Those Closest To The Cross
Or
All Is Accomplished At The Cross
Sunday July 23, 2023
Scripture To Consider:
“Now 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 [John] took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!’” John 19.25-28
Something To Consider:
How many times have family members stood close by the bed side of a dying loved one? But it is not often that a mother is forced to stand by and watch the cruel execution of her dear first-born son, the child she has nurtured from birth. The heavy burden and motherly concern that was pressing upon Mary’s heart was lightened by the nearness of those closest to her.
Together they stood close to the cross and near the reason of their anguish. And yet Mary was warned more than three decades earlier of this very event by a man named Simeon. As Mary and Joseph went to the temple in Jerusalem to present baby Jesus to the Lord, as the first born male child, they met Simeon there.
Simeon had been promised somehow by the Holy Spirit, that he would not see death until he first saw the Lord’s Christ. Luke records for us in chapter 2, verses 34-35; “Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, ‘Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.’”
Simeon declared; “Behold, this child [Jesus] is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel.” Every child born in every generation, is destined for either the fall or rising of many! And yet, because of God’s great and gracious gift of free will, we hold the key to our earthly and eternal destiny. Some of us have caused the falling of some or of many before coming to Christ. But our forgiveness has been accomplished at the cross. Amen!
Something Else To Consider:
One of those closest to the cross was the disciple John. John was the one referred to often as the one Jesus loved. Of course Jesus loved all of His disciples, but John appeared to be closest to Jesus. That fact was certainly proved true by Jesus appointing John as future caretaker and spiritually adopted son to Mary His mother.
Jesus did this from the suffering of the cross, even though Mark 6.3 reveals that Mary had four sons and at least two daughters after giving birth to Jesus. At this time there was no proof that any of His brothers believed in Him. Believing in Jesus builds an unbreakable bond that is many times stronger than the bond of flesh and blood.
According to Jesus, in Matthew 25.40; “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren [that is have taken in a sinner, visited the sick or those in prison, per according to Jesus], you did it to Me.” Our doing for others, and especially those of like faith and belief in Jesus; we have done the same for Jesus.
Something More To Consider:
Therefore, Jesus made time before His death to find enough energy to proclaim. “Woman, behold your son!” And to John He said, “Behold, your mother!” And at that crucial moment while He hung on that old rugged cross, the transfer of the loving care of Jesus’ mother was given to John the beloved disciple.
We must also keep in mind that the term woman in that culture was a term of endearment. Therefore, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!’”
Jesus saying, “I thirst!”, was in fulfillment of Psalm 69.21. Jesus had said earlier in Matthew 5.6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” How close to the cross are we at this moment in our lives? Or, how far away from the cross have we drifted due to our unbelief, doubt, or complacency?
In the Upper Room during the Lord’s Supper, Jesus said something to Simon Peter that probably weighed heavy upon Peter. “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me [yes, as believers we can fall away and we can return, according to Jesus], strengthen your brethren.”
A Few Final Words:
As Jesus was coming closer to the cross, His concern was for Simon Peter and the brethren! What is of our concern as we come closer to our own cross of sickness, of affliction, of persecution, of unbelief, or of betrayal? All of these and every other attack on our true Christianity can be overcome at the foot of the cross.
As we realize what He has done for us, and what He was willing to do for us, life should get a little easier no matter what we experience. Jesus accomplished what was required of Him at the cross. The same should be true of us if we are true enduring to the end believers.
Jesus also accomplished all Scripture that pertained to His first coming in order to point people to God the Father at the cross. Can the same be said of each of us? And if not, there still may be time to accomplish God’s will in our lives. “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!’”
Have we come to the end of living our own lives for self-pleasure, or for self-preservation? Have we come to the place of self-surrendering our lives and our ambitions at the cross of Christ for the better good of the kingdom of God? Have we become among those closest to the cross, knowing that all is accomplished at the cross? And if not, why not?
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, may we as true end time believers in Jesus, hunger and thirst for the righteousness that is only found in Your Son Jesus Christ. May we be found faithfully following after Jesus and His teachings even to the end of this life and or age. Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 