John Calvin Commentary John 19:25

"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." — John 19:25 (ASV)

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus. The Evangelist here mentions incidentally, that while Christ obeyed God the Father, he did not fail to perform the duty which he owed, as a son, towards his mother. True, he forgot himself, and he forgot everything, so far as was necessary for the discharge of obedience to his Father; but, after having performed that duty, he did not neglect what he owed to his mother. From this we learn how we should discharge our duty towards God and towards men.

It often happens that, when God calls us to the performance of anything, our parents, or wife, or children, pull us in an opposite direction, so that we cannot give equal satisfaction to all. If we place men in the same rank with God, we judge wrongly. We must, therefore, give the preference to the command, the worship, and the service of God; after which, as far as we are able, we must give to men what is their due.

And yet the commands of the first and second table of the Law never conflict with each other, though at first sight they appear to do so; but we must begin with the worship of God, and afterwards assign to men an inferior place. This is the meaning of the following statements:

He who loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:41).

And, If any one hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26).

We should, therefore, devote ourselves to the interests of men, so as not to interfere in any way with the worship and obedience which we owe to God. When we have obeyed God, it will then be the proper time to think about parents, and wife, and children; as Christ attends to his mother, but it is after he is on the cross, to which he has been called by his Father’s decree.

Yet, if we consider the time and place when these things happened, Christ’s affection for his mother was worthy of admiration. I say nothing about the severe tortures of his body; I say nothing about the reproaches which he suffered; but, though horrible blasphemies against God filled his mind with inconceivable grief, and though he endured a dreadful struggle with eternal death and with the devil, still, none of these things prevented him from being anxious about his mother.

We may also learn from this passage what is the honor which God, by the Law, commands us to show to parents (Exodus 20:12). Christ appoints the disciple to be his substitute, and charges him to support and take care of his mother; and thus it follows, that the honor which is due to parents consists, not in cold ceremony, but in the discharge of all necessary duties.

On the other hand, we should consider the faith of those holy women. It is true that, in following Christ to the cross, they displayed more than ordinary affection; but, if they had not been supported by faith, they could never have been present at this spectacle.

As to John himself, we infer that, though his faith was choked for a short time, it was not wholly extinguished. How shameful will it be, if the dread of the cross deters us from following Christ, when the glory of his resurrection is placed before our eyes, whereas the women beheld in it nothing but disgrace and cursing!

Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. He calls her either the wife or the daughter of Cleophas; but I prefer the latter interpretation. He says that she was the sister of the mother of Jesus, and, in saying so, he adopts the phraseology of the Hebrew language, which includes cousins and other relatives under the term brothers. We see that it was not in vain that Mary Magdalene was delivered from seven devils (Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2), since she showed herself, to the last, to be so faithful a disciple to Christ.