Words from the Cross (Part VI)

Articles

Lance Byers
07/13/24 - Words from the Cross

“Woman, behold, your son!” “Behold, your mother!”

Jesus tells us,

“For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’” (Mark 7:10)

He knew the scriptures and their meaning. We see this echoed in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 6:1-3:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

Our parents are vital in our life. Not only do they give us life in the one act of creation God has given to man to perform, but they shape up and help create who we become. While many of our traits, emotions, inclinations are baked into our genetic makeup, how we handle the aspects of ourselves to become good people, and, more importantly, doers of God’s will, is shaped by how our parents raise us. The relationship is so incredible and significant that God, Himself, uses the relationship to describe how we relate to Him in heaven. Could there be a higher calling?

Luke, collecting stories from Mary, gives us a unique perspective to Jesus’ upbringing, and who Jesus as a child in Luke 2:41-52. Jesus was an exceptional child, whose family brought Him up in a way which He respected God and followed the Law. Most importantly to Mary and Joseph is the last verse of that passage:

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”

I pray that the world says the same about my daughter as they watch her grow up in her mother’s and my care, because this is the testament to Joseph and Mary.

It is difficult to imagine how Mary is feeling at Calvary. Where Joseph had gone at this point is unknown. The most common theory is that he had passed at this point. Certainly, for Mary to be with Jesus much of the time, it makes sense. Jesus did have brothers and sisters: James, Joseph, Simon, Jude, and an unknown plurality of sisters (Note: Mary is not a perpetual virgin.), but the brothers did not believe Jesus (John 7:5) just like the rest of His home town of Nazareth (Mark 6:4). (Note: After Jesus’ death, they did believe as we see in the book of Jude, written by Jesus’ youngest brother, and Acts 1:14.)

Who was taking care of Mary, who would be somewhere around her late forties at this point? The duty fell upon the oldest boy, which would be Jesus, but there needed to be someone else to take care of her in a few short minutes as Jesus is about to give up His life on the cross. The duty would fall to the next oldest brother, but where are they? Jesus, as a Godly and dutiful son will place the burden on one of His closest friends whom He loved as a brother, John. Even amidst the jeering, the hatred, the pain, Jesus took a moment and focused His attention upon the most blessed of mothers (Luke 1:42), His own, and made sure someone took care of her when He was gone.

We should all honor our parents in the same way so that we, too, will receive the greatest blessings of this life. (Exodus 20:12)

Lance Byers

7/13/2024