Behold thy Mother
May 10, 2015
Mother’s Day Message
By Rev. James May
In recent days I have had the personal experience of being reminded just how much my own mother means to me. Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of life, we begin to take so much for granted, including the idea that somehow those that we love will be with us forever. We know that isn’t true, yet that’s the way we act.
Some of you here do not have your mother with you on this day. They have already gone to their reward, and there is no doubt that on this day your memories are flooded with the times you had and have lost. Your heart yearns for the day when you will see them again and one of the most happy thoughts you have is when you think of that day when you shall see them again in heaven and you both are healthy, joyful and full of life in that place of perfect beauty and peace.
Those of us who are blessed to have our mothers still around should make sure that we take this day to honor them, and in fact, that’s something we should do all of the time.
This is one of the 10 commandments and it carries with it a promise:
Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
I think that it’s a testimony to all mankind of the importance that Jesus placed upon mothers when in his final moments upon this earth before he died on the cross, he noticed his own mother, Mary, as she stood and watched her son dying and could do nothing about it. She knew that this was what Jesus had come to do but that didn’t help ease the pain and heartache and grief that she felt as she stood there.
She knew Jesus was the Son of God, come to die as the Savior of the World, but she was still his mother, and he was her son – her firstborn, and a mother’s love for her children never leaves. Only a mother who has been in that place of losing a child, watching them suffer and die, could begin to understand the sorrow, heartache and sadness of Mary’s heart that day.
As Jesus hung on the cross, after many hours of enduring the most terrible pain that a human can experience, and even feeling the weight of the sins of all men upon his shoulders, and even sensing the momentary darkness and loneliness of separation from the Father in Heaven as the debt of man’s was paid, Jesus still thought of his mother.
The disciple John was also standing near Mary watching Jesus upon the cross. No doubt he tried to comfort Mary, but being in grief himself, I’m sure there was little John could do but stand by and watch it all happen. His own heart was breaking as much as Mary’s because he had a special bond with Jesus and often referred to himself as “the disciple that Jesus loved”. Of course Jesus loved all of this disciples equally, but the love that John had for Jesus was a love that is seldom found between friends in this world. John tells the story in chapter 19.
John 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
Mary, Jesus’ mother stood in shock, sorrow and silent grief, watching Jesus die. Along with her was Jesus’ aunt Salome, whom many scholars say was Mary’s sister. Along with them stood a second Mary who was the wife of Cleophas, which some say was also Jesus’ aunt on Joseph’s side of the family. And then thre was a third Mary who was Mary Magdalene out of whom Jesus had cast 7 demons. Mary Magdalene loved Jesus closer than a brother and had devoted her life to being a disciple because she had firsthand experienced the love and power of God like few had ever done.
John 19:26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
John 19:27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
Jesus didn’t call out Mary by name, but he meant no disrespect. That was the custom of the day, but on top of that, he certainly didn’t want to single her out in the crowd and announce to this mob that Mary was his own mother. Can you imagine the reaction of the crowd that screamed to have Jesus crucified if they had discovered that Jesus’ mother was there too? No doubt she would have faced the wrath of the mob and been hurt or killed herself. By not calling her name, Jesus seemed to be picking out a stranger in the crowd and no one gave it any notice except for Mary and John.
With his last breaths Jesus saw to it that his mother would be cared for. It is supposed that Joseph had died already but the Bible doesn’t say anything about it so we can only guess. But one thing we do know is that Mary needed someone to care for her in her old age and Joseph wasn’t around, and there would be no other sons alive in just a few years. All of Jesus’ brothers would be disciples who would eventually die for the cause of the gospel and Jesus knew it.
So, Jesus spoke to Mary saying, John will be as your son, to care for you. And then he spoke to John saying, Mary will be as your own mother and you must care for her as long as she lives. Jesus knew that only John would live to a ripe old age and be able to fulfill the duties of caring for Mary.
Think about this: Jesus was Lord of the Universe and King of Kings, yet he had nothing of this world’s goods to leave for the support of his own mother. He had provided for her while he walked the earth, but now there would be no one alive to see to it that Mary had food, shelter and someone to look after her, so Jesus chose John, who many say was actually Mary’s nephew by marriage.
It’s a testimony to John’s faithfulness and love for Jesus, and his love for all men, that he accepted the responsibility of caring for Mary willingly. From that day on, Mary lived in John’s own house as a part of his family until she left this world.
