[0:00] Let us turn now to words you will find in the Gospel according to John, chapter 19, reading at verse 25.
[0:19] John's Gospel, chapter 19, reading at verse 25.
[0:33] Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister Mary, the wife of Cleopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciples standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son.
[0:55] Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
[1:05] We come now to the third saying of our Lord from the cross.
[1:20] And you will notice the connection between the sayings. The first one was addressed to God on behalf of those who were putting him to death.
[1:32] Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. The wider circle of his enemies was encompassed by that prayer. And then the words that he addressed to the thief, the narrower circle of those who were his followers.
[1:52] Words addressed to one who had just come to faith. Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And this one addressed to his mother and to his beloved disciple John.
[2:08] The still narrower circle of his most intimate friends and followers. And it is to that third saying that we turn tonight.
[2:22] As we view the scene at Calvary, the Gospels give us this picture of a small group of the friends of the Lord who were huddled together.
[2:36] We're not told whether they were at the foot of the cross or at a distance from the cross. But they were there. A group made up mainly of women.
[2:51] Mary, his mother. Mary Magdalene. Mary, who was the wife probably of Cleophas. And perhaps one or two others.
[3:06] In any case, it was a very small group. And as far as we know, there was just this one man amongst them, John. Now, a lot of people wonder from time to time why there seem to be more women connected with the cause of Christ than men.
[3:27] Even in a congregation this size, it may interest you to know that, for example, last Thursday night in our Gaelic prayer meeting, I'm sure that the women outnumbered the men.
[3:42] Five, six, seven to one. And people ask, why should that be? Well, that has always been the case.
[3:54] There have always been more women associated with the cause of Christ than men. Perhaps it may indicate what one has to say to the shame of some men here tonight.
[4:07] That your wives, your sisters, your daughters are more prepared to stand up on the side of the Lord Jesus Christ than you are.
[4:21] Well, that's not said to your credit. But it seems to have always been the case. Even at the cross, the women outnumbered the men amongst his followers.
[4:38] And amongst that group, there was his mother and John. And it is to these two that these words direct their attention tonight.
[4:50] And I want to look very briefly with you at the words that were addressed by Jesus to Mary, his mother. And the words which were addressed by Jesus to John.
[5:01] And I hope that we may focus our attention as we go along here more on Jesus than we do on either Mary or John. Because he is more worthy of our attention anyway.
[5:15] But we must have a look first of all at his mother, Mary. Now the Bible speaks to her as most blessed among women.
[5:26] Probably, there is no probably about it. But certainly, the most honoured woman that this world has ever known. Because it was in her womb that our Lord's human nature was conceived.
[5:44] And it was she who bore him for nine months, that pregnancy. It was Mary who gave birth to our Lord Jesus Christ into this world.
[5:56] It was Mary who fed him and nourished him, brought him up as a child in Nazareth. It was Mary who was, say, privileged to have in her home and under her roof the Son of God in our human nature.
[6:18] Growing up, growing up, a perfect child. A perfect boy. A perfect youth. One who never knew what it was to be disobedient to his earthly mother or to his heavenly father.
[6:37] One who never said a wrong word did a wrong thing. One who never said a wrong thing. This woman was highly honoured and highly privileged.
[6:48] In the course of time, she saw this son stepping out into a hostile environment. When he was 30 years of age, taking up his public ministry.
[7:00] She saw him setting out to heal the sick. To raise the dead. She would have heard of his preaching in the synagogues.
[7:15] Preaching in the open air. She would have heard of the number of people who were following him. The number of people who were attracted to his ministry.
[7:27] The number of people whose lives had been reformed by his power. And you can well imagine how a mother's heart would respond to such a news and to such knowledge of her son, of his ministry and of his progress.
[7:49] But there was something else that this woman knew. She had been told this when he was born. Shortly after he was born, he was only eight days old.
[8:01] When that good and godly man in the temple, Simeon, told her that in days to come that a sword would pierce her heart as well.
[8:14] Mary must have wondered what that meant. She knew that Jesus was the son of God. The angel had told her that.
[8:27] That that which would be conceived in her would be that holy thing. That he was to call Joseph, whom she was to marry, was told that the son who was to be conceived in the womb of his espoused wife, his fiancee, would be Jesus, the son of God.
