Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 27:56

"among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee." — Matthew 27:56 (ASV)

Mary Magdalene — This is the first mention of her name in the Gospel of Matthew. The most natural explanation for her name is that she came from the town of Magdala, or Magadan (the reading in the chief manuscripts), located near Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Two prominent facts are known about her history before the Resurrection: (1) that our Lord had cast seven devils out of her (Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2)—that is, He had freed her from a particularly severe form of demonic possession—and (2) that she followed Him and provided for Him out of her own resources. The question of whether she was the same person as either Mary, the sister of Lazarus, or the “woman who was a sinner” from Luke 7:37 will be better discussed in the notes on that latter passage. It is enough to state here my conviction that there is not the slightest evidence for either identification.

Mary the mother of James and Joses — In Mark 15:40, she is described as the mother of “James the Less” (or, better, the Little) “and Joses.” This title distinguishes this James from James the son of Zebedee, and possibly also from James the son of Alphaeus. She may, however, have been the same person as the wife of Clopas (possibly another form of Alphaeus), who is mentioned in John 19:25 as standing near the cross with the Lord's mother. According to a natural reading of the text, she is described there as His mother's sister. If this is the case, the title “the Little” would refer to the son of that sister. Whether the names James and Joses, which also appear in the list of the “brethren of the Lord” (Mark 6:3), indicate that she was the mother of these brothers is a point we have no evidence to settle. The presumption, it seems to me, is against it. If this were the case, the “brethren” would be identical to the three sons of Alphaeus in the list of the Twelve—a view we have already found reason to reject (see note on Matthew 12:46).

The mother of Zebedee’s children —Mark 15:40 gives her name as Salome. Based on a perfectly reasonable interpretation of John 19:25, she—and not the wife of Clopas—may have been the sister of our Lord's mother mentioned in that verse. Luke notes that with the women were those whom he describes as all His acquaintance (Luke 23:49), that is, friends and disciples from Jerusalem or who were in the city at that time.