²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” ²⁷ 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

20/20 Vision

When Jesus was on the cross, he changed the framework and lens through which everyone would view Him and each other. People most certainly viewed Jesus with certain bias. Some called him Rabi, while others used the term Good Teacher. Some called him Elijah or one of the prophets while people in His family called him Son or brother. Even though Jesus would have fit many of the titles given to him along with the roles, the people’s perspectives we skewed and slanted at best. And not at any time more acutely than when He was on the cross.

The jeers for Jesus to save Himself came, people challenged him to act as the “prophet” He was and to come off the cross. Yet Jesus uttered words to reveal how His role was not to save Himself but to redefine how we related to Him and others.

Paradigm Shift

“Woman behold your son. Son behold your mother”. Jesus spoke these words to his mother and to John The Apostle. As both were standing near the cross, obviously close enough to hear, they began to also see something very interesting: Jesus no longer was just Mary’s son, or John’s teacher…He was the Savior…their Savior. Jesus shifts out of their lives as a son and brother or teacher to a much bigger role as that of the Savior of the world.

Jesus does not call His mother “mother” but woman. This is not a slight on Mary but reveals to us that Jesus has shifted His view of her. Moreover, he admonished them both to shift the way they looked at each other. This is what a relationship with Jesus does: it shifts the way we view every other relationship. We no longer look at what people do for us but how we can love and serve each other. These relationships are not defined by birth but a different kind of blood, the blood of Jesus. A right relationship with God will result in right relationships with one another.

Questions for reflection

What relationships in your life need to shift and be looked at from a different perspective?

How has your view of Jesus changed? Does it need to be changed once again to be more accurate?

How has having a relationship with Jesus affected the relationships you have with others?