“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.” (John 19:26–27, ESV)
During the six hours of torment on the cross, Jesus spoke sparingly—to his Father, those around him, the thief next to him, and, here in John 19, to his mother and John. Mary had loved her Son from the beginning, beholding his mystery within her heart. And John, likely the youngest of the disciples, considered himself especially cherished by Christ.
Both remained nearby during his gruesome crucifixion, and the time came for Jesus to speak to them. Knowing he would no longer be able to provide earthly care for his mother, Jesus told John to embrace Mary as his mother. And knowing young John still required motherly nurture, Jesus told Mary to treat John as a son.
The Selfless Shepherd
The first thing that hits me today regarding this passage is the selflessness of our Great Shepherd. He is amid the deepest agonies but still shepherding and loving his flock. If there was ever a time for selfishness to consume him, it was this moment, but Christ is ever the servant. He did not come to be served but to serve, and here he exemplified service by tending to two people close to his heart.
He selflessly tends to us today. He reaches from eternity to put us in the right relationships and networks. He beckons us to care for others. Without impure self-interest, he guides our lives.
The Grand Commission
Next, consider the grand commission to which our Lord called his beloved. He asked Mary and John to consider the other—in the English Standard Version, "behold" one another. It is this commissioning that captures my heart today. Christ still calls us—after we've looked to him—to look around at those he has asked us to serve. We should behold other brothers and sisters in Christ, asking the Spirit to help us bless them in ways we can. As an older woman with a mother's experience, Mary was uniquely positioned to provide John with the care he needed at that stage of his life. As a younger man with a long future, John was uniquely positioned to care for Mary into her elderly years. They could benefit each other, and Jesus urged them into this mutually beneficial care.
Christ calls us in the same way today. He sends us to others, not merely because of the benefit we can offer, but because it benefits us to go beyond ourselves. Selfishness is a disease that kills from within, and the antidote is selfless action toward others. Mary benefited from John, and John benefited from Mary, but they benefited most through serving someone else, making life about more than their little sphere.
The Provision of the Cross
Finally, consider the provision of the cross for the brand of life Jesus proposes. He tells us to lose our lives and take up our crosses and die daily. He urges us to the same life of care and service to which he called Mary and John. But the very cross he was dying upon provided the means necessary for them to live that way. Because Jesus died and rose and because belief in him regenerates us, giving us a new nature and the very Spirit of God living within, we can serve others just as he commissioned. His cross is the provision required for the life that emulates his.
Let us embrace the selflessness of the Shepherd, taking up his grand commission to care for those he puts in our paths, by trusting that the new nature and aid of the Spirit needed for such endeavors have been provided through his cross. Let us turn and behold—in Christ—mothers and sons and fathers and daughters all around us. Let us care for one another, not only because they need it, but because we do too.
