The Mother of Jesus

One of the interesting points that came up during our study of the Gospel of John was that Jesus' mother is not named in this gospel. Her sister (also named Mary) is listed in the account of the women who were present at the crucifixion, and this Mary's children, James and Joses, are included -- perhaps to pinpoint which of the Marys this actually is. It is not at all implausible that more than one daughter in a family would be named Mary, since this name was so common among first-century Jews. (It was the Caitlyn of its day.)

I find it intriguing that John, who is code-named "the apostle whom Jesus loved" in the gospel that bears his name, is the apostle entrusted with the care of Jesus' mother, and yet it is this gospel in which she is not named. Could this have been because John and his followers (including those who likely compiled the gospel) had ceased to think of her as anything but Mother? The lack of a name might also suggest that Mary herself contributed or added to John's gospel -- in the account of the miracle at the wedding at Cana, for instance -- with details from her own perspective. In this case, "the mother of Jesus" and "the apostle whom Jesus loved" would have both functioned as code.

The other question that arose in our discussion -- one that often comes up in any study of Jesus' life -- was what happened to Joseph? I mentioned that the fact that Mary seemed to be involved in the life of the adult Jesus by herself suggests that she was a widow. Jesus' siblings do not seem to have become followers of the Way (as the Christian movement was originally named) until later. (We know that Jesus' brother James was mentioned as a leader in the Jerusalem church in the Acts of the Apostles.)

All of this is not exactly worthy of a Dan Brown novel, but it is fascinating nevertheless.