Church Fathers Commentary John 19:23-27

"The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my garments among them, And upon my vesture did they cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did. But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother`s sister, Mary the [wife] of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold, thy mother! And from that hour the disciple took her unto his own [home]." — John 19:23-27 (ASV)

John 19:23-24a

St. John Chrysostom: The Evangelist describes the tunic to show that it was of an inferior kind, as the tunics commonly worn in Palestine were made of two pieces.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Others say that in Palestine they did not weave as we do, with the shuttle being driven upwards through the warp; so among them, the woof was not carried upwards but downwards.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The reason they cast lots for it appears next: They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be.” It seems, then, that the other garments were made of equal parts, so it was not necessary to tear them. Only the tunic would have to be torn to give each an equal share. To avoid this, they preferred to cast lots for it so that one person would have it all. This fulfilled the prophecy: That the Scripture might be fulfilled which says, “They parted My raiment among them, and for My vesture they did cast lots.”

St. John Chrysostom: Behold the certainty of prophecy. The Prophet foretold not only what they would divide, but also what they would not. They divided the raiment, but cast lots for the vesture.

St. Augustine of Hippo: When Matthew says, They parted His garments, casting lots, he wants us to understand that this refers to the division of all the garments, including the tunic for which they cast lots. Luke says the same: They parted His raiment, and cast lots. In the process of dividing His garments, they came to the tunic, for which they cast lots. Mark is the only one who raises a question: They parted His garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. This sounds as if they cast lots for all the garments, not only the tunic. However, it is his brevity that creates the difficulty. The phrase “casting lots upon them” can be understood as casting lots while they were dividing the garments, in order to determine “what every man should take”—that is, who should take the tunic, which remained after the rest of the garments were divided into equal shares.

The fourfold division of our Lord’s garment represents His Church, spread across the four corners of the globe and distributed equally—that is, in concord—to all. The tunic for which they cast lots signifies the unity of all the parts, which is held together by the bond of love.

And if love is the more excellent way—above knowledge and all other commandments, as it says in Colossians, Above all things have charity—then the garment that signifies this love is rightly said to be “woven from above.” The phrase “throughout the whole” is added because no one who belongs to that whole—from which the Catholic (or universal) Church gets its name—is devoid of this love. It is also “without seam,” so that it can never be unraveled, and it is in one piece, meaning it brings everyone together into one. The casting of the lot signifies the grace of God, for God does not choose based on a person or their merits, but according to His own secret counsel.

St. John Chrysostom: According to some, the tunic “without seam, woven from above throughout” is an allegory showing that He who was crucified was not simply a man, but also possessed divinity from above.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The seamless garment denotes the body of Christ, which was woven from above, for the Holy Spirit came upon the Virgin, and the power of the Highest overshadowed her. This holy body of Christ, then, is indivisible. For although it is distributed for everyone to partake of, sanctifying the soul and body of each person individually, it nevertheless subsists in all, whole and indivisible. Since the world consists of four elements, the garments of Christ can be understood to represent the visible creation. The devils divide this creation among themselves whenever they deliver the word of God dwelling in us to death and, through worldly allurements, bring us over to their side.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Nor should anyone say that these things had no good meaning just because they were done by wicked men. For if that were so, what would we say of the cross itself? The cross was made by ungodly men, and yet it certainly signified what the Apostle describes as the breadth, and length, and depth, and height. Its breadth consists of the crossbeam on which the hands of the Crucified One are stretched; this signifies the breadth of charity and the good works done in it. Its length, which is the part of the beam going to the ground, signifies perseverance over time. The height is the top part that rises above the crossbeam, and it signifies the ultimate purpose to which all things refer. The depth is the part fixed in the ground; it is hidden there, but the entire cross that we see rises from it.

John 19:24b-27

Theophylact of Ohrid: While the soldiers were doing their cruel work, He was thinking anxiously of His mother: These things therefore the soldiers did. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Mary, the mother of our Lord, stood before the cross of her Son. None of the Evangelists has told me this except John. The others have related how at our Lord’s Passion the earth quaked, the heavens were covered with darkness, the sun fled, and the thief was taken into paradise after his confession. John has told us what the others have not: how from the cross on which He hung, He called to His mother.

