Yohanes 19:26-28

19:26 So when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, ¹  look, here is your son!” 19:27 He then said to his disciple, “Look, here is your mother!” From that very time ²  the disciple took her into his own home.

Jesus’ Death

19:28 After this Jesus, realizing that by this time ³  everything was completed, ⁴  said (in order to fulfill the scripture), ⁵  “I am thirsty!” ⁶ 

Yohanes 19:30

19:30 When ⁷  he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed!” ⁸  Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. ⁹ 

[19:26]  ¹ sn The term Woman is Jesus’ normal, polite way of addressing women (Matt 15:28, Luke 13:12; John 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:15; see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1). But it is unusual for a son to address his mother with this term. The custom in both Hebrew (or Aramaic) and Greek would be for a son to use a qualifying adjective or title. Is there significance in Jesus’ use here? Jesus probably used the term here to help establish Mary and the beloved disciple in a new “mother-son” relationship. Someone would soon need to provide for Mary since Jesus, her oldest son, would no longer be alive. By using this term Jesus distanced himself from Mary so the beloved disciple could take his place as her earthly son (cf. John 2:4). See D. A. Carson, John, 617-18, for discussion about symbolic interpretations of this relationship between Mary and the beloved disciple.

[19:27]  ² tn Grk “from that very hour.”

[19:28]  ³ tn Or “that already.”

[19:28]  ⁴ tn Or “finished,” “accomplished”; Grk “fulfilled.”

[19:28]  ⁵ sn A reference to Ps 69:21 or Ps 22:15.

[19:28]  ⁶ sn In order to fulfill (τελειωθῇ [teleiwqh], a wordplay on the previous statement that everything was completed [τετέλεσται, tetelestai]) the scripture, he said, “I am thirsty.” The scripture referred to is probably Ps 69:21, “They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Also suggested, however, is Ps 22:15, “My tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth, and you [God] lay me in the dust of death.” Ps 22:1 reads “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?,” a statement Jesus makes from the cross in both Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34. In light of the connection in the Fourth Gospel between thirst and the living water which Jesus offers, it is highly ironic that here Jesus himself, the source of that living water, expresses his thirst. And since 7:39 associates the living water with the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ statement here in 19:28 amounts to an admission that at this point he has been forsaken by God (cf. Ps 22:1, Matt 27:46, and Mark 15:34).

[19:30]  ⁷ tn Grk “Then when.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:30]  ⁸ tn Or “It is accomplished,” “It is finished,” or “It is ended.” See tn on John 13:1.

[19:30]  ⁹ tn Or “he bowed his head and died”; Grk “he bowed his head and gave over the spirit.”