‘Woman, Here Is Your Son’ — Seven Sayings, Part Three
‘Woman, here is your son’ — John 19:26
Jesus’ previous words were spoken to rough criminals and strangers; now he speaks to his mother and the contrast couldn’t be greater. At first his words seems rude, “woman” is not how we’d address our mothers, particularly at such a distressing time. But the sense of the original Greek is difficult to convey in English and the word is not intended to be offensive. The NIV Bible translation explains this with a footnote “The Greek for Woman does not denote any disrespect.” John 2:4 records Jesus using the term right at the beginning of his public ministry when Mary asked him to turn water into wine, so it was not unusual.
Jesus is telling his mother that she will be looked after. The two phrases “woman, here is ”your son” and then “here is your mother” have echoes of the formal adoption process of the day and underlines the responsibility. Although John’s name isn’t mentioned it is assumed Jesus was addressing him and John (for reasons of modesty) doesn’t refer to himself by name in his gospel. It is puzzling to understand why Jesus wanted John to protect and provide for his mother and not his many brothers. His family may well have been offended by this. I know I would be. One simple point is that there is no suggestion Mary’s family were down in Jerusalem, and they were probably back at their northern home in Capernaum. It’s worth remembering that Jesus’ own brothers did not believe in him (John 7:5) and were unsympathetic at this time (contrast Acts 1:4). Mary’s heart was going to be broken (see Luke 2:35) and John’s own faith would pass through its darkest hour. Jesus knew they would need each other to make sense of it all.
It is striking that at the moment of his greatest agony Jesus is concerned for the care of his mother. The care of family members and the vulnerable has always been the greatest priority for Christians. By the time of Acts 6 there was systematic support for widows and in 1 Timothy 5 careful guidelines for support are laid down. In the centuries that followed, the Christians’ care for the needy became legendary. The secular historian Tom Holland wrote recently of one bishop “The more broken men and women were, the readier was Basil to glimpse Christ in them.”
We need to make sure we do not neglect our families. It is easy to overlook a difficult or demanding relative when life is so busy, and assume someone else is providing care, or wholly subcontract this to professional carers. Sadly for all the advances we have in communication, our society suffers from an ‘epidemic of loneliness’ which has been exacerbated by Covid.
Our church family tries to provide support for those who need care. Janet Casson is responsible for the Contact Team which visits those who are isolated and often housebound.
Our pastoral care team aims to help those of any age who need extra help and support in difficult situations. We know there can be no substitute for personal family care but that is not always possible or sufficient. If you know of a need then do please contact Hazel Bintley our Pastoral Care Coordinator at pastoralcoord@stortfordbaptist.org or 07999 529229.
