John 19:25

John 19:25 says, Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and her sister Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. These three women were there at the cross with Jesus.  They did not let the threat of being associated with Jesus turn them away.  We can only wonder what must have been going through their thoughts. Mary, the mother of Jesus, had been told she was to be the mother of the Savior, and now He was on the cross.  It would be a lot for any mother to witness, but it had to be especially hard on her.  She was not there as any sort of co-savior, but as a mother in anguish.  The other two Mary's must have been wondering how this could be happening, but they did not abandon Jesus.  We today may not always understand everything that happens in our following Jesus, but even when things look hopeless, we must not abandon Jesus.  We must realize that His grace will sustain us.  The world was not defeating Jesus that day, no matter how it looked.  Verse twenty-six adds, When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the discipline standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, "Woman, behold thy son."  Jesus called her woman instead of mother, not out of disrespect, but to keep people from trying to elevate her to an almost God like status, which some have done anyway.  He was also meeting her needs.  We are not told where her other children were, but the disciple Jesus loved was there.  Had we been alive during the crucifixion, where would we have been?  Would Jesus have had enough faith in our devotion to Him to trust us with the care of His mother?  There were no governmental programs to take care of widows.  So, Jesus was entrusting Mary to the care of the disciple He loved, which most see as being John.  I have to wonder how John felt about this, but verse twenty-seven continues, Then saith He to the disciple, "Behold thy mother!  And from that hour, that disciple took her unto his own home.  He had been following Jesus, Who was now on the cross and was entrusting John to make sure Mary was provided for.  His career for three years had been following Jesus, so what was he to do now?  We, like John, have to believe that if God calls us to do something, He will provide the way.  We might also wonder where Mary's other children were, but the fact of being born to one in a right relationship with God does not mean that we have the same right relationship.  Jesus knew John believed in Him, even if he questioned what was happening.  We can only hope God would have the same faith in us.  We are His, not by birth, but by acceptance of His call and through His sacrifice on the cross.  The only way to God is through the cross.