I can’t think of a better time than the season of Christmas for us to observe the Lord Jesus in his final moments on the cross. We often talk about the reason for this Christmas season. Well, this is the reason. He was born to die. For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

Now we’ve been taking our time with each of the seven statements delivered by the Lord from His cross. Each statement is freighted with meaning and significance. In Luke’s gospel account, His first statement is,

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  Luke 23:34.

The original language lets us know that the statement was repeated over, and over again. He is acting as the true high priest. He is interceding for sinners.

So his first statement is a prayer for others; His second statement is an answer to prayer. (SOURCE: ^{Clovis G. Chappell, The Seven Words (Baker Book House, 1952), p. 29)}

Luke records for us that one of the criminals hanging next to Jesus – who had initially joined the others in mocking the Lord – he went silent. And over the course of next couple of hours, he evidently studied the placard hanging above Jesus’s head.

He listened to the religious leaders accuse Jesus of making claims as the Son of God.

He watched the compassionate and composed attitude of the Lord toward those who cursed Him; he listened as Jesus prayed to God and astonishingly call God His Father.

And during this time, his eyes were opened to the truth of who Jesus is – and he says to Jesus, here in verse 42,

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he [Jesus] said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:42-43

At the last possible moment – this thief becomes a believer – it’s a good reminder that God’s grace can reach someone in their final hour – God never says, “Listen, you’ve rejected me 10 times before – and 10 times is the limit.

It’s also a good reminder we never know what transpires in someone’s final moments of their lives – known only between them and God.

I spoke with a woman a few weeks ago who had given her father the gospel many times over. He was proud and unrelenting. But now he was on his deathbed – and she was unable to travel to be with him. She called his room and had someone press the phone to her father’s ear. And though he was unconscious to the world around him, she gave him the gospel once more and pled with him to be saved; she led him in praying a simple prayer of confession and trust. He would pass away soon after that conversation –

I told her that she could had every reason to believe that her father heard every word – and only God knows – but it would not have been too late for Him to have been accepted by Christ with that simple prayer with his last breath.

Can that happen? Can someone come to the edge of death and still trust in Jesus?

Well, you can’t get much closer to death than this dying thief who stuns everyone around him – and frankly condemns them all – when he says to Jesus, “I believe you truly are the King of a coming kingdom – and when that happens, would you remember me!”

By the way, this dying thief also reminds us not to dissect the words someone might pray – whether they said it just right – whether or not they fully understood all the ramifications of the gospel.

There was a woman in our congregation for many years, until she went home to heaven – she struggled with whether or not she had understood enough to truly believe; perhaps she had not prayed correctly – that maybe God would say to her one day, “I’d like to let you into heaven, but you missed a word or two … you didn’t really understand what you were saying.”

What did this dying thief understand? Hardly anything. The issue wasn’t the fact that he understood everything, but that he trusted what little he understood.

And on the basis of what little he read; and what little he heard; and what little he understood, he believed.

And he was given one of the greatest promises ever given by Jesus – “You’re going to be with me today – as soon as you die – you’re going to experience eternal life, with Me in Paradise – the eternal gardens of the King.

Now today we come to the third expression delivered by Jesus.

Luke tells us here at the end of verse 34 that the soldiers were gambling for the Lord’s clothing.

And they cast lots to divide his garments. Luke 23:34b

John’s gospel expands on this point and sets up the third expression from the Lord.

John chapter 19, starting at verse 23:

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. 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.” John 19:23-24

Let me stop for a moment and fill in some blanks.

Jewish men typically wore five pieces of clothing:

1. Sandals
2. A turban
3. A belt – sometimes translated girdle – we would call it a sash or belt today
4. Then an outer robe
5. And finally an inner tunic which was worn closest to the body – like an undershirt, but in these days, it typically reached to their knees. (SOURCE: ^{Adapted from R. Kent Hughes, John (Crossway Books, 1999), p. 444}.)

So these soldiers are gambling for the Lord’s clothing – which by the way, is all He owns. This is it.

In these days, the common way for soldiers to gamble was to place lots – or dice – into a helmet and shake it until one fell out. Hopefully it was the number they had selected. (SOURCE: ^{R.C.H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel (Augsburg Publishing, 1943), p.  1288)}

Here’s a photograph of a set of first century dice, discovered by archaeologists. Some things haven’t changed in 2,000 years.

They’d put these dice in a helmet and then shake that helmet – sort of like how you shake that cup when you play Yahtzee and pray you’ll get all sixes. And it doesn’t happen and your wife wins the game. I don’t know why that’s coming to mind.

