Behold Your Mother - John 19:17-27

2:19One of the very first things we realized when we brought our firstborn home is that these things don't come with an instruction manual. So I asked Josiah if I could share this, so he's fine with it. So I'm going to have to apologize to him for turning his legs blue at a very early age. One of the things that happened was Nancy got this baby and was he started crying. And this was unusual. And he cried all morning and she couldn't get him. To stop crying, so she calls me at the office. We have this consultation, trying to figure out what is going on, and only a little later did she realize she had tightened his diaper too tight. So, legs turn blue, cry all that. So, sorry for that. I hope it hadn't created some long-term damage. But one of the things is new parents, you learn how to parent, make a lot of mistakes along the way. Sometimes you get very overreactive on some things. I know on one occasion, Nancy is holding her baby and felt a little bump right on the back of the, and couldn't sleep all night, very anxious, got up the next day, got in contact with the doctor, and nurse said, You know, that's just a gland. It's okay, everyone has those. But it's a picture of how a mother can relate to her children, right?

4:04I'm sure many of us could sit down and go through story after story of how mom was there for me, how I cried my eyes out, mom was there, mom was there. When I was down, my mom was there. When I had lost the game, my mom was there. You could go through many stories about motherhood like that. But who really can appreciate a mother's heart? A mother's love for her children is like a golden chain. It cannot be broken. And it's as fierce as it is beautiful.

4:44Nothing on earth compares with it. So happy Mother's Day. It is a love that is attentive, engaged, and concerned. It is a love that knows no fear and regards no sacrifice too great when her child's well-being is at stake. And such is the motherhood, or the estate of motherhood as God created it. Now, certainly, man has perverted it. We have perverted and fall short in motherhood. It's only due to a perversion, but it's not the way God intended it.

5:31And yet, even within our fallen state, we need a Savior, don't we? I think all of us can look back as parents and we can find some regrets, we can find some things we wish we had done differently, etc., etc. And we find ourselves casting ourselves at the mercy of God, needing forgiveness and needing a basis to go forward. And we meet that today in our passage. God had, in his infinite wisdom, entrusted his son to the motherly care of Mary. And Mary?

6:14Or Jesus was Mary's firstborn. And I could imagine, just as life goes, that there was a learning curve for her. She had to learn how to steward the child of God and how to learn how to be a mother. You can be sure that she loved him with all the affections of a loving mother, and she was one of God's finest gifts to him. And certainly, this special relationship, we just read about it in verse 26 and 27, it becomes very evident. Let me read again those scriptures to you in verse 26. When Jesus then saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. From that hour, the disciple took her into his own household. It's unique that here on Mother's Day we have this text before us. As you know, we just go through sequentially, and I don't try to step out of the way for the Hallmark calendar, but here it is right here before us. And so I can't help but step into this moment in time and witness this beautiful relationship between Christ. On the cross and his mother standing there at the foot of the cross. And I want us to take our time this morning.

7:39I want us to step into the context of what's going on so that you will appreciate this special relationship and this unique interchange that only John writes about. And then I want us to look at three characteristics as we behold this king of the Jews, as we behold the son, as we witness this interchange as John tells Mary to, or tells, as Jesus tells John to behold your mother, I want us to behold her son. I want us to behold this king of the Jews. So that's where we're going this morning. First, I want to look at the context. Just bring that up to mind. Remember what's happened in verse 15, and before that, you've had the trial of the Jews. Jesus was rejected by his own people in the great perversion of justice. He is sent over to be tried by the Romans. Pilate himself tries the case. Pilate finds him innocent, and yet he condemns him to the most horrific criminal's punishment that has ever been devised in the history of the earth. It's totally engineered. For the purpose of maximum pain, maximum suffering, maximum humiliation and dehumanization.

9:11And so we pick up the narrative in verse 16. He handed him over to them to be crucified. He handed him over to the wishes of the chief priests, and it is the Roman soldiers that are going to carry out the crucifixion. And it's interesting that John covers the whole horrific agonies of the cross in one word: crucified. He doesn't go into the gory details, he doesn't go into all the blood and all the pain and all. None of the gospel writers do, by the way. It's just a matter of fact what he went through. They are interested in why and what transpires as he's going through it. He is going through the most horrific situation that could ever be imaginable. And what John wants us to see is to see the man, not see all the blood, but see what's going on. See who this individual is. And that's what I want us to do as we walk through this. I want to behold him.

