John 19:24b-26, Mother and Son

24b So the soldiers did these things, 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.

Why did Jesus give his mother to the “disciple whom he loved?” Shouldn’t the brothers of Jesus take care of their mother? There are three important points that need to be made. First, “the disciple whom he loved” is agreed by most scholars to be John the disciple and writer of this gospel. He is the only male friend of Jesus recorded as being at the crucifixion. He therefore became the only logical choice.

There is another reason. Tradition records none of Jesus’ brothers understood who he really was, the Son of God, before his death. Put yourself in their place. You have seen your older brother grow up. Would you believe he is God? Giving her to John put her in the home and company of a true believer.

Yet there is another powerful reason Jesus gives his mother to John. The evidence of this reason is found in the identity of the other women with Mary, his mother, at the cross. The women John mentions are Mary’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. (We have a lot of Marys to decipher!) All four gospel writers mention Mary Magdalene. There is much I could write about her identity, but the identity of the two remaining women is more critical. I am going to get deep into the weeds for a moment, but please bear with me because the outcome is fascinating.

Let’s first take Mary, the wife of Clopas, as identified by John. In Matthew she is called the mother of James and Joseph and “the other Mary.” In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts, Alphaeus, is recorded as the father of James, who is known as “James the little” or “James the younger.” Apparently Alphaeus and Clopas are the same individual. Clopas is/could be a variant of Cleopas. Cleopas is one of the two disciples who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus in Luke’s Gospel. If the Clopas in John is the same person as the Cleopas of Luke and the Alphaeus of Matthew and Mark, then he, the husband of Mary, is very much indeed involved, along with his family, in the life of Jesus. Early Christian tradition identifies him as the brother of Joseph, the human father of Jesus and husband of Mary. Therefore, the Mary of Clopas is very likely Jesus’ aunt by marriage. Clopas would have been a prominent male figure in Jesus’ life once his father Joseph died. The Bible and additional early tradition records two other sons of Clopas and Mary: Joses and Simeon, the 2nd bishop of Jerusalem, who followed James the first bishop of Jerusalem and brother of Jesus, after James’ death.

That leaves us with the identity of Mary’s sister, whom Mark calls Salome (15:40). Salome, according to Matthew, is the mother of the sons of Zebedee, James and John (the gospel writer). If this is indeed the same Salome, which makes much sense, then Mary’s sister is the mother of John, to whom Jesus gives his mother at the cross. In his concern for his mother, Jesus puts her in the care of John, his first cousin, who, at this point, is his most devoted, believing disciple, standing at the foot of the cross while all the other disciples have run away. Mary will be in excellent hands.

The women at the cross, who are eyewitnesses to his death, are part of a larger family affair of men and women who will risk their very lives to proclaim the gospel of Jesus boldly in Jerusalem and beyond. As we can see, Jesus has planned things very well indeed.

“Woman, behold your son. Behold your mother.” We thank you Father, that Jesus thought of others even when dying. Deliver us from self-pity, from brooding on our own wrongs and misfortunes. Help us to be like Christ to our neighbor, acting as Jesus would act, mediating your love. Amen.

Caryl Micklem