Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
What does it really mean to be near the cross of Jesus?
Thursday, March 25, 2004
1. LUK 23:34 “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
2. LUK 23:43 “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
3. JOH 19:26-27 He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”
Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!”
Four women were there, with the Apostle John; but they were not there because of duty, they were there out of devotion.
MAT 20:16 “Thus the last shall be first, and the first last.”
“Near the cross.”
“The cross to me is a place of redemption.”
LUK 8:2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
Mary Magdalene not only was at the cross, but also early on the morning of the resurrection she came to our Lord’s tomb, JOH 20:1.
1JO 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
COL 2:13-14, And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him [current positional truth in Christ], having forgiven us all our transgressions, having cancelled out the certificate of debt which was against us by means of the decrees, and which [certificate of debt] was hostile to us and He [by means of the decrees] has taken it out of the way having nailed it to the cross.
COL 2:15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
You go from darkness to light, from mental darkness, moral darkness and spiritual darkness into the wonderful light of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the truth that sets you free.
1JO 4:4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
1PE 1:18-19 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
For us to be delivered from Satan to God, Jesus Christ had to be forsaken by God.
For us to be delivered from guilt to forgiveness, Jesus had to be made sin for us.
For Him to make us rich, He had to become the poorest of the poor.
Salome was an interesting person – Mary’s sister, the mother of James and John, and the wife of Zebedee.
“The cross to me is a place of rebuke.”
Thrones are not given carelessly; you have to be rewarded them for your faithfulness.
REV 3:21 “To the Winner, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
There is no crown without a cross, there is no wearing of the crown without the drinking of the cup.
As a consequence, her praying was selfish, earthly, proud and ignorant.
God has looked upon me and said, “Are you willing to drink the cup?”
“But you must drink the cup. Are you willing to be baptized with the baptism of suffering?”
Before the glory there has to be the suffering.
Mary Magdalene told us that the cross is a place of redemption.
Salome told us that the cross is a place of rebuke.
For others, the cross is a place of reward.
In John 2, Mary is attending a wedding and is involved
in the joys of a feast. In John 19, she is involved in the sorrows of a funeral.
In John 2, the Lord Jesus Christ displayed His power. He manifested His glory and turned the water into wine.
In John 19, our Lord Jesus Christ died in weakness and in shame. In John 2 we find Mary speaking, but in John 19 Mary is silent.
MAR 3:21 His own people went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.”
As she stood there by the cross, her silence was testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ did not ignore her but rewarded her by sharing His beloved disciple with her.
Mary is to be honored, but she is not to be worshiped. Mary herself said she rejoiced in God her Savior, LUK 1:47.
Elisabeth did not say to her, “Blessed are you above women.” Elisabeth said, “Blessed are you among women.”
LUK 2:35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul –
LUK 2:49 “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
She suffered because of the way He died, on a cross, numbered with the transgressors.
ISA 50:6 I gave My back to those who strike {Me,} And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.
ISA 52:14 They shall see my Servant beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know it was a person standing there. – TLB
She suffered because of where He died, publicly on a cross, naked with all sorts of people going by.
“Father, forgive them [His enemies];
“Today you [dying thief] shall be with Me in Paradise.”
“Woman, behold, your son!”
The cross was also a place of responsibility.
John had forsaken Him and fled, MAT 26:56.
1JO 1:9 “If we acknowledge [name and cite] our sins, He is faithful and righteous, with the result that He forgives us our sins [known sins] and purifies us from all unrighteousness [unknown sins].”
Love is always close to the heart of the one it loves.
True love always stands and suffers.
Love always recognizes the one it loves.
Then love followed, Jesus said, “Follow me,” and John began to follow the Lord Jesus.
Love testified, verse 24.
If you and I have come to the cross, we have a big responsibility – loving the Lord Jesus Christ and then living for the Lord Jesus and loving others.
A place of redemption.
A place of rebuke.
A place of reward.
A place of responsibility