For our Scripture reading tonight, we turn together to John 19, verses 16 through 27. As tonight we consider the third word from the cross. John 19, 16 to 27. The text is verses 26 and 27 of this portion of Scripture. Verse 16, as we give our attention to God's Holy Word. Finally, Pilate handed Him over to them to be crucified, so the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying His own cross, He went out to the place of the skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. Here they crucified Him, and with Him, two others, one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this sign for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, do not write the King of the Jews, but that this man claimed to be the King of the Jews. Pilate answered, what I have written, I have written. When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes. dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. Let's not tear it, they said to one another. Let's decide by lot who will get it. This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which said, they divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. So this is what the soldiers did. 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. The third word which we consider is just that. Dear woman, here is your son. Here is your mother. Dear people of God, it's no secret that in the midst of personal torment and pain, that for so many, that's when we are the most selfish. Oftentimes when we are hurt or when we are suffering some difficulty, it's easy to have a pity party for ourselves and then we also inwardly want others to join in with our pity party so that we can have their pity and sympathy from them as well. And in this way, many of us like to use our own suffering to draw attention to ourselves, but not Jesus. Now again, we know the scene before us. We know about His trial. We know about His beatings. We know about the crown of thorns that was pushed down on His head. We know about the shouts and the insults that were shouted against Him. We know about the torture of the cross. Yes, we know of all of His suffering and humiliation as God has seen fit to reveal it to us in His Holy Word. Yet not once during all of that does He use this to draw attention to Himself. Even as He made His way to Calvary, as the women mourned and lamented, Scripture tells us that He says, daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. And from the cross He prayed for those who crucified Him. Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And then to the repentant criminal beside Him, as we consider this morning, Jesus said, I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise. Nothing but selflessness. But you see, beloved, that's the cross of Jesus, isn't it? Total selflessness. All for His people. They shouted, He saved others. Himself He cannot save. But the truth was, Himself He would not save because He was saving others. Boys and girls, death by crucifixion was used for the worst kinds of criminals, for murderers, for rapists, for rebellious slaves and traitors. And the goal of a crucifixion was absolute and total humiliation along with extreme pain. And we read about this humiliation in Jesus' case It's already in Psalm 22, verse 18, which says, They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots. Here in John 19, verse 23, it talks about His undergarment. That it was seamless. That it was woven in one piece. And in essence, we could say that this was His underwear. Beloved, our Lord was condemned to a death that no Roman citizen could suffer. For they had rights, you see. And a Roman citizen could not be put to death by crucifixion. Our Lord was stripped of all of His protection under the law. He was stripped of all of His rights as a man, as a human being. And He was stripped of all of His clothing. Yet, His thought was not for Himself. And it's in this context with a third word from the cross that Christ's love is displayed to those who were nearest to Him as our Lord speaks His Word of provision. A Word which satisfies a need on the one hand. And on the other hand, a Word which sanctifies relationships. Now as we think about those who were gathered around the cross that day, it's clear that many of the Jews and the Jewish leaders had gathered there that day to satisfy their sinful craving for Christ's death. They wouldn't miss this for the world. This was their goal. This is what they had been working for for quite a while. The Roman soldiers were there out of obligation and duty. But you see, there was another group there. There was another small group there which had been drawn together by affection and devotion for the central sufferer. John 19, verse 25 says, Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Again, included, as this verse said, included in this group was Mary, the mother of Jesus, but also, as the text says, the disciple whom Jesus loved, whom we know was John. Again, the text says, 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. Now, some, of course, would like to make Mary, the mother of Jesus, the center of attention here. You know, on the one hand, what pain and torment she must have been suffering as a mother. To see her firstborn suffer such intense humiliation and shame and pain unto death. My, my, my, what was she thinking? What was she feeling? And this is not, of course, our intention is not to tear down a mother's pain in the time of a child's death. Not at all. That pain is very real. But you see, we cannot. And we must not try to psychologize Mary. What was she thinking? What was she feeling? On the other hand, some would say what comfort and strength that she must have given to Jesus by her presence. Again, as only a mother can give to a child. That must have given him strength. Certainly seeing his mother there must have helped him to get through all of this. But you see, congregation, that's wrong too because it wasn't He who needed her help, but she who needed His help. The focus was not on what she was doing for Christ by being there, but the focus is on what He was doing for her by hanging there. Indeed, as Jesus looked upon His mother, He could see her pain. He could see her suffering, which was very real. And in many respects, she suffered His whole life long, at least humanly speaking. Unmarried, she is told by the angel that she will conceive a child by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Joseph thinks of putting her away secretly, no doubt in part because of all the gossip that would come. Her child is born and has to be laid in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. They had to flee the country for the child's safety. When he was 12 years old, they lost him for three days and they searched frantically for him. It is believed that Joseph died many years before. Therefore, no doubt, there was a measure of hardship raising a family without an earthly husband and a father. And now as the nails were physically piercing his hands and his feet, a sword was