Mary and the Passion of Jesus
The words of Simeon spoken in the temple to Mary:
"This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel....and a sword will pierce your own soul too."
I wonder what Mary made of this, did she expected it to lead to death on a cross?
There she stands with John, the beloved disciple, at the foot of the cross – how memories must have flooded through her mind as she watched her son die.
When the angel Gabriel came to her what did Mary envisage for His future, the future of the one favoured by the Lord?
When Mary was told that she would conceive and bear a son, a great son, a son destined to sit on a throne, could she have ever envisaged a throne made of two cross members? – Jesus reigning from a cross?
A sword will pierce your own soul too!
Whirling memories of wise men and shepherds, living in Egyptian exile, learning experiences in the carpenter’s shop, teen age miscommunication in the temple, sermons from this carpenter now turned preacher, and then the miracles.
And now it’s all coming to this black, confusing end. A nightmare.
We must not forget that Mary not only gave birth to Jesus, but she mothered Him from childhood and she did everything a devoted mother could do for her Son and mainly on her own as Joseph probably died early in the life of Jesus.
Mary had the job of constantly protecting her Son – even from the very moment Jesus was born his life was in danger.
King Herod sought to destroy Jesus, forcing Mary and Joseph to flee to Egypt, Mary protected Jesus from Herod and from many other things that would hurt Him just like any other typical mother.
Mary had to protect Jesus’ identity, she knew who Jesus was and who He was to become but she couldn’t tell anyone.
Rather, as Luke says, “Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and often thought about them”. The Greek word used here for treasured is a word that means “an intense, protective keeping.” Mary protected her Son.
And who could forget that little stunt Jesus pulled in the temple? - Mary, Joseph and Jesus make their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem and twelve-year-old Jesus decided to stay a couple of extra days on His own.
He had the best possible intentions and I’m sure He was just trying to be closer to His heavenly Father; but that little incident made Mary’s heart stop?
Any parent whose lost their little boy or girl in a crowded department store or busy leisure park has had a taste of what Mary felt that day.
Imagine losing your little one for 3 days! It must have been one of the worst experiences in Mary’s life… was he still alive, will they see him again.. what’s happened.
A sword will pierce your own soul too!
And don’t forget, Jesus wasn’t an only child as he had several brothers and sisters.
Jesus may have been an obedient child, but that doesn’t mean the others were.
Mary’s story isn’t entirely sunshine and roses she had a hard time and times were hard, she did not have the technology and home comforts we have today.
And there was a dark cloud looming over her Son—and Mary knew it and as any parent she knew that she could not interfere, she had to let go so that Jesus could fulfil the task God had set before Him.
She learnt just like all parents – it’s like balancing on a knife edge knowing when to encourage or discourage, watching them make the same mistakes as you made, but they won’t be told – catching them when they fall.
And when Jesus fell, He fell under the weight of the cross that was going bear Him – and so we see her at the foot of the cross watching her son die.
The love between Jesus and His mother is surely shown here at the foot of the cross, even though Jesus was suffering intense agony He had the strength to show that love in commending her to the care of the beloved disciple John.
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his own home.
A sword will pierce your own soul too!
Mark Lowery, in his song Mary, Did You Know?, verbalizes the questions that mothers all over the world have wondered about when they read Mary’s story. In the open stanza he writes:
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby Boy you kissed the face of God?
Have you ever considered the thought that Mary had to stand there and watch her Son die because of your sins and mine?
Can you imagine how horrible that must have been?
There are no words to describe what Mary felt that day as she watch the soldiers nail her Son, her Saviour, to the cross.
Of course, every parent who has ever had to lay their child in the arms of Jesus knows something of the heartache that Mary undoubtedly felt.
And there are no words, nothing adequate to console such grief in such a situation – just be there.
A sword will pierce your own soul too! – Mary knew all about that piercing sword only too well.
