Mother's Day 2022

John 19:25-27

The second Sunday of May is celebrated as Mother’s Day. The founder of this day was Miss Anna Jarvis, a teacher in the primary department of St. Andrew Methodist Church, Grafton, West Virginia, the class her deceased mother had taught. On May 12, 1907, Miss Jarvis passed out carnations to this class in honor of her mother. In this way Mother’s Day was born.

A mother next to Christ is the supreme person in the life of her children. This being true, every mother should desire to be a Christian mother.

I guess you can consider this a Mother’s Day message, truthfully, however it is the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus used different things like this to teach the disciples and us. Before we get to the essence of the message, let’s go to an intense scene in Jesus’ life......John 19:25-27.........

This is a very moving scene, while Jesus is under immense suffering physically and spiritually He shows us His compassion.

The majority of Jesus’ body has open gashes and cuts on it, He is nailed to a cross, He has been hit, spit on, scourged, denied, betrayed, abandoned, not to mention He is not far away from death.

This the Son of God, God the Son, facing earthly horrors that a God is not subject to, but willing allowed Himself to face these things for the redemption of the world.

Jesus is approaching death and He knows according to John 19:28 “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.” that everything prophesied about the Messiah is almost complete.

Right before Jesus is to give up the ghost, He does a marvelous act of compassion toward one of His followers and His mother.

It is only John at Golgotha, at Jesus’ crucifixion. John and Jesus’ mother and a few other ladies.

John, most likely is standing right beside Mary. There are other women there but Jesus’ focus is on His mother.

Jesus does not refer to her as mother, but woman.......this is not insensitive, it was common and Jesus was about to hand His mother over to John.......

Mary had completed what she was called to do and she needed to be cared for

Mary was not a supernatural being, she is a widow, who was losing her greatest love, her firstborn Son. She has other children, but at this point those children do not believe in Jesus!

So, Jesus knows she needs to be cared for and not in worldly way but a spiritual way! That is of the highest importance and that is all Jesus knew!

No way, Jesus is going to comfort someone in the natural, it will always be spiritual.

He might use natural means to express the spiritual need but He will always guide us into the truth!

He also gives John to Mary......John has a mother, Salome, which quite possibly be the sister of Mary, but Jesus gives Mary to John because John was going to be nurturing in the Spiritual.....nurturing in The Gospel of Jesus Christ........

You can look at this time in history, anyway you want, but I can only see this as Jesus strengthen the Family of Christ!

Matter of fact, that is what I was going to entitle this message but I talked to Tracey about it and I changed to a funny thought, “Whose Your Mama?”

The reason Jesus will explain in Matthew chapter 12, if you will turn there with me.......This to me is the essence of what we just read........

Matthew 12:46-50........The Family of Jesus.......

Jesus is speaking to a bunch of people. There were scribes (lawyers) and Pharisees (law-keepers) and other people listening to Jesus speak. He was in the synagogue teaching, Jesus had just healed a man possessed with a devil.

This was a very powerful moment, Jesus is now teaching powerfully........

While Jesus was talking His mother and brothers was outside the synagogue and wanted to see Him.....

Somebody came up to Jesus during these powerful moments and said “Hey, your mom and brothers are outside and want to speak with you.”

I have never been in that situation, but most of us can probably relate to this scene....I know I can.......

I have numerous stories of my mom........she could embarrass the unembarrassable!

I remember one time in Little League baseball, Dad was working 3-11 (he was the coach) and he wasn’t able to be there. Mom and my grandpa (preacher) was there and the other team was cheating in some way.......Well, Mom comes over to fence and began to hollar at me and Rick...... “Russ and Rick, ya’ll come off the field, if this how they gonna call the game, just come off the field, we will go home.”

Oh and did I mention that umpires was hard to come by back then, that her 1st cousin’s husband was home plate umpire for that game.

She kept hollaring to Rick and I, opening the gate to come on the field to get us off, Rick looked at me and asked if I was going and I said “No way!”

Well, Mom got threw out of the game....they made her leave the field!

Back to Jesus, I am not saying this scene was that bad, but can you imagine in a powerful moment and someone says to Jesus..... “Hey, your mom wants to see ya!”

His brothers were there too.........Matthew 13:55 names His brothers...........“Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?”

Mark 6:3 also tells us that Jesus had sisters, as well.

We must note, that these all were half-siblings.....Jesus was born of the Spirit and those were of Mary and Joseph......

Joseph is most likely dead at this point.

We also must point out that at this moment, none of His siblings believed in Him as Lord and Messiah! They will but not at this point!

