Mark 15:33-41"Jesus' Death"

Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!

So glad you could join us today!

Thank you for your support of our youth who went to Youth Camp this past week.

Be sure to connect with Elli, Kyla, or Justin after service today to hear about their experience and some highlights of their week.

Today is also Ethan’s last Sunday… for a season… tomorrow he and depart for Peru… NOT INDIANA… for him to enroll at Calvary Bible Institute.

Please be praying for Ethan… and for our family in this transition season.

And, please join us after Service for cake… and to lay hands on Ethan… to send him off in prayer…

Also, be praying for Ty and John Butcher as they will be preaching for us the next two weeks.

Well… let’s get into the word! Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 15. Mark 15:33-41 today.

We left off looking at the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It’s of the most difficult passages to behold.

On the Passover night… Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot…

Arrested by the Temple Guard as authorized by the Jewish High Council… the Sanhedrin…

Tried illegally by the same Council… and then by Pontius Pilate and Herod.

And brutally beaten throughout.

Pilate found no fault in Him, but caved to political pressures and what appeared to be a potential Jewish uprising…

As they shouted out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him” … and… “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend.”

So Pilate scourged and crucified Jesus… which Josephus called, "the most wretched of deaths."

But the writer of Hebrews said, “who for the the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.”

Joyfully… Jesus allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross… and hung in between two criminals.

And He did so with the greatest purpose one could have… to redeem the broken relationship between God and man caused by the fall… caused by sin.

1 Pet 3:18 reads, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit…”

There is nothing more noble… nothing more loving than when one pays the ultimate sacrifice to save their loved ones.

And, in love… Jesus did this for us.

Last week, we looked at the account of the thief on the cross…

A lost sheep found even during his dying moments.

And, today… we look at the statements of Jesus on the cross… the supernatural events during the crucifixion… and ultimately “Jesus’ Death”… our sermon title today.

A sober passage indeed… but when I preach next… Lord willing… we will behold His victory… His resurrection. Hallelujah!

Let’s Pray… and then get into the world!

Please rise in reverence for God’s word as I read our passage today!

Mark 15:33-41 “Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

35 Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” 36 Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”

37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.

38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”

40 There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, 41 who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.”

Praise God for His word. Please be seated.

V33 begins describing a darkness that unfolded over the whole land from the sixth to the ninth hours.

In Jewish reckoning, the sixth to the ninth hours is from noon to 3pm…

For three hours… there was darkness upon the land.

This was quite the tremendous scene… worth unpacking as we sometimes overlook the significance of these hours of darkness.

Beyond the Bible, ancient writings from Secular historians also document darkness during this time…

In a report from Pilate to Emperor Tiberius, Pilate assumed the Emperor was aware of a widespread darkness from 12:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon.

Greek historian, Phlegon of Tralles, around 137 A.D. wrote… “In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (i.e., 32 or 33 AD) there was ‘the greatest eclipse of the sun’ and that ‘it became night in the sixth hour of the day, so that stars even appeared in the heavens. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia [modern day Turkey], and many things were overturned in Nicaea.’ [also Turkey].”

Now while this secular historian wrote of this darkness… and an earthquake… which when the veil was torn, Matthew 27:51 documented, “the earth quaked, and the rocks were split...”

So, while it is interesting that this independent secular account corroborates the biblical account of darkness and an earthquake…

There is an error in Phelgon’s record. You see… he assumed the darkness was from a great “eclipse of the sun,” BUT that cannot be… because Jesus was crucified during Passover…

And, the date of Passover… varies based on the first full moon in the Hebrew month of Nisan (Nye-san)… our March/ April time frame.

And, a solar eclipse cannot happen during a full moon…

A solar eclipse happens NOT during a full moon, but during a new moon (when the moon passes between the sun and Earth).

If you recall, back in April 2024… there was a total solar eclipse… and to be in the path of totality… you had to travel to designated areas.

I went with students and teachers from Warsaw High School… and it was absolutely amazing.

If you missed it… the next one to appear in Indiana will be around 2099…

If the rapture doesn’t occur… my son Tim will be 86 at that time… he might see it.

You and I though… we will most likely be home with the Lord!

