Intersection Column | The Love of a Mother and the Strength of a Lion
- mtlmagazine
- 9 minutes ago
- 4 min read
by Heather Kaufman
One would think with a series entitled Women of the Way that my books are about women, and this is partially true. Each book in the series focuses upon a first-century female follower of Christ, but the point of each book is not the woman herself, it’s the one she followed—Jesus. When selecting my heroines, I knew I wanted to choose the “lesser-known” women because every name recorded in Scripture is important. When someone is mentioned only a few times, it can be easy to gloss over her name, and I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to stop, linger, and consider the beauty of Jesus through the eyes of these women.
In On Living Stone, my third installment in the series, we view Jesus through the eyes of Salome, the mother of the apostles James and John. Salome certainly qualifies as “lesser-known.” In fact, we can only decipher her name by piecing together accounts from the various gospels. Most of the time, she’s referred to simply as “the mother of Zebedee’s sons.” Yup, the thunderous ones . . . the men who asked Jesus for fire from heaven to decimate a Samaritan village (Luke 9:51–56). Also, the ones steadfastly by Jesus’ side—two out of the three inner apostles.
I chose Salome because I resonate with her so deeply. I’m also the mother of two thunderous boys. Whereas mine are not yet fully-grown, I could vividly place myself within this mother’s shoes. Surely joy and pride filled her heart as she watched Jesus pursue and empower her boys to do and be more than she ever thought possible. But also, what bittersweet surrender to watch her boys leave their old lives with their father for new lives that were unfolding in unexpected ways.
When reading of Salome’s “notorious” moment in Matthew 20 when she asks Jesus for the places of honor for her boys, I see a mother utterly convinced of Jesus’ kingship. I see a mother who wants her boys by his side now and always, who will rise up like a lioness to advocate for her children. This request . . . I don’t read it as coming from a place of arrogance. I read it as coming from a place of love. But her understanding is incomplete! The woman who asked Jesus for thrones on His left and on His right would then watch Him die between two crosses. What thoughts must have ravaged her mind and yet she stood there, witnessing the entirety of Jesus’ sacrifice (Matthew 27:56). She wasn’t alone. Also at the cross was her own dear son, John (John 19:26).
It’s hard to imagine how horrific it would be to stand with your son at the foot of his rabbi’s cross. First-century discipleship was intimate. The goal of the disciple was to walk in the very footsteps of his rabbi, to become like him in word and deed. My mother heart wonders if Salome wrestled with this horrible thought: “Will it be my son next?” And yet she stands there with John bearing witness.
The questions I asked myself for this story were immediate, personal, and tender. Can I love God more than the good gifts He gives? More than my own dear children? Like Salome, my instinct is to hold onto my kids as tightly as I can, to finagle and control because I long for their futures to be bright. I don’t want them to misstep. I don’t want them to suffer greatly. I feel the tug inside to rise up like a lioness in defense of her young. But I am limited and God is not. Can I release my children into His hands, trusting His purposes for them above my own? I feel for this mother standing witness at the cross. I’m sure her own sons’ futures weighed heavily on her mind as she watched the Messiah die. But as we know, the story doesn’t end at a cross, and the Gospel of Mark places Salome at the empty tomb. With her own eyes, she beheld her resurrected King. And perhaps she wondered at the implications of following one’s rabbi into a grave and back out again.
Motherhood—it’s a high calling, but it’s not our identity. Christ alone brings stability and purpose into our lives. He gives good gifts, but we were never meant to find our identity in them. Our identity comes from our Maker. Salome views herself as a lioness, but she must learn that the Lion of Judah is stronger than any lioness ever could be. She can release not only her boys but also herself into His capable hands. Ultimately, On Living Stone is a story, not about a mother, but about the very good Father who holds her fast.
About the Author
Heather Kaufman (HMKStories.com) is the author of the Women of the Way series, praised by Publishers Weekly for writing “a unique and gripping resurrection of a little-known woman of Scripture.” She delights in highlighting the goodness of God through storytelling and makes her home in St. Louis, MO, with her husband and three children.
About the Book
Every stone sings as it finds its purpose. This is the lesson restless Salome learns from her father as she grows up by the Sea of Galilee. Known as the wild girl with the quick tongue, Salome is determined to silence the critics who claim she has no future. An unexpected romance and the gift of two sons, James and John, leave her hopeful and resolved to prove herself as a mother. Salome's dreams are challenged, however, when her sons answer the call to follow Jesus of Nazareth.