Why Did Jesus Call His Mother ‘Woman’?

“And Jesus said to her, ‘O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come’ ” (John 2:4). Sometimes Jesus says something that seems very odd. This is one of those times. Why would he talk to his mother that way? Well, there are many possible reasons. But the main reason, I believe, is that he wanted to echo other biblical uses of the title “woman” — one from the past and one from the near future.