John 19:27

19:27 Here is your mother: Jesus employed a Jewish family law that assigned the care of one person to another. The scene had an additional significance: The people who were present represented the new community of the church that was born at the cross. Jesus wanted them to care for each other in obedience to his command to love one another (13:34; 15:12, 17).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 19:27. Ἡ μήτηρ σου) thy mother, both by natural and spiritual grade of relationship and of age; the care of whom do thou take in charge in My stead. This consequence the love of the disciple easily deduced from the brief sentence spoken by Jesus. The sword had already enough “pierced into the soul” of Mary: now a precaution is taken that she may not see and hear the most severe trials of all—the darkness, the dereliction of the Son by the Father, the death.—ἔλαβεν, took) Perhaps he had not ventured to do so until he was desired.—εἰς τὰ ἴδια, to his own) viz. home. Great was the faith of Mary to stand by the cross of her Son; great her obedience, to depart before His death. [At least the disciple immediately gave proofs (indications) that he would comply with the wish of Jesus, and subsequently (then next) he took His mother to his own home: whether he did so in that very hour, before the death of the Lord and the piercing of His side (in which case John must have returned to the cross, Joh 19:35, “He that saw it [the piercing of the side] bare record”); or whether his doing so took place not until afterwards. Therefore the dwelling of John was at Jerusalem, and in that dwelling the mother of Jesus stayed during subsequent times.—V. g.]

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 19:27 . And this trust He commits to John in the simple words, Ἰδοὺ ἡ μήτηρ σου , although his natural mother, Salome, was also standing there. [ Cf. the bequest of Eudamidas: “I leave to Aretaeus the care of nourishing and providing for my mother in her old age”. Lucian’s Toxaris .] John at once accepted the charge, “from that hour (which cannot be taken so stringently as to imply that they did not wait at the cross to see the end) the disciple took her to his own home”; εἰς τὰ ἴδια , see Joh 1:11 , Joh 16:32 . The circumstances of the Nazareth home which made this a possible and desirable arrangement are not known. That Mary should find a home with her sister and her son is in itself intelligible, and this close intimacy of the two persons whose hearts had been most truly the home of Jesus must have helped to cherish and vivify all reminiscences of His character and words.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. The disciple took her to his own home. It is a token of the reverence due by a disciple to his master, that John so readily obeys the command of Christ. Hence also it is evident, that the Apostles had their families; for John could not have exercised hospitality towards the mother of Christ, or have taken her to his own home, if he had not had a house and a regular way of living. Those men, therefore, are fools, who think that the Apostles relinquished their property, and came to Christ naked and empty; but they are worse than fools, who make perfection to consist in beggary.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(27) Behold thy mother!—The solemn committal is a double one. The loving heart of the disciple should find, as well as give, sympathy and support in the love of the mother. The sympathy in their common loss is to be the source of love for each other.

And from that hour.—The words do not necessarily mean, but they certainly may mean, that St. John at once took Mary away from the scene that a mother’s heart could hardly bear; but he is himself present (Joh_19:35), and the whole account, brief as it is, is that of an eye-witness.

Unto his own home.—Comp. Note on Joh_1:11, and Introduction, pp. 369, 371. The word is used in Joh_16:32 of the lodging or sojourning place of the Apostles. The meaning here is that whatever was his home became hers.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. from that hour] Quite literally, as soon as all was over (Joh_19:30); or he may have led her away at once and then have returned (Joh_19:35).

