Mark 15:33-41

Darkness from the sixth hour to the ninth hour – creation itself was responding to the dying of its King. Jesus' death for our sins – for our terrible, thoughtless, arrogant sins – was the saddest moment in the history of Creation. Ironically, it was also began the greatest process in the history of Creation, culminating in Jesus' victory over sin and death through His resurrection!

 

"My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" – We think the union of our man and woman relationships is special, but our marriages are nothing compared to the divine union and love found between the eternal Father and Son. The blessed Son of God was cursed. The righteous Messiah was condemned. The Prince of Peace felt the wrath of Almighty God. The best relationship in the world felt the most excruciating agony in the universe. And this was because of our sins, because of the Father's love for us, and because of Jesus' desire to glorify the Father. So much sacrifice for our redemption by a God who didn't have to redeem us at all! When we understand this, how dare we deliberately continue sinning against Him?

 

"Let's see if Elijah comes to take Him down." – Human misunderstanding, human mockery. Our blindness is amazing! At the most significant time in human history, men can't even see what is happening! And men continue to obscure the truth with their petty thoughts today. They're thinking, "Wouldn't it be amazing if Elijah showed up? Yeah, right! That's not happening." As amazing as that would have been, what Jesus did was more amazing: He gave His life to redeem mankind and restore Creation. His death and resurrection are the foundation of the new heavens and the new earth!

 

He breathed His last – Jesus' death rips the curtain of the temple in two from top to bottom! The physical representation of the separation between God and man is torn in two! When Jesus was torn apart and died, He opened a new and living way for us, through Him, to God! "There is therefore now no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus."

 

"Surely this man was the Son of God!" – What about Jesus' death convinced the centurion that Jesus was God's Son? The centurion had executed many criminals, but no death was ever so amazing as this death. Why did the centurion associate the darkness over the land and other events of the day with Jesus' death rather than with one of the robbers' deaths? I can't tell exactly why. But we know that the centurion executed Jesus and put over His head the written charge against Him: "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." The centurion probably had some knowledge about Jewish beliefs regarding the Messiah. The focus of the day was on Jesus. The darkness came as Jesus died. And anyone who had heard about Jesus' activities over the last several years must have wondered what the source of Jesus' power was. In Jesus' death, the centurion found his proof: "Surely this man was the Son of God!" And we see the beginnings of faith, though still without a full understanding. People would gain understanding only after the resurrection.

 

Some women were watching from a distance. – Bless them, they kept watching over Jesus. These women loved Jesus dearly, and had proved their love by their service. Some of these women would be the first to receive the good news of Jesus' resurrection. But for now, they were standing and watching as Jesus died. Sometimes this is all that faithful followers can do. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – all four – mention that the women were there, so we know that this faithful attentiveness was significant to God. May we be faithful in the midst of times when we don't understand what is happening! May we be faithful to Jesus when all seems to be going wrong! May we continue to serve Him even when everything seems to be at an end! May we never turn away from Him. Ever.