[8:49] They knew that they had under the roof the son of God in human nature. They knew that. But Mary also knew that she was to suffer because of what she had.
[9:05] You see, there are some people who speak about the uniqueness of Mary. And as you know, the Roman Catholic religion places tremendous emphasis on the doctrine of Mariolity.
[9:21] The emphasis that is placed upon this woman at the very heart of that religious system. And you know, you cannot deny the uniqueness of Mary.
[9:35] Let us not forget this. She was the most blessed and the most highly favoured of all women. She was, assuredly. And I think that we tend to react against the emphasis that the Roman Catholic religion placed upon this woman.
[9:51] We tend to react by not speaking about her at all. Hardly ever preaching about her. We'll preach about Hannah. We'll preach about Ruth. We'll preach about Rachel. And Rebecca.
[10:02] All these great and godly women. But we hardly ever say any about Mary. Probably a reaction to the emphasis that the Roman Catholic religion places upon this woman.
[10:14] And let us not forget, as I said earlier, she is unique. She is most blessed. But why? Why? Was it because she was immaculately conceived herself?
[10:28] Nonsense! She certainly was not. Because she acknowledged in that great song of hers that she was a sinner. My soul, she says, doth magnify my Saviour.
[10:43] She was a sinner. Saved by grace. That's what the Bible says. But what made her unique? Was it?
[10:55] Was it the uniqueness in herself? Oh no. What made her unique? Was that she carried and gave birth to the unique Son of God.
[11:13] That is what supremely set her apart from all other women. But we come back to this to what Simeon said to her.
[11:24] A sword shall pierce thy heart. You are going to suffer as a result of this child to whom you have given birth into the world.
[11:35] He is going to suffer. He is set for the rise and fall of many in Israel. A sword shall pierce him. But a sword will also pierce you. And it wasn't long before the sword began to pierce.
[11:52] The circumstance of his conception became common knowledge. And during his own earthly ministry, the Jews cast that in his teeth.
[12:06] We are not born of fornication. The inference being that he was. And as someone has said, Mary probably carried that stigma with her to the grave.
[12:21] That sword went through her heart. She knew the truth. But the multitudes didn't. And even if they did, they wouldn't accept the truth.
[12:33] That he was immaculately conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. And then, of course, during his ministry, news would filter through of the opposition directed against him.
[12:46] His rejection by his own people. The number of times he had to escape for his life. The number of people who were turning against him. The machinations of the religious leaders to put him to death.
[13:02] News would filter through of all that. And you can imagine how a mother's heart would react. Don't forget. She was the mother of this man of our Lord.
[13:19] And then her mother would rejoice. The mother's heart would rejoice if news came through that. And it's probably, you know, that she was at Jerusalem. At the feast. When he entered Jerusalem riding on us as cold.
[13:32] And the multitudes hailed him with Hosanna. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna. Glory to God in the highest. He was ready to be crowned king in Jerusalem.
[13:46] And one wonders what Mary thought. Because all the time she pondered these things in her heart. And then the sword that pushed.
[13:58] Having heard that. Then the next cry was the cry of rejection. And the cry of crucifixion. But we have to go back several years again. To find other instances of the sword pushing her heart.
[14:11] You remember that during his own ministry. When he began his ministry. And long before he began his ministry by the way. As a boy in Jerusalem. Who had been taken up by his parents to the temple.
[14:21] You remember that they went back three days. And they couldn't find him. They went back rather a day's journey. And discovered they couldn't find him. And then they returned. They retraced the steps. And it took them three days to find him.
[14:32] And they found him in the temple. Discussing things with the doctors. With the doctors of religion there. The theologians. And he was. They were annoying. Do you not realize?
[14:43] She said that. Your mother and your father were looking for you. We were afraid. And he says. Did you not realize that I must be about my father's business?
[14:57] There was a sword pushing her heart. Reminding her. That she was a disciple of his. And a follower of his.
[15:07] Who had to learn. The nature of his mission into the world. That his business. The most important business of all. Was his father's business.
[15:17] Not that his relationship to her. Was unimportant. As a son to a mother. But there was something of. Greater significance. Greater importance. My father's business.
[15:29] In heaven. It pushed her. To realize. That she had to learn. This lesson. It pushed her. For us to remember. To realize. To realize. That when he began.