emotionally cutting right through her heart even as Simeon foretold already in the temple many years before. In Luke 2, verse 35, When Mary and Joseph had taken the infant child to the temple, Simeon says to Mary, Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul. Now Isaiah 53 verse 4 says, Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. In congregation, the Lord Jesus Christ also did this for His earthly mother. Seeing his mother at the foot of the cross, Jesus realized her need. He also bore her griefs and carried her sorrows. And although he was uncovered and unprotected and vulnerable, his love went out toward his mother and he would not leave her uncovered, unprotected and vulnerable. He alone satisfies a need. You see, according to the law, Jesus had a duty toward his mother. He was the oldest son. He was the head of the family. He had a responsibility toward His earthly mother to provide Him and protect her. And even while hanging, apparently helpless, on the cross, He did not shrink back from that responsibility. You see, to the very end, Jesus showed Himself both the perfect Son of God and the perfect Son of Man. Throughout His life, His earthly life, He honored His parents. And even now, while hanging on the cross, he was fulfilling all of the righteousness of the fifth commandment, honor your father and your mother. Dear woman, here is your son. In other words, this one will take as much care of you as if he had been your son. And notice Jesus, in a sense, gives to Mary the very best this earth had to offer. The disciple whom he loved. Yes, John had fled from Jesus along with the other disciples when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, but He returned. And there He was at the foot of the cross. And we know that Jesus had brothers, but they didn't believe in Him until later on. John was the best and most faithful for the job. And by the grace of God, John had proven himself in love and in loyalty. And now He even demonstrates this as we read. And from that time on, the disciple took her into his home. What a special place Jesus gives to both Mary and John. Jesus gave to him who had leaned upon his breast his own mother. And John was called to care for her as if she were his own mother. But notice, and this is very important, Mary was to find her support in John. Not John finding his support in Mary. Mary was to find her support in John. Jesus provided for her comfort in her time of suffering as well as her continued support for the rest of her life. The Roman Catholic Church has used this passage to teach that John represents all believers and that here in essence, Jesus is elevating Mary. And just as John, they say, was to find his support in her, that you and me, represented by John, must also find that support. We must also look to Mary, who helped Christ finish His work, they say. Therefore, she is a co-mediator for us. But the truth is, beloved, that is not the truth. Jesus clearly shows us here that she was the one with the need. She, too, needed to be cared for. And Jesus provides for the protection and the provision of His mother, therefore demonstrating that He is the protector and provider for His people. He alone knows the need of those who continue to gather around His cross. And He alone satisfies those needs. He calls Mary woman and not mother. And of course, there's always been a debate about why He did this. But we must understand that very simply, This was in no way an address of disrespect. Rather, it was an address of the highest possible honor that he could give to her. And our Lord gives us an example of treating our parents with obedience and honor and respect. Young people, boys and girls, this is for you too. Whether you are 6 or 60, how do you treat your parents? You see, when we have stood by the cross of Jesus, and when we have witnessed the honor that the perfect Son gave to an imperfect parent, then as we look at ourselves as imperfect children and consider our imperfect parents, never again, when we consider Christ, can we be discourteous, dishonoring, or disobedient to our parents. With His word of provision, our Lord fulfilled that which all believers are called to do. Paul says in 1 Timothy 5, verses 4 and 8, But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents, for this is good and acceptable before God. But if anyone does not provide for his own and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. It's not the government who is to take care of our aged parents or grandparents. but we as believers as He hung on the cross uncovered our Lord covered His earthly mother with compassion and care. John and Mary would be bound together in the love of Christ by the love of Christ and we are to learn as well that He provides for His people through His people also as the story of the sheep and the goats teaches us it makes clear as it is done unto one of the least of these brothers of mine you have done it unto me. And it is to be to our comfort, beloved, that as He lives and reigns today, our Lord Jesus Christ provides all that we need for body and soul. Yet His provision isn't just physical and emotional, it's also spiritual. That's also what Mary, His mother, was being taught as Jesus sanctifies relationships. You see, this was the time for which Jesus had come. He was occupied at that very moment in the most awesome work ever done in the entire universe under a burden that no mere creature could endure or bear. He was the object of Satan's fiercest hatred through the Jews and through the Romans as well he suffered the wrath of God and he was about to be separated from his Heavenly Father. He was doing that which he came to do even as the angel said before he was born, He will save His people from their sins. And it's for that reason that His human relationships were surrendered in order that He would sanctify relationships. And this, of course, includes the relationship with His mother. Again, He calls Mary woman. Theirs would no longer be a mother-son relationship. It couldn't be. Mary is to no longer see her son suffering, which would bring sorrow and suffering to any loving mother, but she is to see her Savior suffering for her, which is to bring her eternal joy and gladness. On the cross, Jesus moves away from her as her Son in order that she may see her own salvation and the salvation of the world contained in the death of God's Son on the cross. His death on the cross made an end of all of His natural ties. