Imagine with me, for a moment, what it felt like for Mary (mother of Jesus) to witness Jesus' death. But before we go there, let's think about her relationship with Him from the beginning. She knew for sure, 100%, that He was the Messiah. There was no other explanation for how He came into this world. She knew she was a virgin, more so than anyone else knew. She saw and heard the angel tell her what was going to happen. She believed, completely, whole-heartedly that Jesus was the Son of God. She saw Him every day. She knew Him. Imagine how her heart went out to Him while raising Him. I'm so in love with my son, Kai, who sins daily. His sin doesn't make me love him any less, but can you imagine what it must have felt like to nurture and love on a perfect being?! I'm sure it was pure bliss.
Mary knew Jesus came to earth to save and restore us back to God. She knew He was King. Imagine how horrible it was for her to watch people spit, hit, whip, shove, ridicule and torture her Son. Anger. Rage. Confusion. Absolute brokenness. Wanting to stop it and protect Him, but not being able to do anything, only watch and cry. Grief.
And then, imagine that moment when she realized that her sin also nailed Him to that cross. She had a part in putting Him there. He was taking her sin upon Himself, and dying, so she didn't have to! I can not imagine how awful and gut-wrenching that was for Mary to endure. A sword piercing her heart.
Praise God it only had to happen once! Praise God that Jesus took our sin and made us His righteousness instead! Praise God that Jesus rose from the grave and conquered death! Praise God for the story of Redemption, for Jesus! Praise God!
