The Cross

Read: Luke 2:22-40
Listen: Luke 2

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son.” John 19:25-26

Simeon’s prophecy about a sword piercing Mary’s soul reaches its fulfillment at the cross (Luke 2:35). While most of Jesus’s disciples flee and hide, Mary remains at the cross. She watches what she never could have imagined as Jesus suffers and dies to provide salvation to all who will believe in him. Jesus, even in his agony, shows care for his mother by entrusting her to John’s protection (the “disciple whom he loved”). This scene powerfully shows the cost of God’s redemptive plan and Jesus’s perfect love as he provides for his earthly mother while completing his divine mission of salvation.

The manger ultimately leads to the cross. Like Mary, we must face the full reality of Jesus’s sacrifice. Her presence at the cross challenges our tendency to keep Christmas sentimental and comfortable. Following Jesus means embracing both his humble birth and his sacrificial death. True faith, like Mary’s, perseveres through both celebration and sorrow and puts faith and trust in Jesus for our whole lives.

TODAY: The celebration of Christmas points us in one direction: toward the cross. Thank Jesus for his birth in the manger and his sacrifice on the cross that brings us salvation. If you haven’t yet trusted Christ as Savior, today is a great day to receive his gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Email btw@adabible.orgif you want to learn more.