The Encourager
“The Women at the Cross; by Jeff Curtis”
The Women at the Cross
By Jeff Curtis
During Christ’s last three hours on the cross, according to John’s lists, several women were “standing by the cross of Jesus”: “His mother {Mary}, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene” (John 19:25). It is possible that “Mary the wife of Clopas” was the sister of Jesus’ mother, but we are probably to understand that the two were separate individuals. J.W. MaGarvey lists several reasons for this conclusion, including; 1) It is unlikely that two sisters would have had the same name – Mary. 2) “John gives two pairs of women, each pair coupled with an ‘and.’ The first pair is related to Jesus, and is unnamed, and is paralleled by the other pair which is not related and of which names are given. Hebrew writers often used such parallelism.” 3) Leaving Mary’s sister unnamed would accord with John’s practice of not naming anyone in his family. (John never named himself, his brother James, or his mother; he didn’t name the mother of Jesus either, who may have been his aunt). We conclude that John listed four women.
During Jesus’ last three hours on the cross – after the mother of Jesus had been led away (John 19:26-27), a group of three women were still at the cross, “looking on from a distance” (Matthew 27:55; Mark 15:40). Matthew’s list of these women reads like this: “Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee” (Matthew 27:56). Mark wrote, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome” (Mark 15:40). Two of the names are the same: Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (the Less) and Joseph (Joses). This would indicate that the “Salome” of Mark’s list is the same as “the mother of the sone of Zebedee” in Matthew’s list. In other words, Salome was the mother of James and John.
Because Mary Magdalene appears in John’s earlier list and Matthew’s and Mark’s later lists, many scholars believe that the lists refer to the same women. If this is the case, keeping in mind the conclusions reached in earlier in this article, here is a comparative list:
John’s List Matthew and Mark’s lists
Mary, the mother of Jesus (gone from the scene)
The sister of Jesus’ mother Salome, the wife of Zebedee
Mary, the wife of Clopas Mary, the mother of James and Joseph
Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene
Since “many other women” were also present (Mark 15:41), we cannot be dogmatic regarding the idea that Salome was the sister Jesus’ mother, Mary; but there is a strong possibility, that this was the case. This would make the apostles James and John, cousins to Jesus.
"COME ASIDE...AND REST A WHILE"
(By Joe R. Price)
And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat (Mark 6:31, NKJV).
Jesus was in constant demand from the crowds. His apostles had just returned from their limited commission (Mark 6:7-13, 30). Finding a "deserted place" where one can "rest a while" is important to "recharge our batteries" and return to our work with renewed vigor. God rested after finishing His work of creating the heavens and the earth (Gen. 2:1-3).
God commanded Israel to rest from their labors every seventh day (Exod. 20:8-11; 31:12-17). Every seventh year their land was to rest from planting and harvesting (Lev. 25:1-7). Every fiftieth year, Israel's land was to rest during the year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:8-11). Rest should have a calming, comforting, and reassuring effect.
Rest also reminds us to trust the Lord for our strength instead of ourselves. Israel anticipated the rest God would give them from their enemies in the promised land (Josh. 1:14-15; 23:1). Christians look hopefully for eternal rest (Heb. 4:8-10; Rev. 14:12-13).
