Jesus, Mary, and John

Q

I have a question regarding Mary, the mother of Jesus. I can not understand why Jesus would tell John to take care of his mother when she had other children to do that job. I heard that Mary went with John to Turkey where he had a church and she died there. Could you please clarify this because we have the book of James the half brother of Jesus who was a believer so why did not he take care of his mother? Do we know the whole story about this?

A

You’re referring to John 19:26-27. We don’t know the whole story, but this incident tells us Joseph had died sometime earlier. Being the firstborn son, Jesus became responsible for his mother’s care at that time.

In John 7:1-5 there’s a hint of strife between Jesus and His brothers that was foretold in Psalm 69:8. “I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother’s sons.” Since none of them were believers at the time, Jesus might have felt more comfortable leaving Mary in John’s care. James and Jude became believers after the resurrection but apparently, His other brothers did not.