10:15Verse 17, they took Jesus, therefore, and he went out bearing his own cross, reminiscent of Isaac carrying his wood up to be sacrificed, a flashback. Thought, but this son is not going to be delivered. The hand is not going to be stayed. He took Jesus, therefore, he went out bearing his own cross to the place called the place of a skull, which he is called in Hebrew Gogotha, so a terrifying place, whether it is the shape of a skull, whether it is just the place where a lot of people died.

10:54You know your geography, and in Israel, you know there's a couple of places or several places around that possibly it could be with the idea it is a well-known place associated with death. So they lead him out there. It's where they take him, certain death. There they crucified him, and with him two other men, one on either side and one in between. So Jesus experienced the public rejection by his own, the criminal's crucifixion by the Romans. Now look at this inscription that Pilate puts upon there, verse 19. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews. So you had to put some kind of placard up there that said what this individual, what this criminal's crime is, so to speak. You got this cross, and the purpose of this, they put him in a highly visible area.

12:00Because part of the mindset and thinking behind a Roman cross was to discourage everyone to imitate him, to be like him. So they put the criminals in very well-traveled places as a statement: don't you dare be like him. And so they would hang the penalty, because that's what they're trying to discourage. That was Roman rule. And so here's the crime. Pilate had it written or wrote it. He is on the cross. This man is on the cross because he is the king of the Jews. That's Pilate's inscription. Here is Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews. This is why he's on the cross.

12:55Therefore, many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews, notice the distinction that John makes here: there was Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews, and there are the chief priests of the Jews. And it is the chief priests of the Jews who win the allegiance of the crowds. And John is perfect. Purposely putting, they did not follow the king of the Jews, they followed the chief priests of the Jews. And if you follow spiritually blind, you fall into spiritual disaster. And that's where the chief priests of the Jews led them into spiritual disaster. And so they came to Pilate. They said, Do not write the king of the Jews, but that he said, that he said, I am king of the Jews.

13:57Pilate's response is, What I have written, I have written. They're saying, we're embarrassed by this. And part of that, as you can imagine, the Romans, as they crucify Jesus, as they mocked the king of the Jews, they are mocking the Jews. Oh, yeah, let's put you, let's enthrone the king of the Jews on a cross in a high-traveled area, and let's just say, there's your king. There's your king. It's a form of mockery in and of itself. And so those chief priests who saw this say, well, don't do that. You just say he claimed to be. Pilate said, What I have written, I have written. So Pilate gets the final word. He's unmovable. Perhaps he wants a little revenge. He didn't want to get thrown into this thing. He tried to get out of it at several junctures.

14:47Jesus terrified him. And here he is. I have written what I have written. I am not changing it. Don't know exactly what was going on in Pilate's mind. But John sees this title as very significant, and that's why he records it. Pilate said more than he knew. But in God's providence, Pilate got it profoundly right. Here's his crime: King of the Jews, rejected by his own, crucified. What's going on? What's going on? Jesus is the king of the Jews. John makes that very clear. He is king. Scripture makes that very clear. He will rule over the Jews.

15:49He will rule over the Gentiles. He will get the Jewish house in order. You know why? Because he is king of the Jews. They will come around. And their kingdom will be the most glorious that this earth has ever seen. Why? Because he is king of the Jews. He is their Messiah. But before they could come under the Messiah's rule, guess what they needed? They needed a Passover lamb. And listen, before Jesus can be your king, he must be your Passover lamb.

16:32There will be no iniquity in Jacob when they recognize their Passover Lamb is their king. In order to come under Jesus' rule, you must first be pardoned. And there is no just way to pardon except for your penalty be absolutely paid in complete full. So before you can know him as king, you must know him as your Passover Lamb. His blood must be upon your life. The Jews had no understanding, did not see their primary need as to be cleansed from their sin, just needed a political reorganization, and all would be right. No, our problem is much deeper than that. So Pilate writes something profoundly right, correct, even though it was far more than he realized. So Jesus experienced this public rejection, this criminal's crucifixion, and then he experiences this demeaning humiliation.

