John 19:25-27 25But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and the sister of his mother, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26Then when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
The story shifts from the ridicule of the soldiers to the compassion and love of family and friends. It appears that most of the eleven apostles had fled, though perhaps they had trickled back to witness what was happening. The only record of any of the apostles present at the cross is the note here about the beloved disciple, whom tradition has named as the Apostle John. With the soldiers watching on, a group of women were present with John near the cross. The soldiers had little to fear from such a group, but it would have been intimidating to be near a cross guarded by four Roman soldiers.
Mary was a popular woman’s name at that time, as evidenced in verse 25. Three of the four women were named Mary. We know from other passages that some of these women were close to Jesus and had followed him from Galilee, such as Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2). The identity of Mary’s sister and Mary the wife of Clopas is uncertain, with various theories offered. John and the other Gospel writers were not concerned with such small details, possibly because people knew who these women were or simply that such details were unnecessary for what the writers wanted to say.
The reason John recounts this part of the story becomes apparent in verses 26-27. This is the second time Mary, Jesus’ mother, is mentioned in John (2:4). In his agony, Jesus turned to his mother. In his agony and near death, he turned to his mother and John with two simple statements. In Aramaic, each statement would have been just a few quick words, uttered with a short breath. It has been pointed out over the centuries that Jesus was making sure that his mother was cared for after his death. He was essentially giving the care of his mother to John, and having Mary adopt John as her son. As the oldest son, Jesus was responsible for his mother. Since Joseph is not mentioned in any passage after Jesus was twelve years old, he had likely died before Jesus began his public ministry. How much Jesus needed to do to care for his mother is unknown, but he obviously cared deeply to give her into the care of John.
Jesus addressed his mother in a similar way as in 2:4. We should not read our English understanding into the way Jesus spoke Woman. This was not impolite but more of a “ma’am” spoken in some contexts. Jesus showed the greatest care for his mother in his last moments by giving her care over to John, one of the “Sons of Thunder” who became known as the “Beloved Disciple.” As verse 27 indicates, John cared for Mary from that point onward. John was learning what love means by caring for someone obviously important to Jesus. Even though Jesus put the kingdom of God first, he also cared for family.
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