he Victim; none could
know as she knew the depth of His goodness, the unfathomable and
unconquerable love He had for all; and none could estimate as she the
ingratitude of those whom He had healed and fed and taught and comforted
with such unselfish devotedness. She knew that there was none like Him,
and that if any could have brought blessing to this earth it was He, and
there she saw Him nailed to the cross, the end actually reached. We know
not if in that hour she thought of the trial of Abraham; we know not
whether she allowed herself to think at all, whether she did not merely
suffer as a mother losing her son; but certainly it must have been with
intensest eagerness she heard herself once more addressed by Him.

Mary was commended to John as the closest friend of Jesus. These two
would be in fullest sympathy, both being devoted to Him. It was perhaps
an indication to those who were present, and through them to all, that
nothing is so true a bond between human hearts as sympathy with Christ.
We may admire nature, and yet have many points of antipathy to those who
also admire nature. We may like the sea, and yet feel no drawing to some
persons who also like the sea. We may be fond of mathematics, and yet
find that this brings us into a very partial and limited sympathy with
mathematicians. Nay, we may even admire and love the same person as
others do, and yet disagree about other matters. But if Christ is chosen
and loved as He ought to be, that love is a determining affection which
rules all else within us, and brings us into abiding sympathy with all
who are similarly governed and moulded by that love. That love indicates
a certain past experience and guarantees a special type of character. It
is the characteristic of the subjects of the kingdom of God.

This care for His mother in His last moments is of a piece with all the
conduct of Jesus. Throughout His life there is an entire absence of
anything pompous or excited. Everything is simple. The greatest acts in
human history He does on the highway, in the cottage, among a group of
beggars in an entry. The words which have thrilled the hearts and mended
the lives of myriads were spoken casually as He walked with a few
friends. Rarely did He even gather a crowd. There was no advertising, no
admission by ticket, no elaborate arrangements for a set speech at a set
hour. Those who know human nature will know what to think of this
unstudied ease and simplicity, and wil