John 19:25-27Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. Jesus here entrusts His mother, Mary, to the care of the disciple whom [He] loved, who we understand to be John himself. And this bond is to be reciprocated by Mary. She is to be a mother to John. Our Lord puts a seal on a relationship which may well already have been a close one, ensuring that each has support at such a distressing time. This is only to be expected in the natural, so there must also be a spiritual dimension to this moment, which is relevant to us today. Jesus is handing over His love and care for His mother to John, to whom He seems to have trusted as a guardian of His truth. Jesus saw that Peter was the rock on which His church would be built. (Matthew 16:18). Other disciples were given responsibilities that best suited their abilities. Matthew was perhaps chosen because, as a tax collector, he could give an accurate account of things, but John was the carrier of Jesus’ spiritual truth. The point I wish to make is that we understand that Jesus’ church is the mother of us all [Galatians 4:26b], in that we are raised to the fullness of faith by being in the gathering, part of the Christian community as a participant in a church or fellowship setting. This gathering of Jesus’ church was to be our spiritual mother, raising us to a place where we can come to know Jesus in an intimate and personal way. It is easy to see from this that a misunderstanding of the ‘mother church’ could lead to a reverence to Mary above that of her son. I do not believe that this was ever Our Lord’s purpose. No, He was showing us that His teaching, would be continued through His church. MEDITATE ON THESE THINGSGENESIS 17:16 “And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her." GALATIANS 4:26-27 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written: "Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labour! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband." I KNOW NOT WHY GOD’S WONDROUS GRACE — Stuart Townend LOVE with all your STRENGTHTHE MOST PAINFUL and most crushing thing to a man or woman is unrequited love. In summing up the attitude of men to Himself, God says that that is the way men treat Him, they "un-requite" His love. It is only when we come to our wits' ends, or reap a distress, or feel the first twinge of damnation and are knocked out of our complacent mental agility over things, that we recognize the love of God. [from ‘Still Higher For His Highest’ by Oswald Chambers] LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION BY CLICKING ON ‘DOWNLOAD FILE’ BELOW
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MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Archives
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