Four Marys stood near the Cross of Jesus!

John 19:25-27

"But his mother, and his mother's sister, and Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary from Magdala, stood near the Cross of Jesus. So Jesus saw his mother, and he saw the disciple whom he loved standing by, and he said to his mother: `Woman! See! Your son.' Then he said to the disciple: `See! Your mother!' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home."

Food for thought!

At the end of his life, Jesus was not alone. At his Cross there were these four strong women who loved him. It was always a dangerous thing to be an associate of a man whom the Roman government believed to be so dangerous that he deserved a Cross. It is always a dangerous thing to demonstrate one's love for someone whom the orthodox regard as a heretic. The presence of these women at the Cross was not due to the fact that they were so unimportant that no one would notice them; their presence was due to the fact that perfect love casts out fear. Is this not the reason that of all men, there remained ONLY the beloved disciple? Only those who love us can both understand us and stand by us to the end!

The women at the cross of Jesus are a strange company. Of one, Mary the wife of Clopas, we know nothing; but we know something of the other three.

(i) There was Mary, Jesus' mother. Maybe she could not understand, but she could love. Her presence there was the most natural thing in the world for a mother. Jesus might be a criminal in the eyes of the law, but he was her beloved son. For our mothers, we are always dear and lovable; our mothers are never too bad to care for us.

(ii) There was Jesus' mother's sister. In John she is not named, but a study of the parallel passages (Mk.15:40; Matt.27:56) makes it quite clear that she was Salome, the mother of James and John. The strange thing about her is that she had received from Jesus a very definite and stern rebuff. Once she had come to Jesus to ask him to give her sons the chief place in his kingdom (Matt.20:20), and Jesus had taught her how wrong such ambitious thoughts were. Salome was the woman he had rebuked--and yet she was there at the Cross. Her presence says much for her and for Jesus. It shows that she had the humility to accept rebuke and to love on with undiminished devotion; it shows that he could rebuke in such a way that his love shone through the rebuke. Salome's presence is a lesson to us on how to give and how to receive a rebuke

(iii) There was Mary from Magdala. All we know about her is that out of her Jesus cast seven devils (Mk.16:9; Lk.8:2). She could never forget what Jesus had done for her. His love had rescued her, and her love was such that it could never die. It was Mary's motto, written on her heart: "I will not forget what he has done for me."

These women saw the end; women will see the beginning as well; they were the last to see the dead Jesus, they will be the first to see the risen Jesus. Jesus loves those who love him. They were there because they loved Jesus, and for them, as for so many, perfect love had cast out fear.

On the resurrection Sunday, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary will be the first to receive the news of the Risen Lord and to encounter him. They had been there at the Cross; they had been there when he was laid in the tomb; and now they will be there to receive the joy of the Resurrection

But in this passage there is something which is surely one of the loveliest things in all the gospel story. When Jesus saw his mother, he could not but think of the days ahead. He could not commit her to the care of his brothers, for they did not believe in him yet (Jn.7:5). Jesus committed Mary to John's care and John to Mary's. John was the most beloved disciple. Yes, Jesus rewards those who love him.

There is something infinitely moving in the fact that Jesus in the agony of the Cross, when the salvation of the world hung in the balance, thought of the loneliness of his mother in the days ahead. He never forgot the duties that lay to his hand. He was Mary's son, and even in the moment of his cosmic battle, he did not forget the simple things that lay near home. To the end of the day, even on the Cross, Jesus was thinking more of the sorrows of others than of his own.

For us, when we are suffering or going thru hard times we want the whole world to stop and attend to us; we need all the attention there is; this was not so for Jesus. In his suffering he still thought of others.