The Word of Affection

One movie I enjoy casts the boss of a company in a negative light. And the boss says a memorable line to the movie's main character: “It’s people that make a difference; little people like you.” Unfortunately, many of us experience this from rulers or people in authority. Introducing today’s passage of Scripture, Bruce Milne says, “The great problem with the human saviors who, over the centuries, have dreamed their great dreams and flung their empires around the world is that in the process, they lose sight of the individual. Our little personal universe of hope and pain, struggle and achievement, pales into insignificance beside the great all-inclusive plan: the individual becomes expendable.” He continues: “But this king who reigns from a cross on Golgotha is different. Here is a king whose embrace is as wide as the world, the one to whom ‘all authority in heaven and on earth has been given’ (Matt. 28:18), and yet who can simultaneously embrace each of us in a personal, loving commitment which is the dance of our hearts. This paragraph perfectly illustrates it, for as Jesus hangs there with the burden of a world’s redemption upon his shoulders, he finds time to express his personal, loving concern for his mother and one of his special friends.”

Today, we continue a short devotional series of the seven words (or sayings) that Jesus speaks from the cross. I hope the sermons in this series so far, which dealt with Jesus saying, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they do,” and “Today, you will be with me in paradise,” have encouraged you. Scratch that. We’re not out to merely inspire you. NO. We want you to see Jesus so that your life is affected. I want who Jesus is and what He has done to save sinners to be so consequential in your life that it would be like a spark hitting the dry ground of Kansas. I want your encounter with Jesus week in and week out to light a passion in your soul that nothing can get rid of. So, we have crafted activities and sermons that build up to Easter. In this season of Lent, which is not so much about fasting but shifting our attention entirely to Jesus, we consider Him on Sunday mornings, going after Him in prayer on Friday evenings, and beating the drum of His excellencies. No one is more beautiful, compelling, delightful, or worthy of our affections than Jesus Christ, our Lord. We pursue Him again today. So, let’s listen in as we’re drawn again to His cross to consider Him.

What excuses do you make as you follow Christ? One that I offer up concerns the difficulties I experience in this life. Maybe I’m sick, overwhelmed, tired, or just sick of being sick and tired. And I can sometimes think that God has given me a pass when loving others. I almost think of it like a doctor’s note. I can be excused in my less-than-loving behaviors because of life. So, that’s one thread to which Jesus’s power and glory will speak. Another one gets at the jello-y nature of love. You know what I mean. If you try to scoop jello with a spoon, it can easily fall out. Some of us think we’re loving, but it’s not backed up by any action. You could say that it’s jello-y. In another one of his letters, John will tell his readers that we don’t merely love in words but in action and truth. So, we’ll see Jesus, as He so often does, incarnate love for us so that we can know His power as we love others with practical consideration. So, what a joy for us as our Lord and Master brings us along. We’re His people and the sheep of His pasture, so we receive His instruction and enablement today. Thankfully, our Savior is up to our lives being changed. So, let’s go all in with Him. Join me today as we see 2 ways Jesus promotes love for His followers…

Read John 19:23-27 (This is God’s Word; thanks be to God)

2 ways Jesus promotes love for His followers…

The first way Jesus promotes love for us is I. He prioritizes love amid suffering. (24-26) “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing, they cast lots.” So, the soldiers did these things, 25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”

There’s a short contrast as John narrates his account of the crucifixion. Soldiers have led Jesus to be crucified. A sign saying “The King of the Jews” has been put atop His cross. The soldiers have divided Jesus’s clothes among themselves and cast lots for His tunic, which fulfilled Scripture. And the contrast emerges: some are betting on Jesus’s clothes while others are standing at the foot of the cross. Jesus’s mother, her sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene (so three Marys if you’re keeping track) are there, along with this disciple whom Jesus loved. This disciple Jesus loved is John, the author of this book, referred to by this designation (13:23; 20:2; 21:7, 20). Do you see the contrast? Soldiers placed bets to win Jesus’s clothes, and those who loved Him stood at the foot of His cross. 

Notice how Jesus moves out in love. He sees his mother and John nearby and says to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” My favorite study Bible explains this section in this way: “Death by crucifixion is considered one of the most barbaric, torturous, and humiliating of deaths ever conceived by mankind. Yet, even in those awful moments, Jesus’ heart of care and compassion shone through. At a time when the pain of crucifixion would have driven most into a self-absorbed survival mode, Jesus gave focused attention and affection to a small group gathered at the foot of his cross—specifically Mary, his mother, and John, his beloved disciple. Jesus invites us to see ourselves in this familial community of compassion. Earlier in his ministry, Jesus identified all who do the will of his Father as his “brother and sister and mother” (Matt. 12:46–50). Only the gospel can create this kind of mutually devoted community.”

