Good morning. We're going to be reversing our order this morning in that I'm going to bring the message from our study in Corinthians, the second hour, and we're going to look at our Lord's third saying from the cross, the first hour. So if you'll turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 19. John chapter 19. Our meeting is scheduled for two weeks, is that right? 24th, 25th, and 26th. I think that's two weeks from this weekend. And so I hope that you'll remember to pray for Joe and for Gabe as they prepare the messages that the Lord would have us to hear. Invite your friends. Sometimes people will come to a special meeting that wouldn't come to normal Sunday services. So this is a good opportunity to bring someone that you've had on your heart or been praying for. And I know there's a lot of our brethren from other churches around the country that are going to be here. So that will be a blessing to be able to fellowship with them. I look forward to that. We ended up taking 12 of our folks over to Sarasota Thursday night, and Don Fortner was over there preaching for that group, and we were very encouraged to be there. I think they were encouraged. I know they were. They've shared with me since then how happy they were that we came over. And starting next month in February, they'll be here for our meeting in January, and then starting next month in February, we'll start going over on a regular basis and having services over there. So hopefully, over time, everybody will want to go over and share in that experience. So we'll be announcing it whenever we go, and anybody that would like to join us certainly would be welcome to do that. All right. One other announcement. If you all remember, last year I asked that the ladies particularly, but the men also, not wear perfume. We have a brother who's coming from another church who's highly allergic to all chemical smells. And so I think he'll be here probably in the next week or two and be here for a month. So if you could be remembering that, I mean, he can detect it in a room if one person has perfume on, and he can't be in that room. So he would just have to stand outside. And if you could remember that and just forego the chemicals for the next month or six weeks, I'm sure he'd appreciate that. He's not asked me to ask you that, but I know him, and I know how how terrible that is for him, so. Okay, let's ask the Lord to bless His word to our hearts. Our merciful, gracious, heavenly Father, What a great joy it is to be able to come before your throne of grace and call you our Father, which art in heaven. Truly, Father, thou art holy. And we ask, Lord, that you would be pleased now to make yourself known in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ to our hearts. We pray that you would send your precious and powerful Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our understanding, to tender our hearts, to give to us the gift of faith, to cause your word to be alive and effectual to our hearts. Father, how we do pray that you would bless us with our presence here in this place this day. We pray, Father, for Joe and for Gabe as they preach this morning, and we pray for them as they prepare the messages that you would have them to preach here. We pray for ourselves that you would give us ears to hear. We pray for our loved ones and for our friends and for our brethren that will be visiting from other places. We ask, Lord, that you would give to our Our fellowship, a revival of spirit, cause us, Lord, to be drawn to you. Bless your word to our hearts. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Last Sunday we looked at the first of the seven sayings that are mentioned in the scriptures that Christ said from the cross. You remember the first one was, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. And the Father did forgive them. He gave them the opportunity to hear the gospel just a couple of weeks after that. And though they were told that they did this in ignorance, they were smitten to the heart and said, men, what must we do? And Peter preached Christ and 3,000 of them were saved that day. The second of the sayings that our Lord made from the cross we looked at Wednesday night when the Lord told that thief, the one thief on his right side, when he asked him Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom and our Lord said today thou shalt be with me in paradise there's one one name we know we don't know his name actually but one person we know for sure is in glory is that that dying thief who had no opportunity to earn any favor with God His hands were nailed to a cross. He couldn't do any good works. His feet were nailed to a cross. He couldn't stand before God or do any work, walk straight, walk before God. He couldn't turn over a new leaf and change his life and make resolutions. He was dying. And yet the Lord was merciful to open his heart, cause him to cry out and affirm to him his salvation based purely on what the Lord Jesus Christ was doing there on the cross as his representative and as his Savior. What a glorious picture of salvation that is. Until we see ourselves with our hands nailed to the cross of Christ. Paul