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AHHOTC: “DEAR WOMAN, HERE IS YOUR SON....” SMWS- 03/15/09 Text: John 19:16-27 SRBC # SCRIPTURE READING John 19:16-27 16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 Here they crucified him, and with him two others-one on each side and Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews." 22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written." 23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did. 25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," 27 and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. INTRODUCTION 1) Dear woman- here is your Son. A) When you boil it down to its essence this is just a son talking with His mother 1) Something that happens all the time 2) Like me giving my mother a phone call B) But this wasn’t an ordinary conversation- because it happened at an extraordinary moment in time 2) Jesus the Christ- the only begotten Son of the Living Godwas dying on the Cross for the sin of the world A) His body had been beaten- and battered- and bruised B) All the weight of sin and guilt and disgrace was pressed down on His shoulders 3) But even in the midst of His agony- Jesus took a moment to speak to His mother 4) Dear woman- here is your Son A) Momma- it’s Me. Jesus 1) The One you gave birth to 2) The One you love B) Here I am- doing what you gave Me birth to do 5) This morning- A) As we continue our sermon series on the things Jesus said as He hung on the Cross B) Let’s think about the remarkable woman who gave birth to the Savior of the world MARY- THE ONE WHO SAW IT ALL 1) Anybody know who this is? (Show picture) A) Ten to one says nobody does B) Her name is Camilla Bella- she’s an actress 2) The reason I’m showing you her picture is because she’ll soon be staring in a movie called: Mary- The Mother of Christ A) Over the years- a lot of actresses have played Mary in movies and television shows B) And most of them look like Camilla Bella 1) Dark hair- brown eyes 2) Pretty- in an innocent sort of way 3) But you know what? The Bible never says a word about the way Mary looked A) I’m guessing it was probably like many of the young women you see in the Middle East today B) But you can’t prove it by the Bible 4) We also don’t know anything her backgroundA) Such as what her life was like before Jesus was born B) Or what happened to her after Jesus’ death and Resurrection 5) But wouldn’t she have a story to tell! A) I know when I get to heaven she’s going to be one of the first people I want to talk to B) Because- think about it1) She was Jesus’ first disciple 2) The first person to know who He really was 6) Mary was the one who had…/ She had….. A) Listened in amazement as the angel told her she would give birth to the Son of the most High B) Felt the gentle kicks as He grew inside her body C) Given Him birth after a long and difficult journey to Bethlehem D) Watched with pride as Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. E) Been astonished as she heard Him preach along the Sea of Galilee- and seen Him perform many of His miracles F) Been there when they crucified Him on a Cross outside the gates of Jerusalem G) Shared in the overwhelming sense of joy and wonder of Resurrection Sunday H) Witnessed Jesus’ Ascension into heaven 40 days after His Resurrection I) Been with the disciples in the Upper Room when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost 7) Unfortunately- Christians have never quite figured out what we’re supposed to think about Mary 8) In the book of Luke the angel Gabriel describes her as one who had found favor with God A) God saw something in Mary that was unique- that set her apart B) She had a depth of faith and courage that made her ready to submit to all of God’s plans for her life 7) But beyond that- what should a Bible-believing Christian think about Mary? THE MOTHER OF GOD 1) Sid Winchester likes to call me the Pope A) Now I know that he’s just having a little fun B) But trust me- I’ve got…. 1) No desire to be the Pope of anything 2) Not even SRBC! 2) But- if I was the pope- the first thing I’d do is change is the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching about Mary A) Mary has an exalted position in the RC church B) She’s not really an object of worship 1) Although sometimes they make it sound like she is 2) Especially when she’s called mother of God The Mother Of God- The Biblical Truth 1) Now here’s where you need to understand some Biblical truth and some church history A) We’ll start with the Biblical truth B) Turn with me over to Philippians 2:5-11 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, (This is referring to the doctrine of the Trinity- that One God reveals Himself to us in three distinct personalities: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit) 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 2) What we’ve just read is one of the most important passages of Scripture in the entire Bible A) God’s Word is saying: 1) That at a particular