18:00They take everything from him. Look back, verse 23. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his outer garments, made four parts, a part for every soldier, and also the tunic. Now, the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So, what they have, they take his garments, his outer garments, probably divided him up into four relatively equal portions. He probably had head covering, probably had a belt, probably had shoes, outer garment, and all that, four distinct parts. So, each soldier, and now from this gospel, we know there are four. Each one gets a part. But then they come to his, what we would call probably his inner suit, his undersuit, his clothing, his tunic. It's seamless. It's woven in one piece. And so, to tear it would render it useless. So, they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but let's cast lots for it to decide whose it shall be. This was to fulfill the scripture. They divided my outer garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

19:12And John makes a connection with Psalm 22. And let me just read to you a portion of this because God in his providence took David through a situation that he pinned words that. Prophetically spoke to the agonies of what Jesus experienced on the cross. Let me read to you, beginning in verse 11. Think about all this scene. This gives us an inside look at what's going on in the mind of Christ, what he's experiencing, certainly. Verse 11, Be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help. Many bulls have surrounded me, strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. They open wide their mouth at me. As a ravening and a roaring lion, I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, it is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potshirt, and my tongue cleans to my jaws. And you lay me in the dust of death, for dogs have surrounded me, a band of evildoers has encompassed me, they pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all of my bones. They look, they stare at me. They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Now that's a strange statement. They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Now, who does this?

20:59The procession. Of this prophecy is profound. They did two things. They divided and they cast lots. They divided his clothing, but then they cast lots for their clothing. What precision! John wants us to call our attention to this. This is certainly God's doing. Utter humiliation. No dignity ascribed to Jesus at all, deemed worthless, stripped of everything he owns. And there he is on the cross. And this is where John brings mom into the picture. Therefore, verse 25: the soldiers did these things, but standing, and the tense is there, they were standing by the cross of Jesus, were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. These four women.

22:13Mother, Mary, mother's sister, probably Salome, which would make John and James cousins, would make Salome Jesus' aunt. Mary, the wife of Clopas. Not much is said about her. Perhaps mother of James the Less, Mary Magdalene, read more about her on the seven demons cast out of her from Magdalena. But there's mom. You see that golden chain of love connecting her to her son. No fear. She's not afraid of the soldiers, at least, not enough to avoid being around. She's there.

23:05You remember way back in Luke chapter 2, as she went into the temple, giving birth to her son. She goes into the temple and she meets a man named Simeon. Simeon sees Jesus and he says, Woman, this child is destined for the rising and falling of many in Israel. And a sword is going to pierce your own soul. And here is that moment where Mary's soul is pierced. And you see, then in a few moments, Anna comes out. Then Anna says, This child is here for the redemption of Israel.

24:01There she is, fierce and beautiful love mother for her son. They're an eye shot of the soldiers dividing the clothes. In fact, I would submit to you that these women were the ones who provided the clothes in the first place. Gospel writers talk about these women in different contexts having met the needs and served the needs of Christ and the group. Well, that's the context. And now, here we're brought to this context. We're brought to this situation, to this unique and beautiful and wonderful setting. And here we get to now behold the Son. Now we get to behold this King of the Jews. Everything has been thrown at him. And now he's in this incredibly, incredibly dehumanized, humiliated state. And now we're going to behold this King of the Jews.

25:18And that's where I want us to do. I want us to see three characteristics of Jesus as we behold the Son, as we look upon Jesus'. Concern for his mother, I want us to behold her son, the son, God's son. I want to behold this king of the Jews. There are three characteristics I want to bring to your attention. The first is that Jesus fulfills his obligations. Jesus fulfills his obligation. The king of the Jews fulfills his obligations. Look back at verse 26. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. And then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother.

26:11It's interesting to note that Jesus did not neglect the duty which he owed his mother. He did not neglect the duty that a son owes his mother. Remember in Exodus chapter 20, 12, first commandment comes with the promise is, honor your father and mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. If ever there was an individual who honored his parents, it was Christ. It was Jesus. He grew up recognizing the authorities that God had established, and he came under them. Yes, he came under them, beginning with his parents.

