John 19:26,27 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Woman, behold thy son!— We have elsewhere observed, that Joseph was probably dead some time before. See on ch. John 2:1; John 6:42. And as Jesus now shewed the tender concern he had for his mother, in committing her to the care of St. John; so this concern which he expressed for her support, must have affected her no less than if he had called her mother; which some have thought he might not choose to do, to avoid exposing her to the abuses of the populace by a discovery of her near relation to him. But woman was a title that he had before used in speaking to his mother, where no such caution was necessary; and it was frequently applied in ancient times, even to persons who were the most respected, as we have observed on ch. John 2:4. Some, however, have remarked, that the word Γυναι may very well be interpreted mother; which certainly renders the opposition to ο υιος σου, thy son; more sensibly affecting. See Antonin. Medit. 50: 9: 100: 3. Our Lord, besides expressing great filial affection towards his mother, gave the beloved disciple also a token of his high esteem. He singled him out for the important trust of his beloved mother; and as he desired her to consider him as a son, so he desired him expressly to reverence and love her, as if she had been his own parent,—a duty, which he gladly undertook, and no doubt most faithfully performed. Thus, in the midst of the heaviest sufferings ever sustained by human nature, Jesus demonstrated a divine strength of benevolence: even when his own distress was at the highest pitch, his friends had such a share of his concern, that their happiness for a little time engrossed his tenderest thoug