[15:40] His public ministry. At the wedding. In Cana of Galilee. When they ran out of wine. She had to turn to him. And said. Look. Can you not produce. Can you not provide wine for them? They've run out. And he turned.
[15:51] He said to a woman. Mine hour. Has not yet come again. She had to remember. Her place. As a follower. As a disciple. Supremely. As a disciple.
[16:02] Of his. His mission. Was determined. Not by what she said. But by what his father said. And she had to learn that. And that pushed her.
[16:13] Does it not. Some of you may wonder. About this kind of approach. Well I say. I put it like this to you. Surely. If you're a Christian. Here tonight. Surely. You know yourself. What it is. To learn the lesson.
[16:24] Of discipleship. Do you not realize. The piercing. Sword. Of God's teaching. Of you. When you have. To learn.
[16:35] Something. That you haven't learned. Or perhaps. Reminded of something. That you've forgotten. That goes through you. Do you not think. Anyone through her. Of course it did. Then there was another instance.
[16:47] During his ministry. When in that crowded room. A message was sent to. Your mother and your brothers. Are outside. Waiting for you. They want to speak to you. And the message was relayed. And when he heard the message.
[16:59] He stretched forth his arm. His hand towards his side. And said. My mother. Who is my mother. Who is my brother. Who are my sisters. There they are. The person who does my father's will in heaven.
[17:12] That's the person. Who is my mother. My brother. And my sister. The same lesson again. To Mary. Mary. Remember. That the greatest.
[17:22] The greatest. Most important. The most important. The most important. The most important. The most important. The most important. Relationship of all. Is that. Which is of the obedience. Of faith. To God in heaven.
[17:33] Did she forget it? She had to learn it. And the sword. Pierched. Her heart. And here she is now. At the cross.
[17:44] This son. Who she knew so well. Who had been her teacher himself. Even as she had been his teacher. Well at least in this sense.
[17:56] I fully believe that being brought up by a godly woman. A godly mother. That the conversation at home. Often. Centred around the word of God.
[18:07] If you look at. At Mary's. Song. In Luke chapter 2. And you look at the way she spoke to Elizabeth. In chapter 1. John the Baptist's mother. You see that here's a woman.
[18:18] Who was steeped. In the knowledge of the word of God. Steeped in the history of Israel. She knew the Lord. She knew his word. She knew she loved. All that belonged to the Lord.
[18:28] That's the kind of mother she was. You can imagine. What the environment of that home was like. Mother and son. Imagine the conversation. And you remember that a boy.
[18:42] Some of you may find this difficult to understand. To accept. But Jesus as a boy of five for example. His knowledge as a five year old boy.
[18:55] Wasn't as extensive as his knowledge as a twelve year old boy would. Because he grew. In wisdom. In favor. In wisdom and in stat. In favor with God and with man.
[19:07] There was a development of his mind. Mentally. As he grew up. Not that there was ever at any time.
[19:24] Any. Any. Not that there was ever at any time in his development. Anything wrong. He was perfect at every single stage.
[19:38] Of his development. And you can imagine. As I said earlier. What a home. That was life. Well. Here she is now.
[19:51] At the cross. Of Calvary. And the son. And the son. Is being crucified. To death. And the one of whom it had been said to her.
[20:03] That he would. That he would. Be a king. That of his kingdom. That should be no end. He who was going to reign and rule.
[20:16] Where was the evidence. Of the rule. And the kingdom now. As she stood there. At the foot of the cross. And he is being. Put. To death.
[20:26] And you can imagine as well. The sorrow. Of a mother's natural heart. Seeing a son. Dying.
[20:38] This kind. Of death. And the sorrow of a heart. Which finds it difficult to understand. The promise. And the word. Of God.
[20:49] Where is his greatness. Where is his throne. Where is. His king. His king. You cannot.
[21:00] But ask. These questions. Because they have. To be answered. They have. To be asked. Whether we have. An answer. For them. Or not.
[21:11] But anyway. That was the mother. To whom. Jesus spoke. Woman. Behold. Thy son. But before I leave this. I want to ask a question.
[21:24] And the question. I want to ask. You here tonight. Is this. And perhaps. This is a question. Which I would direct. Direct. Maybe to the. Children here tonight. And I know.
