ACC ~ John 19 v25 - 27

OVERVIEW:

While the soldiers divide up Jesus’ last remaining possession, his only concern is for the care of his mother (CHRYSOSTOM). John is the only Evangelist who tells us of Mary’s presence at her son’s cross (AMBROSE). Part of her must have wondered why he hurried to the cross, though, when it meant he would be leaving her to suffer (ROMANUS). But the storm that must have overtaken her soul at that moment had been prophesied by Simeon years earlier (BASIL). While the apostles had fled (CHRYSOSTOM), she was there with Mary the mother of James the less (JEROME) and the wife of Clopas, who was Joseph’s brother (EUSEBIUS). Mary Magdalene is there as well, along with the other women (AUGUSTINE).

Jesus honors the beloved disciple by entrusting the virgin mother into the virgin disciple’s care and protection that, as Jesus’ mother, she would need (CHRYSOSTOM, BEDE). Since Christ lives in John, even as he lives in us, Jesus is in effect presenting himself to Mary when he tells her to behold John “your son” (ORIGEN). In caring for his earthly mother here, the hour that had not yet come at Cana when Jesus spoke with Mary has now arrived, and the earlier harsh treatment he had given her at Cana gives way to affection and love (GREGORY THE GREAT). He provides her, to a certain degree, a son in place of himself (AUGUSTINE) and also honors the fourth commandment in ensuring her care (CYRIL). And so, John took Mary into the house of his parents near Mount Olivet (THE PASSING OF MARY) or later to Ephesus, according to allusions in the Council of Ephesus. [1] John renounced the wealth and rank he enjoyed in his association with the high priest in order to serve his Lord and his Lord’s mother (JEROME).

[1] See footnote on The Passing of Mary in quote below.

19:25 | Jesus’ Mother at the Cross of Her Son

JESUS’ ACTIONS CONTRASTED WITH THE SOLDIERS’

CHRYSOSTOM: The soldiers did these things to him, but while on the cross, he commits his mother to the disciple, teaching us to show every care for our parents even to our last breath. When indeed she unseasonably troubled him, he said, “Woman, what have I to do with you?” [1] and “Who is my mother?” [2] But here he shows how much he loves his mother and commits her to the disciple whom he loved. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 85.2. [3]

[1] See Jn 2:4.

[2] Mt 12:48.

[3] NPNF 1 14:318**.

ONLY JOHN INCLUDES MARY’S PRESENCE

AMBROSE: Mary, the mother of the Lord, stood by her Son’s cross. No one has taught me this but the holy Evangelist John. Others have related how the earth was shaken at the Lord’s passion, the sky was covered with darkness, the sun withdrew itself [1] and how the thief was, after a faithful confession, received into paradise. [2] John tells us what the others have not told, how the Lord while fixed on the cross called to his mother. He thought it was more important that, victorious over his sufferings, Jesus gave her the offices of piety than that he gave her a heavenly kingdom. For if it is the mark of religion to grant pardon to the thief, it is a mark of much greater piety that a mother is honored with such affection by her Son. “Behold,” he says, “your son.”… “Behold your mother.” Christ testified from the cross and divided the offices of piety between the mother and the disciple. …

Nor was Mary below what was becoming the mother of Christ. When the apostles fled, she stood at the cross and with pious eyes beheld her Son’s wounds. For she did not look to the death of her offspring but to the salvation of the world. Or perhaps, because that “royal hall” [3] knew that the redemption of the world would be through the death of her Son, she thought that by her death she also might add something to that universal gift. But Jesus did not need a helper for the redemption of all, who saved all without a helper. [4] This is why he says, “I am counted among those who go down to the pit. I am like those who have no help.” [5] He received indeed the affection of his mother but sought not another’s help. Imitate her, holy mothers, who in her only dearly beloved Son set forth so great an example of maternal virtue. For neither have you sweeter children, nor did the Virgin seek the consolation of being able to bear another son. [6] LETTER 63.109-11. [7]

MARY QUESTIONS HER SON’S HASTE TO THE CROSS

ROMANUS MELODUS:

The lamb, beholding her lamb advancing to the slaughter,

Followed Him wearily with the other women, saying,

“Where dost Thou go, O my son?