The word for tunic is chiton, and it was typically made from a patchwork of soft material. But the Lord’s chiton had been crafted from one large piece of fine fabric. For the common person in Galilee, this would have been highly unusual.

Even more significantly, Bible scholars have noted that there was one person in Israel who always wore a one-piece chiton and that was the High Priest. (SOURCE: ^{Charles R. Swindoll, quoting William Barclay in The Darkness and the Dawn (Word Publishing, 2001), p. 152)}

This was the standard dress of the High Priest.

And Jesus, the true, eternal, High priest is wearing one.

But there’s more to this scene than meets the eye.

John goes on to record here in verse 24:

This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” John 19:24/Psalm 22:18

This was prophesied back in Psalm 22:18 – the great crucifixion Psalm.

Now with that John reveals that a group of women are standing by the Lord’s cross – verse  25:

But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

Let me stop for a moment and identify them – and by the way, don’t miss the courage of these four women. John is the only disciple among them – Peter is gone; Judas has already hung himself; the other disciples have scattered in fear as well.

But these four women show up.  John records that Mary, the mother of Jesus is there.

He then mentions Mary’s sister is there – from what Mark’s gospel account provides, her name is Salome, she’s the wife of Zebedee – the mother of James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples, whom you might remember were nicknamed the sons of thunder.

You might remember from Matthew 20 that she had asked Jesus if her two sons could sit on either side of Jesus, on their thrones, in the coming kingdom.

It was a rather brazen request, that only a proud Momma would think of asking. But they deserved it – she thought – and besides, they were cousins of Jesus and had a special connection that oughtta give them special treatment.

Jesus responded by asking if they were able to drink the cup that He would drink? And they said, “Yes, indeed.” Momma was standing there thinking, “Of course my boys can handle anything.”

Warren Wiersbe writes that standing now at the cross of Christ would have been a moment of regret and rebuke to her – now she realized that a cross would precede the crown.

And one of her boys – James – would be the first apostle to be martyred. And her other son, John, would be the last apostle to die, after experiencing exile on the island of Patmos. (SOURCE: ^{Warren W. Wiersbe, Jesus’ Seven Last Words (Back to the Bible, 1981), p. 32)}

Next here in verse 25, John mentions Mary, the wife of Clopas – Clopas was the brother-in-law of Mary – he was Joseph’s brother.

From all the clues we’re given, Joseph has since died – the last mention of him was in Luke chapter 2 when they returned to Jerusalem to find that 12-year-old Jesus had stayed behind the teach the Rabbi’s a thing or two.

More than likely Joseph passed away before Jesus began His public ministry because Joseph is not mentioned with Mary at the wedding feast in Cana, as the Lord performs His first miracle. (SOURCE: ^{Swindoll, p. 158)}

We have every reason to believe the historical accounts are trustworthy that tell us Clopas was the brother of Joseph, the husband of Mary.  (SOURCE: ^{J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ (Zondervan, 1981), p.  485)}

Which is interesting that these two brothers – Joseph and Clopas – married two women who are both named Mary. I wonder if it got confusing on birthdays.

I remember when Marsha and I were married by my father. My older brother was engaged to Martha, and during the vows my father referred to Marsha as Martha. And then he called me Timothy, the name of my younger brother.

After the ceremony, we weren’t sure we were legally married.

It’s interesting to consider the fact that many of these early followers of Jesus were from the same extended family.

One New Testament scholar recorded the fact that of the twelve apostles, five of them were cousins. (SOURCE: ^Ibid )

But let me tell you, the drama in this extended family will become incredibly painful and deeply divisive – and it was would be well known by the time Jesus died on this cross.

More on that in a moment – but notice here that we have the mention of Mary Magdalene. Or, Mary, who was from Magdala.

She was a faithful follower of the Lord – having been rescued from demon possession, recorded for us back in Luke chapter 8.

Now John develops this particular moment when the soldiers are gambling for the Lord’s tunic – John is the only gospel writer to layer this event in – obviously, it involved him personally, as he stood there with these four women.

But there’s something that’s easy to miss – something tender and emotional here at this moment. When the soldiers begin gambling for his clothing, John writes that at that point, Jesus sees His mother.

It was typical for the mother of a Jewish boy to make the chiton for her son. And when he stepped out on his own, having reached manhood, a final chiton would be crafted as a special gift between a mother and her son. (SOURCE: ^{Swindoll, p. 153)}

And this one was special – it was seamless – it was costly, especially for the widow of a carpenter in Galilee.