moment in history the eternal Son of the Living God became a human being 2) A human being with flesh and blood and bones- just like you and me B) We call this event the Incarnation 3) The Oxford Dictionary Of The Christian Church puts it this way: The doctrine of the Incarnation affirms that the eternal Son of God took human flesh from His human mother, and that the historical Christ is at once fully God and fully man. A) IOW: Jesus wasn’t partly God- and partly man 1) He didn’t give up being God in order to become a man 2) He didn’t suddenly become God sometime after being born as a human being B) Jesus the Christ was unique in that He was- at all times- FULLY God and FULLY man 4) Now most Christians understand why it’s important to emphasize Jesus’ divinity- His godliness A) After all- 1) If Jesus isn’t God 2) Then He’s just a man B) A SINFUL man who couldn’t offer His life as an innocent sacrifice for sin 5) But it’s equally important to emphasize that Jesus was also a real flesh-and-blood human being A) Let’s put it this way: 1) If Jesus wasn’t fully human 2) He couldn’t die B) And if He couldn’t die- He wouldn’t have been able to offer His life on the Cross as a sacrifice for our sins! 6) At this point you may be thinking: OK Steve- I got thatbut it still doesn’t explain why Catholics call Mary the ‘mother of God’ The Mother Of God- The Church History Part 1) Here’s where you come to the church history part A) By the end of the first century- churches had been established throughout the Roman Empire B) By-in-large- these churches were made up of Gentiles 1) Non-Jews 2) People who knew virtually nothing about the Old Testament 2) Now one thing’s always been true A) If you don’t understand the Old Testament B) You aren’t really going to understand the New Testament 3) Look at what happened in these Gentile churches A) They took what they’d been taught before they became Christians- which was pagan Greek philosophy B) Imposed these ideas on the New Testament- and came up with some major theological errors 4) The worst of these mistakes denied the doctrine of the Incarnation A) See- the Greeks had said that the physical universeincluding the human body- was evil B) So preachers in these Gentile churches developed a theory that came to be called Gnosticism 5) According to the Gnostics A) The Son of God couldn’t have had a real human body- because a flesh-and-blood human body was evil B) Instead, they said Jesus only appeared to be a human being 6) Let’s go back to our picture of Camilla Bella A) Is Camilla Bella really up on that screen? B) Of course not! What you see on the screen is… 1) A projected image 2) That reflects the true Camilla Bella- who’s living somewhere in Los Angeles- I guess 7) Essentially- this is what the Gnostics taught: A) They said Jesus only appeared to be a human being B) But in fact- His appearance on Earth was more like an image projected on a movie screen 8) The problem with Gnostic theory is the inerrant Word of God John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Galatians 4:4-5: But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 2 John 7 There are a lot of smooth-talking charlatans loose in the world who refuse to believe that Jesus Christ was truly human, a flesh-and-blood human being. Give them their true title: Deceiver! Antichrist! (The Message Bible) 9) You’d think these verses of Scripture would settle the question of Jesus’ humanness once and for all A) But you’d be wrong! B) Despite what the Bible said- the Gnostics continued to preach their messed-up theology 10) Finally- in 431 church leaders from around the world met in the city of Ephesus to address the Gnostic problem A) These leaders took a bold stand for Biblical truth by affirming the doctrine of the Incarnation 1) That Jesus was fully God 2) And fully human B) In trying to describe the truth of the Incarnationhow it happened- they called Mary the thetokos 1) Which is a Greek word means ‘God-bearer’ 2) Or- in this case- ‘mother of God’ 11) Now understand- the Ephesian leaders didn’t use the word theotokos A) To glorify and exalt MARY B) They were trying to emphasize the truth that Jesus 1) Was the eternal Son of the Living God 2) And a flesh-and-blood human being who was born to a flesh-and-blood human being 12) I just wish they would’ve said it like that A) For one thing- it’s an accurate description of Biblical truth B) For another thing- it would have prevented many of the mistakes that later crept into Roman Catholic doctrine 13) See- over time people forgot why the Ephesian leaders used the word theotokos in the first place A) Instead of focusing on what it said about Jesus B) They put all their focus on Mary…which ultimately resulted in some bad theology 14) For instance- have you ever heard of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception? A) Don’t confuse this with the Biblical truth of the virgin conception of Jesus B) This is a Catholic doctrine that says Mary was somehow born free from the stain of original sin 1) IOW: Mary was born- and lived her entire life- without ever sinning 2) Turn to Romans 3. We’ll begin with the 10th verse 10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." 