The following is my sermon transcript on John 19:26-27, the message I preached on Good Friday over the weekend. May God increase his word.
COMPASSION FROM THE CROSS
John 19:26-27
There are seven recorded sayings of Jesus Christ while he was hanging on the cross. For the past two years, I’ve been preaching one saying of Christ at a time on every Good Friday Service. The first saying is from Luke 23:43 where Jesus said to one of the thieves on the cross, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” The second saying is from Luke 23:34 where Jesus says, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Tonight I want to look at another saying of Jesus from the cross, and it is found in John 19, namely verses 26 and 27.
But I want to first talk to you about the people at the scene and a particular prophecy that was fulfilled.
The People
At this historic event at Golgotha (v. 17) there were many people at the scene. The majority of them were mere spectators who wanted to see Jesus dead. They were the ones who were shouting “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify him!” (v. 15). And then there were Roman soldiers who stood around the three crosses for the purpose of guarding those on the crosses from the people. Their job was to make certain that the people on the crosses would die and it was their job to verify those deaths.
There were also those as verses 25 and 26 indicate the people who stood close by to the cross, namely the four women and the disciple whom Jesus loved. The four women are Mary the mother of Jesus, His mother’s sister (whose name is not given here but more likely it was Salome as one gospel writer indicates), Mary the wife of Cleophas (the mother of James and John), and Mary Magdalene. John also indicates in verse 26 that he too was present at the scene of the cross. Throughout his account of the Gospel he always referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (cf. 13:23).
As you read this you can also observe that there are some people that are absent at the scene that you would think they should have been there. For instance, what about Joseph, the husband of Mary? We read of Mary, the mother of Jesus but what about Joseph, her husband? Is he sick in bed that he can’t be at the side of Jesus? Is it because he was too ashamed? No, none of that. It’s worth noting that nothing is said of Joseph throughout all Gospel narratives after the birth and the childhood of Jesus. Apparently Joseph had died by the time Jesus began His public ministry. That’s why Joseph is not to be found.
The next people you may wonder about are the siblings of Jesus? Where are his siblings? Where are they? It may be a shocker for some people to hear that Mary did not remain a virgin forever but that she had several children from Joseph.
Lastly, what about the disciples of Jesus? Where are they, especially, the ones that promised, “I’ll never leave you Lord”? None of them are mentioned here, except one – John, the disciple whom Jesus loved.
A Particular Prophecy That Fulfilled
The languishment of watching Jesus suffer with unbelievable deadly pain must have been agonizing for our Lord’s loved ones. But perhaps no one was more so than Mary, our Lord’s earthly mother. It was bad enough to watch a man unjustly persecuted and prosecuted for no wrongful doing, but she witnessed the beating, cursing, mocking, whipping, torturing, crowning of thorns, and nailing a just man on the cross. But this wasn’t just any man, he was her son! Think of it. It’s bad enough to witness gruesome scene such as this, let alone watching your own son in it! Which mother would not be in a state of shock and be horrified?
What is interesting is that many years before, namely at the birth of Christ, an elderly prophet in Jerusalem prophesied about this specific incident of Mary. Would you please turn your Bible with me to the Gospel of Luke? I would like to draw your attention to Luke 2:25-35. The sword Simeon spoke of was now piercing the very heart of Mary as it was prophesied as she is watching her firstborn son hanging on the cross and slowly dying.
Also, along with Luke 2 in which we just read about the prophecy concerning the death of Christ, there are also other prophecies that foretold of the death of Christ, such as Isaiah 53. The 53rd chapter of Isaiah is a classic example of the Messianic prophecies that specifically foretold of the suffering and death of Christ. Now those particular prophecies are now unfolding right before these people.
