By His Wounds: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

The Earthquake

The Earthquake

Jesus was dead. John couldn't believe it, or he didn't want to believe it. The same Jesus who had cured the blind, sick, lame, mute, deaf, and dead now hung from a tree, not breathing. The same man Jesus who had offered words of Love and Hope to everyone who would listen. The same Jesus who never harmed nor hurt anyone, but instead changed their lives for the better, was repaid by being murdered.

Mary fainted in his arms, and he caught her before she hit the ground. Mary of Magdala stopped her crying and now kneeled on the stones, eyes staring into nowhere.

At that moment, the ground shook, sending that same Mary prostrate on the ground and Mary the Mother to reawaken. All three of the crosses wobbled back and forth in the air. People screamed, while the Roman soldiers frantically ran around, wondering what was happening and what to do. The angry criminal cursed that they should take him down from this cross immediately, while the calm criminal said nothing. Soldiers fell off their horses and to the ground as the earth continued to quake. The donkeys of the Pharisees whined and screeched, frightened. The Pharisees led their donkeys away very slowly, but most of the animals crashed to the stony ground after a few feet.

John sunk to his knees as he witnessed a giant crack starting to form between the cross of Jesus and Gesmas. The earth separated slightly, yet Jesus' cross remained in-tack and solid. John watched as the one soldier, Abenadar slid to the ground, struck his breast, and cried out, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" Another soldier, one who had been played dice for Jesus' garments, came walking up to Abenadar and stood next to him, his expression one of sorrow and awe.

Mary of Magdala, along with the Mother and John, slowly made their way to the foot of the cross and wept silently. Mary of Magdala wept for her dear, dear, Lord, now dead from crucifixion. But she also wept for herself. How would she survive without her Savior? How would life continue?

The earth had stopped its shaken, ever so slightly, and some soldiers near them were playing with the deep chasm between Jesus and Gesmas. They were throwing rocks and ropes down the hole, trying to guess how deep it was. They did not even acknowledge the fact that their Lord, too, was dead. Didn't they know who he was? Who the man they had nailed to the cross was?

One soldier shouted, "All right, let's end these criminals lives before another event like this happens."

Frightened, Mary watched through teary eyes as a soldier grabbed a cudgel, walked over to a criminal, and began hammering at the legs, just below the kneecap. Gesmas, the cursing criminal, shouted horrible cries at his pain, but his exclamations were silenced when that same soldier hammered him in the chest three times. His head hung down, and he said no more. The other criminal, shaking, bore his pain in silence. Shortly after the soldiers had beat his legs until they were broken, his head, too, fell against his chest, and he died.

One soldier came walking over near Mary of Magdala, cudgel in hand. He eyed Jesus, then eyed the women. Mary, deeply frightened, begged silently that they would not hammer her Lord's legs. He was already dead, wasn't that obvious? Why torture his holy body anymore?

"Cassius! Kill him!"

That soldier stared at the women, then shouted, "He's already dead!"

The Roman glanced at Jesus, then tossed a lance at Cassius. "Make sure."

Cassius looked at Mary in deep sadness as he raised his lance up to the right side of Jesus. Mary watched, sorrowfully, as the lance was thrust deeply into Jesus' side. Immediately blood and water poured out, sprinkling on Mary's face.

The young soldier, shocked, wiped the blood and water from his face, looked at it, and then fell to his knees. He covered his eyes with his hands and began to weep, whispering, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, my Lord."