Now… to see that eclipse back in April… we had to travel South… and we went to Taylor University because … again… there was a PATH of totality. The full effect of the eclipse was localized…

In contrast, when Jesus hung on the cross the darkness stretched far beyond Jerusalem… Matthew and Mark record this darkness was, “over all the land”… land in Gk. gē means “earth, soil.”

This darkness was not localized, but over all the earth.

Luke 23:44 “…there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.”

The whole earth was dark as Jesus hung on the cross.

Not to mention that the darkness described in the Bible lasted for 3 hours…

NASA looked back to 4000 B.C. and projected forward to a hypothetical date of 8000 A.D. … and wrote, “…the longest total solar eclipse will occur on July 16, 2186, and will last 7 minutes 29 seconds.”

NOT 3 hours, but 7.5 minutes max. Totality for the eclipse we saw last April was about 4 minutes.

This darkness could NOT be an eclipse… this was supernatural darkness over the face of the earth as Jesus hung on the cross.

It was as if creation itself joined His agonizing.

Our minds should be reminded of other Biblical scenes where supernatural darkness was present…

During the Exodus… the Ninth Plague in Egypt was darkness… Exo 10:21 reads “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.”

That darkness was also described as “thick darkness.” They could not see one another… and did not leave their homes for three days.

What is that like?

I can think of times I’ve visited underground caverns… and they turn off the lights and not a peep of light is present.

You can’t see your hand in front of your face. And, that’s the best I got… it was dark… I’m not sure I felt the darkness… it was not supernatural.

And, it was expected, we were underground and they turned off the lights…

But, during mid-day… from high noon till 3pm… this was totally unexpected… totally abnormal.

Even during the Eclipse… in totality… it was dark, but not “thick darkness.”

We could see one another.

So, when God brings darkness, like in Exodus, it’s beyond our experience…

We also see darkness… looking forward… in the future 7-year tribulation… the Fifth Bowl judgment.. Rev 16:10 “Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast [antichrist], and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.”

What’s interesting… is that both in Exodus and Revelation… supernatural darkness was present, BUT it was localized… to the Egyptians and to the kingdom of Antichrist.

When Jesus hung on the cross… it was felt by all globally… which was appropriate… because sin from the beginning has effected all humanity… and all creation.

Beyond the past and the future… darkness will also be reality for some eternally.

Hell … eternal separation from God is sometimes described as “outer darkness.”

In the Parable of the Talents… Jesus said in Matt 25:30 “And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Hell is described… in part… as the absence of light.

How does that work?… knowing there is also fire which brings light… a lake of fire… and yet darkness.

I cannot grasp it.

But, thematically… darkness, throughout the Bible, is associated with sin and judgment…

And, as Jesus drinks the cup of God’s wrath on sin… darkness is the backdrop.

Which should not have been a surprise… for darkness was foretold prophetically by Amos the prophet about 780 years prior to the cross.

Amos 8:9-10 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord GOD, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight; 10 I will turn your feasts into mourning [It was Passover], And all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, And baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, And its end like a bitter day.”

Is that not what transpired at the crucifixion?

Spurgeon had many quotes and sermons about this darkness at the cross… it seemed to move him…

Once he preached… “The darkness never came to an end until the Lord Jesus broke the silence. All had been still, and the darkness had grown terrible. At last he spoke, and his voice uttered a psalm. It was the twenty-second Psalm. “My God,” he says, “my God, why have you forsaken me?”

That quote is a great segue from the darkness to Jesus crying out…

And, in V34 of Mark 15 records Jesus saying “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”… Eloi is Aramaic.

Matthew 27:46 has him saying, “Eli, Eli...” which is Hebrew.

Both mean “My God”… Matthew uses Hebrew for his Jewish audience… and Mark uses a more common tongue for his Roman audience.

And, lit. the phrase could be rendered… “My God, My God, for what reason have you forsaken Me?”

Now… a Jew hearing this would have their minds drawn to Psalm 22.

Ps 22:1 reads, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?”

Martin Luther was said to be so struck by Jesus statement here… that he sat for the better part of the day in a stupor... contemplating it… to the point the people close to him thought he had a stroke… but after some 8 hours or so he stood and said, “God forsaking God, who can understand it?”

And, in one sense… we know at this time there were no chapter and verse breaks… so Jesus draws His Jewish onlookers to Ps 22… a highly messianic psalm that vividly describes these scenes… and even “pierced hands and feet”… crucifixion…

There minds should be drawn to this Psalm realizing it was fulfilled in their midst…

But their eyes were spiritually dull… spiritually blind.

