John 19:26-27 (NIV) When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

I love the fact that Jesus not only came to rescue us from our fatal condition of sin and death, but that He also put a face on God for us. Even though people know in their minds that Jesus is the Son of God, sometimes they have a tough time seeing Him as the God that the Old Testament talks about and who appeared to Abraham, Moses, and many others. But Jesus was and is fully God. That means that whoever wants to see who God is, what He is like, how He deals with people and how He reacts to different things, all they need to do is to read the gospels and they will see exactly who God is and what He is like.

It turns out that our God is awesome! Jesus was and is awesome! No one can compare with Him. No one did the things that He did, no one loves like He does and no one cares like He cares. In the passage of scripture above, Jesus is hanging on a cross. He was in excruciating pain, as crucifixion was one of the most painful and agonizing ways to die ever devised. The practice was deliberately engineered to maximize physical torture, prolong suffering and inflict public humiliation. It is so uniquely painful that the English word “excruciating,” which means extremely painful causing intense suffering, was derived from the practice of crucifixion. On top of that, Jesus had taken on the sins of all of mankind, past, present and future, which we can’t even imagine the toll that it was taking on Him while enduring God’s wrath for those sins on behalf of everyone. The reason that I bring all of this out is because it was in this state of indescribable pain, suffering and humiliation that Jesus saw the woman who gave birth to Him and cared for her even from the cross. Once again His heart for the people that He created was on full display as He made sure that Mary would be taken care of by John after He died, rose from the dead and then ascended to heaven. It once again was another glimpse into this amazing, kind, compassionate and loving God that we serve.

Jesus cares for you. He cares for you deeply. Don’t ever believe the lies that the enemy whispers in your ear about God not caring for you. He was willing to die a horrible and torturous death in every way so that you and I could be redeemed and live with Him forever in glory, and He continues to care for you as you work out your salvation here on earth for all the years of life that you have on this earth. Just as He cared for people from the cross at the height of His suffering, He will care for us and watch over us until we are safely home with Him in glory. What a God, what a God!

Pastor Joey Vazquez