unto his own home] Although the commendation was double, each being given to the other, yet (as was natural) S. John assumes the care of Mary rather than she of him. This shews the untenability of the view that not only S. John, but in him all the Apostles, were committed by Christ to the guardianship of Mary. We have had the Greek expression for ‘his own (home)’ twice already in this Gospel: see on Joh_1:11 and Joh_16:32. That S. John was known to the high-priest (Joh_18:15) and that his family had hired servants (Mar_1:20) would seem to imply that he was a man of some position and substance.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then saith he to the disciple,.... The same disciple John:

behold thy mother; take care of her, and provide for her, as if she was thine own mother: this shows the meanness of Christ, who had nothing to leave her, though Lord of all; it is very probable that Joseph was dead, and Mary now a widow; and whereas Christ had taken care of her, and maintained her hitherto, he now, in his dying moments, commits her to the care of this disciple; which is an instance of his humanity, and of his regard to every duty; and this in particular, of honouring parents, and providing for them in distress, and old age:

and hour that disciple took her to his own home: or house; so the Septuagint render "to his house", by , in Est 6:12 the phrase here used, and in Joh 16:32. Some say she lived with John at Jerusalem, and there died; and others say, that she died in the twelfth year after the resurrection of Christ, being 59 years of age, and was buried by John in the garden of Gethsemane: where his house was is not certain, whether at Jerusalem or in Galilee, nor how long she lived with him; but this is not to be doubted, that he took care of her, and provided for her, as if she was his own mother; and his doing this forthwith shows his great regard to Christ, his readiness and cheerfulness to comply with his orders and directions, and his unfeigned love unto him.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

Ver. 27. The disciple took her, &c.] A precious depositum; trust the house was the better she abode in; yet dare we not deify her, as the Papists; as neither will we vilify her, as the author of the Female Glory basely slanders some of us, that we rudely call her Moll, God’s maid. Os durum! Horsh speech! Our parents, saith the heathen, are our household gods, θεοι εφεστιοι. (Hierocles.) Honour them we must both in word and deed. That our Saviour here calls her woman, and not mother, was either because he would not add to her grief, who was now pierced to the soul with that sword Simeon spake of, Luk 2:35; or, lest he should create her further trouble, if she had been known to be his mother; or, for that, being now in his last work, and ready way to heaven, he knew none after the flesh. Thomas Watt, martyr, spake thus at his death to his wife and six children: Wife and my good children, I must now depart from you; therefore henceforth know I you no more, &c. But whereas Christ commends the care of his mother to his beloved disciple, with, Behold thy mother, the Samians used the like speech, when to the richer of the citizens, the mothers of those who died in the wars were given to be maintained by them, Σοι ταυτην διδωμι την μητερα.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold thy mother! - One who is to be to thee as a mother. The fact that she was the mother of Jesus would secure the kindness of John, and the fact that she was now intrusted to him demanded of him affectionate regard and tender care.

From that hour ... - John seems to have been in better circumstances than the other apostles. See Joh 18:16. Tradition says that she continued to live with him in Judea until the time of her death, which occurred about fifteen years after the death of Christ.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The disciple took her to his own[1] home, or into his own are, not for his mother, by the Greek expression. See St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine. (Witham)

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Accepit eam discipulus in sua. Not in suam. Greek: eis ta idia.

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George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

He also reciprocally commendeth his mother to John, to be cared for as his own mother. From that time Mary went home, and lived with John.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27. Unto his own home—Doubtless to his own immediate residence in Jerusalem; next, to his home in Galilee; and finally, perhaps, to Ephesus, his last abode in Asia Minor. See our note on Mat_1:18. That John had a home at Jerusalem is implied by the phrase from that hour, as he remained some time in Jerusalem.