The same plague exists today… where truth and evidence of Jesus is so obvious, but calloused hearts… and defiant minds refuse to tear down their high places of worship and to worship the ONE TRUE GOD.

Beyond Jesus drawing His listeners to Psalm 22… this is not only a quote, but also a deep personal cry.

It was not a simple reference to turn back to Psalm 22 that deeply impacted Martin Luther, but it was the enigma of what happened in these moments.

Jesus cries out, “My God, My God…” which is very unique and unusual because Jesus previously addressed His “Father” in His prayers… but here as the darkness prevails and judgment on sin is exacted…

He addresses NOT His “Father”, but cries out “My God…”

We have never seen Jesus like this…

Many times Jesus was in dangerous situations…

The people of Nazareth attempted to throw Him from a cliff, but He slipped away…

Religious leaders cast many accusations… and desired to cast stones… but He disarmed them with wisdom.

Twice the sea billowed and rolled, but He silenced the storms with just a word.

Many times… Jesus was in peril, but He was calm and in control… He didn’t seem to worry much about anything.

In fact He taught, “Do not worry about your life...” “Do not worry about tomorrow...”

But in this darkness… something happens… on the cross a unique experience happens that had never happened before… nor will ever since…

And I don’t dare to presume to fully comprehend it…

But, there is some emotion observed in Jesus that we see now for the first time…

And, we stand at a disadvantage in our humanity to truly comprehend what transpired here…

Like writers of old who attempt to describe God with human words and fall short…

We can say it appears as if… Jesus is perhaps fearful or anxious… is this a panic moment as there is a separation between Him and the Father?

Something has changed in their relationship… and it triggers an emotional response where He cries out to His God attempting to understand WHY.

To live a perfect life in full obedience of the Father’s will…

To have been with God in the beginning and to have always been one with God and to be God… (John 1:1)…

And, then to be divided… We have no experience that is so united… and so eternal… and stretches before existence to even compare.

“God forsaking God, who can understand it?”

One more from Spurgeon… He preached, “It was not the crown of thorns, or the scourge, or the cross which made him cry, but the darkness, the awful darkness of desertion which oppressed his mind and made him feel like one distraught. All that could comfort him was withdrawn, and all that could distress him was piled upon him.”

During this darkness was when God judged the sin of mankind and laid it on His Son.

And, Jesus cried out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

One additional consideration before we move forward… isn’t it amazing that the darkness was from noon to 3… just 3 hours…

And, whether it was the full three hours or just three minutes… the realization of separation from communing with the Father caused a massive stir in Jesus.

How long would it take for you and I to feel the same?

Would we come to this place of crying out to God after 3 hours?

Some of us could go three days… or three weeks… before we start the realize the spiritual drought that is in our lives from being unplugged from the vine.

Sometimes we get so distracted by the world… and we have a tendency to drift…

Heb 2:1 exhorts, “… we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”

Because we do… we drift from all that is good if we do not abide in the vine.

I think this idea is a good way to take your spiritual pulse.

How long would it take me… before I am distraught by feeling disconnected from God?

It took no more than 3 hours for Jesus to come to this place. Amazing.

God help us to desire nothing more than communing with you… and forgive us when we fail.

Mark continues in vv 35-36 “Some of those who stood by [those standing by I take as Jewish onlookers], when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” 36 Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”

As Jesus cries out… some misunderstood Jesus words and think He is crying out for Elijah…

Carson wrote of a Jewish tradition that Elijah would come and rescue the righteous in their distress…

Which is captured more clearly in Matthew’s more Jewish rendition of the Gospel… Matthew 27:49 records “The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.”

It’s understandable why Jesus was misunderstood… even on a normal day… if one went hours without water… which I imagine to be the case… I don’t imagine Rome extending the small mercy of a cool glass of water…

Even on a normal day… one would be parched… even dehydrated from lack of water intake…

However, this was NO Normal day for Jesus… He had been beaten… especially… He had been scourged… and the amount of blood loss from the scourging greatly would increase dehydration.

And, with dehydration… the tongue sticks to the roof of the mouth…

When a loved one is hospitalized oral swabs are used to help with dry mouth…

So, in V36, someone runs to fetch “sour wine” for Jesus…

Don’t confuse the sour wine with the “wine mingled with myrrh” in V23 which Jesus refused.

