Jesus Had a Mom

 

AS we walk toward Pentecost we are taking a look at some of the people Jesus interacted with after He rose from the grave. The 4 gospel accounts give us plenty to work with as we see Him sharing and appearing before whole groups or suddenly being there behind locked doors. 

Matthew doesn't give much an account of interaction with the group of disciples. He does include the women coming to the tomb early in the morning. You get a feel that the real mindset was to make the religious leaders and the Romans look terrible (and they were) for their treatment of Jesus. The soldiers are paid off for sharing a false testimony about what they experienced at the empty tomb. The women get just a little mention and then the Great Commission is given to go into all the world. 

Mark is a slam bang fest all the way through. It is said Mark got much of his info from Peter's accounts of what happened. Every chapter seems like a smack boom bang with some wild happening or some account taught and given with the whole thing ending up at the cross with a Roman soldier declaring, "Surely he must have been the Son of God!" The NIV says he was a centurion. The same centurion whose child Jesus healed without even going back to the house with the Roman soldier? I know Dallas Jenkins would probably play it up that way. And, it would be powerful! It could have been the same man. Maybe it was. 

The real interesting things about all the accounts is that the women come into play within the telling of His resurrection. Women aren't given a very high stance within society at this point in world history. Christianity has been thought of, for many, as an advocate for women rights and the source for men and women being on a level playing field. The prophet Joel, after all, is said to have shared "your sons and your daughters will prophecy" in connection the Spirit falling on mankind at Pentecost. Women have an important role in the nurturing and growing of our faith. Our mom's have that special role in our lives to raise us and instruct us as we learn about God. Mark makes note around verse 40 in chapter 15

40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,[d] and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

Not Jesus' mother Mary, as Mary is a very common name. There were two James in the disciples circle and this Mary is the mother of the younger one. 

Luke gives much focus to the Emmaus Road moment as well as the women and others that Jesus interacts with after the resurrection. around verse 10 in Chapter 24 we see similar words to Mark's account. 

10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 

No mention of Jesus's mother being in the group of women. Again, I could see Dallas Jenkins taking liberties here to present the idea as if Jesus' mother could have been amongst the ones who wanted to honor Jesus. It would be interesting to play with the idea. 

John's account gives much focus to Mary Magdalene and the whole group of disciples, including a moment with Thomas and a moment with Peter, which we will cover next week. But, no actual mention of Jesus' mother. In fact it is here in John that we see the only mention of Mary at all and that interaction is while he is actually on the Cross. From John 19 - 

25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,[b] here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

The disciple whom Jesus loved is the only one to make any mention of Jesus' mother being there at the Cross. And, even here, it is only a slight mention. Jesus, in his crucified state, is making one last effort to see that she is taken care of and looked after in her golden years. She has seen much. She has followed and watched from a distance, it feels, as we read the accounts and hear the Savior's words. Where was she through much of this three and a half years of ministry? Again, an interpretation that takes it's liberties and uses some imagination would like to depict her as being near by, hovering, being close and witnessing much of what her Son is saying and doing.

Little mention is made or given to Mary the Mother of Jesus throughout the Gospel presentation. 
Luke gives us her account with the angel at the onset of the narrative and we see her family lineage.
Matthew gives us similar feelings while focusing more on Joseph's side of the family. 
We see a young girl who is courageous and accepts the hand that is being dealt to her. 
To be given a child in such unexplainable circumstances and then have to deal with the public scorn and ridicule of having said child outside of the norm of married life is one for the books. Literally. 

And, yet, we have to read much of that into the narrative as well. 
We don't read any words of anyone's account or remembering that anybody had anything to say.
We can assume that they did or did not want to accept that God had given this child to her.
We can base those feelings and thoughts on much of what our own society would have thought of a mother being with child, outside of wedlock. Maybe we are close to the mark. Maybe we are missing the point. Maybe what we need is to simply put ourselves in the shoes of a young Jewish girl and use our own imaginations to discover what it must have been like. We have four entire books of the bible dedicated to recording what Jesus was doing and saying. Maybe read them with the eyes and ears of his mother and what she might be thinking as He seeks to lead the world back to the glory and relationship it could have with the Almighty God who created it and gave it life. 

Luke gives us much about those early days before the Child grew and took on the ministry we know. While still a babe, we see the experience of his parents presenting him at the temple. An early dedication that shows us where it really began. It begins in the eyes of a mother looking into the life of her boy and wondering what he will become. What will he accomplish? What will he achieve? How will God use this child to bring about the Kingdom she is hearing and believing in? The words of Simeon, the priest at the Temple that day, would stay with her forever. We hear it in Luke chapter 2.

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

As a parent, we come to the lives of our children with much anticipation. We desire to see them grow and learn and become. What will they do? How will they be accepted? Will they be one of the popular kids? Will they be an 'outcast' and have no friends? How will their lives play out? Most of all, maybe what a parent wants beyond all else is to simply have a good relationship with their child throughout their years on this earth.

It is such a relationship we see as Jesus' ministry opens up in John 2. 
A wedding. Jesus thinks it's not time for his ministry to begin.
Mary, maybe, isn't concerned about this. She simply knows he son is destined to do great things and these people she knows need some help on their wedding day. Maybe her son could do something to help them. Maybe it's not about the beginning of his ministry or the revealing of his true identity. Maybe it's simply about a son coming to his mother's beck and call. 

Sometimes, when referring to women in the Scriptures, the Greek can sound a bit disrespectful because women did not have a large role as in more modern times. We still have our own struggles with in 2025 American culture over the roles of men and women and even the monetary gain they may or may not have. Out footnote here from John 2.4 simply states that Jesus isn't showing any disrespect to his mother by calling her "woman". Just seeing it here takes me back a ways. A certain grandfather in one of our previous congregations where we were serving would refer to his own wife with a stern "woman!" from time to time. I have hung on to that and we joke occasionally about that interaction. I will speak up to my own wife and give her firm "woman!" to which she will give me a form "maaaaan!" in reply. It's just so we know that no one is lording themselves over anyone in this relationship. 

Back to Jesus and his relationship with his mother...
It's truly the last mention we get of Mary before we jump off into the Savior's ministry. We don't see her again in the account until John presents her at the Cross. In John's eyes, she is there at the start of His ministry and she is there at the end of His earthly life. A mother who has seen it all. She has held a tiny baby in her arms. She has watched Him do a great many things and heard many more from people who have come in contact with Him. Now she stands here watching the life slowly bleeding, literally, out of boy. "And, sword shall pierce your own soul too." Literally. 

Mothers have a gut wrenching, soul draining life to live on this earth. 
They give and they feed and they teach. They hover and they yearn and they plead. 
All the while hoping that their child will grow to respect them and be there for them later in life.
All the while hoping that they get to see their child do great things and make them proud. 

An, if they are lucky, they get to share in the glory of a parent who loves their child as if they were their One and Only.