Family

"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

We've spent the past couple of weeks focusing on Jesus' compassion for tthe lost...those who still did not understand who Jesus was... even as they were putting him to death. We've seen Jesus' compassion for the repentant thief being crucified next to him, assuring him of his salvation. Today we see a beautiful picture of Jesus' compassion for his own mother and for a beloved disciple.

During my church's Sunday morning Bible class the past few weeks we have been looking at why there is suffering in the world. That's a tough subject. The short answer is, because of sin entering the world. The honest answer is, we really don't know. What we do know is that God is right there with us through all of it, and that for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, somehow He is able to work it all for good.

It's hard to suffer. It's unpleasant and painful. We resist it at all costs if we can.

Jesus didn't.

It was the will of His Father for him to suffer and die for the sins of the whole world, to redeem a lost and condemned humanity. If God did not withhold suffering from His own Son, we should not be surprised when suffering comes to us. It has a purpose. Though we might never be able to understand it in this life... it has a purpose, nonetheless. Nothing touches us without first being sifted through God's almighty hand. His love for us is unfathomable and unshakeable, and He will never abandon us to suffer alone.

My pastor mentioned that we should indeed care about the suffering of others, especially as the body of Christ, but we often forget when suffering hits home. He offered this illustration. He said that if he were to stub his big toe in the middle of the night -really whollop it good- he wouldn't care about the rest of his body, his arms, his legs. No. The hurt toe would be the only thing he'd be thinking about.

Jesus suffered...agonizingly.

Yet.

Yet, his compassion for others shone through even during his anguish. He saw his mother standing there, witnessing this horrific torture happening to her child, her baby. Perhaps she was playing over in her head the words of Simeon thirty-three years prior at Jesus' dedication at the temple. "Behold, this child is appointed for the rise and fall of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."

As a mother myself, I can't begin to think how unbearable this must have been for Mary.

Jesus knew.

He loved her and cared for her even as he hung dying. He tasked his beloved disciple and friend John to care for her. She would be John's mother now, and John would be her son. How Jesus must have desired to come down off the cross to comfort her, to wipe away her tears... but He had to obey the will of His Father for the sake of all who would be called his mother, his brothers, his sisters. Jesus had to stay on the cross, see it to completion, so that ALL who believed in Him could be comforted... could have every tear wiped away.

With the words, "Woman, behold your son," and to John, "Behold, your mother," Jesus established a new family... a family of believers. You and I become members of His family by faith, adopted as sons and daughters of the King. Heirs. The only way to accomplish it...God's plan of salvation... was through the suffering and death of His beloved Son.

Jesus' suffering had the ultimate purpose.

...and what a beautiful purpose it was.