Previously, Jesus was offered an anesthetic concoction prior to the cross… to dull His senses… that He did not take…

Here… this is just sour wine… wine vinegar… a poor wine… not tasty, but would aid the thirst of the dying.

And, notice they put the sour wine on hyssop… a common bushy plant that can act like a paint brush.

Hyssop is mentioned in Leviticus and Numbers… to be used with various rites of purification.

David spoke of hyssop in Ps 51… in relation to spiritual purification.

But, most interesting is the connection to hyssop with the original Passover...

Exo 12:21-22 “Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin.”

Hyssop was used to strike the blood of the lamb on the two doorposts and lintel… blood on the top, bottom, left and right.... forming a cross.

And, on the cross “Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”…

I like this quote from CompellingTruth.org in relation to hyssop at the two most significant Passovers, “Much like the first Passover, when hyssop was used to spread the purifying blood of the lamb upon the Israelite's doorpost, hyssop is used here as Jesus bleeds out the blood that would purify and atone for our sins for eternity. Just as hyssop aided in spreading the blood of a sacrificial life to save the Israelites at the first Passover, hyssop aided in the shedding of Jesus' blood at the cross to save the world from their sins. This last use of hyssop at the cross eradicated the need for its ceremonial use of purification. Jesus' sacrifice upon the cross is the only purification we need to be right with God and live with Him for eternity.”

And, Jesus offered Himself freely for salvation for all who believe… for all who accept the free gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

If you’ve never confessed Jesus as Lord… time in short… and life if but a vapor… we are not promised tomorrow…

Pray with me or an elder today before you leave and make today your day of salvation.

Say ‘yes’ to Jesus today.

Now… what’s truly fascinating… is during this time where Jesus is misunderstood to be crying out to Elijah… Jesus makes His fifth of seven proclamations from the cross… “I thirst!”

And, then one runs to get Jesus a sponge of wine vinegar

This scene not only reminds us that Jesus suffered in His humanity… and can identify with suffering humanity…

And, that He took on the full weight of the cross and God’s wrath on sin…

But, what I find very profound is what John records around Jesus’ statement, “I thirst.”

John 19:28 records, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!””

He who offers ‘living water’ is now dying of thirst. Striking.

And, scripture is fulfilled… Ps 22:15 states, “My tongue clings to My jaws…”

And, fulfilled prophecy is always fascinating…

David, filled with the Spirit, pens Psalm 22 some 1000 years prior to the cross…

God weaves the supernatural… fulfilled prophecy… into the future timeline unfolding at the Cross…

Always fascinating.

But, even beyond all this… what grabbed me further… is that John wrote… ‘Jesus knew all things were now accomplished’… then He said, “I thirst!”

Jesus is still alive at this point… He has not yet died… and all things were now accomplished.

Whatever happened in the darkness… as Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Coming out of the darkness… even prior to death… “Jesus knew all things were now accomplished.”

How comforting for Jesus to know that the way for mankind’s redemption was completed.

To be able to exit life knowing there were no loose ends… no unfulfilled duties…

What He came to do was accomplished… and now as Jesus is given sour wine, it gives Him just enough moisture to cry out His final two sayings, “It is finished!” and "Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ”

Mark simply records this riveting moment in V37 as “And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.”

I very much appreciate that John recorded for us in John 19:30 “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!”

In Gk this phrase is a single word… “Tetelestai” which can mean “to bring to an end… to complete… to fulfill.”

In ancient times… papyri receipts for taxes have been found with these same words… and were given when the tax debt was “paid in full.”

And, as Jesus comes out of the darkness… He knows the debt from sin… a debt that mankind could never pay… was “paid in full.”

The tensing implies… Jesus is saying it has been finished… and it always will be finished.

There is nothing temporary about His proclamation…

Redemption of mankind had come to completion.

This is good news… Jesus said, “It is finished.”

He did NOT say, “I am finished.” He did NOT say, “You are finished.”

He said, “It is finished.” Tetelestai… paid in full.

Jesus did not say, “It is finished, plus...”

Baptism… or speaking in tongues… or good works…

Nothing is added to His statement… the debt was paid and salvation comes by faith alone… through grace alone… in Christ alone.