said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet it's not I, but it's Christ that liveth in me. The life that I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and died for me. I love that picture of the prophet in the Old Testament where he takes the child who has died, he goes up into the upper room, and the scripture says he lays prostrate over the child, hand to hand, feet to feet, mouth to mouth, and breathes life back into that lifeless child. A picture of what Christ has done for us on the cross. Our hands are nailed. We can't perform works that would earn us any favor with God. Our feet are nailed to the cross. Our salvation is not determined by how straight we walk. We're not in a position of turning over a new leaf. We need a new life. And that's something only the Lord can speak. That's only something He can give. Today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Oh, how we need for him to speak that word of assurance to our hearts. And now the third of these seven sayings I want us to address this morning. John chapter 19, verse 25. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister. Mary the wife of Cleophas. Now it's very unlikely that there would be two sisters with the same first name. Probably this would be Mary's sister-in-law, Joseph's sister, who would be referred to as her sister in the scriptures. So we have Joseph, who is obviously deceased, Mary, Joseph's sister, and Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. all these Marys standing at the foot of the cross. Mary's name meaning bitterness and that was the experience that these women were having in their hearts as they watched Christ die on that cruel cross. I look at the next verse, verse 26. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple standing by him whom he loved. Now, you know who that is. John, that's how John refers to himself in all of his writings. He doesn't refer to himself with his own name. He refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. And John, of all the disciples, demonstrated the love of Christ in his heart. What affection John had. He's the one, you remember at the Last Supper, who laid his head on the breast of Christ? And he's the one who speaks so much of the love of God when he writes in 1st John. when he speaks of God being love, and here he is now with Mary, the mother of Christ, standing at the foot of the cross, and the Lord said unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son. And he saith to the disciple, behold thy mother. And from that hour, that disciple took her into his own home. The first thing we see here in this saying of Christ from the cross is the realization that the Lord Jesus Christ came to fulfill all righteousness. That's what he came to do. Christ himself is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. The Lord Jesus Christ said to John, suffer to be so for now, for this is necessary, this has to be done, speaking of his baptism, in order to fulfill all righteousness. That's what Christ came to do. Now, in the law of God, we have the first four commandments given relating to man's relationship with God. and the last six of the commandments relating to man's relationship with man. What is the first of the last six commandments? Where does man's relationship with man begin? What is the fifth of the 10 commandments? Honor thy father and thy mother. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter six. Our Lord is demonstrating in these words from the cross His fulfilling of the law of God. In that in His dying breath with everything else that's going on, with the redemption of mankind being accomplished. the redemption of God's elect being accomplished, the Lord Jesus Christ fulfills the law in honoring his mother. Look at Ephesians chapter 6, children obey your parents and the Lord for this is right. honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise, and look at verse three, parents and young people alike, I want you to pay special attention to this, that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long on the earth. Let me ask you a question. If you went into the local jail or a prison, And you did a survey of all the individuals that were there. What character flaw do you suppose would be most prevalent among those who are in jail? One character flaw that would be most prevalent of all the young people that end up in prison and end up in jail? of respect for authority. Lack of respect for authority. The children are going to be children. Oh, it's bound up in the heart of a child. Foolishness is, isn't it? And they're going to forget things, and they're going to be influenced by their peers, and they're going to do things they ought not to do. And we need to be patient with them. We need to discipline them. Spare the rod, you spoil the child, but we need to pick our battles carefully too, don't we? You don't want to go to war over something that's just a normal childish behavior. Correct it and try to direct them properly, but there's one thing that ought not to be tolerated, and that's rebellion. That's a lack of respect. That's what children need to learn more quickly. They don't need to be built up in their