Now, Jesus after hearing that His mother and brothers want to speak with Him, He says something that if we did not understand the truth of Jesus, it would offend most folks!

He disregards His family outside and uses this moment to continue the Gospel!

Who is my mother? and who are my brothers?........That is why I entitled the message “Whose Your Mama?”

After Jesus says that, He points to His followers and said this is my mother and my brothers.....

I am not sure of the reason that they wanted to see them, but I have to think that with Jesus knowing all things, He knew that it was not as important as what He was teaching and also the importance placed on those willing to deny themselves and take their cross and follow Jesus!

Those were His mothers, brothers, sisters!

Jesus tell everyone there and us, in verse 50, that whosoever shall do the will of His Father, which is in Heaven, is His family!!!

Jesus included His Father, in Heaven, just so there is no misunderstanding.

Those that shall do the will of His Father.........what is the Father’s will?

There quite a few Scriptures about God’s will, before I read them.....to help you understand Luke tells us that Jesus said this in Luke 8:21 “And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.”

What does the Word of God (Jesus) tell us to do

John 6:29 “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.”

John 6:40 “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

To see God’s Son Jesus and believe on Him, abandon every thought of our lives and follow the life of Jesus believing that He is the Only Way, Only Truth, and Only Life! The Only Way to come our True Father, God, Jehovah Jirah, Yahweh!

You see, Peter tells us by inspiration of the Holy Spirit in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

God’s will for us is that we repent and turn to Jesus and be saved, that is why Jesus was sent!

You look in the Gospels and there are 2 occasions in which God speaks Himself, verbally.....

At Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist.....Matthew 3:17 “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

And also when Jesus’ true Glory was revealed at the Mount of transfiguration in Matthew 17:5 “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”

What God is telling us is that everything about life is in, through, and with His Son, Jesus!

God tells us to “Hear Him”!

The true essential life is to be nurtured in Jesus Christ....I quote these verses quite often but they mean so much in my learning and growing in Christ.......Jesus said in John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

He also said in John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

2 very important verses that reveal to us, just how much we need Jesus!

Let’s go up a few verses in Matthew 12 and let Jesus explain as He was before His earthly mother and brothers interrupted.........Verses 38-45........

He just healed a blind, dumb, demon possessed man and now they wanted to see more signs.....

No sign will be given but Jesus Christ!

The evil men of Nineveh repented at Jonah’s preaching, but those there hasn’t and Jesus was with them preaching, showing signs, teaching and they have not turned from their self and believed on Jesus.

Those once evil men of Nineveh, their faith will stand in judgement to the Pharisee’s lack of faith.......

The queen of Sheba came to see Solomon’s glory and in the process saw the glory of Solomon’s God!

She will stand in judgement of those who have rejected Jesus!

Behold a greater than Solomon is amongst all of these and us!

Jesus now speaks of the man healed of demon possession.

If one unclean spirit goes out of a man,

That unclean spirit is seeking a place to rest, for that is his purpose is to torment humans and can only rest if he is fulfilling his purpose.

If the inward spirit of that man is swept clean, garnished, and empty (Key word is empty).....if that inward soul of that man is unoccupied by Jesus, then 7 demons, as well as the one that left, will come an inhabit that man and he will be in worse shape than he was the one demon!!

A life must be filled with Jesus, there is on that is Greater than anyone or anything, our lives must be filled with Jesus

Jesus adds that so it will be with this wicked generation, why? Because they done evil acts?

These Pharisees were the “law-keepers’ how in the world can they be evil?

We deem a lot of Christianity as morality and that is so wrong.........You can be as good as you want to be and if you do not look on Jesus and believe in Him you are just as wicked and evil as any murderer, abortionist, homosexual, thief, child abuser, etc, etc!

True morality only comes through Jesus Christ......You can clean the house up, but if it is not filled with the power from on high......the last state of that person is worse than the first!

To conclude, being in the family of Jesus is not based on doing good......There is only One that is good and that is God and God was revealed to us perfectly through His Son, the family of Christ is in, through and with Jesus Christ, filled with Jesus!!

Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:18 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”

Being filled with The Holy Spirit is important because of the function of the Holy Spirit according to Jesus..........John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

So, being filled with the Holy Spirit is being filled with Jesus!

Ephesians 3:19 “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

Philippians 1:11 “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”

This is the family that you need to be in, the mothers, the brothers, the sisters that are filled with Jesus! This is His family, this world will end and earthly relationships will cease, but the only relationship that is forever is with Christ Jesus!!!!