The Death of Jesus
The Death of Jesus
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
Reflection:
Today, we have the account of Jesus' last three hours. And as the Son of God ended his time being incarnated as a human being, the significance of his death caused great reaction in Creation. For three hours there was darkness over the whole land, commonly called an "eclipse", but the timing and length show Creation's reaction to what was happening on the earth that day. Perhaps this was a sign from heaven of the great final battle Jesus had with Satan and the spirits of evil whom have been against him from the beginning. The absence of light, also symbolizes the sense of Jesus battling sin, death and the power of the devil in these last hours. At other moments of temptation and trial, Jesus was alone and yet some angels came to encourage him. At this moment Jesus was fully alone and taking on the sin of the world and most of all utterly forsaken by His Father as God laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Notice Jesus does not cry out at all of the barbarous torture done to him by men, but only calls out when he feels forsaken by His Father. This was the supreme height of his suffering, when the One who had sent Him, the One who had been with him at every step of His ministry was gone. Not that God the Father still didn't love Jesus, and not that Jesus was any less divine in this moment, but the fact is Jesus died on the cross utterly alone, stripped of everything he could rely on or find comfort in. Jesus was utterly alone when He took on the sins of the world and became a curse for us. And the greatest suffering by far was Jesus feeling forsaken by His God and Father, which is why he cried out, "My God, my God, why have thou forsaken me!"
Creation was so grieved that it became dark, and then when he gave up his spirit the earth shook, the rocks split and many things happened. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This was the same curtain that separated anyone but the most High priest from the most holy place where God dwelt at certain times. The tearing of the temple was a sign that Jesus' death forever changed God's relationship to mankind through Jesus' death. Jesus provided a way for sinful men and women to come into God's presence and be one with Him through his death on the cross.
And also something else amazing happened. The bodies of many holy people were raised to life and subsequently came out of the tombs and appeared to people after Jesus' resurrection! This was a sign that death had been conquered. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
As Martin Luther said, "Jesus' death purchased for us victory over sin, death and the power of the devil!" And who were the only ones of his followers left? The two Mary's and the Mother of James and John, usually named as Salome. Sometimes they are called the "three Mary's" as Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee is sometimes called Mary Salome. Whatever the case, at the end of the day they were the only trace of Jesus' followers left, and had come to care for his needs at his death. Along with Simon of Cyrene who carried Jesus' cross, they are part of the unsung heroes who we really don't hear much about except for this chapter.
At the end of the day, Jesus experienced something we will never experience, total abandonment by God. No matter what we go through, Jesus promises us that He will never leave or forsake us even as we die some day. Jesus has connected us to the Father's love forever, and as we come to faith and are baptized we are part of of the family of God and are given the Holy Spirit, which draws us into the fellowship of the God! And we pray that all those we love would be reconciled to God through Christ, who made all of this possible through his suffering, death and resurrection! Amen.
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
Reflection:
Today, we have the account of Jesus' last three hours. And as the Son of God ended his time being incarnated as a human being, the significance of his death caused great reaction in Creation. For three hours there was darkness over the whole land, commonly called an "eclipse", but the timing and length show Creation's reaction to what was happening on the earth that day. Perhaps this was a sign from heaven of the great final battle Jesus had with Satan and the spirits of evil whom have been against him from the beginning. The absence of light, also symbolizes the sense of Jesus battling sin, death and the power of the devil in these last hours. At other moments of temptation and trial, Jesus was alone and yet some angels came to encourage him. At this moment Jesus was fully alone and taking on the sin of the world and most of all utterly forsaken by His Father as God laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Notice Jesus does not cry out at all of the barbarous torture done to him by men, but only calls out when he feels forsaken by His Father. This was the supreme height of his suffering, when the One who had sent Him, the One who had been with him at every step of His ministry was gone. Not that God the Father still didn't love Jesus, and not that Jesus was any less divine in this moment, but the fact is Jesus died on the cross utterly alone, stripped of everything he could rely on or find comfort in. Jesus was utterly alone when He took on the sins of the world and became a curse for us. And the greatest suffering by far was Jesus feeling forsaken by His God and Father, which is why he cried out, "My God, my God, why have thou forsaken me!"
Creation was so grieved that it became dark, and then when he gave up his spirit the earth shook, the rocks split and many things happened. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This was the same curtain that separated anyone but the most High priest from the most holy place where God dwelt at certain times. The tearing of the temple was a sign that Jesus' death forever changed God's relationship to mankind through Jesus' death. Jesus provided a way for sinful men and women to come into God's presence and be one with Him through his death on the cross.
And also something else amazing happened. The bodies of many holy people were raised to life and subsequently came out of the tombs and appeared to people after Jesus' resurrection! This was a sign that death had been conquered. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
As Martin Luther said, "Jesus' death purchased for us victory over sin, death and the power of the devil!" And who were the only ones of his followers left? The two Mary's and the Mother of James and John, usually named as Salome. Sometimes they are called the "three Mary's" as Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee is sometimes called Mary Salome. Whatever the case, at the end of the day they were the only trace of Jesus' followers left, and had come to care for his needs at his death. Along with Simon of Cyrene who carried Jesus' cross, they are part of the unsung heroes who we really don't hear much about except for this chapter.
At the end of the day, Jesus experienced something we will never experience, total abandonment by God. No matter what we go through, Jesus promises us that He will never leave or forsake us even as we die some day. Jesus has connected us to the Father's love forever, and as we come to faith and are baptized we are part of of the family of God and are given the Holy Spirit, which draws us into the fellowship of the God! And we pray that all those we love would be reconciled to God through Christ, who made all of this possible through his suffering, death and resurrection! Amen.
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