support her than were any other of the
Apostles, and perhaps even than her sons. He seems to have been the only
Apostle or relative of Mary who had a home in Jerusalem, where she
certainly would choose to dwell among the followers of the Lord. Above
all John was the beloved disciple of Mary's beloved son. So to him we
can fittingly say:

"As in death He hung,
His mantle soft on thee He flung
Of filial love, and named the son;
When now that earthly tie was done,
To thy tried faith and spotless years
Consigned His Virgin Mother's tears."
--_Isaac Williams_.--Trans. An. Latin Hymn.

Blessed John. When Jesus called His own mother "thy mother," didst thou
not almost hear Him call thee "My brother"?

One tradition says that John cared for Mary in Jerusalem for twelve
years, until her death, before his going to Ephesus. Another tradition
is that she accompanied him thither and was buried there. What a home
was theirs, ever fragrant with the memory of Him whom they had loved
until His death. No incidents in His life, from the hour of brightness
over Bethlehem to that of darkness over Calvary, was too trivial a thing
for their converse. That home in Jerusalem became what the one in
Nazareth had been, the most consecrated of earth. What welcomes there of
Christians who could join with Mary as she repeated her song of
thirty-three years before, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit
hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." Of her we shall gain one more distinct
view--the only one.

[Illustration: THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS _Rubens_ Page 200]

_CHAPTER XXVII_

_John the Lone Disciple at the Cross--Continued_

Three sayings on the cross reported by John:

"Woman, behold, thy son! Behold, thy mother!"

"I thirst."

"It is finished."

--_John_ xix. 26, 27, 28, 30.

Of the seven sayings of Christ on the cross, three are preserved by John
only; one of love, another of suffering, and another of triumph. The
first is that to Mary and John himself. The second is the cry, "I
thirst"--the only one of the seven concerning the Lord's bodily
sufferings. John was a most observing eyewitness, as is shown by the
details of the narrative,--the "vessel _full_ of vinegar," the "sponge
filled with vinegar," and the hyssop on which it was placed, the
movements of the soldiers as they put it to Christ's lips, and the
manner