WOMAN, HERE IS YOUR SON

This week I am returning to my blogs on Quiet Things in The Gospels. I want to write about something that is difficult to understand. It is something Jesus said on the cross. A little over a year ago I was troubled by this passage and I memorised it. That is a crucial way to come to understand Scripture. To be honest, there are some things I still don't understand about these words. But again and again, God has ministered to me through this passage. I cannot read it without sensing God's embrace.It is found in John 19:25-27.

“Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

Let me briefly share some of my questions about this event. Children caring for their aging parents is a biblical principle. Jesus emphasized this in Mark 7 when He castigated the Pharisees for saying what they would have used to care for their parents was Corban, or given to God. Mary had other children. In Matthew 13:55 the people of His home town said,

“Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?”

It is true that the brothers of Jesus were not yet believers. But I suspect that Jesus knew they would become believers after His resurrection. His brother James was a leader in the Book of Acts. Both James and Jude were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write part of The New Testament. Why were they not charged to care for their mother? And does it not seem harsh for Jesus to call Mary, “woman” in this passage? This is not the only time he addressed her impersonally. At the wedding in Cana of Galilee He said, “Woman. . . I have told you my hour has not yet come.” I still don't have good answers for these. But I can point out some truths in this passage.

1. First Jesus is in charge.

He is Lord of our lives. And He will give you clear instructions to obey. I am aware that some may read what I write that abuse this concept. A well known minister of the gospel declared that God led him to the woman he left the mother of his children to marry. You can know God is not telling you to do evil. You will need to struggle in prayer over such directions. But if you are not motivated by sin, you can trust God to lead you in matters like this. You can discern His will.

2. The bond of the Spirit is more important than blood ties.

Remember that in Mark 10:29-30 Jesus said,

“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”

I have known many people who had much closer bonds with Christian brothers and sisters than they did with their own families. In many cultures, to accept Christ means to be dead as far as your family is concerned. I believe this was as much of a ministry to John as it was to His mother. I imagine they grew to depend upon one another in many ways. I suspect they shared the embrace of the Son of God that they had experienced.

3. Sometimes, we need the Lord to speak roughly to us for our own sakes.

Mary needed Jesus to sever natural ties with her. And then she needed to be embraced by John in His name.

4. Possibly the most important lesson for me is that I am not in charge.

The Scriptures offend every culture and every person at some point. And it is fitting that I am uncomfortable here. When I decide I am the one to judge Scripture, I have ceased to submit to the judgment of God in His word.

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TAKING NOTES

Do you take notes when you listen to sermons? Many people do. And it is a spiritually healthy practice. For those of you who do, and for those who would like to start taking notes on sermons, let me suggest some guidelines.

• Soak Up The Pictures.

When your pastor tells a story about the Bluetick Coonhound that his grandfather had as a boy, don't try to write that down. That is good preaching. Jesus taught and preached with stories. In fact, you will remember that anyway. I used to ask people in our Wednesday night services what I preached Sunday. More often than not, someone would remember a story I told. Sometimes it was a joke that I told to keep their attention. 

• Set down the principles.

I don't recommend that you try to write down everything your pastor says in a sermon. If you try to do this you will probably miss the next crucial thing he has to say because you are trying to write out the last thing his said. But you need to make notes of principles that will transform your life. If your pastor has points, and most of us do try to write out his major points.

• Seal In The Prophecy.

We often have a very unbiblical notion of prophecy. When we hear or read the word, we think of something like crystal balls which come out of witchcraft. While biblical prophecy includes prediction, prophets in the Bible usually preached against sin. The word means to proclaim. When it is used in scripture, it refers to God speaking through someone. And you need to be aware that God will speak to you through a sermon. And while some preachers are more gifted than others, God is not limited by how good of a speaker he is.

I highly recommend that you get alone that same day to recap what God is saying to you. This may simply be a new truth. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says the things of God are "spiritually discerned." If you understand any spiritual truth, it is because the Spirit of God spoke personally to you.

This may not even be a new truth that He wants you to see. This morning in my quiet time God spoke to me through John 12:27,28. In it Jesus said,

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

God reminded me that there is a purpose to difficult things that I face. And I can pray for Him to be glorified through my failures, embarrassment, and heartache. But this is not a new truth to me. I pray over this passage every day. But it is important for me to hold on to it today.

I suggested that you do this alone. And I believe that is important. But you can also benefit by talking to someone else about what God may have been saying to you. My wife takes much better sermon notes than I. She often shares them with me. Last week our pastor preached on the Magi from Matthew. She mentioned that the oral tradition of the Kurds says they were the Magi. She told me that the translation of the Bible into their language was recently completed. By the time she was finished sharing with me, we were both stirred to pray for the Kurds to come seeking Jesus again.

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/
http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/
http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/
http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/

Website
http://daveswatch.com/

YouTube
https://goo.gl/PyzU