Beth Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "goodfriday-easter-god-christian"
Her Good Friday
It was the worst day of her life. An indescribable nightmare as she watched her son being accused and then beaten…the crowds jeered at him as he was forced to carry his own cross through town. She watched as he struggled through his pain and exhaustion, stumbling along the way. She must have felt hopeless and afraid…and very alone. There was nothing she could do to help him as the soldiers took the nails…placed them on his palms and feet, and drove them through his skin, anchoring his body to the rough wooden cross. He screamed in agony as they lifted the heavy wooden beams and shoved the base into the hole with a jolt, sending fiery shots of pain throughout his body. She watched as he struggled to breathe because his body was stretched out, hanging by the nails that pulled at his flesh. Her heart must have been in unspeakable agony as she watched him struggle to expand the lungs again and again.
His mouth was dry in the hot sun and a soldier lifted a sponge with vinegar on it and cruelly mocked her son with a drink that would not quench his growing thirst. The crown of thorns that they had placed on his head dug into his skin and drips of blood slowly moved down and some of them mixed with his sweat and the dirt on his face. There was a sign above him that read “King of the Jews” that the soldiers had made in jest; but she knew in her heart that it was really true. The promise that had been made to her so long ago…she still believed.
Now, as she watched her son struggling with each breath, she heard him talking…saying to one man that hung beside him that he would be forgiven! The man was overcome with emotion and she hung her head and wept as well. The minutes slowly passed and her son soon began to weaken; but he didn’t die. He held on and then without warning, spoke some more. He looked up and asked the Father to forgive the men who had done this to him!
How can that be?
She was not so sure that they deserved it. Her heart ached at the compassion and love her son continued to show. Why didn’t they see it? Why didn’t they understand who he was and that he loved them so much.
Finally, as the day began to fade, he spoke one last time and she heard him say, ‘It is finished’ and something remarkable happened. There was an earthquake that caused her to fall flat on the ground. As the earth shook beneath her, she stole at look at her son one more time. He was limp and lifeless. When the shaking stopped, a soldier moved toward her son and stabbed his side to see if he was still alive; but he was not. Her son was now dead.
Good Friday was not so “Good” for her.
The rest of her day was spent waiting for his body as they lowered it to the ground. She wept and cried out to God, not knowing that her son would not be dead for long…not understanding what had just occurred…
His mouth was dry in the hot sun and a soldier lifted a sponge with vinegar on it and cruelly mocked her son with a drink that would not quench his growing thirst. The crown of thorns that they had placed on his head dug into his skin and drips of blood slowly moved down and some of them mixed with his sweat and the dirt on his face. There was a sign above him that read “King of the Jews” that the soldiers had made in jest; but she knew in her heart that it was really true. The promise that had been made to her so long ago…she still believed.
Now, as she watched her son struggling with each breath, she heard him talking…saying to one man that hung beside him that he would be forgiven! The man was overcome with emotion and she hung her head and wept as well. The minutes slowly passed and her son soon began to weaken; but he didn’t die. He held on and then without warning, spoke some more. He looked up and asked the Father to forgive the men who had done this to him!
How can that be?
She was not so sure that they deserved it. Her heart ached at the compassion and love her son continued to show. Why didn’t they see it? Why didn’t they understand who he was and that he loved them so much.
Finally, as the day began to fade, he spoke one last time and she heard him say, ‘It is finished’ and something remarkable happened. There was an earthquake that caused her to fall flat on the ground. As the earth shook beneath her, she stole at look at her son one more time. He was limp and lifeless. When the shaking stopped, a soldier moved toward her son and stabbed his side to see if he was still alive; but he was not. Her son was now dead.
Good Friday was not so “Good” for her.
The rest of her day was spent waiting for his body as they lowered it to the ground. She wept and cried out to God, not knowing that her son would not be dead for long…not understanding what had just occurred…
