John 19:25-28

John 19:25-28

 

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

 

Did Jesus care about family? Here at the end of His life, Jesus took care of His mother. She was standing there as He died on the cross, watching with Jesus’ aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. And Jesus saw the disciple whom He loved – probably John – standing there, too. So Jesus spoke to His mother and to His disciple: “Woman, here is your son. … Here is your mother.” He joined them as family, making sure that His mother would be well-provided for.

 

One question that arises is Why? Jesus had brothers (John 2:12), and they should have been next in line to care for their mother. So why did Jesus commit her into the care of His disciple? The text does not say why, though perhaps Jesus’ brothers ridiculed their mother for following Jesus, since they did not believe in Him (John 7:5). Perhaps Jesus did this to make sure that His mother remained among those who believed in Him.

 

Regardless of why, the fact is that in His last minutes Jesus took care of His mother. The disciple to whom Jesus entrusted her took her in and cared for her from that time on as his own mother.

 

Sometimes we think that doing great spiritual work is so incredibly important that we no longer need to take care of our earthly responsibilities. We think that God is so happy with us for our spiritual achievements that He no longer cares about the normal stuff of life. But Jesus did the two together. Even while He was accomplishing the redemption of the world, He took care of His mother. Jesus was perfect in His goodness – He did it all, extraordinary and normal, amazing and bland. So we can know that faithfully serving God when all He has given us to do seems normal and bland is worthwhile, because Jesus Himself thought that normal, bland, everyday good deeds were worth doing.

 

Father, forgive us for thinking that we must always be seeking to do something amazing. Forgive us for looking down on our normal responsibilities and treating them with contempt, wishing we no longer had to do them because we view them as unimportant. Thank You that Jesus showed us that He cared about every detail of His life, and that He was responsible to care for His mother even while He was dying on the cross. Thank You that He honored normal life, normal goodness. Help me to be faithful in the small things, and to love my family well.