22 .......There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 15) So much for a doctrine of immaculate conception A) The Bible says that every person on the face of the Earth is a natural-born sinner B) Including Mary- the mother of Jesus! 16) Later Catholic doctrine proclaimed Mary’s perpetual virginity A) This said Mary had only one child- Jesus- who was conceived by the Holy Spirit B) And that was it! She remained a virgin for the rest of her life 18) Problem is- the Bible says Jesus had a number of younger brothers and sisters A) Matthew 12:46-47 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." B) For the record- these children were born to Mary! 19) Eventually a pope decreed that prayers should be offered in Mary’s name A) Which is why Catholics begin their prayers by saying: Hail Mary, full of grace....... B) Folks- the Bible never suggests that you need to pray through Mary- or Peter- or Paul- or anyone else 1) The Bible says we have direct access to God the Father through Jesus Christ His Son- PERIOD! 2) Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 20) Well- enough of that A) We’re not here to debate theology and doctrine B) Instead- let’s go back to the question I raised earlier: What should a Bible-believing Christian think about Mary? DEAR WOMAN, BEHOLD YOUR SON! 1) The answer to that question goes back to what Jesus said to His mother as He was hanging on the Cross: A) Dear woman, behold your son! B) Then the Bible says He turned to John- the beloved disciple- and said: Behold your mother 2) Folks, with those words........ A) The eternal Son of God was expressing His respectand admiration- and gratitude for Mary’s faithfulness to God 1) Girl had guts to do what she did 2) In those days they killed young women who got pregnant before marriage B) A human being named Jesus was expressing His love- and concern- and devotion for the woman who had given Him birth 1) Mary had embraced Jesus with the love only a mother can provide 2) And He- in turn- loved her with all His heart 3) Dear woman, behold your son..... 4) Earlier I said that Mary was Jesus’ first disciple- the first person to know who He really was A) But here’s the question B) When did Mary realize Jesus would have to die on the Cross? 5) When Gabriel told her she would conceive and give birth to a child he didn’t mention the possibility of crucifixion Luke 1:30-33 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." 5) Face it: That must have sounded pretty good to Mary A) Someday my Son will be crowned king of the Jews. He’s the Messiah- the Christ- God’s Chosen One 1) Not gonna be any more crowded inns 2) Or smelly mangers 3) Or dusty carpenter’s shops B) It will be Jesus- and me- living in a palace built for a king 6) But I don’t think it happened like that. I believe that somehow Mary always understood the truth A) Whether it was through....... 1) Her knowledge of the OT prophecies 2) Or a direct revelation of the Holy Spirit B) Mary knew that someday Her Son would have to die for the sin of the world- for the sin that was in HER life 6) If so- this would have been the moment she’d dreaded ever since she learned that Jesus would be born A) These days women get abortions because they learn their child will be born with a birth defect B) Mary brought Jesus into the world knowing He had a death sentence hanging over His head! 7) Can you imagine the anguish Mary must have felt when she saw her Son hanging on the Cross? A) He’d been stripped naked and beaten within an inch of His life B) His hands and feet had been nailed to the Cross. C) His face was so disfigured His closest friends could barely recognize Him D) He was moaning in agony and crying out for something to drink......... 8) And there was NOTHING Mary could do about it A) When He was...... 1) A baby and got hungry- she could nurse Him 2) A little boy and got hurt- she could hold Him and kiss away the tears 3) A young man and felt exhausted- she could cook Him his favorite meal B) But now- in His hour of greatest need- all Mary could do was stand there and watch 9) And it was at that moment that Mary came closer than anyone else ever came to understanding what God was going through when Jesus hung on the Cross A) That was Jesus1) Her Son- hanging on that Cross! 2) HIS Son- hanging on that Cross! B) She…/ He…. 1) Was the one who’d given Him life 2) Was the One who had to sentence Him to death! C) Mary…./ God….. 1) Had held an innocent baby in her arms 2) Had declared the innocent Son of God guilty of the sin of the world 10) And why did Mary do it? /Why did God do it? A) Because she was faithful to God- and loved Jesus B) Because He is faithful1) And loves you 2) And loves me 3) And loves everyone who ever has- or ever will- live John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 11) Let us pray