Matthew 27:55-56 55Many women were also there, watching from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
All four Gospels mention women being present at Jesus’ crucifixion. All the disciples had fled except John, or at least none are mentioned. Jesus had female disciples, though they are rarely mentioned in the gospel accounts. Many of these women had followed Jesus all the way from Galilee, which shows the extent of their faith and commitment. It must have been extremely challenging for women to follow Jesus like this in a male dominated society where women were often consigned to home life.
These women came with a goal to watch over Jesus and care for him. The word ministering (diakonousia) is often used in the New Testament for the service of care, compassion, and ministry within the church. There were both deacons and deaconesses in the early church (see 1 Timothy 3). The great faith and dedication of these women can be seen in how they were ready to care for Jesus, even with the intimidating crowds and soldiers around the cross. They were limited in what they could do, but they were ready nevertheless. These women had cared for Jesus through his travels (Mark 15:41).
Matthew names some of these women, who were no doubt famous in the early church. The first mentioned is Mary of Magdala, from whom Jesus cast out seven demons (Luke 8:2). Mandala was a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. This indicates that she was a long ways from home and had followed Jesus a long time. She is mentioned as being present at Jesus’ tomb in all four of the Gospels. That she is first in this short list is significant and emphasizes her strong faith and commitment to Jesus.
Mary was a famous name and a variation of Miriam, the sister of Moses. The other Mary was the mother of James and Joseph. There is no other mention of her in the New Testament. The third woman was the mother of James and John, but she is not named by Matthew but name Salome in Mark 15:40. She is mentioned back in 20:20-23 as giving a special request to Jesus that her two sons sit in places of honor in his kingdom. We do not know much about her own journey of faith, but that event must have been a changing point for her. We also know her husband’s name, Zebedee. Thus, we have an account of a whole family, though we do not know what ever happened to Zebedee. It is significant that a married woman would join her two sons and follow Jesus. Zebedee may have died at some point or may even have become a disciple as well. Whatever the case, Salome had also followed Jesus a long ways from the area of Capernaum. These three women saw something special in Jesus. They had put their faith in him, had become his disciples and taken up their crosses and followed him, even to the point of his own cross. They put themselves in danger by being present at his death, but their faith was strong.
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