05-08-22 “Jesus is ‘all in’ for mothers.”

Scripture   John 19:25-27

Stuff Jesus said to his mother:
1)     Luke 2:48-52     [At age 12 – Parents left Jesus in Jerusalem]   Mary said to Jesus, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." "Why were you searching for me? Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"   But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
          At age 12 is when kids begin to know everything and parents become annoying to kids. Though Jesus likely didn’t mean it that way, it would appear to the onlooker like this is a typical parent/child relationship with a 12 year old. The strong will child stays behind even when he knows his parents are leaving – then he gives them an excuse as to why he did it.
          Each of these 3 conversations with his mother reveal a change in their relationship just like we all have. When I was a child of a single mom, she was the provider and care giver and authority. When I was a teenager she was the one who provided shelter but whom I spent little time with. As an adult I loved going golfing, boating and to going to starbucks  - I loved spending time with my mom at that age.
          No different for Jesus – at 12 he was asserting his independence. Let’s see how that relationship changed when he had become a man.
 
2)     John 2:3-5     [Wedding in Cana]   When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." Jesus replied, "Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." – Jesus then turned water into wine – Not only did Jesus do what she asked – it was the type of miracle he never did again. Other miracles were for healing or hunger – not for luxuries such as wine. By the way she says it, it doesn’t sound like she was thinking he could go down to the 7/11 and get a box of wine but she knew he could do something miraculous. What miracles had he been doing that are not recorded? Possibly, Mary may be the only one capable of answering that question because of how close they were and Jesus checking His identity with the person he is closest to in the world – his mother, Mary! – And just like leaving with his mother at age 12 – he leaves with her this time as well - John 2:12  After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples.
          This is now that relationship between mother and child where she knows what he can do and encourages him to be his very best and even though Jesus doesn’t think it is the right time, for his mom, he does it anyway.  The third conversation will show another sign of change and growth in their relationship. Before we get to that conversation and observation, let’s look at some other unique mom’s in scripture. They hold a very special place in history that no other women share. They are in the list of the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
 
          How many women should be listed in Jesus genealogy? -0-
Listing women in a genealogy was unheard of in the Greco-Roman culture of the first century.  Women were not to be treated with such respect and honor.  Their names should have been left off entirely.  After all, in a patriarchal society like theirs, women were seen to be so untrustworthy that they would not have even been allowed to testify in a court of law!  Therefore, to list women on a public document like a genealogy would have been a disgrace……….But not for Jesus!  
          How many women are listed in Jesus genealogy? -5-
These 5 are the only 5 listed and are therefore, unique, but each is unique in their own right.
 
5 Mothers in the genealogy of Jesus Christ:
In Matthew 1:1-17 there are five women that are listed.  All five of them are mothers.
The first is a woman named Tamar, followed a few generations down with Rahab, followed by Ruth, next is Bathsheba, and of course the Mother of Jesus, Mary. The first 4 are Old testament moms and only Mary makes the list from the New testament period.
 
Consider their being listed in Christ’s genealogy at all.  This would have been radical to the original readers of Matthew’s Gospel! 
This simple mention is an undeniable demonstration of the honor that women (in this case - mothers) were (and are!) given by Christ.  This shouldn’t be a complete surprise because Jesus aways honored women in the midst of this very patriarchal society. Women were listed as the first to know that Jesus was risen from the dead.  
The genealogical record becomes even more radical in nature when considering who these women were.  Two of these mothers, Ruth and Rahab, were from pagan religions and seen as religious outsiders in their culture.  Tamar was an incest survivor, Rahab a prostitute, and Bathsheba committed adultery with David—all moral outsiders.  Even Jesus’ own mother Mary would have been ostracized as a pregnant unwed mother.  She was a social outsider.
 