He considered it a greater thing to show Christ victorious over His suffering—fulfilling the duties of piety to His mother—than to show Him giving the kingdom of heaven and eternal life to the thief. For if it was a pious act to give life to the thief, it is a much richer work of piety for a son to honor his mother with such affection. “Behold, your son,” He says; “Behold, your mother.” Christ made His testament from the cross and divided the duties of piety between His mother and the disciple. Our Lord made not only a public, but also a domestic, testament. And John sealed this testament, a witness worthy of such a Testator. It was a good testament—not of money, but of eternal life—which was not written with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God: My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

Mary, as was fitting for the mother of our Lord, stood before the cross when the Apostles fled, and with sorrowful eyes she beheld the wounds of her Son. For she looked not on the death of the Hostage, but on the salvation of the world. And perhaps, knowing that her Son’s death would bring this salvation, she who had been the dwelling place of the King thought that by her own death she might add to that universal gift.

St. Jerome: The Mary who in Mark and Matthew is called the mother of James and Joses was the wife of Alphaeus and the sister of Mary, the mother of our Lord. John here designates this Mary as the wife “of Cleophas,” either from her father, her family, or for some other reason. She should not be thought a different person just because she is called “Mary the mother of James the less” in one place and “Mary of Cleophas” here, for it is customary in Scripture to give different names to the same person.

St. John Chrysostom: Observe how the weaker sex is the stronger, standing by the cross when the disciples flee.

St. Augustine of Hippo: If Matthew and Mark had not mentioned Mary Magdalene by name, we might have thought there were two groups of women: one standing far off and the other near the cross. But how do we account for the same Mary Magdalene and the other women standing “afar off,” as Matthew and Mark say, and yet being “near the cross,” as John says? We can suppose they were at a distance close enough to be within sight of our Lord, yet far enough away to be clear of the crowd, the centurion, and the soldiers who were immediately around Him. Or, we may suppose that after our Lord had commended His mother to the disciple, the women retired to be out of the way of the crowd and watched what happened next from a distance. This would explain why those Evangelists who do not mention them until after our Lord’s death describe them as standing afar off. It does not matter that some women are mentioned by all the Evangelists alike, while others are not.

St. John Chrysostom: Although other women were nearby, He makes no mention of them, but only of His mother, to show us that we should especially honor our mothers. Indeed, if our parents actually oppose the truth, they are not to be acknowledged in that regard; but otherwise, we should pay them every attention and honor them above all the world. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He says to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”

The Venerable Bede: By “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” the Evangelist means himself. This is not because the others were not loved, but because he was loved more intimately on account of his state of chastity; for our Lord called him as a virgin, and a virgin he always remained.

St. John Chrysostom: Heavens! What honor He pays to the disciple, who nevertheless conceals his own name out of modesty. For if he had wished to boast, he would have added the reason why he was loved, as there must have been something great and wonderful to have caused that love. This is all He says to John. He does not console his grief, for this was not a time for giving consolation. Yet it was no small consolation to be honored with such a charge: to have the mother of our Lord, in her affliction, committed to his care by Christ Himself upon His departure. Then says He to the disciple, “Behold your mother!”

St. Augustine of Hippo: This is truly that hour of which Jesus spoke when, about to change the water into wine, He said, “Mother, what have I to do with you? My hour has not yet come.” Then, when He was about to act divinely, He seemed to repel the mother of His humanity—of His weakness—as if He did not know her. Now, while suffering in His humanity, He commends with human affection the one from whom He was made man. Here is a moral lesson. The good Teacher shows us by His example that pious sons should take care of their parents. The cross of the sufferer is the chair of the Master.

St. John Chrysostom: The shameless doctrine of Marcion is refuted here. For if our Lord were not born according to the flesh and did not have a mother, why would He make such provision for her?

Observe how imperturbable He is during His crucifixion—talking to the disciple about His mother, fulfilling prophecies, and offering good hope to the thief—whereas before His crucifixion, He seemed to be in fear. The weakness of His nature was shown there, but the exceeding greatness of His power is shown here. He also teaches us in this not to turn back because we may feel disturbed by the difficulties before us, for once we are actually in the midst of the trial, everything will be light and easy for us.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He does this to provide, as it were, another son for His mother in His place. And from that hour that disciple took her to his own. To his own what? Was John not one of those who said, “Lo, we have left all, and followed You”? He took her, then, not to his own property, for he had none, but into his own care, for of this he was master.

The Venerable Bede: Another reading is, Accepit eam discipulus in sua. Some understand this to mean that the disciple received her as his own mother, but “into his own care” seems better.