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“search the scriptures” John 5:39
As the Lord Jesus prayed alone in the garden of Gethsemane, a great multitude would soon arrive to arrest Him; and, thereafter until His death, He would be surrounded by crowds of people. Matthew records that a great multitude came with swords and staves, Matt. 26. 47. The next morning, when He stood before Pilate, Mark speaks of ‘the multitude’ crying aloud, ‘Crucify him’, Mark 15. 8, 14. On the road to Calvary, Luke records, ‘There followed him a great company of people’, Luke 23. 27.
At the scene of crucifixion, Luke speaks of a crowd at the cross, ‘And all the crowds who had come together to that sight, having seen the things that took place, returned, beating [their] breasts’, 23. 48 JND. Psalm 118 verse 12 prophesies, ‘They compassed me about like bees’.
In contrast to the many who thronged around, only a small number of those who loved Him stood by the cross. The first word of John chapter 19 verse 25, ‘Now’, introduces a different group to those previously mentioned in the chapter. It distinguishes the loyal group of His followers from the crowds of mockers who passed by, the malefactors who reviled Him, the priests who were jeering, and the soldiers in their callous indifference.
John mentions five people: four women and one man. A comparison between Matthew, Mark, and John’s accounts identifies the four women.1The first mentioned by John is Mary, the mother of Jesus. Second, His mother’s sister, Salome, the mother of Zebedee’s children, James and John. Then Mary, the wife of Cleophas, the mother of James the less and Joses. And finally, Mary Magdalene. The one man was John the apostle. Of the eleven remaining disciples, John was the only one who stood by the cross. He mentions himself last, and does not disclose his own name, nor his mother Salome’s name.
Each of this group of five had a deep love for Christ. John would later write, ‘We love him, because he first loved us’, 1 John 4. 19. They thought nothing for their own safety. Their life was linked with the man on the centre cross. To be near Him in His hours of suffering meant everything to them. In verse 18, John wrote, ‘There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear’. The soldiers were carrying out orders, doing their duty; but each of these five was there because of their devotion to Christ. ‘Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it’, S. of S. 8. 7.
Three of the seven sayings of the Lord Jesus from the cross were directed to God, Matt. 27. 46; Luke 23. 34, 46. Three times He spoke directly to individuals who were near the cross: the repentant malefactor (whom we considered in the previous article), Mary His mother, and John the apostle.
It is worth noting the four references to ‘His mother’, John 19. 25, 26, emphasizing the closest of all earthly relationships. Her heart must have been filled with immense sorrow as she witnessed her firstborn son nailed to a cross between two criminals. What a scene it was of shame, humiliation, and untold suffering!
At least five times in the New Testament we read of Mary experiencing trouble. As she stood at the cross, her mind might well have gone back to the day when the angel Gabriel visited her home in Nazareth and announced to her that she was to have a son, Luke 1. 26-37. ‘She was troubled at his saying’, v. 29, and it was the precursor of more troubles to come.
Mary and Joseph had travelled a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, a distance of over sixty miles. The birth of the child was imminent, so what a disappointment it was when they arrived to find that there was no room in the inn. Mary did the best she could in the situation, ‘and she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger’, Luke 2. 7.
When the child was eight days old, He was circumcised, and then later taken by Mary and Joseph to the temple in Jerusalem to be presented to the Lord, Luke 2. 21, 22. Simeon, an elderly prophet, spoke directly to Mary, saying, ‘a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also’, v. 35. Simeon’s prophecy was referring to the day when the Lord Jesus would suffer on the cross and bear the sword of divine justice, Zech. 13. 7. Mary would witness His suffering, and her soul would be pierced with the greatest sorrow of all.
Then there was the message received by Joseph in a dream, that, in order to destroy the young child, King Herod planned to slay all the children two years old and under. So, Joseph, Mary and the young child made the journey into Egypt and stayed there until the danger was past, Matt. 2. 13.