Is there another wedding in Cana,

And dost Thou hasten there to turn water into wine?

Shall I go with Thee, my child, or shall I wait for Thee?

Give me word, O Word, some word, and do not pass me by in silence,

O Thou who hast kept me pure,

My son and my God. …

“Thou dost advance, my child, to an unjust death,

And no one suffers with Thee. Peter does not accompany Thee—he who said to Thee,

‘I shall never deny Thee, even if I die.’ [8]

Thomas has left Thee—he who said: ‘Let us all die with Him.’ [9]

And again the others, well-known and intimate friends,

Destined to judge the tribes of Israel, where are they now?

No one of all of them is here. But the One above all,

Thou, alone, O Son art to die in return for all whom Thou hast gratified,

My son and my God.” …

[Jesus replies] “Bear up for a short time, O Mother, and thou shall shalt see

How, like a physician, I strip and come where they lie dead

And cure their wounds,

Cutting their callousness and hardness with the spear;

And I take the vinegar and use it as an astringent on the wound;

And when I have opened up the cut with the surgical lancet of the nails, I shall use my cloak as dressing,

Using my cross as remedy,

I use it, O Mother, so that thou mayest sing with understanding: [10]

‘He has redeemed suffering by suffering,

My son and my God.’

“Lay aside thy grief, Mother,

And advance with joy; for I now hasten to that for which I came,

To do the will of Him who sent me;

For, from the first this was ordained for me by my Father,

And it was not displeasing to my spirit

That I should assume human form and suffer for the fallen.

Then, O Mother, hastening, tell all people

That by suffering He strikes down the one who hates Adam

And, having conquered, He comes,

My son and my God.”

KONTAKION ON MARY AT THE CROSS 19.1, 3, 13-14. [11]

[1] Mt 27:45.

[2] Lk 23:43.

[3] A favorite expression of Ambrose emphasizing Mary as the bearer of the divine king.

[4] Ambrose here seems to speak against the idea of Mary as co-redeemer with Christ that developed within later Marian piety. For further discussion, see Paula Bowes, “Mary and the Early Christian Fathers,” Epiphany 4.4 (summer 1984):45-55.

[5] Ps 88:4-5 (87:5-6 LXX).

[6] See note 23 on perpetual virginity under Jn 19:27.

[7] NPNF 2 10:472-73**.

[8] MT 26:35; MK 14:31.

[9] JN 11:16.

[10] PS 47:7 (46:8 LXX).

[11] KRBM 1:196-97, 201-2.

MARY’S APPREHENSION ABOUT THE INEVITABLE

BASIL THE GREAT: Simeon … prophesies about Mary herself, that when standing by the cross and seeing what is being done and hearing the voices, after the witness of Gabriel, after her secret knowledge of the divine conception, after the great exhibition of miracles, she shall feel about her soul a mighty tempest. The Lord was bound to taste of death for every human being—to become a propitiation for the world and to justify all people by his own blood. LETTERS 260.9. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 8:299.

THE WOMEN REMAIN AS THE DISCIPLES FLEE

CHRYSOSTOM: The women stood by the cross [as the disciples fled], and the weaker appeared the stronger. From that point, everything was entirely transformed. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 85.2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:318**.

IS MARY, WIFE OF CLOPAS, JAMES’S MOTHER?

JEROME: The Mary who is described as the mother of James the less was the wife of Alphaeus and sister of Mary the Lord’s mother, the one who is called by John the Evangelist “Mary of Clopas,” whether after her father or family or for some other reason. But if you think they are two persons because elsewhere we read, “Mary the mother of James the less,” and here, “Mary of Clopas,” you have still to learn that it is customary in Scripture for the same individual to bear different names. THE PERPETUAL VIRGINITY OF MARY 15. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 6:341**.

