see her beloved Son once more. "It is no
place for women," John would say. But she answered, "I must see Him
yet again." Then said John, "If you will indeed go, I will take you."
"I too will go," sadly said Mary, her sister, the wife of Cleophas;
"and I also," said Mary of Magdala. What a sight for those loving
hearts, when they saw the crosses in the distance, and knew that on one
of them was hanging the dearest to them of all on earth! But the love
that makes the timid deer turn to fight valiantly for its young made
them oblivious to everything except to get near Him. But how little
had the young mother realized that Simeon meant this, when he told her
that a sword would one day pierce her soul!

Jesus knew how much she was suffering, and how lonely she would be when
He was gone. He had neither silver nor gold to leave, but would at
least provide a home and tender care as long as she required them.
Elevated but very little above the ground, He could easily speak to the
little group. "Woman," He said, not calling her "mother," lest
identification with Himself might expose her to insult, "behold thy
Son." Then, looking tenderly toward John, He consigned her to his care.

Did He give a further look, which John interpreted to mean that he
should lead her away? It may have been so, for from that hour he took
her to his home; and so she passes from the page of Scripture, except
for the one glimpse we have of her, in the upper room, awaiting the
baptism of the Holy Spirit.

III. "_To-day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise._"--We cannot explore
all the causes which brought about so great a change in this man, and
produced so lofty an ideal of his Fellow-sufferer. We have to deal
rather with the response of Jesus. Lost by the first Adam, Paradise
was being regained by the last; and it is now not far away. A dying
man may see the sun leave the zenith, but ere it set in the western
wave he may be in the land of Paradise. Absent from the body, present
with the Lord. There is no State of unconsciousness between the two.
We close our eyes on the dimming spectacles of this world at one
moment, to behold the King in His beauty the next.

Men may strip Jesus of everything, but they cannot touch His power to
save. In a moment of His greatest weakness He was able to rescue a man
from the very brink of perdition, and take him as a trophy of His power
to Heaven. What will He not be able to do now that the mortal weakne