Few writers can communicate the wonder of God’s Word as deeply as Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. Her love for Scripture is evident—and infectious. Nancy’s new devotional book, Incomparable: 50 Days with Jesus, is an invitation to open our Bibles and be reminded that there is no one else like Jesus. He is quite simply . . . Incomparable. What a joy to welcome Nancy to the farm’s table…

Guest Post by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

Clustered around the cross that dark day, in stark contrast to the angry, restless mob, stood a handful of onlookers whose hearts were broken and whose eyes were fixed on the Man suspended in the middle, dying between two convicted criminals.

“The one factor that held this group together so closely was the Man whose blood now dripped from His hands and feet and side, seeping down the cross and staining the ground beneath them. “

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there. Her sister was present too. Most commentators, piecing together the various Gospel accounts, believe this woman’s name was Salome, the wife of Zebedee and the mother of two of Christ’s disciples, James and John. 

Scripture refers to two other women present that day, each named Mary as well. Mary, the wife of Clopas, was perhaps the mother of another apostle. And then there was Mary Magdalene, whom Jesus had delivered from a tangle of “seven demons” (Luke 8:2) and who had become one of His faithful, long-term followers. Rounding out the group was John—“the disciple [Jesus] loved” (John 19:26)—who at first had fled in fear with the other members of Christ’s inner circle but had dared to return and stand vigil with the others. 

So Jesus had family around Him—but more than family. For even those not related by blood were connected by something more powerful, more magnetic, than mere biology and bloodlines.

The one factor that held this group together so closely was the Man whose blood now dripped from His hands and feet and side, seeping down the cross and staining the ground beneath them. 

Their love, faith, and belief in Jesus was what made these witnesses truly one. 

Truly family. 

“…our most valuable kinships in life are forged at the cross, formed around our mutual relationship with Jesus, and are literally built to last forever.“

This was the united body—the shared family of believers—that Jesus was giving His life to create. This new family created at the cross does not exclude the kindred attachments of birth families or give us leave to ignore their needs. Rather, it multiplies and transforms our natural family relationships, broadening them into a brotherhood and sisterhood that keeps anyone from being abandoned or neglected, from being orphaned or widowed, bereft or invisible. 

Distance can intrude, death can intervene, selfish choices can interrupt, hard circumstances can inconvenience. But wherever those who belong to Jesus might be, touched by any situation in life, there are other members of His extended family who can embrace them, minister to their needs, and provide the companionship of a common heartbeat, passion, and purpose. 

So when Jesus lowered His eyes, catching sight of the familiar faces staring up at Him, family was the lens through which He viewed their distraught expressions. Then He made the connection explicit: 

To His mother: “Woman, here is your son.” 

To John, His beloved disciple: “Here is your mother.” 

(John 19:26–27)

“Woman.” To our modern ears, this way of addressing His mother might sound cold. But Jesus certainly communicated no disrespect or lack of love to the woman who had given birth to Him. Perhaps He avoided addressing her with the more familiar “Mother” to keep us from being tempted to exalt Mary beyond what was appropriate. But the less sentimental language also hints at new family lines He was drawing—and He was drawing all His people inside those lines. 

“We are together in Him. We are one. We are family. “

Jesus was deliberately establishing in their minds (and leaving clear instructions for us as well) that a new set of primary relationships, stronger than blood ties, now existed in His kingdom. Within the interconnectedness of His spiritual family, each of us—whoever we are—has the most in common with those people whose faith in Christ intersects our own.

In other words, our most valuable kinships in life are forged at the cross, formed around our mutual relationship with Jesus, and are literally built to last forever.

The responsibilities we rightly owe to our physical families in love and obedience to Christ extend beyond these people as well. We as believers have an even wider call to care for and minister to our brothers and sisters in Christ and to live with the grateful confidence that they, too, will care for us.

We are together in Him. We are one. We are family. 

So even though John was not Mary’s naturally born son, he picked up on Jesus’ dying, divine directive. “From that hour,” the gospel retorts, “the disciple took her into his home” (John 19:27). 

“We have been gathered and adopted into a worldwide, multigenerational family that only the power and blood of Christ could create. “

How grateful I am for spiritual brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, families, who have taken me under their wings and into their hearts and homes over the years, particularly in the decades I spent as a single woman, providing friendship, encouragement, practical counsel, and assistance. And what a joy it has been to open my heart and home to others, to care for them, assure them of His love, and come alongside them in times of discouragement or need. 

Christ calls us to be His family here on earth. And it all came—it all comes—from the thoughtful care and devotion Christ initiated in the midst of the pain and peril of the cross. The family bond that He desires for us and desires the world to see in us is too big and broad to be confined to the handful of people we share a name and some DNA with. We have been gathered and adopted into a worldwide, multigenerational family that only the power and blood of Christ could create. 

Our job is to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

And? Our privilege is to be loved by them. 

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