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Verse:Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. —Matthew 27:55, 56, NIV
Just imagine you are standing at the foot of the cross. Have you seen Jesus before this? Followed Him? Received His blessing? Are you weeping, or are you among the mocking crowd? Maybe you are the unnamed daughter of Jairus, and you remember being so sick, then nothing until you wake up with Jesus holding your hand and telling you to stand up. You were dead and now alive.
And here you stand, watching Jesus dying on the cruel cross.
Maybe your mother is standing beside you; after all, this is Passover, and everyone wants to be in Jerusalem. Or maybe you are the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years until you were able to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe.
Now you are well and have followed, hoping to see and listen to Jesus once more. Or maybe you and your son are standing there.
Jesus raised your son from death in Nain while on the way to the graveyard. Oh, what a difference Jesus has made in your life! Imagine that your name is Salome and you are the mother of Zebedee’s sons, James and John.
As you stand there, you think back to the day when your sons talked you into asking Jesus for a favor. After all, you had been following Jesus from village to village and helping to finance Jesus’ ministry. “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left” (Matthew 20:21, NLT). Now who is on Jesus’ right and left? You remember Jesus asking whether your sons could drink the bitter cup He was about to drink, and they answered with certainty that they could (verse 22). The Bible tells us that there were named and unnamed women standing there at a little distance, watching. “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene” (John 19:25, NIV).
Matthew, in today’s text, adds the names of Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, and Salome. Image that you are there.
Just imagine. The fact is that we are each there every day as we follow and respond to Jesus. What has He done for you, for me, that we want to follow Him? Don’t just imagine —acknowledge and share what He has done.
Ardis Dick Stenbakken