Let’s read those verses.  John 19:26-27 says, “When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”

There is much to be learned from these two verses.  This took place while the Lord Jesus was hanging on the cross.  Notice what He had said earlier in John 10:17-18, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”  The Lord was on that cross willingly.  His purpose in coming was to give His life as a sacrifice to God for the payment of our sins.  Who did the Lord die for?  “He died for all.” (2 Corinthians 5:15)  But not all are saved.  It is those who put their faith in Him that are saved.  Anyone can be saved, but not everyone believes on Him for salvation.

While on the cross, the Lord Jesus still had care and concern for His mother, Mary.  Seeing her there, He handed her over to the care of ‘the disciple whom he loved’.  Who is this disciple?  It is John, the one who wrote this Gospel.  In his humility, he never mentions his own name in the book he wrote, rather he referred to himself as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved.’  In doing this, he diverted attention away from himself, and pointed towards his savior.  From the cross, the Lord said similar words to John, letting him know that He was entrusting His mother to his care.  John was obedient and “from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”

Since the Lord Jesus was the oldest child in the family of Mary and Joseph, He took the responsibility of making sure that His mother was cared for after He was gone.  It is assumed that Joseph was dead at this point.  We know the Lord had half-brothers and sisters.  Matthew 13:55-56 tells us this.  “Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?”  You would think that the Lord Jesus would commit His mother to the care of one of his brothers, but we read in John 7:5, “For not even His brothers were believing in Him.” (NASB)  While on the earth, the Lord’s brothers did not accept the truth of who He was.  After His death, they did believe on Him.  In fact, it was two of his brothers that wrote the books of James and Jude.  So, on the cross, the Lord would not commend His mother to the care of unbelievers.

It’s important to realize that in this event, the Lord gave His mother over to John.  Mary was the earthly mother of the Lord Jesus.  The relationship of mother and son was completely an earthly relationship and it ended at Christ’s death.  In Heaven, Mary is not the Lord’s mother.  There is no such thing as a ‘mother of God’.  It is right that we should be thankful for the faithfulness of Mary in giving birth to the Lord.  She said of herself in Luke 1:48, “For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth ALL GENERATIONS SHALL CALL ME BLESSED.  We should honor her for the work she has done but we do well to understand the limit of her relationship with the Lord Jesus.

The last time we read of Mary is in Acts 1:14, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”  We see her here taking her place among other believers in continuing in prayer and supplication.  We know that ‘Jesus’ is the earthly name of our savior, so to call Mary ‘the mother of Jesus’ also indicates the truth of her earthly relationship with the Lord.  We also see in this verse, that the Lord’s brothers were gathering with other believers.  They had come to realize that their earthly brother was indeed the Messiah, the very Son of God.  (209.6)