Woman, Behold Your Son

[371 words] It was a Jewish custom for a mother to weave a tunic (long shirt) for her son before he left for adulthood. He wore this as one of five articles of clothing; shoes, head wrapping, girdle, tunic and robe. As Jesus hung on the cross, He saw the four soldiers dividing four of His five articles of clothing. When they came to the fifth, it was His tunic. Since it was a solid piece of woven material, they did not want to tear it. Their solution was to gamble for it. John, who was at the foot of the cross, wrote that this was to fulfill Psalm 22:18, a messianic prophecy. The Messiah saw this gift from His mother being taken by Roman soldiers. At this point, Jesus looks from the tunic to His mother. His concern for her prompts Him into the next statement: “When Jesus then…