TRADITION’S IDENTIFICATION OF CLOPAS

EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: Hegesippus relates that Clopas was the brother of Joseph. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 3.11.2. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 1:146*.

MARY MAGDALENE IN TWO PLACES?

AUGUSTINE: If Matthew and Mark had not mentioned by name Mary Magdalene, we might have thought that there were two parties, one who stood far away and the other near. … But how can we account for the same Mary Magdalene and the other women standing far off, as Matthew and Mark say, and being near the cross, as John says? We can do so by supposing that they were within such a distance as to be within sight of our Lord and yet sufficiently far off to be out of the way of the crowd and centurion and soldiers who were immediately around him. Or we may suppose that after our Lord had commended his mother to the disciple, they retired to be out of the way of the crowd and saw what took place afterward at a distance. In this way, those Evangelists who do not mention them till after our Lord’s death describe them as standing far away. That some women are mentioned by all alike, others not, makes no difference. HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS 3.21.58. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 6:207-8**.

19:26 | Behold Your Son

WHAT AN HONOR! CHRYSOSTOM: Jesus teaches us to show the utmost care for our parents even to our last breath. … He commits her to the disciple whom he loved. Again, John modestly conceals himself. If he had wanted to boast, he would have also told us why he was loved since it was most likely some great and wonderful thing he had done. But why doesn’t Jesus mention anything else or try to comfort him in his despondency? Because this was no time for comforting words. Besides, it was no small thing for him to be honored in such a way. … And what an honor it was that Jesus gave to the disciple! He entrusts his mother to him to take care of her now that he himself was departing. It was likely that she would need protection in her grief and because she was his mother, and so Jesus entrusted her to the beloved. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 85.2-3. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:318**.

THE VIRGIN COMMENDED TO THE VIRGIN

BEDE: Beyond the others, Jesus loved the one who, being a virgin when chosen by him, remained forever a virgin. Now stories handed down say the [Christ] called [John] from his marriage ceremony when he wished to marry, and on that account he granted the more desirable sweetness of his own love to one whom he had withdrawn from fleshly pleasures. Accordingly, when [Christ] was about to die on the cross, he commended his mother to [John], so that virgin might watch over virgin, and when he himself ascended to heaven after his death and resurrection, a son would not be lacking to his mother, whose chaste life would be protected by his chaste services. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 1.9. [1]

[1] CS 110:87.

CHRIST’S GIFT OF HIMSELF IN JOHN AND US

ORIGEN: The Gospels are the firstfruits of all the Scriptures. But the firstfruits of the Gospels is the Gospel according to John whose meaning no one can understand who has not leaned on Jesus’ breast or received Mary from Jesus to be his mother also. But whoever wants to become another “John” must also become such as John was. In other words, he must be shown to be Jesus, so to speak. For Mary had no son except Jesus (in accordance with those who hold a sound opinion of her). [1] But Jesus says to his mother, “Behold your son,” and not, “Behold, this man also is your son.” If this is so, then Jesus has in effect said, “Behold, this is Jesus whom you bore” [when he presents John to her]. For indeed, everyone who has been perfected “no longer lives, but Christ lives in him.” [2] And, since “Christ lives” in him [i.e., John], it is said of him to Mary, “Behold your son,” the Christ. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 1.23. [3]

[1] The perpetual virginity of Mary was the consensus of the ancient church, although the church today has not reached such consensus. A helpful discussion between Roman Catholics and Protestants on this issue is Raymond E. Brown, Mary in the New Testament: A Collaborative Assessment by Protestant and Roman Catholic Scholars (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978). See also Istvan Benko, “The Perpetual Virginity of the Mother of Jesus,” Lutheran Quarterly 16 (May 1964):147-63.

[2] See Gal 2:20.

[3] FC 80:38**; SC 120:70-72.