The writers of the Romish Church, assuming that John was committed to the protection of Mary, use this passage as an argument in support of Mariolatry. John is made to represent the Church, which is bound to solicit the guardianship of this “Mother of God.” All this is precisely the reverse of the fact. Mary was committed to the protection of John, not John to the protection of Mary.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(b) Filial love thy mother!" and the issue. Then he saith to the disciple, Behold thy mother! The very garments that covered him had been rudely divided among the soldiers. He is therefore as a dead man, and yet he made the most royal gifts and precious assignments of that which was nevertheless inalienable. He gave a mother to his dearest friend. He gave a son most precious to the bereaved and desolate and broken heart of his widowed mother. Inconceivable that Weisse should call this "the basest self-adulation." The animus manifested to this document by a certain school partakes of the animosity of political partisanship. From that hour, says the evangelist, the disciple took her (eiv ta idia) to his own home. This may have been some temporary lodging in Jerusalem, but it is more probable, as we have seen, that Salome and John had homes both in Jerusalem (see Introduction, p. 56) and Capernaum. The mere phrase is used in Joh_16:32 in a more general sense of all the apostles. It is not necessary to believe that John at once removed the sacred deposit and bequest of his dying Lord to that home, though it is just possible. Bengel and many others think so, but it is not necessary to limit the meaning of "hour" to moment. The departure could hardly have taken place till all was over. In this brief reference a key is given to what John became to the Church. We must think of Salerno and John ever by the holy mother of the Lord, whether at Jerusalem, Capernaum, or Ephesus. The few words speak volumes, and his reticence here, as elsewhere, gives an unutterable grandeur to his words.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold thy mother - To whom thou art now to perform the part of a son in my place, a peculiar honour which Christ conferred on him. From that hour - From the time of our Lord's death.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

27.] The solemn and affecting commendation of her to John is doubly made,—and thus bound by the strongest injunctions on both. The Romanist idea, that the Lord commended all His disciples, as represented by the beloved one, to the patronage of His mother, is simply absurd. The converse is true: He did solemnly commend the care of her, especially indeed to the beloved disciple, but in him to the whole cycle of disciples, among whom we find her, Act 1:14.

No certain conclusion can be drawn from this commendation, as to the ‘brethren of the Lord’ believing on Him or not at this time. The reasons which influenced Him in his selection must ever be far beyond our penetration:—and whatever relations to Him we suppose those brethren to have been, it will remain equally mysterious why He passed them over, who were so closely connected with His mother. Still the presumption, that they did not then believe on Him, is one of which it is not easy to divest one’s self; and at least may enter as an element into the consideration of the whole subject, beset as it is with uncertainty.

ἀπʼ ἐκ. τ. ὥρας is probably to be taken literally,—from that time;—so that she was spared the pangs of witnessing what was to follow. If so, John returned again to the Cross, ver. 35.

εἰς τὰ ἴδια need not imply that John had a house in Jerusalem. It would equally apply to his lodging during the feast; only meaning, that henceforth, wherever he was, she was an inmate with him; and certainly that his usual habitation was fixed, and was his own.

Ewald remarks (see Meyer in loc.), “It was for the Apostle in his later years a sweet reward to recall vividly every such minute detail,—and for his readers a sign that he alone could have written all this.”

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. ἀπʼ ἐκείνης τῆς ὥρας, “from that hour.” It has been thought that this implies that Mary did not wait for the end, but that John led her away at once. It may have been so, but in that case John returned soon, for he is present at the Cross later (vv. 28-35). Cf. 11:53.

That Jn. does not mention the cry Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? which is reported by Mk. (15:34) followed by Mt. (27:46) as having been uttered “with a loud voice,” may perhaps be explained as due to the absence of the eye-witness at this point. The aged disciple recalls only his own personal experiences. Another possible explanation is that Jn. has omitted this saying, because he wishes to emphasise the voluntary character of Christ’s death. See on v. 30.

εἰς τὰ ἴδια, “to his own home.” The phrase is used thus Est 5:10, Est 5:3 Macc. 6:27, 37, 7:8, Act 21:6, and it is the most natural meaning. It occurs twice elsewhere in Jn. (1:11, 16:32), where the sense is probably the same, but is not quite so clear as it is here (see note on 1:11). John brought the Virgin Mother to his own lodging1 (see on 20:10), and she lived with him thereafter; but we cannot build on the phrase εἰς τὰ ἴδια a theory which would give him a house of residence at Jerusalem (see on 18:15).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

His own home [τα ιδια] . See on 1 11.

28 - 30. Compare Mt 27:45 - 50; Mr 14:33 - 37; Luk 23:44 - 46.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.