[21:34] How some of you. Are going to answer it. Do you have this kind of mother. Or perhaps. Did some of you have this kind of mother.
[21:49] A good woman. A godly woman. A godly mother. A mother. A mother. A mother who knew the scripture. A mother who loved the house of God.
[22:01] A mother who loved the Lord's day. And the Lord's people. A mother who had a particular friendship. With some of God's people. Like Mary had with Elizabeth. The mother of John the Baptist.
[22:12] A mother who spoke about the things of God. A mother who prayed. And a mother who longed. For heaven. For herself. And maybe for you as well.
[22:25] Well my friend. Let me say this to you. If God gave you a mother like that. He gave you one of the greatest privileges.
[22:36] Any person could ever have. In this world. And that's the first lesson. I want to take from her passage here tonight. The privilege.
[22:49] Of a godly mother. But together with that there is this. The privilege of a home. Where the things of God.
[23:00] Are spoken about. You know that there are homes. Where there are mothers. Who have. Good children. And by good I mean converted children.
[23:13] Children. Children who love to speak about these things. And who love to be instructed in these things. And that's the kind of home you are. What a privilege you have as well.
[23:24] From God. But here we come back to this scene at Calvary. Jesus speaks. To this woman. And he says to her. Woman. Behold.
[23:35] Thy son. Now of course some people find this extremely difficult to understand. I must be honest. There are things about this. These words. That I find difficult to understand myself.
[23:47] And I begin. I think where. You would all begin. Why does Jesus say to her. Woman. Why would he not say to her mother.
[24:00] Is he being disrespectful. Oh certainly not. Certainly not. There are some who feel. That he didn't use the word. The term mother. Because that would be associated.
[24:12] In her mind. With too many hallowed memories. At a time. Which was so difficult for her. At the cross. At the death of her own son. And he didn't want.
[24:24] To add. To her grief. And to her sorrow. There are others who feel. That he didn't use the word. The term mother. Because he wanted to protect her.
[24:35] From his enemies at the cross. He didn't want people to. He didn't want people to identify her. As the mother of the one. Who was being crucified to death. On the middle cross.
[24:46] At Calvary. And he didn't use the term mother. Therefore. To defend her. He wanted to protect her. Some. Are saying that. Others say. That he wanted to be served.
[24:57] For becoming the object. Of idolatry. So that she wouldn't be referred. To as the queen of heaven. And the mother of God. And the mother of the church.
[25:10] He wanted to remind her. And to remind all ages. That the church has no mother. That there is no queen of heaven. Or in heaven.
[25:21] Except. The church herself. The church. Has no mother. Mary. Is nothing else.
[25:32] But a member. Of the church. And that. That. Is what leads us. To consider the reason. Why he addressed her. Particularly.
[25:42] As woman. Reminding her. That there is a greater. And a closer relationship. Than that of. flesh and blood. Of flesh and blood. He was not.
[25:53] Being disrespectful. But he was here. In reminding Mary. Of her position. In the church. That she was. Nothing. Other than.
[26:05] A member of the church. Highly honored. Though she was. The relationship. That she stood. With to him. As his mother. Was to come.
[26:16] To an end. And that of. A believer. A disciple. A follower. Must. Come into reckoning. Now. And must abide.
[26:27] For all. Time. She had been reminded. Of this. As I said earlier. During his ministry. And before he even. Began to minister.
[26:38] She was reminded. Of this. That she was. But a follower. That she was. But a disciple. Of his. Woman. Remember.
[26:50] Your position. And remember. Your best position. It is that of a. Believer. That of a follower. And if you ask.
[27:01] If you ask. Do you mean to say. That being a believer. In Jesus. And a follower. Of Jesus. Is more important. Than having been. The mother of Jesus.
[27:12] Do you mean to say. That that is true. I say to you. It is. On the authority. Of the word of God. It is true. Because one day. A woman. Cried out to Jesus. As she heard.
[27:23] This ministry. Oh. She said. Blessed. Blessed is the womb. That bear thee. And the paps. That give. Suck to you. Yes. He said. He replied.
[27:34] Yes. But blessed. Rather. Are they. Who hear. The word of God. And who do it. There is the authority. From the word of God. That the best.
[27:45] And the most lasting. And the most privileged. Relationship. That any man. Could have. To Jesus. Is not that. Of flesh and blood. Even of his mother. But that.
