"_Woman, behold thy son_."
When Jesus had spoken these words to His mother, He addressed the disciple
He had chosen, and indicated by a word that henceforth Mary was to be
cared for as his own mother. Great as was the work He had in hand for the
world, great as was His increasing agony, He remembered Mary. He knew the
meaning of sorrow and loneliness, and He planned to afford His mother such
future comfort and consolation as were for her good.
This tender care for His own is a rebuke, for all time, to those who will
work for others while those they love are left uncared for; left, alas! to
perish in their sins. If regrets are possible in the Kingdom of Heaven,
surely those regrets will be felt most keenly in the presence of divided
families. And if anything can enhance the joys of the redeemed, surely it
must be that they are "families in Heaven." Who can think, even now,
without a thrill of unmixed delight, of the reunions of those who for long
weary years were separated here? What, then, will it be--
When the child shall greet the mother,
And the mother greet the child;
When dear families are gathered
That were scattered on the wild!
And what strength and joy it was to Mary. Looking forward to the coming
victory, He knew that nothing could so possess her mother-heart with
gratitude, and fill her soul with holy exultation as this--that He, the
Sacrifice for sin, the Conqueror of Death, and the Redeemer of His people,
was _her Son_. And so He makes it quite plain that He, the dying
Saviour, was Mary's Son.