Mark 15:33-38 The Death of Jesus

Joel and Mary Nadel, Covenant United Reformed Church

From: The Holy Bible and J.C. Ryle’s “Expository Comments on the Gospels - Mark”

House Rules: Phones, Respect, Stay on the Text

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Review

Begin with the start of Jesus’ earthly ministry

Message: “Repent and believe the Gospel” - the Gospel was Jesus life and death

Preached, taught, performed miracles for three years”

Now in Jerusalem to fulfill the Gospel promise - to die for our sins

Mark 15:33–38 NASB95

When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.” Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

Introduction

This text recounts the death of our Lord Jesus Christ

All deaths are solemn events, but nothing in our entire history is as important as this one

When Jesus drew His last breath, His work of atonement for the world’s sin was completed

The ransom for sinners was paid - the kingdom of heaven was opened to all believers

All of our solid hope that we have for our souls traces back to His “giving up the ghost” on that cross

First, let’s look at the visible signs and wonders that accompanied the Lord’s death

Mark, the writer, records two of these in particular that we need to take note of:

One is the darkening of the sun for three hours

The other is the tearing of the veil that divided the holy of holies from the holy place in the Temple

Both are miracles and both were deeply meaningful

God planned both to get the attention of the masses, who were in Jerusalem for the Passover feast

This would have gotten the attention of even Gentiles, like Pilate and the Roman soldiers

The torn veil would have struck even Annas and Caiaphas, the high priests, as well as their unbelieving colleagues

There were probably very few houses in Jerusalem that night, where people would not be saying “we have heard and seen strange things today

What did the darkness teach?

the great wickedness of the Jewish nation

They were actually crucifying their own Messiah - killing their own King

The sun itself hid its face from the sight - it taught the great sinfulness of sin in the eyes of God

Even the Son of God was left without the cheering light of day, when He was made sin for us, and carried our sins to the cross

What did the tearing of the veil mean?

It taught that all the Jewish ceremonial laws were accomplished

It taught that the way to God the Father (the holiest of holies) was now open to all, by the death of Christ

It taught that both Jews and Gentiles could now come boldly to God, through Jesus, our High Priest - that all obstacles between man and God were torn down.

There are practical lessons for us from the torn veil.

Those who would seek to return Jewish ceremonies - altars, sacrifices, and the priesthood, are attempting to close up that torn veil

There are practical lessons we can get from the miraculous darkness as well

It should help us to understand that the blackness of darkness is a place for all stubborn unbelievers

the Lord only stayed in the darkness for three hours - those who reject His sacrifice will die in their sin, and be in darkness forever.

Secondly, we should see how our Lord was made a curse for us, and He bore our sins

Mark 15:34 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?””

There is so much to take away from those words - they indicate a mental suffering that we cannot even imagine

The suffering of some of God’s holiest servants has been great on occasion, which might look like God’s blessing was being taken fro them

What about the pain of the holy Son of God - all the sin of the world was put on His head - He felt Himself found guilty, though without sin, He felt His Father’s face being turned away from Him

The pain and anguish He felt must have been beyond our understanding

We can believe it, but we cannot perfectly explain it

The thing that is very plain, is that you can’t explain these words at all, unless you accept that Christ was a sacrifice, a substitute for sinners

Some teach that Jesus was just a man, or that His death was a great example of self-sacrifice- this makes it impossible to understand His dying words at all

If He was just a man, He would seem less calm and patient in His dying hour than some martyrs or unbelieving philosophers

there is only one explanation, that Christ was a substitute for us on that cross

He cried out under the heavy weight of the world’s sin, that He took on Himself

Our last lesson is this: it is possible to be forsaken of God for a time, and still be loved by Him

There is no doubt of this, when you read the Lord’s dying words on the cross - He said to His father “why have you forsaken me?”, and still addressed Him as “my God”

We know as well that the Lord was only forsaken for a season and that even then, He was still the beloved Son in whom, even in His suffering and dying, the Father was “well pleased”.

There is deep message in this, which all Christians should note

The Lord’s feeling of being forsaken was unique to Him, since He was suffering for our sins and not His own

Even so, it remains a fact that Jesus, for a time, was forsaken by the Father and yet He was still the “beloved Son”

Just as it was with Jesus, it may happen in a modified sense to His followers

We too, though chosen and loved by the Father, may sometimes feel His face turned away from us

We, too, sometimes by sickness, sometimes by injury, sometimes by carelessness, or even by God’s sovereign will to draw us nearer, may want to cry out “My God, My God, why have your forsaken me?”

Its important, when we as believers feel “forsaken” to learn from our Lord’s experience and not give in to depression

No doubt we should not want to stay in this position though - we need to search or own hearts to see if there is some hidden thing that is causing us to feel that we are far from God

But its important to not get bitter and conclude that we are cast off forever, or that we are lying to ourselves about our salvation and have no grace

We need to wait on the Lord and say, as Job did, “though He slay me, I will hope in Him”

Is 50:10 “Who is among you that fears the Lord, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.”

Ps 42:11 “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”

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