Reflections for Easter: The Seven Last Sayings of Christ - #3

John 19:26-27 (HCSB) ~

When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved standing there, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.”

My heart aches when my children are hurting. I am so emotionally connected to them that it's hard to see them struggle or hurt by the unkindness of others. So I cannot even imagine the emotional horror and pain Mary was going through as she sees her son hanging on that cross. She watches him labor for each breath. She knows that he is going to die. She is heartbroken. I'm sure she would have taken his place if she could.

These words of Jesus show his humanity and love for his mother. Some scholars believe at this point Joseph is deceased, so as a widow in that society, she was vulnerable. It was up to the oldest son to fill the shoes of his father as the next in line. So here we see Jesus doing just that. 

He asks his friend and disciple to care for his mother. The disciple, who may be John, steps up and does that. At the end of verse 27 we are told, "And from that hour the disciple took her into his home."

Jesus loved his mother and in the midst of his emotional, physical and spiritual pain made sure she would be okay after he was gone. Jesus was the Savior of the world and yet, still cared for this woman who had nursed him, read to him, played with him, nurtured him and loved him. I'm sure he understood and felt her emotional pain.

And that brings me comfort. Jesus understands the pain I feel when my children are hurting. He understands their pain when they are hurt or rejected. There is not any hardship or emotion I go through that he has not experienced himself.  

And that is what makes the salvation message so poignant. Christ, being God himself, made himself human so that he could experience all that we go through.  What a beautiful sacrifice!