Near the Cross

By Shirley Mitchell

^“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.  When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’  From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”

John 19:25-27

I’m playing the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the Lexington Passion Play this year.  To prepare for the role, I have read every Scripture about her, commentaries, books, and watched movies.  So much about Mary is not recorded in God’s Word and left to our imaginations.  It has been my constant prayer for God to show me how to connect with Mary and to reveal to me her thoughts and feelings.

We know that she was the first to hear the voice of the Son of God, and she was one of the few who heard His last cries from the cross.  She was only a young teenager when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her that she had found favor with God, and the Holy Spirit would come upon her and give her a child. 

We can imagine that when Jesus was a child, she probably saw Him meditate on Scripture or spend His time praying in the garden.  She had probably wondered how Jesus would bring redemption to the Jewish people.  How would the angel’s words be fulfilled that “the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:32b-33)?

The day finally arrived when the Jewish people welcomed her Son into Jerusalem.  Palm branches were waving, His Name was cried out, and garments were thrown down on the ground for Him to ride the donkey over.  Perhaps after this excited day, she had heard her friends speculate what Jesus would do next.  She might have heard or even seen Jesus’ confrontations with the religious leaders who could not hide their contempt and hatred for her Son.  In the play, I followed the disciples into Jerusalem as the crowd sings Hosanna to their King.  I wonder what Mary thought about that day.  Did she think that the moment was coming when Israel would repent and be delivered from the Roman oppression?

However, she was forced to watch the plan of God unfold in ways that she never imagined.  We are left to wonder when she heard that Jesus was arrested in the garden.  When did she first lay eyes on His battered and beaten face that she had once held in her hands so tenderly?

In the movie The Passion of the Christ, she is there hidden in the mob that demands Pilate to crucify Jesus.  In the passion play, so am I.  I feel the horror of Jesus’ followers when Pilate brings out the beaten Jesus.  I feel the confusion over why Peter, John, or even Jesus doesn’t do something.   The fear of the angry mob with clubs and the Roman soldiers with sharp swords comes over me.  Mary Magdalene and I are bewildered that the same crowd that welcomed and celebrated his arrival to the city the week before is now against Him.  I flinch at His scourging and cannot bear to hear the sound of the whip.

 As hard as that is, it is even harder to be at the foot of the cross as “Jesus” is gasping for His last breaths.  On His head is that nasty crown of thorns, and red “blood” runs down His body.  As I cry openly from deep inside me, I hear moans that are coming from my own voice, and tears fill my eyes to the point where I can’t see.  Then Jesus rises up to take a breath and say, “It is finished.”  And with His last breath He says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”  Then the ground shakes, and the veil is torn in two.  That is when it happens.  For these few moments through many plays, my heart is connected with Mary.  My heart is pierced with the sword like Mary’s was that day at the cross.  

The disciple John was by Mary’s side at the cross.  Jesus knew what the future held for other possible candidates to take care of His mother.  He knew the other disciples would be martyred, and John would live the longest.  So He made provisions for her while He was dying. 

In the play, John tries to console me at the cross.  When the disciples come, he helps me to my feet as I grieve.  The disciples take Jesus off the cross and pass John the crown of thorns.  Their clothes and hands are covered with the blood.  They carry Jesus’ dead body to the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.  Somehow I stagger to follow them to the tomb.  Through their tears and grief-stricken faces, each one of them hugs me.

I wonder every time whether Mary thought right up until the end that He would come off that cross or that God Himself would come down from heaven to save His Son.  I realized that once again Mary was asked to endure shame.  Word must have spread outside the family about the timing of Joseph taking Mary as a wife and the birth of Jesus.  People most likely found out that He was conceived before the wedding ceremony.  Her reputation was ruined, and she was the source of gossip for years to come.  Now her Son died as the lowest of criminals on a Roman cross.  People would have whispered about how her eldest Son was nothing but a blasphemer who deserved death.  Yet, to Mary, He was her precious Son who had never done anything wrong.  She always knew that He was the promised Messiah.  However, she didn’t know that He came to sacrifice His life until later.  She could not have lived with the knowledge that her sweet baby boy would be nailed to the cross.  Even though she didn’t fully comprehend what was happening that day, she showed her deep love for Him by staying at His side, near the cross.

Pray with me:  Oh, God, when we don’t understand Your plan, give us the fortitude to stay near the cross no matter what.  Lord, how beautiful of You to choose sweet Mary.  She was so brave.  How great that Your plan was not just to establish an earthly throne in Jerusalem in Israel for that was too small a thing, but it was to establish a throne in the hearts of men for Israel and for the world.  Mary’s hopes have come true in so many ways grander than she ever imagined.  Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  It’s in Your Name, Yeshua’s Name, we pray.  Amen.