When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. – John 19:26-27
How much do you know about John, the disciple whom Jesus loved?
You probably know that John was not the biological brother of Jesus. In other words, Mary did not give birth to John. Maybe you know that Jesus had at least four younger brothers (Mark 6:3). I guess that Mary and Joseph liked the idea of giving their sons names with the same initial sound: Jesus, James, Joses, and Jude – not sure what inspired their naming a son Simon!
Traditionally, many contemporary Ashkenazi Jews name a child after a deceased relative by using the same first letter, while many Sephardic Jews use the first letter of a living relative’s name. I’ve known families that followed an alliterative pattern of naming all of their children with the same first letter. In middle school, I knew a pair of identical twins named Lynn and Lynette. Having raised identical twins, I’m guessing that the parents had a wild time trying to distinguish between their nearly-identically-named daughters! George Foreman named his five sons George (Jr, III, IV, V, and VI) and one of his daughters Georgetta. Even though the beloved disciple John’s name had the same first letter as Jesus, he was not one of Mary’s sons.
If Mary was not John’s mother, and she had other sons, at the crucifixion, as our Lord hung on the cross, why didn’t Jesus entrust His brothers James and Jude, for example, with the ongoing care of their mother after His death? Maybe because they were not yet disciples.
This John at the cross and yet another James were the sons of Zebedee and Salome. Their family ran a successful fishing business in Galilee, complete with hired servants (Mark 1:19-20). James and John traveled as two of the 12 disciples, studying under Jesus during His earthly ministry.
John was with Jesus during the last supper, witnessing firsthand the interaction with Judas Iscariot (Mark 14:17-21). John wrote five books of the Bible and recorded some very significant things: a) God is love (1 John 4:8), b) We should love one another (1 John 3:11), and c) For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
If we consider both the writings and the life of John, we can clearly see this: Jesus called upon the disciple whom He loved (John 20:2) to love others. In particular, Jesus called upon him to take care of the mother whom He loved. I hope that our children and the rest of the God’s people recognize the beautiful calling for us, as disciples whom Jesus loves, to care for the women whom He loves, just as Paul had said to Timothy, “care for those who are truly widows.”
The church is a family. Let us all recognize, as John said and did, that we are given the privilege of loving one another. Maybe your name isn’t “John” – maybe it doesn’t even begin with a “J”. But if you now claim to be a disciple of Jesus, He has called you to so some very important things. Jesus appeared to John late in his life on the isle of Patmos. John recorded Jesus saying, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:22). What does the Spirit say to the churches? Join us on Sunday for worship and hear what the Spirit calls you to do in Jesus’ name. His brothers James and Jude eventually heard this calling to love others. What are you waiting for? The pews are waiting for you. It is time to love one another. You have family here who need love.