Some say she lived with John at Jerusalem, and there died; and others say, that she died 12 years after the resurrection of Christ, and at the age of 59 she died and was buried by John in the garden of Gethsemane. We don’t know where John’s house was, whether it was Jerusalem or Galilee, and there is no certainty of how long she lived with him; but one thing is certain; John did take care of Mary and provided for her, as if she was his own mother.
John’s love for Jesus was reflected in his readiness and cheerfulness to do as Jesus asked and to have the same love for Mary as her own sons had. He fulfilled his promise to the end.
The story in the scripture goes on:
John 19:28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
John 19:29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
It is interesting to note that Jesus had reached the point where all things were accomplished that he had to do. I can see that not only was Jesus fully paying the price for our sin and giving himself as our sacrifice, but he also had accomplished what was needed in the natural sense.
In his last act of love for family and his mother, Jesus took the time to see to it that his mother would be cared for as long as she lived. He would not leave his mother as a widow, with no means of support and destitute upon the streets. As a man, he could give her nothing, but as a loving Savior, he gave her all that she needed by moving on the heart of John.
I think there’s a lesson that we all need to learn here.
Jesus walked this world with a mission. His mission of saving the souls of men and trying to get Israel to realize that he was their Messiah, consumed his life. Everything Jesus did and everywhere he went was with this one purpose in mind.
He traveled from city to city, from village to village, preaching, teaching, delivering, healing and declaring that he was the very Son of God. He didn’t have a house of his own, no place to lay his head at night, and often found comfort only in the homes of those friends who would give him a place to rest for the night. He was always on the go with so much to do, and so little time to accomplish his mission. He was a man driven with a passion for souls. He was God on earth, consumed with a singular reason for living – to reach out to sinful man and become the Savior of all men. Yet through it all, he never forgot his mother and provided for her needs.
What should we learn from all of this? We must learn that nothing in this world, no matter how important we think it is, or how much time and energy it consumes, is more important that taking care of family. Too many today are deceived into thinking that they must lay aside caring for their family and spend their lives in service to the Lord. While both are important, God never expects you to ignore the needs of your family and become so consumed with working for God that you allow your family to suffer in the process.
Paul the Apostle understood this when he wrote these words by the direction of the Holy Spirit to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:8, “But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”
Those are strong words and should be heeded with all caution. God will never call you to do a ministry or a work for him that will force you to ignore your family and allow them to suffer because you’re too busy to give them a helping hand. There is a balance in life between serving the Lord and providing for your family and we must ever search for that place of doing both.
What kind of testimony is it when a preacher, or a Christian seems to love God and serve the Lord with all their heart, but their families are ignored or forgotten at home? What kind of testimony is it when a preacher, or a Christian is all pious and godly in the church but mistreats or ignores the needs of his family? Where is the integrity in that? Who can have faith in such a person? What we are in the church house, we must be in the family house as well. If we do anything less, then the Bible says that we are worse than an unbeliever, for we have no faith that God can help us to do all things that we must and we are trying to play God and make our own way and it will lead to destruction.
In an age when Satan is trying to rip families apart and even redefine what a family is, it is so very important that we, as Christians, stick to the example that is given in God’s word on how family relationships should be.
Honoring your Father and Mother never has been more important to us all than it is right now.
On this Mother’s Day, take the time to truly honor your mother. She may be with you, she may be far away and perhaps she has already gone to be with the Lord, but you can still honor her.
You can honor her by speaking of her as being the special person in your life that she is, or that she was. You can express your care and love for her through your memories and through your cards, letters, phone calls and most all, a visit if possible, where you can spend time together. The day will come, if it hasn’t already, when you will wish you had that time to spend with her.
We want to honor those who are mothers in our church today.
• We want to thank God for all of you because without you none of us would be here either.
• We honor you for your faithfulness to serving the Lord and giving us a heritage in Christ.
• We honor you for your love and provision that has been poured into our lives and into the life of this church.
• We honor you for the love that you have shown to us, even when we were sometimes not so lovable.
• We honor you for accepting the duties and responsibilities of true motherhood and raising your children to be good citizens.
• We honor you for being the only person in the entire human race that has earned the title of being my mother.
Take this day to honor your mother. Thank you for being the example of Christ’s love to us. We can only hope to serve to make you proud and happy that we are your children. May God bless all of our mother’s on this Mother’s Day.
