7 Sayings Of The Cross – Part 3 - Woman, behold thy son!

Temple Baptist Church - 3-20-2011

John 19:25-27

Introduction:

A. In the first saying from the cross, our Lord dealt with the forgiveness of sin; in the second saying, He dealt with the salvation of an individual; in this third saying, it is interesting that He dealt with the family unit.

B. Our Lord took care of His earthly mother before He died on the cross. Mary, the one who gave Him birth; Mary, the one who nursed Him on her breast; Mary, the one who swaddled and took care of Him; Mary, the one who raised Him during His informative years; Mary, the one who pondered His being while He was growing up; Mary, the one who accompanied Him during His earthly ministry; Mary, the one who stood by Him while other forsook Him.

C. “Woman (not mother) behold thy son!” Jesus never referred to Mary as His mother for a reason. She was the mother of His earthly body but as God, He had no mother! He called her woman. It was not out of disrespect but with all of the tenderness, respect, and honour in the world. And to His disciple, “Behold thy mother!”

D. In the Lord’s impending absence, He committed the care of His earthly mother into the hands of the disciple whom He loved. All earthly ties to His physical mother ceased that day as the Son of God died for her sins as well as for the sins of the world. He also committed the care of John to His wonderful mother! Now, they needed one another. The Lord is interested in every detail of our lives and one of the most important is that of our family unit. In His absence, he has given to us the Word of God, the Holy Spirit and the local church.

E. I want to look at the importance of the family unit and the local church for a few minutes this morning. There is an old saying, “When you have nothing else, you have your family.” I have also found that when you need them, you have the people in your church.

1. The Family Unit. God ordained three institutions: marriage, church, and government with marriage being the first. All three are important for the total welfare of mankind and are—in theory—to work together for that cause. The family unit was instituted before the church came into being. The strength of the church is the family unit. The strength of the nation is in the family unit. It is of no wonder that Satan has so aggressively attacked the family! What God loves, Satan hates and the family is always in the devil’s sights.

a. We Find Order - God made man in His image and in that day He made Adam both male and female - Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

b. We Find Unity - God then made Eve from the rib of Adam and brought her unto him. Genesis 2:21-23 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; (22) And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. (23) And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. (The Lord brought the woman to the man, not the man to the woman. This order was God’s order. The proper order is the man first and the woman under authority to him. Today, the men follow the women instead of the women following the men.)

c. We Find Safety – Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (The family unit is separate from everyone and everything else.)

d. We Find Beauty - Genesis 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

e. We Find Strength - Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

2. The Local Church. God established marriage first, worship secondly, and government last. After the family unit, the local church is the most important entity in the world. In the absence of the Lord it is:

a. A Place Of Spiritual Order - 1 Peter 5:2-3 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; (3) Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

b. A Place Of Spiritual Unity - 1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

c. A Place Of Spiritual Safety - Psalms 92:13-14 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. (14) They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

d. A Place Of Spiritual Beauty - Psalms 27:4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

e. A Place Of Spiritual Strength - Ecclesiastes 4:11-12 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? (12) And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.