The Sights and Sounds of Violence

What must it have been like to watch Jesus die?

The mother of Tyre Nichols had to stop watching video of her son being beaten by Memphis police after hearing his voice, according to a Jan. 27 report. “I’ve already seen how he looks,” RowVaughn Wells said of her son, who died from the violent arrest. “I already know what they did to him. I don’t need to see how they did it.”

On the same day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said something similar when police released video of a home intruder’s attack on her husband, Paul. "I have not seen the break-in, and I have absolutely no intention of seeing the deadly assault on my husband's life,” she said.

Their hesitance is perfectly understandable. No one wants to witness a violent crime against a loved one, let alone watch replays of it. It’s hard enough to cope with such a tragic injury or loss without reliving it on tape.

Now imagine the agony that Mary endured as her son, Jesus, hung from the cross. (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 18:28-19:30)

Crucifixion, Jan Brueghel, circa 1595