Mary in the Gospel of John: Part IX: Our Lady at the Foot of The Cross – II
Fr. J. Patrick Gaffney, SMM
T he victorious scene of Calvary is the summit of our redemption by Jesus the Lord. Lifted up on The Cross, He is the unique source of healing for the entire universe.
It is within this primarily Christological setting – as was stressed in the last issue of The Queen – that we have the last will of Jesus, commending to his mother his beloved disciple:
- Like Cana, Calvary speaks of the “hour” of Jesus, that time of fulfillment of one’s destiny. However, at Cana, the hour had not yet come; at Calvary it is fulfilled.
- At Cana, the future redemption is described in sign. At Calvary redemption is fulfilled.
Cana and Calvary, the beginning and the close of Jesus’ redemptive work, form but one mystery; on one side is the symbolic description, on the other, the historical fulfillment. The roles of Jesus and Mary described in the context of the wedding feast at Cana are their roles at Calvary, the supreme wedding feast of the victorious Lamb.
The Sign of Fulfillment
A second indication of the importance of this scene is John’s stress that through it, all is fulfilled: “After this (i.e., after bequeathing the beloved disciple to His mother) Jesus, knowing that now all was finished . . .” (v. 28). The Greek verb which we translate as “finished” (tetelestal) denotes arrival at the goal, completion of the journey, fulfillment of the plans. The work which the Father had given the Son to fulfill (cf Jn 5:36) is now finished. The last will of Jesus concerning His mother and His disciple has brought His work to perfection. In other words, if this work had not been done i.e., if Jesus had not pronounced those words, “Behold your son, Behold your mother,” something would be missing from the work of redemption. John evidently situates this scene within the context of the universal plan of salvation.
A Prophetical Sign
Another signal from John that the commending of the beloved disciple to Mary is of great importance, is the solemn prophetic manner in which it is carried out. Notice that John transmits the words of Jesus according to a prophetic literary model. In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, each of three scenes disclosing an important truth contain three words in progression: “to see,” “to say,” and “behold” (cf 1:29; 1:35-36; 1:47). In other words, a messenger of God “sees” a person; turning to that person, he “says” (or pronounces) a phrase which begins with “behold,” followed by a title which describes the mission of the person seen.
Painting: Jesus Taken Dow from The Cross: Painter Dierk Bouts (1410 – 1475): The painting is currently on display at the Louvre, Paris, France
Mary in the Gospel of John
The Queen presents a series of articles of Mary in the Gospel of John.
Another signal from John that the commending of the beloved disciple to Mary is of great importance, is the solemn prophetic manner in which it is carried out.
The words of John the Baptist well illustrate this manner of revealing an important truth (1:35-36): “John was standing with two of his disciples and he saw Jesus as he walked and said, ’Behold, the Lamb of God.’ ” The same style is seen a few verses previous: “He (John) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ’Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ “ John reveals to those around him the person of Jesus as yet unknown to them. The word “see” indicates far more than eyesight in these circumstances. The stress is rather on a vision within one’s spirit, an insight granted by the Spirit of God.
This identical prophetic format is seen in 19:25-27. Jesus, the prophet of the Father and filled with the Spirit of God, sees his mother and the disciple, then says to her, Woman, Behold your son; then to the disciple, Behold your mother. What we are witnessing, therefore, is a solemn revelation of a truth which comes from the heart of God. By choosing this prophetic revelation format, John is telling us that the scene contains an important revelation which comes from the Prophet of God, the Word of God, the Wisdom of God, Jesus the Lord.
The Mysterious Names
Finally, the terms “Woman” and “the disciple whom Jesus loved” are also highly indicative of the importance of the situation. Mary is called, as she is at Cana, “Woman.” If at any time Jesus should have called Mary his mother, it is at his dying moment on Calvary, especially since he uses “mother” to indicate her role ln relationship to the beloved disciple: “Behold your mother!” However, it is not His flesh and blood relationship which he is stressing when addressing Mary. As was seen when studying the Cana marriage feast, Mary, ln the fullest sense of the term is the Woman of Gen 3:15, who is associated with Him in the conquering of the evil one as Rev 12:9 indicates. Through the mysterious name “Woman,” with its direct relationship to Cana and its link with the Fall and redemption, the importance of Jn 19-2-27 is highly accentuated.
And the beloved disciple, doesn’t he have a name? From the time of Saint Irenaeus, he has been identified with John the author of the Gospel. However, whether “the disciple whom Jesus loved” is John the Apostle or another John (the Presbyter?) or an unnamed eyewitness and follower of Jesus is of not great importance in the present study. What is of consequence is that he is “beloved disciple.”
The full meaning of the name “beloved disciple” is not found in any special, personal preference the Lord may have had for him. Rather, its significance stems from a deeper, theological definition: a follower of Jesus intensely living the love of the Father and the Son. The profound, awesome hour of the fulfillment of the Father’s will, the mysterious prophetic setting of the words of Jesus from The Cross, and as we will see in the next issue of The Queen, the terms of this last will of Jesus, all point to not only an individual disciple but to a person who stands for all those who like him are faithful followers of the Messiah. As the term “woman” discloses Mary ln her profound relationship to the universal plan of salvation, so too, the “disciple whom Jesus loved” is a sign of all disciples who having put their total faith ln Jesus are so loved by Him. “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him” (Jn 14:21). These disciples are his friends (Jn 15: 1415).
The disciple who stands at the foot of The Cross represents all faithful followers of Jesus who bravely stand with Jesus at Calvary and who witness, therefore, the thrust of the spear, the flow of the Blood. All those who “give testimony” so that others “may believe” since they themselves “have believed” are “beloved disciples” (cf Jn 19:34 35).
This is the setting for the solemn proclamation of Jesus, “ ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ ” We will examine these words in the next issue of The Queen.
