Jesus and the Disciples’ Mothers

Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. … And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave. (Matthew 27:56, 61)

Our posts this week are about two special mothers – they were the mothers of some of Jesus’ apostles. One was Mary, the mother of James the less and Joseph. The other is Salome.

There are six famous Mary’s in the New Testament. It was a popular name mentioned fifty-one times in the New Testament. In the Gospels there are Mary, the mother of Jesus; Mary of Bethany; Mary Magdalene; and Mary the mother of James and Joseph. In the book of Acts there is Mary the mother of John Mark (Acts 12), and there is Mary of Rome (Romans 16:6).

We do not know a lot about Mary the mother of James and Joseph. We do know that she was a faithful follower of Jesus, serving Him for His entire ministry on earth.

Mary was the wife of Clopas. There is some speculation as to whether or not she was also Jesus’ aunt. That is because in John’s Gospel at the crucifixion there is a little ambiguity about the women who are named that were present at the cross.

But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. (John 19:25) Were there three or four women at the cross? Scholars have not come to an agreement. It is possible to interpret the verse in such a way that Jesus’ mother’s sister was Mary the wife of Clopas. If that is true then James and Joseph were Jesus’ cousins. However many scholars say that it is unlikely that two sisters in the same family would be named Mary.

Another possibility is that the two Mary’s were sister’s-in-law. Early church father Eusebius recorded that Clopas was the brother of Joseph, husband of Mary the mother of Jesus. That would make Mary, wife of Clopas a sister-in-law of Jesus’ mother Mary, and James the Less a cousin of Jesus. Well, we will have to wait until we get to heaven to find out if these two disciples of Jesus, James and Joseph, were His cousins or not.

One thing that all agree on was that Mary was a wonderful mother. She raised two sons who served Jesus. James, also called “the less” was one of the twelve apostles. He is not called “the less” because he wasn’t a great apostle, but because he was younger than the other apostle James. The elder James is mentioned with Peter and John as one of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples (“Peter, James, and John”). This other James was the brother of John and the son of Salome, whose story is told later in this post. The elder James would go on to become the head of the Church in Jerusalem (see Acts 15). Both James’s would be martyred. James, son of Zebedee would be beheaded in Jerusalem. James, Mary’s son would be thrown from a pinnacle then beaten to death around 60 A.D.

Mary was one of a group of women who kept track of Jesus’ travels and ministered to His needs whenever they could. The women provided food, shelter, laundering, and even money so that Jesus and the disciples could travel freely preaching the Gospel. Jesus’ twelve disciples left their jobs in order to join Christ in His ministry. It was the usual custom in those times for wealthy women to make contributions to the Rabbis and their students. Jewish rabbis were responsible to feed and house their students. Of course, one of the twelve disciples that Mary was giving support to was her own son, James. We do not hear any more about the other son, Joseph, but indications are that he too was a close follower of Jesus.

Mary the wife of Clopas was so committed to Jesus that she not only helped support Him during His ministry, but she stayed until the crucifixion and the burial and the resurrection. Mary was with Mary Magdalene and Salome who all brought spices to the tomb so that they might anoint the body of Jesus. Mary went with the others to tell the disciples the wonderful news that Jesus was risen from the dead.

What an example Mary was for her sons, one of which would be faithful unto martyrdom for the sake of the Gospel.

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.” But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to Him, “We are able.” (Matthew 20:20-23)

Like Mary the mother of James and Joseph, Salome had known Jesus since the beginning of His ministry if not earlier. Like Mary she would follow Jesus faithfully through Jesus’ entire time on earth. She too would be at the cross and at the tomb.

She and her husband Zebedee and their family lived in Capernaum. Peter was also from there. Jesus spent a lot of time there. It was near Nazareth where He grew up. Jesus probably ate at Salome’s home many times. Salome was one of the group of women that contributed to the support of Jesus and His apostles. Like Mary, she had her sons to think of. Unlike Mary who seemed to be quiet if not shy, Salome tried to use her influence with Jesus to gain a special place of recognition for her sons.

Near the end of Jesus time on earth, very near to the final Passover when Jesus would be arrested and tried and crucified, Salome came to Jesus and made a request that her sons would rule with Him.

We wonder what Salome could have been thinking of to put her sons forward like that. When the other apostles heard it they “became indignant with the two brothers” (Matthew 20:24). Why did they become indignant with the brothers? Why were they not angry with their mother, Salome?

We have two clues for an answer. Notice that Jesus addressed James and John and not Salome when He answered. He asked them if they were able to drink of the same cup as He would. Then, the disciples were indignant with the brothers, not their mother. Is it possible that the brothers had put their mother up to this and that Jesus and the disciples knew it? The disciples had certainly built up a long relationship of love and trust with this woman over the years.

The other thing to consider is the character of Salome herself. She was faithful to Jesus and His band of followers to the end. She contributed to their ministry and she was at the cross sorrowing with Jesus’ mother. She brought spices to the tomb.

This request she made of Jesus was probably out of character for her. Jesus was tender with her and directed His response to the brothers, not her.

Jesus’ answer was a good lesson for all of us. It is one that I am sure Salome understood. Jesus said, “… but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant. …. just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26,28).

It is a sign of spiritual maturity to put the needs of others before our own. If we do, we will be like Jesus. May we learn from the examples of these two women who followed Christ so faithfully.