Why did god say woman behold your son and behold your mother when he was on the cross?

Answer 1

The culture at the time of Jesus was a patriarchal society, the oldest son would have been required to take care of his mother once the father died. Joseph was already dead at this time, and Jesus being the only son of Mary was giving her over to John's care. The term woman refers to the prophecy in Genesis where the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15), which Jesus done with his crucifixion and resurrection. As Children of God we have become brothers and sisters of Christ, when Christ gave Mary to John he was giving her to us all, for if we are true siblings of Christ then his mother is our mother. Notice that Jesus did not give care of Mary over to his "Brothers." If these were in fact true brothers then Jesus would have been required to hand her over to one of them, by not doing so he was breaking the law. The fact that he did not do this tells us a few things. That those who are referred to as Brothers were actually relatives rather then biological brothers. Lets look at James the brother of the Lord (Gal. 1: 18-19) Paul tells us in Galatians that when he visited Cephas he saw none of the other Apostles except James the brother of the Lord. If we look at the list of Apostles in Matthew 10: 2-4 we see two Apostles named James; one is the son of Zebedee and the other the son of Alphaeus. The Bible is clear that nether of the Apostles named James was a son of Mary or Joseph. The Aramaic or Hebrew Lanuage did not have a word for cousin or step brother so the word brother was used. The early Church fathers taught that Jospeh indeed had a brother named Alphaeus which is also rendered as Clopas. If we look at John 19:25 we see that Mary the mother of Jesus is standing there with her sister Mary the wife of Clopas, this would have been her actual sister in law, the woman married to Joseph's brother. Neither Aramaic or Hebrew had a word for sister in law so the word sister is used. These terms today are used by Catholics and Protestants alike, in Catholic circles the word Brother refers to Monks within a given order and the term sister refers to Nuns of a given order. In Protestant circles the term is used for people within a given congregation, sister Martha or Brother Jim the word is used as a way to distinguish a Christian brother or sister.

Answer 2

The disciple to whom he referred was John - the writer of the fourth gospel and the only disciple that we know was at the crucifixion.

As Jesus was the eldest son of Mary, it was his responsibility, under Jewish Law, to look after his mother in her old age. After his death, this would be impossible of course.

Therefore, thinking of others even as he was dying, Jesus placed Mary into John's care. By saying to John 'This is your mother' and to Mary 'this is your son' he was passing on the responsibility of care for his mother to the disciple whom he loved most of all. We are told in the next verses in the account that John then went and took Mary into his own home.

We also know categorically that John, and no other disciple, was the one 'whom jesus loved' because in John's own gospel he refers to himself by that description. Cross-referencing with the other gospels we hear the same events told from an outsider's perspective mantioning John. For example, in healing the widow's son, we read in the other gospels that Jesus took 'Peter, James and John' with him, but in John's gospel - the same event reads 'Peter, James and the disciple whom Jesus loved'.

Answer 3

John 19:26-27 - 26When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. My take on this is that in those times children were responsible for taking care of their aging parents, and since Jesus knew His time here was done, He was giving His mother to another that would care for her. The logical assumption behind this necessity was that Joseph, the husband of Mary was dead by this time. Jesus also obviously thought John, the beloved disciple, to be the best person to care for Mary, since Jesus' own siblings did not believe in Him.

Answer 4

The culture at the time of Jesus was a patriarchal society, the oldest son would have been required to take care of his mother once the father died. Joseph was already dead at this time, and Jesus being the only son of Mary was giving her over to John's care. The term woman refers to the prophecy in Genesis where the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15), which Jesus done with his crucifixion and resurrection. As Children of God we have become brothers and sisters of Christ, when Christ gave Mary to John he was giving her to us all, for if we are true siblings of Christ then his mother is our mother. Notice that Jesus did not give care of Mary over to his "Brothers." If these were in fact true brothers then Jesus would have been required to hand her over to one of them, by not doing so he was breaking the law. The fact that he did not do this tells us a few things. That those who are referred to as Brothers were actually relatives rather then biological brothers. Lets look at James the brother of the Lord (Gal. 1: 18-19) Paul tells us in Galatians that when he visited Cephas he saw none of the other Apostles except James the brother of the Lord. If we look at the list of Apostles in Matthew 10: 2-4 we see two Apostles named James; one is the son of Zebedee and the other the son of Alphaeus. The Bible is clear that nether of the Apostles named James was a son of Mary or Joseph. The Aramaic or Hebrew Lanuage did not have a word for cousin or step brother so the word brother was used. The early Church fathers taught that Jospeh indeed had a brother named Alphaeus which is also rendered as Clopas. If we look at John 19:25 we see that Mary the mother of Jesus is standing there with her sister Mary the wife of Clopas, this would have been her actual sister in law, the woman married to Joseph's brother. Neither Aramaic or Hebrew had a word for sister in law so the word sister is used. These terms today are used by Catholics and Protestants alike, in Catholic circles the word Brother refers to Monks within a given order and the term sister refers to Nuns of a given order. In Protestant circles the term is used for people within a given congregation, sister Martha or Brother Jim the word is used as a way to distinguish a Christian brother or sister.

Answer 5

Although meant in a tender way, he said this to Mary his mother and James his brother, tell them to continue caring for one another. The 'woman' bit was Jesus setting Himself appart from Mary. We see this also in John 2:4 just before He turns water into wine, He says, "Woman! What have I to do with you?" This is not Jesus disrespecting His mother, but setting Himself apart from humanity. Basically rebuking any human influence.

Answer 6

because John was Jesus' closest friend and disciple and Jesus said 'Behold your son' to Mary so that she would treat him as he woukd have treated her own son, and so that John would look after Mary

Answer 7

He was asking John to take care of His mother when He was no longer there to do it.

Answer/

Jesus cherished his parents with great love, and he wanted to ensure care for Mary his mother on his departing from the world. Since Joseph had died circa AD 20, she needed a son to care for her. Jesus committed the charge of the holy Mary to John. John was chosen for the especial care of Mary while she endured the sojourn of this life, hence she abode in the house of his parents in Jerusalem - Narrative of Melito of The Assumption of the Virgin.

Of her sons - those being Justus (Joseph), Simeon , James and Judas - Justus and Simeon had either died or were aged, (as their natural father Joseph was ninety two when Jesus was born) - The History of Joseph the Carpenter, and James and Judas were redeemed sons who had returned to Alphaeus and Mary of Clopas after they had sojourned with Joseph and Mary - see Infancy Gospels.