, and why this death was necessary. (Jn. 19:27) Here is your mother. She can tell you all about my incarnation, my birth, and my life before I became your teacher. You may not know each other terribly well. But from this moment on your relationship has new meaning. It will blossom & flourish.

This dual directive recognizes that Jesus understood something that Mary and John did not get at this moment.

Even as he was suffering and dying for the sins of the world, Jesus knew that he would rise from the dead. Mary did not need a surrogate son for the weekend. Jesus was blessing her with a greater and wider spiritual family for the rest of her life. There at the cross, we see how God brings his family together. At the cross, Christians are united.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the cross is where we must go when we or our loved ones are suffering or grieving. The cross is where we must go when we are at a loss for words. The cross is where we must go when our faith is under fire. The cross is where we must go when we are taking up our crosses and following after this Christ crucified. We must look to the cross and the community, the family of God, gathered there at the foot of the cross.

Only there, having seen what God has done for us, how he did not spare his one and only Son, but gave him up for us all, will we understand the depths of his love for us. Only there will we see that we have a God who takes care of our bodies and our souls, not for a moment, but for an eternity. No matter what it takes.

What happened on Golgotha was brutal and gruesome, but also beautiful and gains us everything of priceless worth.

Then, and only then, can thoughtful, faithful, and humble people like us burst forth with praise. Maybe not quite as poetically as Mary did, but we can and should borrow from her a bit.

Because of what Jesus did for his mother and his beloved disciples and us, our souls glorify the Lord. Our Spirit rejoices because God is our Savior. He has been mindful of the humble state of his servants. The Mighty One has done this great thing for me. Holy is his name. Amen.