It is very important for you to understand that every saying of Jesus Christ has a powerful message. More importantly, every saying of Christ on the cross reveals something about our Lord. The first saying on the cross by our Lord was: “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34), which has a powerful message about the importance of being pardoned by God. And what that reveals about our Lord Jesus is that he is the great intercessor for the forgiveness on behalf of sinners to the Father. He indeed is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one can come to the Father except through Jesus. It is through Jesus that a sinner can receive the forgiveness for his sin. So that is what the first saying on the cross teaches us.
The second saying on the cross, which is, “Today, you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43) has a powerful salvific message in that without the proper acknowledgment for your sin, without proper repentance, and without proper faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no assurance or guarantee or hope to be with Jesus in paradise. Moreover, in the second saying on the cross, Jesus is revealed as deity because who can grant such assurance that one would be with him in paradise? What man can say those words with such confidence? In other words, who can grant such entrance into heaven other than God himself? Thus, this clearly depicts the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ in the second saying from the cross.
And tonight we come to the third saying of Christ on the cross. And I would say this third saying teaches two truths, namely the instruments of God and instruction of God.
I. Instruments of God
What I mean by instruments of God is a reference to the people God uses to accomplish his sovereign plan for the purpose of his glory. From the beginning of time God has used various people as his instruments to carry out and execute his sovereign plans. Nothing has changed. Since God is same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, God is still using people to accomplish his plans.
However, in this particular historical narrative, the instruments of God that I am referring to are the disciple that Jesus loved, namely the apostle John and Mary, the mother of Jesus, as Scripture indicates. But here I want to specifically focus on Mary.
What is interesting here is the way our Lord Jesus refers to his mother, namely calling her “woman.” It is worth noting that nowhere in the Gospel narratives do you find Jesus ever called Mary “mother,” but only “woman.” And this is very important for you to know. He never called Mary “mother” even though she was his earthly mother.[1] But why did He do that?
Why Did Jesus Call His Mother “Woman”?
First of all, by no means, is this conveying any disrespect on the part of Jesus. But it does point out very important theological truth – that is, Jesus is more than a son to Mary. He is her Lord and her Savior! And this important theological truth shatters many erroneous views of Mary. There are thousands if not millions of people who want to reject this theological truth, because that would mean that Mary was a sinner just like all of us. But the Vatican teaches that Mary is co-redemptrix. What that means is that Mary has the equal power and status like our Lord Jesus in that she too can grant forgiveness, which is nothing short of being blasphemous because that clearly undermines the deity of Christ and the sufficiency of Christ’s death alone on the cross. One of the five key solas of the Reformation theology is solus Christus, better known as Christ alone, which is a hallmark of Christian gospel. To say Christ alone means no one else and nothing else but him. It speaks of the exclusivity of Christ and preeminence of Christ.
- NAU Colossians 1:13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
Biblically speaking, Mary was dependent on divine grace just like any sinner, and after Jesus reached his adulthood, her relationship to Him was same as that of any obedient believer to the Lord. She was a disciple; and He was her Lord.
Perhaps, the second reason why Jesus called Mary “woman” is because Jesus did not want anyone to elevate her to any position or power. Would you please turn your Bible to Luke 11:27-28? The reason why Mary was blessed is simply because she was obedient to the Word of God, the same as any other believer of Christ. Her position as the mother of Jesus did not carry with it some special titles or powers, such as the queen of heaven, the mother of God, or any other form of deification that medieval superstition has attached to the popular image of Mary.[2] In his book The Murder of Jesus John MacArthur writes, “Let’s be perfectly clear: It is a form of idolatry to bestow on Mary honor, titles, or attributes that in effect give her a coequal status in the redemptive work of her Son or elevate her as a special object of veneration.”[3]
Hence it is completely unbiblical to elevate Mary or any other person as a special object of praise, adoration, and prayer. That is cultic. And that’s what the cults have been doing all these years. Thus, we are not to praise and worship the instruments, but praise and worship the One who plays the instruments. In other words, set your eyes on God alone and not on man.
II. Instruction of God
The word “behold” in Greek is found 34 times in the NT, but most of it are found in the John’s gospel – 19 times to be exact.