Every legalist that wants to add to Jesus’ words here… calls Him a liar.

There is nothing to add… what could the thief on the cross add?

All he could do was profess Jesus as “Lord” and “King.”

He did both… and, on this very same day Jesus promised… “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Confidently… Jesus could lay out this promise to the thief… and confidently Jesus could proclaim, “It is finished.”

Luke alone records Jesus’ final… His seventh statement on the cross… Luke 23:46 “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.”

No longer does Jesus cry out “My God, My God...”

Once again He prayed to the Father.

Not only is the relationship between the Father and the Son restored…

But, now a door is open for us to commune with the Father.

Notice… No one took Jesus’ life… He laid it down…

Matthew records Jesus “… yielded up His spirit.”

John wrote, “And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”

Jesus was in total control… even in the moment when He chose to yield… meaning “to send away”… His spirit.

Again, Luke recorded Jesus said “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ”

And, Psalm 31:5 reads, “Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.”

In the midst of adversity, David penned those words… he rested in… and trusted in God as his rock and his fortress… his defense.

And, Jesus holds this same confidence to yield His spirit to He who is trustworthy.

And, anyone who suffers for the name of Christ… and has faith in God… can pray to the Father… and trust the problem is in His hands… and He is faithful.

1 Pet 4:19 reads, “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”

“Commit” is an accounting term… meaning “to deposit or entrust.”

Should we face persecution and suffering in this increasingly wicked world… remember to commit your soul to Him… for He is a faithful Creator…

As Jesus commits His soul to the Father and breaths His last… V38 of Mark 15 records, “Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”

Matt 27:51-53 gives greater detail, “Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection [so not during the scene of the cross, but Jewish OT saints rise after His resurrection as a testimony to Jesus’ victory over death… and as a testimony to the resurrection], they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”

So, on top of darkness… now the veil torn, an earthquake erupts, rocks split, plus the walking dead.

How blind must one be to not believe?

Sadly, we do NOT read of a great revival amongst the nation of Israel…

We will only read about one Roman Centurion who turned to God.

Not all the Gospel writers recorded all these details, but all three synoptic writers record that the “veil was torn in two.”

Thus, this is a significant detail.

I have a slide of Solomon’s Temple and you can see that the veil separated the Holy of Holies (where the Ark of the Covenant stood) from the Holy Place.

This veil was massive… you think curtains are expensive today… well according to 1Ki 6:2… Solomon’s Temple was about 30 feet wide and 45 feet high, so the veil would be close to these dimensions.

And, Herod’s temple was even bigger… about 60 feet high. That’s a large curtain.

The thickness of the veil is not explicitly stated in the Bible, but Jewish tradition holds it is about a handbreath (9cm or about 3.5 inches).

Josephus stated the veil was 4 inches thick.

Now here’s what’s significant about all of this… the point…

The whole layout of the temple was situated like a big “Keep out” sign.

If you were diseased, you couldn’t come in the city.

If you were a Gentile, you could go no further then the court of the Gentiles…

Signs literally hung telling Gentiles upon threat of death to ‘Keep out’ of the Temple…

“Keep out or we’ll throw rocks at you!” Something like that...

Inside the Temple, there were further divisions… The Court of the Women… Jewish women could only go that far.

Then the Priest’s Courtyard and Israelite’s Courtyard...Jewish men could go no further..

Priests could enter into the Holy Place, but not behind the veil to the Holy of Holies.

And, once a year… only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies behind the veil to atone for the sins of the nation.

This is the same veil that was torn in two from top to bottom upon Jesus’ death…

60 feet high… some 4 inches thick… torn from top to bottom.

No doubt… this was the hand of God.

No man tore that veil. A strong man can tear a telephone book… and bend iron…

No strong man is making it passed all the Jews… climbing a ladder 60’ high and ripping the veil in the temple.

This was God.

And, just imagine the sound. Think about the sound of a shirt ripping…

The sound had to have been tremendous.

I wonder how many of the priests that witnessed this are those we read about later in the Book of Acts who come to the faith.

But, initially… it’s said they sewed the veil back up after this... they wanted the veil… they wanted separation…

The ‘Keep out’ tradition was too ingrained in them…

Their message was ‘God’s not approachable!’

But, when God tore the veil… He sent a clear message… no longer is there a wall of separation… Come in! Come to Me!

