Intimacy

 Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
John 19:27 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.19.27.ESV

Jesus's final words on the cross are deeply profound, such as 'it is finished/accomplished', referring to the salvation He won for us when He was crucified. This final word in today's verse is deeply personal and human, but no less profound than some of His more famous statements. Jesus wasn't so much thinking of Himself on the cross as others.

From 'Father forgive them' to this verse, Jesus was thinking of others. He thought of His natural mother Mary, likely widowed and shortly to be bereaved of Him. He asked His beloved friend John to adopt her as his mother.

John obeyed Jesus's final charge, and took Mary into his home as his mother. Jesus created a new family in His body and blood. We're united by faith in Him and His sacrifice on our behalf.

Final words are revealing. An Italian who was beheaded by Islamists in Iraq stood up from kneeling and said, 'now you will see how an Italian dies'. Jesus wasn't proudly defiant, but intimately concerned for His loved ones.

'Almighty Father God, thank You for Your intimate concern for the likes of us. We're indebted to You for giving Your beloved Son for us and ask that You would help us live for Him, in His name, amen'

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mercy

  For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them. Deuteronomy 4:31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.4.31.ESV Jesus Christ is Lord. That's why they crucified Him, for claiming to be God and King: blasphemy to the Jews and treason to the Romans. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. So the same Jesus of yesterday is the Jesus of today. He was merciful yesterday, and He'll be merciful today and forever. He doesn't just turn around and decide to destroy people He's lavished His mercy upon. If we've received God's mercy, or if we receive it now, or before Christ returns, nothing can separate us from the love of God. If we want God's presence in our lives, and we cry out to Him for it, He's not going to abandon us in the wilderness of our sin. If we claim God's Bible promises for ourselves in faith, we are safe in Him. God promises never t
Read more

Power

 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.Exodus 9:16 ESVhttps://bible.com/bible/59/exo.9.16.ESV  Secular historians point to the lack of extra-biblical evidence of Hebrew slavery in Egypt and ensuing exodus. But here in this verse, God describes how this anonymous Pharoah has been immortalised in the annals of the Hebrews, so that God is proclaimed in all the earth. The mighty men of the world might think they can stand against God and win, but resistance is futile!  The more stubborn Pharoah was, the more the Lord was able to display His power. The more insistent Pharoah was of keeping his slaves, the more unreasonable he appeared. It was a battle of wills, and the will of Yahweh prevailed.  In the end, Pharoah will have been broken by the plagues. In the final plague, his own firstborn son was killed, the next in line to the throne of the world superpower. He might have tried to put a brave face on it, but he
Read more

Opposition

  Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 2 Timothy 3:8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/2ti.3.8.ESV Jannes and Jambres are the names of the Egyptian magicians who tried to persuade Pharoah not to let God's people go. It wasn't hard for them to encourage him. They might have been able to replicate some of Moses' miracles, but miracles alone are not necessarily signs of divine approval. The devil has power to work deceptive miraculous signs that point people away from God instead of towards Him. Sadly, some charlatan, counterfeit 'Christians' claim to perform miracles (that tend to be fake). Truth is that faith in God is the real miracle for sinners like us. Moses was seeking to lead God's people to the promised land. Jannes and Jambres wanted to keep them in slavery in Egypt. Jesus wants to free us from slavery to sin. Satan wants to keep us out of God's prom
Read more