It reminded me of Hannah who dedicated her son Samuel to the Lord. And every year they would travel to see him – and every year – Hanna would bring him a new robe she’d personally made for him to wear.

One author makes the interesting connection that as the soldiers throw the dice – as they gamble – notice the flow of the narrative. They are gambling for his chiton when Jesus – John writes – “saw His mother.”

Chuck Swindoll writes on this text, “Why now? She’s been there all along, watching, no doubt weeping. He hasn’t acknowledged her or spoken to her. Could it be because of the seamless tunic now in the hands of some Roman soldier? I think so – when they touched that tunic, they touched something near and dear to his heart." (SOURCE: ^{Swindoll, p. 154)}

I would agree. This was something that would’ve caused deep pain in the heart of his mother especially – to see that gift now in the hands of a Roman soldier.

This wasn’t just a tunic – this was for her son – this was a special gift of love for him.

And it’s at this moment when Jesus kindly speaks to His mother.

John records what happened next – verse 26:

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:26-27

Jesus effectively says, “John, I charge you to adopt this woman as your mother. Take care of her, treat her as I would. You are now her son.”

It’s interesting that Jesus does not refer to Mary as His mother. He calls her “Woman” – a term of respect, but certainly not the familial word between a son and his mother.

But he tells John to treat her as his mother.

I would agree with New Testament theologians that Jesus is laying the groundwork for a new relationship – a kinship between believers who view Him as their Redeemer.

Mary is being instructed ever so gently that she is not to look upon Him as her Son, but as her Savior.

But here’s the question: why is she given to John to care for?

And that brings up this issue of dramatic division in the family.

You need to understand that Mary and Joseph had more children after Jesus was virgin-born. The Catholic church has maintained the false teaching of Mary’s perpetual virginity, in spite of clear scripture.

Luke records that Mary delivered her first-born son (Luke chapter 2 and verse 7) not her only son.

Matthew records that when Jesus delivered his first sermon in his own hometown – Matthew writes in chapter 13 – verse 54:

And coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Jude?”

James will later write the Book of James and Jude will write the little Book of Jude.

But here’s the problem. At this moment, they didn’t believe Jesus was who He said He was!

John 7 and verse 5 revealed “that not even His brothers believed in Him.”

The truth is, they thought Jesus had lost His mind. Mark chapter 3 informs us that as Jesus commissions His newly chosen 12 disciples, He returns to His hometown. A crowd gathers, and Mark writes this:

And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” Mark 3:21

Later on in this chapter, as Jesus takes on the religious leaders who claim He’s demon possessed, Mark writes:

And his mother and brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.”

And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers? … Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”Mark 3:31-35

It looks like Jesus has effectively disowned his family. And He’s claiming to be the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy – the anointed Messiah.

He’s lost His mind!

And the family is thrown into this incredible epoch of division and anger and misunderstanding and accusation – with the conclusion that Jesus has come unhinged.

And here’s Mary – the mother – now a widow – in the middle of it all.

Jesus knows that Mary will feel more at home in the house of her nephew, John, than back home with her grown sons. (SOURCE: ^{Adapted from Clovis, p. 33)}

With that in mind, imagine the loneliness of Mary here. Frankly, I think it’s incredible that she’s here at the cross.

None of her other children are there – her sons are probably infuriated that she would even come to this scene and offer Jesus anything other than a tongue lashing.

She’s no doubt confused – bewildered – unsure.  The evidence doesn’t match the prophecy that she would deliver the Savior.

Instead of saving, He’s now dying. And just like the other disciples, she doesn’t fully understand.

At this moment, her heart is broken. What does she do? Where does she go?

That tunic that she made for Him with high hopes of His itinerate ministry have become confusing and now filled with despair.

Jesus speaks to her and says, “Dear Woman” you could translate it – “from now on, John my most beloved disciple, will take care of you.”

John records here in verse 27,

And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:27

It seems likely then, that just before darkness envelopes the world, John removes Mary from this scene.

It’s also likely that Jesus knew so many heresies would grow up around Mary:

The Catholic would teach for centuries now that:

• Mary comforted Jesus, assisting in His death;
• Mary was given charge of the church;
• Mary became a co-mediator;
• Mary never sinned and was taken bodily to heaven;
• And today, Mary influences the Godhead in answering prayers.

Catholic theologian, Bernard of Clairvaux, summed it up in the twelfth century when he wrote, “It is God’s will that we should receive all things through Mary.”