26:57He discharged His duties to both God and men all the days of his life. In fact, in Luke 20, or Luke 2, verse 52, we read Luke's comments that Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. He always did what was right in God's eyes and did what was right and faithful to man. And he grew in favor. It's what he always did. Until that point, when doing what was right in God's eyes offended the sensibilities. But he was a man of duty. He was a man of duty. And yet, he never let his duty to his mother take precedence over his duty to God or to anybody else. He never let any human relationship take precedence over his duty to God. And it would have been tragic if Jesus had elevated his mother and his duty to take care of her over his duty to God. It would have been absolutely tragic for her. She would never have been saved. She would never have been pardoned. And it would have been horrific for us. There would be no salvation.

28:22Yeah, all is lost when we hold on to relationship over duty to God. Duty to God comes first. But these two are not at odds with each other. When you do what's right before God's eyes, it is right for every individual in your life. It is the best thing you can do for every single individual in your life is to do what is right in God's eyes, even if they may not get it. But think for a moment about this extraordinary exchange that Jesus' mind would be turned to his mother at this juncture. It's extraordinary. Think about it. His body has just been severely tortured.

29:16He's writhing in pain. He had endured and was still enduring the cruelest of criticisms and condemnations. He was being demeaned to the level of subhuman. The shame and grief that he was bearing was absolutely inconceivable. And all this is going on while he's actively engaged in the severest moment of the fight with eternal death, the devil, and the power of evil. I mean, he's in the midst of it all. The full wrath of God, the Father, is looming right in front of him. And yet, with all this happening, he's concerned about how his mom is dead. Doing.

30:02That's extraordinary. And we'd give him a pass there. Look, you've got other things on your mind, son. All right? He's very concerned about his mom and how his absence is going to affect her. He wouldn't leave no loose ends. He took care of every detail. Behold the king of the Jews. Extraordinary. And Jesus made it clear that the honor due to parents goes beyond just obeying them while you live under their roof. Jesus honored his mother, and he expects his people to do the same.

30:54He expects us to honor our parents. All that, you see that. But here's the main point: Jesus didn't neglect even the smallest detail of his duty. Now, I don't know about you, but that is a tremendous comfort. That's who he is. He will not neglect the smallest detail of his duty. He will leave no loose ends. And for us, that is huge because he has promised to take care of us. He is obligated by his kingship, by his priesthood, by his shepherding role. He is obliged to carry out many duties. And as you look at this individual, he's not going to leave a single loose end with his mother or for you.

31:56Jesus fulfills his obligations. And because of this, we can truly rest. Behold, this king of the Jews. First of all, Jesus fulfills his obligations. Second, I want you to notice that Jesus cares for those he loves. He cares for those he loves. And I pick up four ways that this is seen here in this passage and related. First of all, Jesus cares for those he loves, and his care is seen in his provision. Woman, behold your son.

32:42Behold your mother. He wanted to make sure his mother was taken care of. He wanted to make sure she was not only physically taken care of, not only relationally taken care of, but also spiritually. Spiritually provided for. He wanted her in a household of truth. And his other brothers, probably at this time, still have not come to faith in him. You would expect them to be in the line, taking on the role of caring for their mother. But he doesn't. He wants her physically provided for. He wants her to be loved, so he puts her in a place where there will be a provision, relational provision, where she will be loved, and he wants her in a home where her faith will flourish. Physical, relational, and spiritual, he provides.

33:45I can comment for a moment on a gross misinterpretation from those Catholic exegetes who like to look at this passage and say we've got it all around all backwards. That really what Jesus is saying is to John, behold your mother. Mother, behold your son. John, you come under her. She is your spiritual mother now. And she is the mother of the church. It's where the Catholic exegetes go with this, but it all comes from, not from honest exegesis, but from another Outside doctrine that's trying to be protected. No, very quickly, you can see even in the sentence alone, from that hour, the disciple took her into his own household. There is movement of her under the care of him.

