This is my son that they have up on that cross. They don’t know him. They don’t understand what they are doing. How can they do this to him? He is such a good boy…
It seems like only yesterday that Joseph and I traveled down that dusty road to Bethlehem. I could feel the contractions beginning, but there was nothing else that we could do. We had to go to Bethlehem. I could feel every step that the donkey took, and it became harder and harder to keep silence. Joseph was a good man, and he was so understanding, but I didn’t want to make things harder for him. Maybe these pains would hold off until we could find a room somewhere… but when we got to Bethlehem there was no room.
So this little baby, this perfect little man, was born in a cave that they used as a stable for the animals. As I held him in my arms, I thought about the day that the angel had appeared to me and told me that I was to have a baby.
“Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
I watched him as he grew and developed into a young man. He was always so helpful, and willing to do as he was told. And yet, there was a love, and a joy that shone from his eyes, and permeated the atmosphere where ever he was. When he spoke, there was such strength in his words, that it pierced to the heart of all who heard him. Some loved him for that, but there were those who did not take kindly to the truth that was brought forth.
And now, this baby that had been conceived in my womb was hanging on this cross dying. Where was this “kingdom”? Was the angel wrong? Or was this vision that I had just a product of a young girl’s imagination? But then, there was the fact that I had never been with a man, and yet there was this baby… Even from the beginning he had been special… There was something about his eyes… Had they made a mistake somehow, along the way? It didn’t look like the prophecy would come true now. No, she must have misunderstood.
Oh, God, How can this be? This was Jesus, my son. He was the one who did the miracles, who raised people from the dead, and now it was his time. Where is his miracle? God, why don’t you protect him? You could get him down off of that cross in a minute. But instead You let him hang there, bruised and bleeding, straining for every breath. There is so much blood. Blood everywhere. His face doesn’t even look like a man. Is this really my Jesus? Maybe it isn’t really him.
John standing beside me slowly put his arm around me, and I put my head on his shoulder as the tears flowed down my cheeks. The bloody figure up on the cross looked down at us. “Woman, behold thy son!” Then he said to the John, “Behold thy mother!”
That was Jesus. He was always looking out for me. Concerned for me even in his death. John tightened his arms around me, in a hug. Maybe in our grief, we can comfort each other. John was a good boy, too. He leaned over and I could feel his lips brush my cheek.
“I thirst,” Jesus cried. Oh, how I wish that I could give him even that small comfort. The soldiers brought him something soaked in a sponge, but when he saw what it was, Jesus refused it.
“It is finished,” he said, and then he breathed his last breath.
As Jesus died, a sudden darkness came over my heart. My eyes were blinded with tears, and John tried to get me to leave, but I would not. I couldn’t leave him. How could I leave him? Oh, the pain in my heart. Why couldn’t it be me on that cross? I would have taken his place. Gladly.
Cold… I feel so cold. No one spoke, and an unnatural hush fell over the crowd. I opened my eyes and saw that the darkness that I felt in my heart was real. Where had the sun gone? The ground began to shake, and I could hear cries of terror all around me. It seemed like an eternity before the ground stopped shaking.
One of the soldiers went to the other two men that had been crucified, and broke their legs. They did this, because then they couldn’t push themselves up any more to be able to breath, and then they would die more speedily. They came to Jesus, and they saw that he was already dead, so instead they thrust a spear into his side. And then they moved on.
Slowly, the small figure at the foot of the cross rocked back and forth in her grief and agony of soul. John tried once again to encourage her to go home. “Mary,” he said, “There is really nothing more that we can do here. Let me help you…” Silently, she shook her head.
Then another man came and spoke to John. The men went to the soldiers, and showed them some sort of paperwork. The soldiers nodded, and helped them to take down the battered body on the cross. I went to him and stroked the bloody, mangled, torn cheek. I smoothed the matted hair. The men removed the lifeless body from the wooden beams, and silently they carried him into a garden. They had brought some of the things that you need for burial…spices and cloth for wrapping.
Mechanically, I went through the motions to get him ready for burial. The last time I did this it had been Joseph, my husband. Now it was Jesus. “God,” I whispered, “Must you take everything from me?” It was almost the Sabbath, and I knew that we must hurry, but I wanted to stay. They made me leave quickly, and the men rolled the stone in front of the opening of the tomb. The soldiers were standing outside. For some reason they wanted to place a seal on the stone that had been rolled in front of the door. I don’t know why they wanted to do that. And I don’t even care. I am so tired. So very tired. I will come back in a couple of days and finish the job that we didn’t have time to do today. My son is going to have a very special burial. It is going to be done right.
John looked at me, and I could see the sorrow in his eyes, too. “Let’s go home, Mama.”
Have you ever lost someone that you have loved? God has too. He lost the closest thing to His heart, which was Jesus, His only Son. But He gave Him up and let him die on the cross, so that we could come into a right relationship with Him once again. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God sent not His Son into the world, to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16 & 17
Do you know beyond any shadow of a doubt, that if your life should end, that heaven would be your home? There are four steps that you need to take, in order to be certain of your eternal destiny.
- We need to recognize that we are sinners.
- We need to turn or repent of our sin.
- We need to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died for us on the cross, and God raised Him from the dead.
- We need to confess that He is our Lord and Savior and invite Him into our life.
If you have never done that, I would invite you to do that right now. Please pray this prayer, and if you mean it from you heart, you will go to heaven some day.
“God in heaven, I know that I am a sinner, but I want to change that. Please forgive me of my sins, and make me clean again. I believe that Jesus is Your Son, that He paid the price for my sins when He died on the Cross, and You raised Him from the dead. Jesus, I invite you to come into my heart and my life. Please, be my Lord, and be my Savior. I thank You Jesus for saving me. I am born again, I am a child of God. I am gong to heaven someday, and Jesus is my Lord. amen”