Anchor My Faith

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Author: Stephen Weller
457 words, 2 minutes read time

Mary Is Assigned To John’s Care

Scripture: John 19:25-27

In the previous lesson we witnessed one of the criminals turning to Jesus in faith. In this lesson we will witness Jesus caring for his mother.

^{Jn 19:25} But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

One of the criminals has obtained eternal life, but there is still family work to be completed before death comes to Jesus. Mary is probably in her late forties or early fifties and almost certainly widowed, with little or no personal income and apparently cared for by Jesus. Even though Mary has other sons, for some reason Jesus looks outside the family for a trusted person who will care for her after his death. He does this in response to Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16.

Verse 25 identifies four women standing at the cross of Jesus: “his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” A common interpretation identifies Salome as the sister of Jesus’ mother, thus making her Jesus’ aunt (Topical Bible: Salome including Smith’s Bible Dictionary, ATS Bible Dictionary, Easton’s Bible Dictionary and International Standard Bible Encyclopedia).

For information about Mary the wife of Clopas use this link to an interesting article. The fourth woman was Mary Magdalene who we met on our journey in Luke 8:2 – 3. There she was described as one from whom seven demons had gone out.

With these woman was the disciple whom Jesus loved, who would have been John. Speaking of John, Jesus said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” In that culture at that time the title “Woman” was seen as an expression of polite distance. Jesus is drawing her attention specifically to John, who seems to be the only disciple there at the time. He then instructs John to behold Mary as his mother in that he was to be responsible as a son to care for her after his death. John obeyed and took her to his home and cared for her as his own mother.

Conclusion

With one of the criminals saved and the care of his mother assigned to John, Jesus is now ready to finish his work on the cross and by what he says provide us with a better idea of how intense his suffering was, which went well beyond the physical.