With regard to the narrative of Jesus’ passion, John the Evangelist points out to us—repeatedly—that the only reason any of the fateful events occurred to our dear Savior was in order to fulfill the Father’s Word. Had Jesus said “no” to any of it, not a single moment of His Passion would have transpired: not His arrest at the hands of the temple guards, not the charges brought up against Him at the hands of the chief priests, not the order of execution at the hands of the Roman tribunal. Jesus did not “blame” any of them for any of it. It was simply the will of God.
Jesus KNEW that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. (Jn. 11:1)
FULLY AWARE that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper… (Jn. 11:3-4)
For he KNEW who would betray him. (Jn. 13:11)
Jesus, KNOWING everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?” (Jn. 18:4)
Jesus answered, “I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” This was TO FULFILL what he had said. (Jn. 18:8)
So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be,” IN ORDER THAT THE SCRIPTURE MIGHT BE FULFILLED… (Jn. 19:24)
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs… this happened SO THAT THE SCRIPTURE PASSAGE MIGHT BE FULFILLED: “Not a bone of it will be broken.” (Jn. 19:33-36)
One soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out…SO THAT THE SCRIPTURE PASSAGE MIGHT BE FULFILLED…“They will look upon him whom they have pierced.” (Jn. 19:34-37)
[emphasis added]
Of course, this is not to say that the characters involved were carrying out a programmed, involuntary response with no free will of their own. After all, if everything that occurred on the night Jesus was handed over to be crucified was foretold in the Scriptures, then we should never have seen Mother Mary along with the other women and the disciple John standing by Jesus’ side at the foot of the Cross:
I looked for sympathy, but there was NONE; for consolers, NOT ONE could I find. (Ps. 69:21)
Jesus was not supposed to have anyone by His side. This is what was foretold in the Scriptures. But instead, there was an entire group of women, plus John the Beloved, standing by His side, following in His footsteps all the way to the Cross, offering Him support, strength, and encouragement by their tears and their love.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala…and the disciple there whom he loved. (Jn. 19:25-26)
Can we even imagine the sweet consolation Our Lord must have experienced in this, His darkest moment? He went into it, fully prepared to face His passion alone, as was foretold in the Scriptures. There was not supposed to be anyone with Him. This is what Jesus consented to. This is what Jesus Himself willed. So how did this group “override” God’s will, when Pilate and Peter could not? The answer, it would seem, lies with Mary.
Of course we must concede, nobody actually “overrode” anything. It is true, it was foretold that Jesus would be totally abandoned, but God never commanded that Mary and the others had to forsake Him. Just as He never commanded Judas to betray Jesus, or Peter to deny Him. It was simply a prophecy, something that God, in His omniscience, knew would occur, but one that could be changed by the power of love and trust. That is what prophecy is: a conditional consequence of our actions…unless we choose different ones.
Pilate did indeed listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd—something inside him even recognized it as truth—but without the foundation of love and trust in his heart, it became impossible for him to conquer his fear of the consequences.
But what about Peter? Did he not possess that love and trust required to conquer his fear after three years of living in the bond of loving and trusting friendship with the Savior? It is here that Mary comes in. Scripture tells us that at the Garden of Gethsemane, all three disciples who were with Jesus fell asleep. They could not stay awake in order to pray—the only thing that would have sustained them through the ordeal that was to come next. Peter fell asleep…and so denied Jesus. And yet, John fell asleep too. He too was not prepared for the ordeal, but he managed to stay by Our Lord’s side. How was this possible? There is only one explanation: Mary. When all the other disciples fled, we imagine that John would have looked at her beautiful, heartbroken face, and would have gone over to console her. Undoubtedly, John was just as afraid as all the other disciples, but his compassion for Mary was simply greater.
Of course, we can assume the other disciples loved Mary just as much as John did. Why did they not go to comfort her as well? The most likely explanation is that these other disciples simply did not turn their heads towards her to notice her pain. They did not think to console Mary, simply because with their focus fixed on their personal fear, they would have missed the sorrowful look on Our Lady’s face, and therefore, in that moment, it would not have even occurred to them that she was in need of consoling.
And thus, we imagine, in the most surprising turn of events, in John’s effort to console Mary, she becomes his strength. Mary, the only one in all the earth born without sin, is the only one able to resist the temptation to fear, such that her love and trust mitigate the prophecy foretold in the Scriptures. But what about John and the other women, the ones who were indeed born with original sin? How did they manage to accomplish this same feat? Simply put: by staying close to Mary. The one who is full of grace—full enough to overflowing—has more than enough grace to pour out of her heart and overflow to those around her.
When we stay close to Mary, giving her our heart, in return, she “lends” us hers (St. Teresa of Calcutta, Prayer to Mary). It is Mary from whom we borrow strength, when we ourselves are incapable of it.
Author’s Note: This article was adapted from a chapter in 26 Steps With the Mother of God: A Treatise on the Life of Mary, available from Amazon.
