The Gospel of John, among all the four Gospels, uses the most symbolic, allegorical, and mysterious language. Early Christians knew there was much to gain under the surface understanding. A common interpretation saw the person of John as representing the life of every Christian. When early christians heard, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, they understood that to be not just John, but themselves as well. So when Christ is on the cross, and says to John,
JOHN 19:26“Here is your mother.”,
early Christians knew it was not only John that Christ was referring to, but they too should consider Mary their mother.

In Revelation 12, John describes a vision of Mary as the Queen of Heaven, and towards the end we are told,
REV 12:17And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Here scripture is clear that those who keep God’s commandments are considered the children of this woman. The woman referred to in this scripture is Mary, making Mary the mother of all Christians.