“When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from the hour that disciple took her to his own home.” -John 19:26-27 NKJV

 

John writes about himself as the one whom Jesus loved. What audacity! What presumption! How does John assert himself as the one whom Jesus loved? While the Bible clearly tells us that God loves the world, there is a clear distinction in this text that John considers himself special. What support does he have for such an assertion? Could it be because John was more than just a participant in the crusades of Jesus Christ? He was more than someone who simply came for the fish and loaves. He was more than an attendant. Could it be because he was one of the twelve? He was handpicked by Jesus to follow and support His ministry. Oh, but John was closer than many of the others. John saw Jesus’ transfiguration when nine other disciples were nowhere to be found. John was more than just one of the twelve. Maybe John considered himself in a special class because he was in the inner circle of Jesus. He not only privy to the transfiguration but he was also in the garden when Jesus was so stressed that he sweated drops of blood. John was so much more than just the in-crowd disciple. At Jesus’ most vulnerable point of His human life, He looks at the foot of the cross and sees two people who stand out from the rest. The rest are mocking and jeering him. They have stripped Him of clothes as if to strip Him of His dignity. They have plucked the hairs from His face and pierced His head with braided thorns in the shape of a crown. Blood drips from his bare chin and his scared feet. And for a brief moment, everything else fades away as He focuses on the two who are standing there for Him. They were with Him in the days of crusades and miracles, and they are there in the days of ridicule and rejection. 

 

Mary has been there since the beginning of Jesus’ human life. Jesus was nourished at the breast of His mother. She was the one who took Him to the temple. She was the one who frantically searched for Him when He was nowhere to be found in their caravan. Mary was the one who pushed Jesus into His first recorded miracle at the wedding of Canaan but isn’t that just like a mother. Moms push you to be the person you were born to be. His mother watched Him and developed such a bond that had not been broken for thirty-three years. Now, she must watch her Son be put to an open shame and die in front of everyone for everyone. What agony she must have felt! What agony any parent feels when they watch life leave their child’s eyes.

 

Here they are: mom who has always been there and John who has chosen to always be there. It becomes readily apparent why John asserts that he is the one whom Jesus loved. He was the one whom Jesus entrusted His greatest treasure, Mary. John was the one Jesus could trust. John was the one Jesus knew would stick by Mary through thick and thin. After all, he stuck by Jesus. Today’s question is simple. Can Jesus trust you? Pray today to be the one He can trust.