[27:57] Of a disciple. Of a believer. Of a follower. Woman. That's your position. He was not being disrespectful. He was being faithful.
[28:11] To her. Whom he knew. Would acknowledge. This ministry. Because before he was ever born. She had testified. To the fact.
[28:22] That God. Was. Her savior. And he reminded her here. Don't give up. That relationship. Above all else.
[28:33] Never mind. The relationship. That you had with me. In flesh and blood. Remember. You're a believer. In me. And a believer. In God. Your savior.
[28:45] And then. There was this. Also connected with it. That that. A flesh and blood. Relationship. Not just.
[28:56] Was it. Not that it was just. At an end. But it had. To be given up. It had. To be given up. In other words.
[29:07] A sacrifice. Was to be made. And I say this. In no way. Am I suggesting. That it was easy. For Mary. To accept. What Jesus.
[29:17] Was saying to. She accepted. She accepted. It fully. I'm not saying. It was easy. For a mother. Shout to hear. The son. Saying to her.
[29:29] Woman. Behold. Thy son. In the same way. As I do not believe. That it is easy.
[29:40] For a person. Coming to faith. In Jesus. To give up. To give up. To give up. The things. That are of most. That are most. Precious to him. In this world. I don't believe.
[29:51] That that is easy. I believe. That it is. Difficult. To cast in your lot. With the Lord. Jesus Christ. For the simple reason. That there are so many things.
[30:03] Standing between you. And an acceptance of Jesus. As Lord. And Savior. Let us remember. This woman's.
[30:14] Heart. And let us remember. What was so very precious to her. Her son. But this son now says to her woman.
[30:27] There is something more precious. Than the tie of flesh and blood. It is the tie that binds you. To me and to the Lord.
[30:41] The tie that binds. Is that of faith. And that is what captivated. The very man to whom he was going to speak in a minute.
[30:53] Behold your mother. This is the man who was to say years afterwards. Oh what kind of love. God bestowed upon us.
[31:03] That we should be called. The sons. Of. Is luft. For one that can never be broken.
[31:15] The tie that binds us to our Lord. For neither death nor life. Nothing will ever sever us. From the love of God. Which is in Christ Jesus.
[31:26] Our Lord. Mother and son. Closely bound together. But separated in death. Brother and brother. Brother and sister.
[31:40] Death will sever the most lasting. The most binding. Of all human ties in this world. But here's one that death can never sever.
[31:50] That which binds us to our Savior God. And if we are in him. Far from severing us in death.
[32:01] Death will only usher us into. His immediate. And glorious presence. Oh my friend. To be related. To Jesus Christ.
[32:13] To relicate all our interests. In his. Interests.
[32:25] To be sure. That we are related to him. And that's the second question I would ask you tonight. I asked a question here of you. As to what kind of mother God had given you.
[32:38] And what kind of home environment you had been brought up in. I ask you now a second question. And it is this. Are you related by faith to Jesus Christ?
[32:52] Are you a member of his family? By faith in him. That's the second question. As we turn to consider what he said.
[33:06] To his mother. Woman. Behold. Your son. Now of course. The man he was referring to was John. The disciple.
[33:18] We don't know how he was able to direct attention. The attention of Mary to John. Or the attention of John to Mary. If John was the only male member in that group. It would be easy. You remember that Jesus' hands were nailed to the cross.
[33:30] And was probably. He was probably able to. Make some kind of motion with his head or with his eyes. In the direction of Mary and John.
[33:41] There are some who believe that at this time his mother was widowed. Others believe that his brothers. His half brothers were still his own enemies.
[33:51] Though we do know. That James and Jude came to be apostles. And indeed to become writers of some of the New Testament. But there are many who believe that she was.
[34:04] In that sense. I say it was in her family. And there is something else that is of interest to you here tonight. Maybe. You remember that this woman. Mary. Bringing up this child. Jesus.
[34:14] In that home environment. You may think that the environment was easy for them. It wasn't. In that home were half brothers who had no time for him. During his ministry they accused him of being mad.
[34:30] You may find that in your own home. Jesus divides many a home. When I was converted in Glasgow. I went one day to look for books.
[34:43] To a place that I believe is still in existence. The Baros. Some of you perhaps will know that place. Well I want to tell you a story. As I was going through these stalls.