Eph 2:14, speaking of Jesus, states, “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation...”

No more veil. Open access.

1 Tim 2:5 reads, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus...”

You can come to God wherever and whenever… you don’t need me… you don’t need a priest for confession… you just need Jesus.

Heb 4:16 reads, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

No veil… no priest… simply Jesus. Just go boldly to God. The veil was torn.

This too is good news… and we say ‘Praise you Jesus.’

Well… the nation of Israel may not have been moved by all of these supernatural events, but the heart of at least one Roman was moved…

Mark 15:39 records, “So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”

This was a battle hardened warrior… a captain of a hundred men… and his heart was able to recognize that all the supernatural events surround Jesus’ death… were not random, but LINKED to what was transpiring with Jesus on the cross and His death.

Of this Centurion, Luke wrote, “… he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

I think this Centurion was saved… I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him in heaven.

You can ask him of this time… imagine his testimony… what he saw on the cross… how nature cried out…

… how Jesus died much sooner than the average of a few day, but in just hours…

I look forward to that conversation…

I might even ask, “Were you one of the soldiers that spit on Jesus?”

“Me… oh no… that was another guy. That was Fred. Frederico.”

It was also during this time, that John 19:31-37 recorded this important scene…

“Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. [they want to get the show on the road… Sabbath approached… so they request breaking their legs so the three on the cross would suffocate and die quickly. Don’t want to spoil the Sabbath. Crazy hypocrisy.] 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. [V44 or Mark 15 recorded “Pilate marveled that He was already dead.” Jesus died in hours when it usually took days, but keep in mind… they did not kill Him… He yielded His spirit] 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. [Indicating either that Jesus died of a broken heart and His pericardium was full of blood and serum -or- His stomach was also pierced accounting for the flow] 35 And he who has seen has testified, [John speaking of himself] and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” [Ps 34:20 “He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.” Ps 22:17 “I can count all My bones.”] 37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” [Zech 12:10]

So many prophecies fulfilled in the life and death of Jesus Christ.

One must be very spiritually blind or hard hearted NOT to connect the dots.

And, the death of Jesus… the supernatural events… this impacted the onlookers…

The Nation as a whole doesn’t turn to Christ, but I imagine some of the people present would turn to Him shortly after Pentecost… as we read in the early chapters of Acts.

I say this because Luke records after the Centurion proclaimed Jesus as righteous and the Son of God…

Luke 23:48 reads, “And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.”

This beating of the breasts is a sign of mourning.

The tax collector who stood afar off and could not even look up to heaven as he prayed… he beat his chest as well.

They were impacted. They were overcoming with sorrow…

I wonder how many of them yelled out “Crucify Him, crucify Him.”

But, now their hearts have repented.

Worship team please come… and we’ll wrap up in vv 40-41…

Amongst the onlookers were some of Jesus’ faithful disciples… the women… who are here at the cross… and will be the first to the empty tomb… and the first to see the resurrected Lord.

These women were, no doubt, such a blessing the the Lord.

Mark 15:40-41 reads “There were also women looking on from afar [no doubt heartbroken; probably far off because it was illegal to mourn those executed under Roman law.], among whom were Mary Magdalene [Mary of Magdala who Jesus cast out seven demons], Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, 41 who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee [faithfully following Him all that distance; blessed to hear His teachings, and witness the miracles], and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.”

Women had an important role in the ministry of Jesus Christ.

They ministered to Jesus… Gk. diakŏnŏs… where we get our word “deacon.”

They cared for the needs of Jesus… they were present at the cross… at the burial, and the first at His resurrection.

The men were hiding, except for John… he was present in this scene… where Jesus… even on the cross… cared for those He loved… John 19 “Woman [Mary], behold your son…[John] behold your mother.”

So, only John was present, but the women… they were bold and they were present.

In a society that overlooked women, neither Jesus, nor the Holy Spirit did… these women are forever carved into Scripture.

Read ahead… when I teach next… in a few weeks… Jesus burial and resurrection. Victory over the grave!

Let’s Pray!

Don’t forget… today is Ethan’s last day with us for a season.

-Please join us for cake and to lay hands on him, pray, and send him off to Peru, South America.

If you need prayer, please come and pray with our Elders and pray team who are coming forward.

“The LORD bless you and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’

God bless your week ahead!