The point worth noting here is that Jesus empowers us in the sometimes-challenging work of loving others. He’s empowering us by showing that 1) He’s already blazed the path to overcome difficulty and move into love. 2) He’s helping us see that the love from His heart can overcome any excuse we make. 3) He’s flexing the power of love amid weakness. Having wrestled this year, as we have done, with how suffering takes us out of the game and how eyes of faith are needed, this passage works to show that suffering isn’t an exemption from the work of love. I’d love that. I’d love some difficulty to be a legitimate excuse for acting however I want to. But, with the change that the good news brings, I can say “No” to selfish impulses and live for Him in the power that He supplies. 

I hope this causes you to marvel at Jesus and want more of Him. One writer draws our hearts out in this very way: “From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” The point is that Jesus, in the moment of his own most dire need, ensures the needs of others are taken care of. Was there ever a man like this? Was there ever a love like this? This gives us an example to follow. When we are in our deepest stress, disappointment, or suffering even, we can still and should still look after the needs of others. I remember visiting a particular person on their deathbed many years ago and finding myself being listened to and ministered to by this person, even as they contemplated eternity. Christians, with Christ by his Spirit within us, have the power to love even when we are being hated. But more than an example to us, Jesus is a substitute for us. The death of Jesus, John is saying, by pointing out how Jesus treated his mother as he was dying, is not ultimately a sad story—not finally a defeat or a failure or a funeral. The death of Jesus is where Jesus saves, loves, looks after, redeems, restores, and rescues his followers. He looks down from the cross and establishes love between his followers and a home for the mother losing her son. These are outward hints of what cannot at that point be seen—that at the moment of his greatest pain, Jesus is working out the moment of greatest redemption.” He prioritizes love amid suffering.

Secondly, and finally, Jesus promotes love for His followers as II. He mobilizes love into action. (27) 27 Then [Jesus] said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

In v.27, having looked at Mary and said John was her son, now He speaks to John, “Behold, your mother!” If the passage stopped there, we would be locked into the good intentions we often feel when the impulse of love arises in our hearts. But, we get more insight: “From that hour, the disciple took Mary to his own home.” John didn’t hear Jesus suggesting an actionable option but a way of life. Here’s how Augustine memorably put it: “Unto his own what? Was not John one of those who said, ‘Lo, we have left all and followed Thee?’ (Mat. 19:27) He took her then to his own, i.e., not to his farm, for he had none, but to his care, for of this he was master.” Amazingly, Jesus is loving with this kind of action. He’s mobilizing John to love that isn’t just talk but actual love. 

Reflecting on this love mobilized into action, Amy Carmichael wrote this poem:

Lord of the brooding blue

Of pleasant summer skies,

Lord of each little bird that through

The clear air flies,

’Tis wonderful to me

That I am loved by Thee.

Lord of the blinding heat,

Of mighty wind and rain,

The city’s crowded street,

Desert and peopled plain,

’Tis wonderful to me

That I am loved by Thee.

Lord of the night’s jewelled roof,

Day’s various tapestry,

Lord of the warp and woof

Of all that yet shall be,

’Tis wonderful to me

That I am loved by Thee.

Lord of my merry cheers,

My grey that turns to gold,

And my most private tears

And comforts manifold,

’Tis wonderful to me

That I am loved by Thee.

(Amy Carmichael)

In conclusion, today we’ve seen 2 ways Jesus promotes love for His followers…

I. Jesus prioritizes love amid suffering. (24-26)

II. Jesus mobilizes love into action. (27)

Today, as we wrap up this reflection on Jesus’s third word from the cross (and the first words He speaks from the cross in John’s Gospel), I hope you see something of His character, what He’s like, and how He loves. His love isn’t just a dreamy idea. His love flows out of His suffering in very practical action. Have you received His love? The Bible tells us that God demonstrated His love for us in this way: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Today, will you respond to this love by believing in Jesus? Put your trust and confidence in Him.

And, for those of us who have received Him, I hope you see how compelling and life-changing Jesus is. He’s able to overcome your weakness, your suffering, or whatever may keep you from walking in His ways to walk in the newness of life He’s purchased for you on the cross. When we are going through it and think we can’t love, we can pray and trust that we have a Savior who, from the cross, showed love. Receive His power and strength in enabling you to love. Further, don’t get caught up in the good intentions of love. We love to talk a big game about love. But follow that up with action. Again, it’s Jesus Himself empowering us. I’m not asking you to gut something or tell you that you better do this or that. I’m inviting you deep into Jesus’s heart so that you can show His heart of love to others. Left to myself, of course, I’m going to make excuses as to why I can’t love or talk about love without action. But, left to Jesus, I’m given the heart of one who embodies love, caring for His mother from the cross. So, let’s press into Jesus to know Him so that we might make Him known as a people who love and, as a result, glorify and enjoy Him forever.