[34:57] This man approached me with a tract. He was from the BTI. In Glasgow. And we got talking. And he discovered that I came from the west coast.
[35:12] I suppose that wasn't too difficult for him to make that discovery. Anyway. He said that there was someone with him. And he would like me to meet this person. So he came along after a while with this girl wearing the BTI blazer and badge.
[35:25] And we got talking and he discovered happened that this girl had been converted in Glasgow. Now you listen to this. She was a trainee in us.
[35:38] And a part time amateur actress with the BBC on radio. And her family who were churchy but who weren't Christians didn't accept her conversion.
[35:54] Her sister thought she had gone mad. Her father who was in a prominent position in Glasgow more or less disowned his own daughter.
[36:08] And they were church going people. And when it came to her making the application to study in the BTI. Believing that God was calling her to service for God and the foreign field.
[36:21] She wrote her application form and sent it to her. And asked her father to sign it. She was going to send it to the principal of the BTI. And her father refused to sign the form.
[36:34] So she went to the principal of the BTI. Explained the position to him. And he sent the form to the corporation with a covering letter. And the upshot was this. If her father had signed the form she would have got a meager bursary because of his salary.
[36:49] But because he refused to sign it she got a full bursary. She was there studying. Many years afterwards I discovered that that girl was in the service of a missionary organisation.
[37:02] But the point I want to make to use this. Because Christ had come into her life. Her family was divided. She was more or less disowned and ostracised.
[37:16] It was the same in the home of Jesus of Nazareth. With her godly mother and the son of God. Members of the family against both of them.
[37:27] Because of the relationship to God and to Christ and to the gospel. A third question. Do you come from that kind of home tonight?
[37:41] Are you finding it difficult as a Christian to live? Just because you are a Christian. Well my friend let this encourage you. You are in good company.
[37:52] There are many who have been like that before you. Jesus came from that kind of home. And he said to this woman, to his mother.
[38:02] Woman, behold your son. Maybe, and the point I make, the reason I want to look at this is because maybe, and I'm not saying it was the case, but maybe he knew that that was the kind of home she was going back to.
[38:17] When his brothers, his half-brothers were converted, we don't know. But in any case, he hands her over to the care of John. And here's some other lesson from this great and wonderful incident.
[38:30] How this son of God honored the fifth commandment. Honor thy father and thy mother. Honor them. Thank them that you have them.
[38:45] Be obedient to them in the Lord. And remember that they are counseling you for your own good. I speak to you again. Young people here at night and children with Christian parents.
[38:59] They're teaching you for your own good. And here's the son of God, who in life and in death, never forgot the one who gave him birth into the world.
[39:15] He's making provision for her now as he leaves the world. And you know that that might act as a spur to you in the way that you ought to live.
[39:28] Oh, never be ashamed to honor your father and your mother. I wish there are times when I wish that I could get a hold of all those teenagers in Stornoway tonight who belong to the Free Church of Scotland, who were born and brought up in this congregation, and who have parents who agonize over them in prayer, who shed many a tear because they never darken the door of the Church of God now.
[40:04] I wish I could gather them all in one place at one time and say this to them. And I'm never ashamed to say this. As a teenager, like many another teenager, I left this island, and I was going to distance myself from God and His church as well.
[40:22] But one thing kept me going to it, and I thank God it did. I kept going to respect for my parents. My friend, you will never go wrong if you honor your mother and your father in the Lord.
[40:41] I wish I could speak that to people who aren't here tonight. But see, I can't get them. You convey it to them. That this was said publicly.
[40:55] And one should never be ashamed to say it. Our Lord remembered her in life, and He didn't forget her either in His death.
[41:05] And isn't it amazing that this woman should accept this newfound relationship, and from that out, go to John's house.
[41:17] Isn't it amazing that she didn't cry out, No! John is not my son! I am not his mother! You're my son! I'm your mother! Come down from the cross, and let's go home together!
[41:32] Oh, yes, that's what the thief said. The unconverted thief. That's the language. That's the language of earth, and the language of hell. The language of this world.
[41:43] But this is a good woman. A godly woman who had grace in her heart, and who accepted what she was told to do.
[41:58] So be it, for so it seemeth good unto thee. She recognized the thoughtfulness, and the kindness, and the grace in her own son.