self-esteem. They're children of their father Adam. They're your children. They've already got enough self-esteem. They've already got enough interest in themselves. What they need to learn, and you know the problem is when you discipline a child for bad behavior, and then that child rebels against that discipline, then the rebellion becomes the problem, not the bad behavior. Look at Ephesians chapter 6 again. That it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long on the earth. If I was you, I wouldn't tolerate disrespect from my child. I just wouldn't do it. I'd stay on top of that from the time they were very, very small. Because once they learn rebellion against authority, then the door is wide open. They have no respect for God. They have no respect for the police. They have no respect for laws. They have no respect for their employers. It begins, you see, the fifth commandment. This matter of our relationship with one another. It's not by mistake that the Lord made the first of those last six commandments. Children, obey your parents. Honor thy father and thy mother. And that honor doesn't just stop when we become adults, does it? Our Lord is honoring his mother here in the fulfilling of that law. You say, well, you know, my parent is not honorable. My parent is not a believer. They don't... Think about it like this. Here we have the perfect, sinless son of God honoring his mother, who is a sinner. Now if the Lord Jesus Christ could stoop to honor his mother, ought we not to honor our parents, treat them with respect, show them deference? It's just, it's right in the sight of God. And that's, and you know, out of all the things that our Lord could have said from the cross, here's the third of those words that he speaks. And this word woman is not a word of disrespect. It's just an acknowledgment of who she is. She was a woman. He says, woman, behold thy son. The second thing we see in this, not only is our Lord fulfilling all righteousness and keeping the law perfectly as our righteousness before God, but we also see that he's fulfilling prophecy. You remember when Joseph and Mary took the Lord Jesus Christ to the temple to have him circumcised and Simeon who was the priest in the temple, he saw the Lord Jesus Christ and God spoke to his heart and he said, this is the consolation of Israel, the one whom we've been waiting for and the rise and the fall of many is in his hand. And then at the end of that prophecy, he said to Mary, yet a sword shall pass through thy soul. And Mary now is having that experience, isn't she? She's standing there at the foot of the cross, experiencing the grief of seeing that one that once lied on her breast, and that one that she taught to walk and to talk and to care for, and the one who honored her so perfectly all of his life, now suffering such a cruel death on Calvary's cross. Scripture says in Revelation chapter 19 that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. You remember also in Luke chapter 2, when the shepherds came, to the stable where our Lord was born and tells Mary and Joseph the things that the angels had said to them. And the scripture says in Luke chapter 2, and they all wondered at this thing, this prophecy that was made about this child. They stood in amazement that angels would come and make such a declaration that a Savior was born. But then the scripture says, but Mary kept these things in her heart and pondered them. She knew who the Lord Jesus Christ was. You know, if there was ever a doubt in anybody else's mind, If there was ever a doubt in Joseph's mind, if there was ever a doubt in anybody else's mind, there was never a doubt. Mary knew she had never been with a man. She knew that that child had been conceived of the Holy Spirit. She knew who he was. She had watched his perfect behavior. I mean, you talk about having a favored child. Can you imagine the relationship that Mary had? with our Lord as she watched him interact with his brothers and sisters as she watched him work as she watched him live out his life in perfection and now here she is standing there experiencing the fulfillment of prophecy Acts chapter 10 verse 43 says to him to the Lord Jesus Christ gave all the prophets witness This entire book is prophecy about Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ himself is the fulfillment of that prophecy. And we see here on the cross as our Lord speaks to his mother, not only the fulfillment of the law, but we see the fulfillment of prophecy as well. The third thing we see in our Lord speaking to Mary and John in such a way is that it shows us, it shows us who the believer's family really is. Now I don't suppose there's two people in all of scripture that's described in the Word of God that had more affection for the Lord Jesus Christ than Mary and John. I mean they, they love the Lord with such, with such depth of affection that, and the Lord puts these two believers together. And the script, what we read, and from that hour Mary went home with John. Which explains in John chapter 20, you remember when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and found that the Lord was gone and she ran back and told the disciples and the scripture