Salome – La Vista Church of Christ

Can you give me more insight into Mary’s sister?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 02:19:00 +0000

Question:

The Bible talks about Mary having a sister who is the wife of Clopas whose name is also Mary. The Bible states that this Mary had kids and in an article that you wrote you stated her kids were James and Joses. But when we look at Matthew 13:55, it says that James and Joses (some versions say Joseph) are the children of Mary, Jesus' mother.

Is this a situation where there is an over usage of common names and both Marys had two sons by the same name? The Catholics don't believe that this Mary is Mary's, Mother of Jesus, sister because they don't understand why the parents would name their daughters the same name, so they say this is her cousin. Could you give me clarification on this?

Answer:

It was an expectation in the Jewish culture to name children after a relative, "And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father. But his mother answered and said, "No indeed; but he shall be called John." And they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name." And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, "His name is John." And they were all astonished" (Luke 1:59-63). Now imagine generations of children being named after relatives. You would have a ton of similar names, which doesn't make keeping various people in the Bible distinct easy.

This is why you find qualifiers on names. A qualifier might be a father's name, where a person originated from, a person's occupation, or even a major event in a person's life. Take a look at three accounts regarding the women who were at the cross when Jesus died:

"And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons" (Matthew 27:55-56).

"There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem" (Mark 15:40-41).

"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene" (John 19:25).

	Mary, the mother of Jesus	Mary, the mother of James and Joses	Mary Magdalene	Salome
Matthew 27:55-56		"Mary the mother of James and Joses"	"Mary Magdalene"	"the mother of Zebedee's sons"
Mark 15:40		"Mary, the mother of James the Less and of Joses	"Mary Magdalene"	"Salome"
John 19:25	"His mother"	"Mary the wife of Clopas"	"Mary Magdalene"	"His mother's sister"

None of the accounts say there were just four women. All three accounts list Mary Magdalene (a qualified name based on where this Mary came from). Only John mentions that Jesus' mother was at the cross, but there is a third Mary who is distinguished by the names of her children in Matthew and Mark's accounts. It is likely that Mary, the wife of Clopas, is the same woman.

It is possible that "the mother of Zebedee's sons," "Salome," and "his mother's sister" are three different women or they could be different qualifiers for the same woman. If it is the same woman, then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, would be Jesus' cousins and Mary, the mother of Jesus, would have a sister named Salome.

Some assume that John lists out four Marys at the cross. Here they assume that Mary's sister is the mother of James and Joses and that Mary the wife of Clopas is the fifth person to be mentioned. Since this makes both Mary and her sister have the same name, it might be possible, but it would be an unnecessary conclusion.

A common mistake is to read John 19:25 as a list of three women instead of four, with "his mother's sister" and "Mary the wife of Clopas" as being the same person. Again, it causes the conclusion that Mary had a sister named Mary. While remotely possible, it is not the most natural way to read this verse.

Jeff Hamilton and Alan Feaster

Where does it say that Salome was James and John’s mother?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 02:30:00 +0000

Question:

Where does it say that Salome was James and John's mother?

Answer:

"And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons" (Matthew 27:55-56).

"There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem" (Mark 15:40-41).

"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene" (John 19:25).

	Mary, the mother of Jesus	Mary, the mother of James and Joses	Mary Magdalene	Salome
Matthew 27:55-56		"Mary the mother of James and Joses"	"Mary Magdelene"	"the mother of Zebedee's sons"
Mark 15:40		"Mary, the mother of James the Less and of Joses	"Mary Magdelene"	"Salome"
John 19:25	"His mother"	"Mary the wife of Clopas"	"Mary Magdelene"	"His mother's sister"

Notice that both Matthew and Mark mention three women who followed and ministered to Jesus while he was in Galilee. Because Matthew and Mark's accounts mention Salome, the wife of Zebedee and the mother of James and John, but doesn't mention Mary's sister, and John's account doesn't mention Salome, some conclude that Salome was Mary's sister, making James and John Jesus' cousins.

Salome’s Request

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 19:42:00 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/SalomesRequest.mp3

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

Text: Matthew 20:17-28

I. We don’t know much about Salome, other than that she was the wife of Zebedee and the mother of the apostles James and John.

A. She made a request of Jesus that he turned down - Matthew 20:20-22

B. Jesus later tells the disciples that they can ask anything and Jesus would do it - John 14:13-14

C. Yet, here is a case where the request was turned down and why it was turned down is an important lesson for us about prayer

II. It was not God’s will

A. Salome’s request assumed that Jesus was going to set up a physical kingdom

1. Jesus wasn’t here to create another nation - John 18:36

2. When people tried to force the issue, he left - John 6:15

B. Thus, what Salome asked was contrary to God’s designs for the world

1. The requests we make must be according to God’s will – consistent with His plans - I John 5:14-15

2. When Jesus taught how to pray, a part was to emphasize that God’s will be done - Matthew 6:10

3. Asking God to contradict His plans is wrong

C. This means that before we pray, we need to study what God said to make sure that what we are asking fits in with God’s plans.

1. Study - II Timothy 2:15

2. Understand - Ephesians 5:17

D. Examples of improper prayers

1. Asking God to bless an unlawful marriage

2. Asking God to help an illegal business venture to succeed

3. Asking God to save by a mere prayer when He said salvation comes in a different way and way is not being followed.

III. It was not for God’s glory

A. Salome wanted her sons elevated to the number one and two spots in Christ’s kingdom. The focus was on their glory and her ability to bask in their reflected glory

1. The other disciples saw the request as an attempted power grab - Matthew 20:24

2. Jesus explained that the greatest in the kingdom was not by appointment but by service - Matthew 20:25-28

B. Many prayers fail because the beneficiary is ourselves - James 4:3

1. People focus on worldly things that only bring temporary benefits

2. What is the motives for your request?

3. Our actions are to bring God glory - Matthew 5:16

C. Examples of improper prayers

1. Praying for success or wealth with no other reason that to succeed

2. Praying for a good looking spouse

IV. It was not in God’s Time

A. Salome’s request aimed for instant success

B. Our lives are in God’s hands - Psalms 31:15

C. Wait on the Lord - Psalms 27:14; 37:34; Isaiah 40:31

D. Too often we don’t just want an answer, we want it NOW!

1. Rarely is now the best time or the best answer

V. The answer might not be what you expect

A. Salome’s request while turned down was not outright rejected.

B. James and John would be great in the kingdom, but only after their service

1. James died - Acts 12:1-2

2. John was imprisoned - Revelation 1:9-10

3. Jesus asked if they were prepared to suffer - Matthew 20:22-23

C. To answer Salome’s request, at least partly, required molding and shaping her son’s characters

1. Hardships are need to improve us - Romans 5:3-4

2. Temptations must be endured - James 1:12

3. Our faith has to be tested - I Peter 1:6-7

4. James and John’s greatness came with great change in themselves

D. When we pray, do we realize that the answer to our prayer likely will require changes in ourselves?

1. We pray for growth. What will that require?

2. We pray that the word be spread. What will that require?

VI. What will you ask of God?

[Based on an article by Joshua Welch]