Mark 15:40-41 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
Jesus has just drawn his last breath, and the temple veil was rent in two. As Jesus cried out, the centurion who was closest to him was touched by the power of the events and the presence of Jesus, and he proclaims, "Truly this man was the Son of God." In the midst of this divine moment, Mark directs our attention away from the cross to a group of women watching from a distance. He describes several important women in Jesus' life as well as many others who had followed him to Jerusalem, and he says, these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Finally tucked into this story of loss, we hear of a group who stood by Jesus until the end. We have seen Judas take money to betray him and lead men to arrest him. We have heard Peter curse and say, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.” (Mark 14:71) And we know the Bible says that everyone that was with Jesus deserted him and fled when the guards took him away. Jesus must have remembered with love and thankfulness the kind deeds of these faithful women who stood by him at the very end, whose deeds testified to the love in their hearts. We also remember a time when Mary showed great love to Jesus while he was in Bethany at the house of Lazarus. We read: Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. When Judas complains that the money from the sale of this perfume could have been used to feed the poor, Jesus replies, “Leave her alone. [It was intended] that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” (John 12:7-8) Jesus knew her act of kindness and obedience was motivated by God and would resonate far beyond the walls of that home. Mary ministered to and comforted her Lord while she anointed his body in preparation for his coming journey to the cross.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus shows us that God is a God of concern and care for his people. Christ never would have gone to the cross except for God's unfailing love and commitment to his fallen creation. The prophet foretold the coming of Christ with grace and mercy: Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. (Isaiah 40:1-2 & 11) A forsaken and condemned people would receive the mercy of their God. When Jesus looked over Jerusalem, He cried, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! (Luke 13:34) The ones He came to shepherd rejected his care, turned away from his embrace. Jesus wanted to establish the family of God on Earth, to make sons and daughters of the Most High God, as people who would accept the sacrifice He was going to offer as a bridge of reconciliation for mankind; yet people chose darkness over light. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” But in spite of this loving call, many had eyes but could not see and ears but could not hear.
All who know the Lord, stand with the women who stood by Jesus at the cross. We have walked with him in the way as did the women who watched him on the cross. We talk with him, and we listen to his words of comfort and encouragement. We praise him and glorify his deeds. Today, He tells us, "I have work for YOU to do!" Brothers and sisters, each of us has work to do for the Lord. In his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul wrote in his salutation, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. (2 Corinthians 1:3-5) Paul says we will suffer as Christ suffered, but just as we share in that suffering, we share in God's comfort. We have Christ in us our hope of glory. Furthermore, that comfort overflows to others. The comfort we receive, we share! Paul told the church not to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13) He knew we have light and life in abundance to share with those around us. We are not merely trudging through our lives, persevering by faith, waiting for the Lord's coming or for God to take us home. We are here to reach those who need a touch from the Lord. The Holy Spirit used Paul to encourage the church to turn from worldly pursuits and to seek God. Paul wrote: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:11-14) God has good deeds for us to do in his name. May we comfort his people in his name this day and please the heart of God!
No comments:
Post a Comment