Mary, Mother of Jesus

“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman behold your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.” John 19:26, 27

Jesus’ relationship with his mother appears to be a close one. Yet it is also one that recognizes the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus’ mother plays an important role in Jesus’ life, especially at the beginning. She feeds him and cares for him. She does all those things mothers do to enable a baby to grow into healthy young adulthood. But at a certain point the relationship changes. Jesus’ mission takes priority. His identity as the Son of God takes precedence over his role as the son of Mary.

Jesus’ words to Mary from the cross may seem rude to us: “Woman, behold your son.” But they would not have been thought rude in Jesus’ culture. The address, “Woman,” was a common address in that culture. Jesus used it on a number of occasions, such as with the woman at the well in Samaria: “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” He also used it with the Canaanite woman: “Woman, great is your faith. Let it be done for you according to your wish.” Peter used the address with the servant girl who claimed to have seen him with Jesus: “Woman, I do not know him.”

It is significant, however, that on the cross Jesus did not address Mary as “Mother.” To us it might seem important for Jesus to affirm Mary’s faithfulness to her motherly role in this most difficult moment. We might think Jesus would have acknowledged the pain she was feeling watching her son hang upon the cross. Jesus’ words create some distance between him and Mary in terms of the roles of mother and son. We suspect Jesus did this intentionally.

The reason is that Mary’s role as the mother of Jesus was over at that point. There was no more nurturing for her to do with Jesus. Instead, her role was changing. From this point onward, her place was that of a disciple. She did not need to pine over the lost years or wonder if she might have done something differently. Her calling now was to be like that of anyone else — to hear the word of God and do it. Mary’s focus from that point on was to be her discipleship as a faithful follower of Christ.

What Jesus does on the cross is provide for Mary’s well-being. He says to Mary, in reference to John, “Behold your son.” He says to John, in reference to Mary, “Behold your mother.” He entrusts her to the beloved disciple. John reports that from that moment forward he took her into his own home. From that point onward, Mary would be a special person in the life of the church. She would be highly esteemed. But she would be first and foremost a disciple and follower of Christ. She did her job as mother well. From what we know about the early church, she lived the life of a faithful disciple well, also.