City Life Starter

Written by Opeyemi Ojekunle

The Word

²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Exegesis

John, after seeing Jesus being put on the Cross, he went to get Mary and the other women. Mary and John stood close to Jesus. Close enough to not only to see him, but to hear him speak.  “Woman, behold your son!”  and to John; “Behold your mother!”  In his pain he was not self-centered and self-pitying but reached out to meet their needs. He was concerned about his precious mother; he was leaving, and he wanted to make the best possible arrangements for her to be cared for.

This reveals his LOVE for his family. Even under the pressure of being the Savior of the world, he still had time for his family and their needs and hurts. Even in bearing the world’s sin he had time to care for Mary, showing us that loving and providing for our family is important to God. HEALING OF THE HEART and SPIRITUAL FAMILY are blessings of the cross.

Application

These good women (his mother Mary, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene) standing by the cross of Christ, may teach us to do, as they did, look upon a crucified Christ. They viewed His sorrows, His sufferings, and our sins laid upon Him which were borne and taken away by Him. This is why we should look unto him for pardon, cleansing, justification, and salvation.

From the cross flows healing for the brokenhearted, restoration and creation of good relationships. If we draw close to the Cross, like Mary, He will bring us into close family relations with other believers. He will bring us together with others who are like-minded (other believers) so that we can serve the Lord together. John and Mary were not related, but in God’s family they became mother and son. The spiritual family is even greater than the natural family.