34:49The whole flow. He's providing for his mother physically, relationally, and spiritually. But Jesus cares for those he loves, and this is seen in his provision. It's also seen in his forgiveness. In his forgiveness. Now, to bring his mother to this point, he had to have already forgiven her of everything she had done in the past. That was short, off, or whatever, imperfect. In fact, when Jesus is on the cross, if you survey all the gospel writers, you come up with seven statements that he makes from the cross. The very first one is in Luke 23, 34, and is directed to those soldiers who crucified him. In fact, let me just read it to you, verse 34. But Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them, speaking of the soldiers, for they do not know what they are doing, and they cast lots, dividing up his garments among them. So it's in this context that Jesus has already uttered a forgiving word to his soldiers. But I can assure you that Jesus' care. For his mother has already exhibits a forgiveness of whatever shortcomings she may have had. She was certainly not a perfect mom. She had her moments of doubt. She had her moments of misunderstanding and impulsive actions. In fact, in Mark chapter 3, verse 21, see that she went out among her family to take charge of Jesus because they thought he had lost his senses. So she didn't always get the full picture, for sure. She was a mother. She was not a perfect mom. And she was very dependent upon Jesus forgiving her.

36:44And as he hung on the cross, guess what he was doing? He was securing her eternal pardon. Already, listen, if Jesus had retained his mother's sin, she would have no place in his heavenly home. Can you see that? I think if Jesus hadn't forgiven his mother of all the times she fell short, went the wrong way, whatever, she would not be in his good graces. She would not be welcomed into a heavenly home with him. Likewise, look, if you do not forgive your parents, they will have no place in your life.

37:27Forgiveness is a duty owed to parents. Especially parents. In fact, I would say this: that until you relate properly to your parents, you will be relationally challenged the rest of your life. If you cannot forgive, and I don't care what they've done, I assure you, whatever your mom or whatever your dad's shortcomings may have been, I don't care what they are, they don't amount to what Jesus has gone through. And if you cannot forgive them, and I mean let it go, if you cannot forgive them, you cannot be forgiven, and the reason you cannot be forgiven is because you do not know the forgiver.

38:25It's that serious to him. Pardon is essential to come under his kingdom. Look, in order to come under his kingdom, you must be pardoned. Otherwise, you remain at odds with his kingdom. And before you can come to him as your king, you must come to him as your Passover lamb. That's the only way there is pardon. And having experienced the pardon, when you realize the gravity of your own sin in light of a holy God, forgiveness becomes like a second reflex, even in difficult situations. And I know there's some horrific things that people have experienced. And I know the words that I'm saying are heavy and speak of great, great difficulty, but they are very true.

39:42God expects us to forgive. And it becomes second nature if you're truly forgiven and truly understand who you are and who He is. So make sure if you're holding anything against mom today, you make that right. But so His care is seen. His care is seen in several ways. His care is seen in His provision. His care is seen in His forgiveness. His care is also seen in His cleansing ministry. His care for His people is seen in His cleansing. Cleansing ministry. You remember what in John chapter 13, the disciples are gathered together. What does he do? He knows he's about to depart out of this world. He loves his disciples to the end. And loving them to the end, he gets up, he lays aside his garments, and he takes a towel and he begins to wash their feet. He wants to remove that which is offensive, inappropriate in his people. He comes to Peter, and Peter's like, you're not going to wash me. Jesus is like, if I do not wash you, you have no part with me at all. Okay, wash me.

41:11But at the cross, he laid aside not only his garments, but his life as a means to cleanse his people from their sins. Let me tell you where new life begins. It begins knowing your sins are forgiven before a holy God and that they are really forgiven, that there is a just basis for this forgiveness. And new life springs from that cleansing. So that's why you're called to put your faith and trust in Christ. Look to Him as your Lamb. Look to Him as the one who pardons, forgives, justly forgives your sin. And then you can experience Him as your King.

41:59If you Don't come to him as your lamb, you'll never come under his kingship because you will not be pardoned. You'll be at odds. Fourth way he cares for his people is he cares, his care is seen in his protection, in his protection. See, Jesus was concerned for Mary's earthly security, so he appointed John to be her social security for the future, so to speak. He was also concerned about Mary's eternal well-being, and he appointed himself to be her heavenly social security policy.

