27th Mar 26 | 16:08
Studies by Book
Luke 23 26-43 THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS 31 John 19 25-27 The role of mothers and fathers
📖 Luke 23:26-43
Thu13Jan2022 – The role of mothers and fathers - John 19:25-27 - THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS (31) - Bible reading: I Thessalonians 2:7-8
“Lord Jesus, we thank you that at the cross, You put in place the character of the church. Lord, we pray that as we understand these relationships, we will put them to practise within the fellowship of the body of Christ, and see how wonderfully the church can experience growth. In Jesus name, we pray, Amen”.
John 19:25-27 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene (26) When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" (27) Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
When Jesus saw this small group that had gathered at the foot of the cross, He focused, especially, on His mother, Mary and then on His beloved disciple, John.
He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!"
The Lord was placing Mary in a unique relationship with the body of Christ. This was not just for Mary, specifically, but the Lord was talking of a particular function for the growth of the church.
The Lord was placing on Mary an important responsibility. She had to be a mother to John and the church. She had to provide motherly care to many in the church. She was to carry His concern for the church and through the church to the world.
As the church carries out her mission in the world, there is a special place for mothers and fathers in the body of Christ .
The Pastor or the Shepherd in the church has a significant function but the church needs many mothers and fathers. They are the ones who cement and bind the body of Christ. Their role and function cannot be quantified. They are expected to be sacrificial.
As we grow older, we must recognize that we are not to be a burden to the church but a blessing, for we are mothers and fathers to the younger generation in the church.
As mothers and fathers, we have gone through many experiences in life. We can understand the pressure that younger people go through. We can empathise with them, listen, care, encourage, counsel and most importantly pray for people in the body of Christ.
I Corinthians 4:15-17 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. (16) Therefore I urge you, imitate me . (17) For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.
Apostle Paul is communicating to the church that he was a father to them. The church can have thousands of teachers and preachers but there is a short supply of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. These functions are what makes the church, a home and the home, a church.
Paul was sending Timothy to them, for Timothy understood the father/mother heart that Paul had for the church and he would bring that role to fruition.
Paul is reminding the Thessalonian church of the kind of life and ministry that he and his team demonstrated in Thessalonica.
I Thessalonians 2:7-8 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. (8) So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.
Paul is showing us the role of a mother, in the church. Can this ethos be converted to specific ‘dos and don’ts’? It would be very difficult to do so but each of us must be dependent on the Holy Spirit to fulfill the father/mother role in the church.
The church desperately needs these functions to be fulfilled in her growth. All of us can be mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters in the church. This is the home, family relationship in the body of Christ. These functions must be intentionally cultivated in the church. The impact of these roles is immeasurable .
I Thessalonians 2:11-12 as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, (12) that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
Apostle Paul, though he saw himself as a father and mother to the churches, had himself, experienced the care of mothers in his ministry.
Romans 16:13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.
Paul had a mother, in the church. She was the mother of Rufus but the mother of Paul too, in the body of Christ. We do not know her name but she adopted Paul as her son and cared for Paul just as she cared for Rufus.
In the same way, Mary now had a special responsibility to be a mother to John.
None of us can say, “I do not have any particular gift to bring to the growth of the church”. Each one of us can be mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters to many, who are hurting and who need a mother, father, brother or a sister’s intervention, into their life.
Thought to ponder
If the church has many mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, church growth cannot be restrained.