So His mother’s sister is standing there, and then Mary the wife of Clopas, who was also we think the mother of another apostle, and fourth, Mary Magdalene. So those two disciples would have been Jesus’ cousins, related to Jesus. Salome was the mother of two of Jesus’ disciples: James and John. Now commentators think her name was probably Salome. So first we see His mother Mary and then we see, secondly, His mother’s sister. That’s the kind of spirit that we just saw represented in those soldiers as they're callously gambling for the garment of Jesus who hangs naked on that cross.īut standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Here’s a group of soldiers who are callous, indifferent they are utterly self-absorbed, a total lack of concern for anyone other than themselves, seeking their own interests, greedy, oblivious to the needs of others or to the suffering of those who are nearby. Now, before we move on to that next verse and bring Mary the mother of Jesus into the scene, just think about what we just read there. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, 'Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.' This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, 'They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.' So the soldiers did these things. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier also his tunic.

Let me ask you to turn for this third word to the Gospel of John, chapter 19, verse 23: He’s concerned for their needs above His own needs and His own comfort, and He doesn’t consider it a waste of time or energy or breath to speak to those individuals, to minister to their needs. I’m so glad because still today those words are ministering to us and to our needs. Today, as we look at the third word, see again that even as He is dying for the sins of the world, His mind is on specific individuals around Him. Nancy: The first three words spoken from the cross reveal Christ’s heart for others as He asked God to forgive His enemies and as He offered assurance to the penitent thief at His side. This week Nancy’s been examining the final words of Christ on the cross. Sure enough, as we meditate on the seven words that Jesus spoke from the cross, we realize that each of those words is significant, each one is purposeful, each one is necessary.ĭannah: This is the Revive Our Hearts podcast with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author of Incomparable, for Thursday, March 21, 2024. Realizing that victims were gasping for air and every word took enormous effort, you would think that they would want to save their breath and not say anything that wasn’t absolutely essential. The victims struggle to breathe, and increasingly, every breath is excruciatingly difficult as they pull themselves up and down from their hands nailed to the cross. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: If you’ve ever read a detailed, medical description of what takes place when someone is crucified, you know that the thing you ultimately die of is asphyxiation. Dannah Gresh: Here’s Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth.

Keep calm and carry on devotion