When Jesus 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.”
-John 19:26-27
This is yet another surprising encounter on the cross. Mary, we are told in Mark 6:3 and other places, had other sons and daughters. In the customs of the time, it would have been the responsibility of the other sons, in the event of the oldest son’s death, to care for their mother. But Jesus turns this custom on its head and entrusts his mother, not to his brothers, but to John, one of his closest disciples.
The reason for Jesus’ strange words is found in John 7:5- “Not even his brothers believed in him.” Later, of course, Jesus’ brothers would come to believe in him, and even author the biblical books of James and Jude. But here at the crucifixion, they are still unbelievers. Jesus does not want to entrust his mother to his unbelieving family, and so he gives her a new family: a family of believers, the church.
Jesus here is establishing the primacy of a new family, the church. He had alluded to this in Matthew 12, when his mother and brothers were outside wanting to talk to him. “Here are my mother and my brothers,” Jesus said, pointing to his disciples. “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
EXTEND THE LESSON
Spend some time praying for your family members, especially any who do not know Jesus.
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