John Calvin Commentary John 19:26

"When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!" — John 19:26 (ASV)

Woman, behold thy son! As if he had said, “From now on I will no longer be an inhabitant of the earth, and so I will not be able to carry out for you the duties of a son; and, therefore, I put this man in my place, so that he may perform my role.” The same thing is meant, when he says to John,

Behold thy mother! For by these words he charges him to treat her as a mother, and to take as much care of her as if she had been his own mother.

In refraining from mentioning his mother’s name and in simply calling her Woman!, some think that he did so in order not to pierce her heart with a deeper wound.

I do not object to this view. However, there is another conjecture which is equally probable: that Christ intended to show that, after completing the course of human life, he lays aside the state in which he had lived and enters into the heavenly kingdom, where he will exercise dominion over angels and men.

For we know that Christ was always accustomed to guard believers against looking at the flesh, and it was especially necessary that this should be done at his death.