“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.” John 19:25-27 KJV
We continue again on our journey of how God preached salvation through widows. In this instance, we encounter Mary the earthly mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. At this stage of her life, at this stage it is believed her husband Joseph had died; and her firstborn son who was the heir was hanging on the cross. The custom in Israel was that the bigger share of the inheritance would pass on to the firstborn son. It was the firstborn therefore, who had the responsibility of protecting and providing for his widowed mother and taking care of any other family business such as outstanding debts.
God is always more concerned about issues of eternal life, our everlasting inheritance, rather than earthly matters. “Why?” one may ask. Because His Kingdom is a Heavenly Kingdom that does not pass away. Even as Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” Many of the Jews had thought that the coming Messiah would free them from political oppression by the Romans, but this did not happen in the days of our Lord. This attitude of our Lord Jesus Christ is also reflected in the way he addressed an issue about earthly inheritance.
“Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:13-15 NIV
Jesus could simply have left Mary, his mother, in the care of one of his siblings: James, Simon, Jude or Joses but he chose not to. His own brothers had not yet believed in him at this stage and could never have been able to provide spiritual food to their widowed mother.
Jesus wisely chose to leave his mother in the care of the Apostle John. John writes of himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. The Apostle John is believed to have been one of the two disciples of John the Baptist, who heard John preaching “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh the away the sin of the world.” He immediately left John the Baptist and followed Christ and spent the day with him.
In the three years of his ministry, Jesus transferred his share of the eternal inheritance of the firstborn to Apostle John. John is also called the disciple who leaned on the breast of Jesus, to him was imparted some deep spiritual things, Kingdom riches. John’s understanding of the deity of Christ is surpassed by no other. Through John’s Gospel we see Christ as God, the eternal word, the beginning and the end, creator of all things, the source of life itself.
Mary grew and was strengthened in her faith under the faithful custody of Apostle John. Her own biological children also heard the gospel from Apostle John and later believed in Jesus Christ. James and Jude were pillars of the faith in the early church and went on to write the epistles of James and Jude to encourage the saints. So will we also be strengthened in the church under the custody of the Holy Spirit, as we continue in fellowship, breaking both physical and spiritual bread with one another.
And we will continue to heed the words of Jesus to the widow, the church “Woman, behold your son.” And as his faithful disciples we will obey the command “Son, behold your mother.” May the grace of God abound, and the church be edified through fellowship. We are our brothers’ keeper. Even as Mary mourned the death of her son, she knew that Jesus had taken care of all issues concerning her inheritance. She continued with the disciples in prayer and fellowship even after the ascension of our Lord.
We have an eternal inheritance laid up in heaven for us. As we continue to behold the Son of God, he will take care of all that concerns us. May the peace and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ remain with you.