Text: John 19:25-27
Therefore the soldiers did these things.
But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.
There is actually very little about Jesus mother during this time other than she was there and this little incident where Jesus hands over the care of his mother to John his disciple. This is in itself odd as Jesus could have handed her over to one of his four half brothers but instead chooses John. Sons were responsible for their widowed mothers in this culture and Jesus is about to no longer be able to provide for his mother and so this is one of those things Jesus does to make sure there is nothing left behind once he is gone.
The other thing that this passage shows is that while most of Jesus disciples had abandoned him, many of his women followers were still there. John alone remains as the one male disciple that actually witnesses the events of the cross and is the most logical choice to take care of Mary in this sense. Jesus knew he would do it.
I am very sure that Mary was now beginning to feel the sting words of the prophecy she received about her son on the day of his dedication from Simeon where his life would pierce her soul. Her feelings would have been the same as any mother who watches her son die and in the end she also becomes on of the great witnesses for her son after he is raised from the dead.
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