19:27 | Behold Your Mother

NOW THE HOUR HAS COME

GREGORY THE GREAT: The virgin mother, when wine was lacking, wanted Jesus to do a miracle. She was at once answered, “Woman, what have I to do with you?” as if to say plainly, The fact that I can do a miracle comes to me from my Father, not my mother. For it was from the nature of his Father that he could do miracles but from the nature of his mother that he could die. When he was on the cross, then, in dying he acknowledged his mother whom he commended to the disciple, saying, “Behold your mother.” And so, when he says, “Woman, what have I to do with you? My hour is not yet come,” [1] he is in effect saying, In the miracle, which I did not from your nature, I do not acknowledge you. When the hour of death shall come, however, I shall acknowledge you as my mother, since it is from you that I can die. LETTER 10.39. [2]

[1] Jn 2:4.

[2] NPNF 2 13:48**. See also Augustine Tractates on the Gospel of John 119.1; On Faith and Creed 4.9.

A DEVOTED SON

AUGUSTINE: The good teacher does what he thereby reminds us ought to be done, and by his own example he instructed his disciples that care for their parents ought to be a matter of concern to pious children, as if that tree to which the members of the dying One were affixed were the very chair of office from which the Master was imparting instruction. From this salutary doctrine it was that the apostle Paul had learned what he taught in turn, when he said, “But if any does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.” [1] And what are so much home concerns to anyone, as parents to children or children to parents? Of this most wholesome precept, therefore, the very Master of the saints set the example from himself, when—not as God for the handmaid whom he had created and governed but as a man for the mother of whom he had been created and whom he was now leaving behind—he provided to a certain degree another son in place of himself. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 119.2. [2]

[1] 1 Tim 5:8.

[2] NPNF 1 7:432-33*.

HONORING ONE’S PARENTS

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Christ here wanted to confirm the commandment that is clearly emphasized in the Law: “Honor your father and mother that it may be well with you.” [1] … Honoring one’s parents is surely a very precious virtue. And how else would we learn the importance of that love—even when we are overwhelmed by a flood of intolerable calamities—except by this primary example that Christ offers us? It is one thing to be mindful of the holy commandments in times of peace and quietness and quite another to fulfill your duty during the storms and troubles of life. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12. [2]

[1] Ex 20:12.

[2] LF 48:634-35**.

A TRADITION [1] ABOUT MARY LIVING WITH JOHN

THE PASSING OF MARY: Therefore, when the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was hanging on the tree fastened by the nails of the cross for the life of the whole world, he saw about the cross his mother standing, and John the Evangelist, whom he peculiarly loved above the rest of the apostles because he alone of them was a virgin in the body. He gave him, therefore, the charge of holy Mary, saying to him, “Behold your mother!” And he said to her, “Behold your son!” From that hour the holy mother of God remained especially in the care of John, as long as she lived. And when the apostles had divided the world by lot for preaching, she settled in the house of his parents near Mount Olivet. THE PASSING OF MARY 1. [2]

[1] The Passing of Mary is part of the Apocrypha of the New Testament. It is cited here to provide a glimpse of the tradition on Mary. Other tradition places Mary in Ephesus with John. This is inferred from allusions in the records of the Council of Ephesus in 431, where a church is dedicated to Mary and we see Marian piety especially strong in Ephesus.

[2] ANF 8:595**.

JOHN RENOUNCED WEALTH AND RANK TO SERVE

JEROME: For we judge people’s virtue not by their sex but by their character, and we hold those to be worthy of the highest glory who have renounced both rank and wealth. It was for this reason that Jesus loved the Evangelist John more than the other disciples. For John was of noble birth and known to the high priest, yet he was so little intimidated by the plotting of the Jews that he introduced Peter into his court [1] and was the only one of the apostles bold enough to take his stand before the cross. For it was he who took the Savior’s parent to his own home. It was the virgin son [2] who received the virgin mother as a legacy from the Lord. LETTER 127.5. [3]

[1] See Jn 18:15-16.

[2] Tertullian goes so far as to call him a “voluntary celibate” (On Monogamy 17).

[3] NPNF 2 6:255**. See also Against Jovinianus 1.26.