When He was twelve years old, Jesus accompanied Mary and Joseph to the temple, and on the journey home they discovered that He was not with them. They went back, and after three days they found Him sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them and asking them questions. Mary said, ‘thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing’, and He said, ‘How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?’ Luke 2. 48, 49.
Yet, in spite of the intensity of her sorrow at the cross, we do not read in any of the four Gospels one word of her complaining. Nor do we read of her fainting at the scene under the unbearable burden of grief. She stood with great fortitude until the end.
Referring to John, the Lord said to Mary, ‘Woman, behold thy son’, John 19. 26. There is no hint of disrespect in the Lord addressing Mary as ‘Woman’. Had He addressed her as ‘Mother’, it may have added to her sorrow. It is a mother’s instinct to protect and provide for her children; but as she stood at the cross Mary must have felt helpless to do either. It also reminds us of the promise concerning the seed of the woman, ‘[her seed] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel’, Gen. 3. 15. While she could no longer care for Him, even in the agony of the cross He showed His care for her, and His provision for her future.
The Lord Jesus was the only person who fully kept the written law of God, ‘thy law is within my heart’, Ps. 40. 8.2 Even in the agony of the cross, He was mindful of the fifth commandment, ‘Honour thy father and thy mother’, Exod. 20. 12. As a child, He obeyed them, Luke 2. 51; as a man, He honoured them. The fifth commandment is not contingent on the parent being worthy of honour; it is an unqualified command.
He fulfilled the law in honouring His mother, and He bore the penalty for the law, which all others had broken. The law was given in the darkness at Sinai, Exod. 20. 21; the penalty for a broken law was paid in the darkness at Calvary, Matt. 27. 45. ‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us’, Gal. 3. 13.
John had fled from the garden of Gethsemane with the other disciples. But he returned, and is referred to briefly as the disciple in the palace, who was known to the high priest, characteristically not mentioning his own name, John 18. 15. Now he is standing near the cross, openly identified with the Lord Jesus, who did not rebuke him, but rather honoured him by committing to him the care of His mother, Mary. He said, ‘Behold thy mother!’ John obeyed, ‘And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home’, 19. 27. It seems that Mary’s husband Joseph had already died. The last mention of him is when they were living in Nazareth, Luke 2. 51. His half-brothers were not yet believers, see John 7. 5.
Our God is the God of restoration, Ps. 23. 3, and not only did the Lord give John the high honour of His mother’s care, He enabled him to write his Gospel, three Epistles and the book of Revelation. John was the only disciple who remained at the cross, and he was the first at the tomb after the resurrection.
Early on the first day of the week, when Mary Magdalene discovered that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance to the tomb, she ran to find two of the disciples, Simon Peter and John. They both ran to the tomb and John is mentioned as the ‘disciple, which came first to the sepulchre’, John 20. 8. Having seen the empty tomb, ‘the disciples went away again unto their own home’, v. 10. What good news John was able to carry home that day, and what a balm of comfort for Mary!
The compassion and care that the Lord Jesus showed towards His mother reveals the compassion in the heart of God. The compassion that He showed at His death had marked His whole life on earth. With the man who was a leper, ‘Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean’, Mark 1. 41. ‘When he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd’, Matt. 9. 36. Whether it was one person or a multitude, the compassion of Christ was towards all.
Our God is a God of compassion: ‘The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy’, Ps. 145. 8; cp. Lam. 3. 22, 23.
‘How amazing God’s compassion,
That so vile a worm should prove
This stupendous bliss of Heaven,
This unmeasured wealth of love’.
Mary D. James [1810-1883]
We should endeavour to show to others the compassion that the Lord has shown to us. ‘Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous’, 1 Pet. 3. 8; cp. Eph. 4. 32.
The Lord rebuked the disciples for their unbelief and hardness of heart, Mark 16. 14. May He deliver us from being hard-hearted. Compassion is a scarce commodity in the world today. May the Lord enable us to be tender-hearted towards our fellow believers, and to those around us who need the Saviour.
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