The Supporting Cast of Easter

I imagine the crucifixion scene from the vantage of a mother. To witness the brutalizing public display of degradation and horror must have felt more than any mother could ever possibly bear in a lifetime. Jesus’s mother, Mary, remained by her child’s side, helpless to stop the horror, but a faithful presence of love in the midst of so much hatred. How could she let her son go, even in death?

A man named Joseph of Arimathea learned this when he played a major role in the burial of Jesus. Joseph appeared to be an upstanding citizen and a decent human being, but there was nothing special or extraordinary about him.
What is considered to be an uneventful portion of the narrative of Jesus’ crucifixion was actually a stepping stone to the greatness and impact of the resurrection.

He’d lost count of how many crucifixions he’d witnessed. Too many. It wasn’t something a person ever got used to – the visceral brutality of the Roman death penalty ensured it left an impression – but after participating in so many over the years, he’d gotten numb. Numbness was preferable to flinching at every stroke of the whip during a scourging, gagging at the feel of the nails piercing flesh or pitying the criminals as they spent hours suffocating to death while hanging on the cross.

At the height of the drama of the Easter story you’ll find Pontius Pilate. Jesus’ fate was in Pilate’s hands but he let the pressure from those around him influence his decision. He even chose to ignore his wife who told him to “have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”