[42:11] She recognized that John was there now to be in the relationship that Jesus had had for 30 years, but he was no longer her son.
[42:25] As far as we know, she never saw him again. Never. And it's also significant. The last words that Jesus spoke before he died to a human being was spoken to his mother.
[42:38] His words from now on are spoken to his father. In heaven. Isn't that significant? As far as we know, he never spoke to her again.
[42:50] From now on, he was to be her Lord, her Savior, her Redeemer, and her God. And here, in accepting his will, she is giving glory to that God.
[43:05] And that's the other lesson that we take from this section here tonight. Remember this, the best way that you can glorify God is by accepting God's will for you and doing it, even though you may not understand it.
[43:22] And finally, there's this, there's John himself. John, behold your mother. One of the greatest testimonies given to John in the Bible is that he's the disciple whom the Lord loved.
[43:37] He was the only disciple, as far as we know, who was at the cross that day when our Lord was being put to death. Oh, I'm not saying that he always stood close to his Lord.
[43:48] He didn't. The night before that, they all forsook him and fled. But here, this man is back. Peter came back to the hall of the high priest. But this man went further.
[44:00] He followed him to the cross. He's back where he belonged. He wanted to be near his Lord. It's true of us all that there are ebbs and flows in our lives.
[44:12] We are not always as clear, as close to the Lord as we ought to be, not perhaps even as we want to be. And there are some, unfortunately, who have gone further away from the Lord than they ought to have gone.
[44:24] Are you like that here tonight? Here's another question to you from this great episode in the Bible. How far away from the Lord have you gone? Have you forsaken him and fled?
[44:38] Who knows, but there might be someone in this church tonight in that state, in that condition. But maybe you want to come back. Well, you come.
[44:50] Here's encouragement for you. Do you know why? Do you know what Jesus said to John? He gave him something to do. Look after Mary. Behold your mother.
[45:02] Mary, you be a mother to John. John, you be a son to Mary. And this is what the Lord always does. He gives those whom he loves something to do, some service to render, somewhere to go.
[45:23] And that's the question that I want to leave with you here tonight from this section again. Do you love the Lord? And if you do, you remember that God has given you something to do.
[45:39] or, as I've said to you often, don't wait for me to tell you what he wants you to do. Don't wait for the elders to tell you what he wants to do.
[45:50] Don't wait for a communication from the committees in Edinburgh to tell you what to do. Get up and do it! There are plenty of open doors before each one of us here tonight.
[46:02] Plenty of them. If you need encouragement, by all means, seek it. But you want, if you feel that the Lord is wanting you to do something, oh, my friend, do it.
[46:15] What kind of thing? Oh, well, let me tell you one thing. John, behold your mother, be to her a son. Do you know someone tonight who needs help?
[46:27] Do you know of any home and store that could do without visits from you? Do you know someone to whom you could stretch a helping hand? I'm sure you do. And particularly, if they belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, behold my mother, who is the mother of the Lord, he who does the will of my Father, which is in heaven.
[46:57] Do you know people like that who could do with your presence, who could do with your help, and who could do with your service?
[47:12] May I just sum it up in this way? The importance of being related to Jesus as a believer. Mary, woman, remember your position.
[47:26] are you a believer in Christ? Secondly, for you who are children here tonight, remember the fifth commandment to honor your mother and your father in life and in death.
[47:49] You will never regret it. and also remember that above all else you must be a disciple and a follower of the Lord.
[48:10] The closest bond you can have with Christ tonight is the bond of sinner to savior, of follower to the Lord.
[48:28] what then binds you in your relationships tonight? And the final question is this, what service if any are you rendering to the Lord tonight as you live in this world?
[48:51] Woman, behold thy son, son, behold thy mother. Let us pray.
[49:04] Oh, may the Lord help us and may the Lord guide us. We thank thee for the word of thy grace and we bless thee that thou art able to enlighten our minds in the knowledge of Christ.
[49:22] Make us disciples of thine who are prepared to accept the discipline which of necessity is involved in following thee. Make us believers in Christ.
[49:37] Help us to stand close to thee in that relationship and be prepared to renounce everything else in the interest of our Lord and Savior.
[49:49] For his sake, bless thy word and forgive our sins. Amen. Amen.