One author described a major cathedral in Rome, dedicated to the worship of Mary. In the courtyard is a tall crucifix. On one side of this cross, is a figure of Christ. On the other side of this cross, back-to-back with Him, nailed to the cross, is a figure of Mary. Today millions of people bow before her images, light candles to her, pray to her, and more. (SOURCE: ^{John Phillips, Exploring John (Kregel, 1999), p. 367)}

It’s as if Jesus anticipated this tragic corruption – and had John remove her before He entered into His final work of redemption – Jesus, the Son of God, will go through this without Mary.

But let me tell you, beloved, while the protestors of this theological corruption – protesters termed pro-testants, which is where we got our designation as Protestants.

But while we protest these heretical issues about Mary that we reject – there are honorable issues about Mary that we respect.

For one, her submission to God in spite of having her world turned upside down. It’s easy to miss, but she never had a wedding. She never had a wedding. Everything she’d planned with Joseph was destroyed. But she was willing.

Nine months later, when Joseph and Mary took their infant to the temple for His dedication, a devout Jewish man named Simeon took Jesus in his arms and announced that he was holding the long awaited – Lord’s Christ. The Yahweh’s Anointed. You can’t get any more messianic than that!

But just before leaving, Simeon looked at Mary and told her that a sword would pierce her very soul.

In other words, she was going to live a painful and difficult and turbulent life.

And so it was – in fact, it had already begun.

• She delivers Jesus in a cattle stall.
• She soon runs for her life with Joseph and their young toddler as Herod attempts to find them
• She learns that dozens of little boys in the region of Bethlehem are slaughtered by Herod – she grieves over their deaths – some of whom she would’ve known
• She then flees with her young family to Egypt to hide out for a few years – again, everything is turned upside down for her
• She and Joseph live meager lives as they bring more children into the world.
• At age 30, Jesus begins His ministry and soon their family is raging with division and anger.
• And after just 36 months of wondering about the safety and mental health and confusing news reports about her Son, she finds out He’s been arrested and condemned as a blasphemer.
• Now she stands here at His cross.

I have heard it said that no parent should ever have to bury a child. It is the reversal of nature and order.

Now virtually alone – misunderstood by her community; divided from her grown children; bewildered by so many things over the past 33 years, she slips away from the cross, held up by the strong arms of her nephew – her newly adopted son – John.

Perhaps you’ve felt the pain of saying farewell to a child; the suffering of some other loss in life; the sting of being misunderstood – you’ve endured the sorrow of a family divided.

Let me tell you – Mary went through the same – and she was right in the middle of the will of God.

And Jesus understands – He lived through it all.

Let me offer some closing words of application:

Remembering the needs of your parents is not an option, it is a command.

Jesus kept the law and took care of His widowed mother – He’s obeying the fifth commandment here to honor mother and father – a commandment that refers to seeing that the needs of aging parents are met.

He’s fulfilling scripture, where Proverbs 23:22 says, “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.”

Jesus was Mary’s eldest son – she is His responsibility in the end – and even as He enters into this cosmic battle, he does not forget His mother’s well-being. (SOURCE: ^{Adapted from William Barclay, John: Volume 2 (Westminster Press, 1975), p. 257)}

Secondly,

Meeting the needs of others is not just a memory about Jesus, it is a model for us as we follow Jesus.

He’s dying, yet He intercedes for His enemies, He answers the request of a dying criminal, He makes sure his mother is cared for – what this is an incredible model of caring – caring even from a cross.

Division and misunderstanding because of the gospel is not an exception, it is an expectation.

Simeon predicted a sword would pierce Mary’s soul – but let me tell you, Jesus predicted the same sword for you today. He said to His disciples, recorded in Matthew’s gospel:

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Matthew 10:34-36

Maybe you have felt this sword – this painful division over your faith in Christ.

But here’s your prayer request – if and when there is shared faith in the gospel of Christ – there is not only immediate kinship with the larger family of God – there can be fellowship in your family, as you all now submit to the leadership of Christ.

And let me tell you the good news – it happened in this family here.

Mary went home with John and his family. Her children would have been angry and hurt – and she would have been in terrible despair. Jesus is dead – her sons are against her –

Her family is divided forever.

Not quite.

Let me read to you in closing – and I do mean in closing – Acts chapter 1 and verse 14.

All the disciples have since learned that Jesus is alive – resurrected from the dead. He ascends to heaven.

He tells them to wait for the Holy Spirit who will descend – and the church created. So here they are in a house waiting.

But get this: verse 18 says, All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Here is Mary, reconciled with her sons, now – all of them – followers of their Lord and Savior, their Messiah – Jesus Christ.