says in John chapter 20 that Peter and John ran to the tomb. John outran Peter. probably younger and more fit perhaps, but he got there first and peered into the tomb, but he was afraid to go in. Peter in his impetuous way just bursted right into the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there and they didn't know what had happened. They still didn't understand what the Lord had taught them about the resurrection. But the scripture says in John chapter 20 that from there Peter and John went back to their own home. Why is that? Why is that in there? Well, where was Mary? Where was Mary? We just read that Mary was in John's home from that very hour she went home with John. Who did John have on his mind to tell about the resurrection of Christ more than Mary? John ran straight back to Mary to tell her that Christ had risen. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13. This declaration of our Lord is a fulfillment of prophecy, it's a fulfillment of the law, but it also tells believers who their family really is. Who their family really is. Contrary to what the Catholic Church teaches, Mary did not live out her life as a virgin. she had other children. And to deny that is to deny the clear teaching of scripture. We don't have to preserve the virginity of Mary in order to hold her up as some co-redemptrix of the human race. She was a sinner just like you and I, and she was in need of Christ as her Savior just as much as you or I are. John chapter 13 makes that clear. Look at verse 55. This is what our Lord's enemies had to say about Him. in verse 55 of Matthew chapter 13, is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren James and Joseph and Simon and Judas and his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? Well, we know your family. We know where you're from. We know your mother. We know your brothers and sisters. You're not the Christ. You're just a carpenter. Now look at John chapter 7 at verse 1. After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews' feast of the tabernacle was at hand. His brethren, the same ones spoken of in the passage we just read in Matthew chapter 13, his brothers, they had seen the miracles that he had performed. And they thought, we've got a celebrity in the family. Look at the number of people that are following after him. Let's put him out there in public. And look what they said. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If you want to be known openly, perform your miracles openly. Don't do them in secret. We've seen your power. Go out and show it to the world. Our family will be somebody. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. Look at verse 5. For neither did his brethren believe in him. Mary had other children. No question about it. The problem is they weren't believers. And that's the reason why the Lord Jesus Christ said to John, behold thy mother. And from that hour she went home to be with John. What is the Lord telling us? What every believer knows is true. And that is that their real family, their real family is not their blood family. Their real family is their spiritual family, their church. Those they're able to fellowship with in the gospel are their real brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers. Fourthly, this statement of our Lord shows his compassion for those who suffer. Now, the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary's cross was not only the purpose of our Lord's life, but it was the purpose for which the world was made. Why did God make the world? Why did he make man? Why? Why are we here? Why are we here? God made man in order to demonstrate his glory. The glory of God is the chief end of all things. The glory of God is the chief end of everything that God purposed to do. Not our comfort, but His glory. And so God created people in order to redeem them so that he might show forth his glory to them and create unto himself children that would be just like the Lord Jesus Christ, all for his glory. People say, well, is there a God and what is the purpose of man? You know there's a God. Everybody knows there's a God. And if there is a God, then the chief end of man is to worship him. to glorify Him and to enjoy Him forever. That's man's chief end. That's the purpose. And that was being accomplished here on the cross. For there could be no glory to God. There could be no redemption of sinners. There could be no enjoying of God. apart from man being forgiven. And so what we see here on Calvary's cross is a culmination of everything that God purposed, not only in the life of Christ, but in the creation of the world, and in the creation of mankind is being accomplished right here on the cross. This is the crux of the matter. