Jesus Becomes an Orphan - March 19, 2025 - Third Lent Midweek - Text: John 19:26,27

Two weeks ago we began our Lenten Season and our Midweek series as we heard Jesus speak the words of forgiveness, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” Last week we heard the result of the forgiveness in the words spoken to the thief on the cross, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.” This evening we come to hear Jesus as He keeps the Fourth Commandment and as He speaks words of care, concern, and comfort for His mother.
 

As you constantly hear me say, God’s Word is a word with power. God’s Word does what it says and gives the gifts of which it speaks. And as we know, Jesus is God and thus, His word is also a word with power to do and give what He speaks. As Jesus was celebrating the Passover with His disciples He told them they would all desert Him. Now, here on the cross we see that they have deserted Him and He is left alone to die on the cross. Everyone deserted Jesus, but as things had calmed down, Mary, His mother and John, the disciple whom He loved, came near the cross. They came near to watch with the others.
 

Again, while in the midst of His suffering and death, Jesus thinks not of Himself, but of His mother. This time He thinks of His Fourth Commandment duties to take care of His mother. Yes, even as Jesus is suffering for the sins of the world, for your sins and mine, He continues to do what Adam and Eve could not do, what the whole nation of Israel could not do and what we cannot do, He continues to be obedient to the Law. Notice, that it is not Mary who has come to the cross to “help” Jesus in His suffering, nor to be a “co-redeemer” with Him. Mary, as a human being, and as Jesus’ mother is as impotent in her abilities to do anything, just as everyone else. Mary comes to the cross as the woman, the mother who gave birth to this one who is suffering for her sins. And yes, Mary was a sinner just like you and me and all people as we are all conceived and born in sin. As His mother, certainly Mary comes as one with a broken heart knowing that her son is innocent. As He is suffering on the cross Jesus thinks of His mother because of His love for her.
 

Jesus calls Mary, “woman,” not out of disrespect, but out of a sense that at this very moment He is Her Savior. Again, note what the Bible says, Jesus is there on the cross giving His life for all people of all places of all times, including His mother. Mary is not there in any way to help lessen or to take from Jesus His suffering. She is there as we are there, standing at the foot of the cross on which Jesus is dying because of her sins and ours.
 

Jesus speaks, “Dear woman, here is your son.” Jesus gives John to Mary to be her son. Jesus knows that life is not over for Mary or for John. He knows that Mary will need to be cared for, especially as she grows older. Jesus knows that He will not be there as her son to give her the care that she will need, thus He gives John to be her son in His place.
 

Then, Jesus turns to John and says, “Here is your mother.” To complete the adoption, Jesus gives Mary to be John’s mother. And we are told that “from that hour the disciple took her into his own household.” John did take care of Mary as his own mother.
 

Jesus’ suffering is not what we would call typical suffering. Most of us would say that we have had times in our lives when we suffered. What happens in the midst of suffering? Most people in times of suffering tend to turn inward, to thoughts of self. Often these times become times of self pity, “how bad I have it.” “I have it even worse,” we hear people say, or even brag. When we are in the midst of suffering we want sympathy, not help. We want to blame others even God, “God why are you doing this to me, what have I done to deserve this?” More often than not we want to make excuses and blame others and cry out that we being punished unjustly. Of course we know that the truth is that we are sinners and any suffering we may encounter is justly suffered.
 

Not so with Jesus. Jesus is being punished most assuredly unjustly. He was born sinless, as He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He obeyed all God’s Laws and command, perfectly. He never sinned, even once. Of His own free will He took our sins and the sins of the world on Himself. No one was there to take His life, He gave it freely. In the midst of His suffering Jesus thought of others. He saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved and thought of them. His concern was for the well being of His mother, that she would be cared for through her life and so He provides for her by giving her a new son, His disciple John.
 

I have to repeat it again so that we do not get confused. Mary was at the cross, not to help Jesus in His suffering, not to take any of the suffering on herself, and not to alleviate His suffering, but because of her love for Him as a mother loves her son. She was there, just like the others, as one who helped put Jesus on the cross because of her sins.
 

As we look at Jesus’ actions on the cross we are reminded once again that Jesus is an example for us to follow, but He is not just an example, because we would never be able to follow His perfect example. Not only is He an example, but praise the Lord, He fulfilled His example. This evening as we hear Him care for His mother we are reminded that suffering does not excuse us from our disobedience or our faithlessness.
 

Jesus’ actions this evening also remind us that He came to and did fulfill all the Law and the prophets perfectly. The Sunday before Ash Wednesday we celebrated Transfiguration Sunday, the day Jesus appeared on the mountain with His disciples, Peter, James and John and there with Him were Moses and Elijah. Moses the Lawgiver and Elijah the prophet. Perhaps they were there reviewing Jesus’ life to make sure He had indeed fulfilled the Law and the prophecies completely and fully. And perhaps they were there to give Him encouragement as the cross and suffering were always before Him and very near at that time. Jesus left nothing undone. He did what we were unable to do, what has always been commanded and demanded of us. He lived perfectly and then gave His life for ours so that we might have forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
 

And one thing we must keep reminding ourselves, Jesus work was for us and it was enough. One of the greater enemies of Jesus are those people who do not deny the cross, but say that it was not efficacious, in other words, that it had no effect on our eternal standing with God, that we still need to do something in order to be saved. Anytime we hear anyone put conditions on our salvation, “all you gotta do,” “if you do this or claim this or dedicate this or make this decision,” those are demands of the Law and do nothing for our salvation. Indeed, those are works and we know that our good works do not save us. Mary does not and did not save us. Jesus’ work, His life, His suffering, His death alone is what saves us.
 

We might well summarize this third time Jesus spoke from the cross by saying, “Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary,” completes and fulfills all that Law and the prophets completely, including and especially, while on the cross of thinking of His love for His mother and the fourth commandment in providing for her and supplying her with a care giver, His beloved disciple John. May Jesus’ love for His mother remind us of His love for us, so much that not only did He provide for us care and protection in our every day lives, but He also provided for us forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven. To Him be the glory. Amen.