Throughout the centuries, the interpreters of Roman Catholic Church have interpreted “Behold, your mother” to mean “Listen to Mary, for she is your mother, the mother of all faith, and the mother of all believers,” which suggests that those who follow Christ would then come under the care and authority of Mary. Mary is no longer the mother of Jesus, but the mother of all believers, hence the mother of the church. And this is one of the popular and official teachings of Catholicism.
But the evangelicals disagree (at least the evangelicals in the truest sense of the term). Most of the evangelicals reject the idea that Mary receives some new rights and duties of mother to all believers. In fact our text does not depict Mary to be someone who is strong or powerful to take care of the disciples. Rather, our text clearly indicates that it is Mary who needs to be taken care of. To be more specific, it is John who receives the instruction from Jesus to take care of Mary.
Hence when Jesus said to John “Behold, your mother!” this does not mean “John, look to Mary, for she is now the mother who will take care of you,” but “Look at Mary, whom you now have to take care of, because I cannot physically do so.” Thus, our text must be interpreted from the standpoint that the mother of Jesus is now entrusted to the disciple, and not conversely he to the mother of Jesus.[4] In other words, our Lord is making a loving provision for Mary in the years to come. He was delegating to Apostle John the responsibility to care for Mary in her old age. In fact tradition says Apostle John took Mary in to live with him until she died, which occurred about 15 years after the resurrection of Christ.[5]
In the first saying on the cross, our Lord Jesus is portrayed as the forgiver. In the second saying, our Lord is portrayed as deity. Here, in the third saying on the cross, our Lord Jesus is depicted as the provider. And this is a beautiful demonstration of loving gesture by loving Son. In spite of his pain and suffering as he was dying on the cross, and though he was occupied with the most important event in the human history, Jesus is taking time to be concerned and taking care of the earthly responsibility for one woman – Mary, his earthly mother.
One commentator writes, “The traditional role of the oldest son in a Jewish family was to provide for the care of the mother when the husband or father of the house was no longer around to care for the mother. It seems clear that Jesus here fulfilled his family responsibility as a dutiful son.”[6] That is why I call this an instruction of God, meaning, this is God’s instruction for each one of us to take care of our family responsibility, especially, when one of our parents become a widow or in need of help. And that’s the message we are hearing from the third saying of Jesus from the cross.
- NAU 1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Hence one of the implications here is the responsibility of children toward their parents. However, that is not the main lesson here. I agree with one commentator that the main emphasis of this narrative is about “the suffering of Jesus in seeing Mary suffer,”[7] but more importantly, it is a compassionate concern of the Savior for one of his elect even at the brink of his death. That is why I title this message “Compassion from the Cross,” not “Compassion for the Cross.”
I would like to conclude with some implications that the third saying of Christ have on us. First, Jesus Christ is the protector and provider for his people. The same man who has the power to forgive and grant entrance to his kingdom also provides earthly provisions for his people here.
- NAU Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Second, children must honor their parents to the end.
- NAS Ephesians 6:2 Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise),
Third, God’s people must treat older women as their own mothers in their local church. In other words, God’s people are God’s chosen means or instruments in taking care of older saints, especially widows and older women in his church.
- NAU 1 Timothy 5:1 Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, 2 the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.
Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. Barnes’ Notes: The Gospels. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996.
Calvin, John. Calvin’s Commentaries: John 12-21; Acts 1-13. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003.
Carson, D. A. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.
Hendriksen, William. John. New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002.
MacArthur, John. The Murder of Jesus. Nashville: Word, 2000.
Morgan, G. Campbell. The Crises of the Christ. Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell, 1936.
Pink, Arthur W. Exposition of the Gospel of John. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975.
_______. The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995.
Tenney, Merrill C. John. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981.
[6] Gerald L. Borchert, John 12-21, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002), 269.
[7] William Hendriksen, John, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 434.