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is the crossroad of everything. Everything that's anything is being demonstrated here in the sacrifice that the Lord Jesus Christ is making of himself on Calvary's cross. It is everything. Everything. And yet with so much at stake, with so much at stake, we find the Lord Jesus Christ showing compassion towards his mother who is suffering greatly. Towards one individual who is suffering. A sword shall pass through thy soul, Simeon said. Mary, I remind you, did not have months to prepare for this experience. It wasn't as if the Lord had been arrested and thrown into prison and the appeals of the court have drug on and on for months or weeks or days or years. No. just a couple of days before the crowd was hailing him as king this all happened over the period of one night the day before the Lord was meeting with his disciples the evening before the Lord was meeting with his disciples celebrating the Passover meal There was no indication that he would be arrested, dragged through a mock trial, flogged and scourged and placed a crown of thorns on and put on a Roman's cross just in a matter of hours. What a shock to Mary that this night and day brought into her life. And yet We see no hysterical emotions, no wild outcry of grief, no uncontrolled anguish. The scripture says she stood there and she watched in unbroken silence. She heard the crowds mocking. She heard the thieves taunting our Lord. She heard the priest scoffing him, and the soldiers callously occupied in the dividing of his possessions. She saw it all. She saw the child that she had birthed into this world, bleeding and suffering in untold anguish. We don't find her having lost control. We don't find her crouched on the ground. We see her standing, beholding it all with a broken heart. And our Lord, with everything that was at stake, had compassion for her and provided for her in that time of need. I pray that whatever the Lord has ordained for us, that we'll suffer, we'll suffer the trials that he's ordained for us with such grace. That he'll give us the ability to trust him in whatever troubles we have to go through in this life. And I know But if he does that, he will provide the comfort for his children in the same way that he provided for his mother. We see in this story a special, special love that these two had for Christ. And I think that's especially demonstrated, as I mentioned a moment ago in John chapter 20, when Peter and John left the tomb, the scripture says they went to their own house. John couldn't wait to get home and tell Mary that the Lord had risen. He told the rest of the disciples, you will be offended of me and you will be scattered. And they did, even Peter said, Lord, they may, they may forsake you, but not me. Oh, what pride. Pride does proceed at the fall, doesn't it? Peter, in his pride, thought, I'm not going to forsake you. I'll be there by your side. Who is the one that forsook him with cursings? Peter. Peter. Why did Peter do that? Because the Lord took his hand off of Peter. That's what he said. The Lord told Peter, Satan has asked to sift you. And I'm going to remove my restraining grace from you and allow you to be under the control of Satan. The Lord had already said to Peter to get thee behind me, Satan. Satan's already getting a foothold in your life, Peter, and I'm going to let him have his way until he shows you your weakness. And in seeing your weakness, you'll acknowledge your dependence upon me. They were all offended. Every single one of them. It's interesting that the word offense in the Bible is the word from which we get our word scandalized from. They were ashamed to be by the Lord. They were scandalized by what was happening. Have you ever been offended by Christ? Have you ever failed to stand by His side because everybody else thought that the gospel was scandalous and rather than standing for Christ, you did what Peter and all the other disciples did, fled from Him, didn't defend Him, didn't stand there at His cross? Sure you have. Sure you have. I know you have. I've done it. To our shame, We've done exactly what Peter's did, and the Lord, I trust, will use that weakness to show us our need for Him. Paul said, when I am weak, then I am strong. His power is His grace and His power is shown forth in my weakness. But the Lord had given to Mary and to John a special affection that caused them to be there. And that's the only thing that will keep us from being scandalized by the gospel. The only thing that will cause us to be faithful to Christ, as John and Mary were, is the love of Christ in our hearts. It's the love of Christ that constraineth us, and we're only able to love Him as we are able to see His love for us. so all that the Lord would demonstrate his love toward us and cause us to return to our first love and give us through the power of love the grace to stand for him. The last thing that we see from these words of our Lord toward his mother and towards John is that the death of Christ changed the way in which Mary would relate to the Lord Jesus Christ forevermore. Forevermore. Up till now she was known as his mother. Now she would be known as his child. Paul said in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse 16, henceforth know we him not after the flesh. We knew him after the flesh, but not anymore. Now he's ascended into glory. And now our relationship with Christ is a spiritual relationship. And he is our king, and our God, and our savior. even as he was for Mary." Our Lord's last words. Precious words, aren't they? Woman, behold thy son. And then he said to his disciple, behold thy mother. Let's take a break.