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 16, Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. And you recall Mary Magdalene, I trust, on that day we call Easter Sunday after He had risen from the dead when she figured out that He wasn't the gardener, that He was the Christ. She falls at His feet and clings to His feet and He says, Mary, don't cling to Me. I have not yet returned to my Father. From now on, His link to believers would be a spiritual relationship so much closer than ever before. Jesus Christ lives in the hearts of each and every believer through the Holy Spirit. You see, Mary is not to be elevated above any other believer. She has done nothing. She can do nothing for your and my salvation. In fact, after this episode, Mary slips even more into the background. The only other time she has mentioned in Scripture after this is in Acts 1, verse 14, which says, These, talking of the church, these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. What happens to Mary? She takes her place not over believers, but among believers. She, too, is a part of the family of God. She's a part of Christ's church. Yes, she was privileged to be chosen to be the earthly mother of Jesus, but she, too, was a sinner saved by grace. Now, John himself also records the one other time that Jesus refers to Mary as woman. And that was at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. You remember that story, I trust. We read, And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to him, They have no wine. Jesus said to her, Woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. Now we know that Christ did His first recorded miracle that day at that wedding. When Christ began His mediatorial work as the anointed servant to win the eternal salvation for her, for Mary, as well as all who believe, At that time, she changes from mother to woman at the beginning of His work. And on Calvary, He was completing His work as the appointed Savior. Mary was now to see in Him her Savior and Lord. And through His death, Jesus Christ paid the adoption price for Mary as a daughter of His Heavenly Father. And that means that Mary, along with every other believer, is a sister and or a brother of the Lord Jesus Christ. Beloved by His cross, Christ sanctifies the believer's relationship with God. God's people are set apart as holy to the Lord. Christ has removed the disharmony and the enmity that existed between God and His people because of sin, and He provides for them eternal life and protects them. so that nothing can eternally harm you and me. But you know, He also sanctifies all of our relationships by His cross. Even our relationships with each other. As we come together to meet at the cross of Jesus, we find that God in His grace has made us members of one family. His family. Christ is the head of His body, the church. And as those born again through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are members of that body and we are brothers and sisters with each other in the name of Jesus. And therefore, we are to live as a family is supposed to live. I say it that way because we know that in our families, brothers and sisters fight with each other. Sometimes like cats and dogs we say. But we are to live together as a family is supposed to live together. And God's family is to be held to a higher standard. You see, love for your neighbor as yourself begins in here. With those sitting in front of you. Those sitting behind you. Those sitting beside you. Those sitting across the room from you. Christians are called to treat each other with the love, respect, kindness, consideration, and selflessness that we would give or should give to any other member of our immediate family. Paul explains this in Philippians 2 when he says, Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. And Paul is talking about humility, cadets, to walk humbly with your God. Beloved, as Mary stood at the foot of the cross, She had come as His mother. But she would leave with a different relationship with Jesus. She was to begin to look upon Jesus as her Savior and Lord because only then would this terrible, indescribable agony and suffering be glorious because of its purpose. To satisfy the wrath of God against the sin of His people. Her anxiety and her anguish must be transformed to adoration. And beloved, as our Lord severed His earthly relationships, He earned the right to establish higher, spiritual, eternal relationships. And therefore, as we look at the cross of Jesus, we are not to be filled with pity for Jesus. He doesn't want our pity. He doesn't need our pity. Come Good Friday or Maundy Thursday, there are so many who do just that. They pity Jesus because of what He went through. You see, Jesus Christ said, no one takes my life. I lay it down willingly. No one really put Him on the cross. He placed Himself there for you and me who believe. And therefore, we are to be filled with awe and adoration and thanksgiving as we see the Savior's exclusive work for those who believe on Him. For those who see in the cross of Jesus only His defeat and therefore reject Him and His provision, they will understand one day and for all eternity, they will understand what it means to be defeated by the cross of Jesus. They are not children of God and therefore they have no place in the Father's heavenly home. But for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ by grace through faith, even now at this moment, He is busy preparing a place in His Father's house for you and me. Jesus Christ humbled Himself all the way to the disgraceful death of the cross to satisfy our eternal need and to sanctify our relationship with God. And therefore, as believers, we are now declared not guilty. and instead clothed in His robes of righteousness and given a place of honor and dignity and distinction in the family of God. This word of Christ from the cross, this third word, was the last earthly provision of love in regard to those nearest to Him. And now with His earthly house in order, Jesus then turned to face the wrath and rejection of God so that we might have life and have it abundantly. Beloved, we come to the cross of Jesus as sinful enemies of God. And we leave by God's transforming grace as saved children of God. Look to this Jesus. Look to Him alone. Only in Him will those words be true. I love because He loveth me. I live because He lives. Amen. Shall we pray? father again in jesus name and in his name alone we bow before you with thanksgiving and praise and humility in our hearts praising you for the work of jesus christ our savior father indeed this is something that the church seems to consider more in depth this time of year and we are in this place as well as we consider the seven words of the cross But yet this is to drive us each and every moment of our lives, each and every day, and each and every Lord's Day as we come together, we gather together because this is the day of all the weak, the best, emblem of eternal rest because of our risen Savior. And Father, we pray that each and every day the sacrifice of Jesus Christ would be more and more precious to us and to our children. That we might understand more and more every day what it is we have deserved in what it is we have been given so freely, so preciously for Jesus' sake. Oh, Father, we urgently pray that You would increase our faith, that You would make us stronger believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, that You would make us better witnesses for You. Hear our prayer for Jesus' sake. And in His name, Amen. Thank you.