42:46You see, we need some kind of righteous basis, don't we? We need a righteous basis outside ourselves to ensure that we will never fall under the eternal disfavor of God. We need some kind of security because if there's a threat out there that I can still fall under the disfavor of God, I have no peace. There is no, and if it's left up to me, I will botch it. We need an assurance outside of ourselves that we will never, ever fall under the eternal disfavor of God. That's death. But where do we get that?

43:30The blood of the Passover Lamb. This is how in Exodus 11, God makes it very clear that He makes a distinction between peoples. Exodus 12:13, the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. The destroyer moves at the will of God, but it will not come near those who are covered in his righteous blood. He will never move his hand in a destroying fashion.

44:20So Mary had to come to see Jesus not only as her son, according to the flesh, but as her Passover Lamb, as her king, as her Lord, as her God, the great I am. So, how do we should we respond to all this? Jesus' care is seen in his provision, so we should be thankful. Be thankful for the provision in your life, whatever degree. Jesus' care is seen in his forgiveness. So, how do we respond? To that. Well, we should ask for his forgiveness, and we should be a people granting forgiveness.

45:09Jesus' care is seen in his cleansing. How should we respond to this? We should desire the cleansing that he gives, whatever it is, whether it comes in the form of entertainment, relationships, whatever it may be, we should want the cleansing because it is perfectly good. It is right. Every thought, may it be cleansed, may it be pure. We should want that. That's responding to his care. Jesus' care is also seen in his protection. How do we respond to that? Well, we should look to the future with great joy, and I don't care what's happening in the world around us.

45:51We should always look to the future with anticipation of the great things that God is doing and will continue to do. Because his protecting eye is upon us, and he cares for those he loves. And that's the truth. Let that shape you. So, three characteristics. As we behold the Son, as we behold this King of the Jews, first of all, Jesus fulfills his obligations. Second, Jesus cares for those he loves. And third, Jesus joins. Those he loves. He joins those he loves. He unites them together. Real quickly, look back at verse 27. From that hour, the disciple took her into his own household.

46:47Who are the two people he dearly loves? Well, he loves his mother. And in the text, verse 26, the disciple whom he loved. Two people he loved. What does he do? He joins them together. He joins them together. It's interesting that he joins them just as a matter of detail. He wants, he could have provided for his mother, could have sent ravens, he could have done a lot of things, but he wants to provide through his people. He provides for his mother by human means through one of his own followers. And he gives to John a gift. He gives John the gift of a reminder of himself in his mother. Likewise, he gives his mother a gift, a reminder of himself in this disciple he loved.

47:41And he brings them together. They were united out of their love for Christ and out of Christ's love for them. And that's how he puts them together. It's interesting. Even Peter didn't get this privilege, right? Take care of my. Mom, John. What a privilege. What a privilege to take care of those that God loves. What a privilege. Peter didn't even get that. John, take care of my mom. I love her. What a privilege to serve those that Jesus loves. Same is true today. The church is the place where Jesus unites those He loves.

48:43We are united out of our love for Christ and out of His love for us. And He's the one who's puts us together. So, as we begin to reassemble after this COVID-19 interruption, let us see our responsibilities to each other in a similar way as we saw John's responsibility to Mary. Love, serve. Oh, what a text for Mother's Day. Go home and appreciate your mother. But this is more than just a son's love for his mother, isn't it? It's more than just a mother's love for a son. It's more than just Jesus' love for his mother. It's about a Savior's love for his own people. That's what this whole passage is about. You can take courage, you can be of good cheer if you belong to him. And if you don't belong to him, you can belong to him simply right now by confessing your sins and asking him to forgive you and look to him for that pardon and for his kingship. And he'll save you like that.

50:06Let's pray. Heavenly Father, what a joy it is to stand at the foot of cross and at the foot of the cross and witness some 2,000 years later relive this moment, this incredible moment, touching moment between your son and his earthly mother. Father, and as we look upon this scene, we are reminded of just how you care for us. You leave no loose end. You take care of every detail. You are obligated. You have obligated yourself, and you will not shrink back in any one degree at all, whatsoever, concerning us. Father, we know that you care for us. Father, and we know that you've joined us together. So, Father, may in all these things we prove. To respond appropriately to you. And I ask right now by your Holy Spirit that you would show us, convict us, and specifically what that looks like today and the next week and days to come, how we truly receive from you and give to others.