 
Rahab was the prostitute from Jericho who hid the Israelite spies. Look at who she was and what she did. She was a known prostitute, the Israelite men went to her apartment for housing in Jericho. But when authorities came looking for them, she hid them on the roof, then she lied to the authorities, then she told the spies the history of Israel, then she gave them intelligence about her own people, then she told them how to escape and helped them do that, she brokered a deal for her and her family’s safety and she proclaimed that their God was the true God of heaven. When Israel came to take Jericho, the sign in her window to protect her family from death and save them was a scarlet cord. Neither she nor the spies knew that they were symbolizing a foreshadowing of the protection and saving grace of Jesus Christ. She and her family integrated as part of the Israelite people and she married an Israelite named Salmon. That could have been the end of her story but it was not. She gave birth to a son named Boaz who became a farmer and was related to a woman named Naomi. And so, Rahab, the most unlikely of all women, is the 2^nd woman/mother to be listed in the genealogy of Jesus.
Naomi leaves Israel during a famine and her sons marry foreign women in Moab. Her husband and both sons die and she returns home to Israel encouraging her daughter’s in law to stay in their land, but Ruth insists on going back with her and making Naomi’s people and God her people and God. So that these single-jobless women will have food, Ruth goes to gather leftovers in the fields of none-other…than Boaz; son of Rahab. Boaz falls in love and marries Ruth and she gives birth to Obed who will become the father of Jesse, grandfather of King David and be listed as the 3^rd woman/mother in the genealogy of Jesus.
Speaking of David, he notices a married woman, Bathsheba, bathing on her roof and they have an affair and she gets pregnant. Unable to cover it up by trying to convince her husband to be intimate with her and therefore believe the child is his, David ends up having him killed in battle then they get married, and the child is born but soon dies. Later, Bathsheba gives birth to Solomon who would follow David on the throne of Israel. Therefore, Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba is the 4^th woman/mother listed in the genealogy of Jesus.
We listed numbers 2, 3, and 4 who were all within a few generations of each other. It would be more than 900 years before the next and final mother is listed in Jesus genealogy. But what about the first one mentioned. Judah (a son of Jacob) had 3 sons and had his first son marry a woman named Tamar. That son was wicked and died so Judah told his second son to get Tamar pregnant and he was wicked as well and died. Judah’s 3^rd son would have to grow up before he could take his brother’s place with Tamar and she went home to wait til he was old enough. Impatient, she heard that Judah, her father-in-law, was coming to town so she dressed up as a prostitute, Judah took the bait and was intimate with her. For a pledge of payment he gave her some of his belongings. She became pregnant by Judah and several months later when he heard that Tamar acted as a prostitute and got pregnant he summoned her to be killed and she said the man who did this gave me these as a pledge. Judah realized he was the father and didn’t have her killed. She gave birth to twins and during birth, one stuck out his hand so the midwife tied a cord on his hand and the other son was born first but the one with the cord would be considered the first born. The color of that cord tied around his wrist showing he had rights of a first born – SCARLET. This woman who pretended to be a prostitute to get pregnant by her father-in-law is the very first – of 5 – woman/mother to be listed in the genealogy of Jesus.
That brings us to the 5^th, final and only New Testament woman/mother listed in Jesus genealogy. Comparing her to the first two, she had never even been intimate with a man when she gave birth to her first child. Her name was Mary. In fact, the other 4 are listed by who they are a mother of after the Father is listed first. In this case it says: “Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus” Not only is this woman/mother mentioned in this list, she is given  a preferential listing which makes since in that Joseph is not the actual father of Jesus. She is the mother who would be witness to what the scarlet cord symbolism pointed too when her son would be crucified on a cross for the sins of the world.
 
That brings us back to our 3^rd conversation Jesus had with Mary. It takes place as he is dying on that cross.
 
3)     John 19:25-27     Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister (his aunt), Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, John took Mary into his own home.
 
          The world attacked the son of man and Satan attacked the son of God with his full might. The son of God was allowing Satan’s attack through mocking, whipping, beating, spitting, a crown of thorns, being nailed to the cross and being crucified. Receiving all that wicked punishment as he was dying for all people who would ever be born, in the midst of that, he was still the son of man, taking care of the one person who meant more to him than any other in this world – his mother Mary. Jesus can barely breath or speak through the pain, yet he utters those tender words to make sure his mother is cared for once he is gone.
 
          Is God, is the Holy Spirit, is Jesus ALL IN for mothers? Just look how Jesus honors his mother in all 3 conversations and add to that the astounding list of mothers in the genealogy of Jesus, and there is no doubt that God has an immense amount of love, mercy and grace He desires to pour out on women, and particularly to mothers.
          Moms - Have you recently been knocked down by your own short comings or that of those around you – then realize today that you can sing: Taking my sin, my cross, my shame - Rising again I bless Your name - You are my all in all. When I fall down, You pick me up - When I am dry You fill my cup - You are my all in all!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Matthew 1:1-17
A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac
Isaac the father of Jacob
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers
Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar
Perez the father of Hezron
Hezron the father of Ram
Ram the father of Amminadab
Amminadab the father of Nahshon
Nahshon the father of Salmon
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth
Obed the father of Jesse
Jesse the father of King David.
 
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife (Bathsheba)
Solomon the father of Rehoboam
Rehoboam the father of Abijah
Abijah the father of Asa
Asa the father of Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram
Jehoram the father of Uzziah
Uzziah the father of Jotham
Jotham the father of Ahaz
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah
Hezekiah the father of Manasseh
Manasseh the father of Amon
Amon the father of Josiah,
Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
 
After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud
Abiud the father of Eliakim
Eliakim the father of Azor
Azor the father of Zadok
Zadok the father of Akim
Akim the father of Eliud
Eliud the father of Eleazar
Eleazar the father of Matthan
Matthan the father of Jacob
Jacob the father of Joseph
Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
 
Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David
 fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon,
and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.