Today in Mark 15: 33-41 we look at the death of Jesus:

33 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” 36 And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

40 There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

One of the things it’s easy to do, and frankly you want to do, is skip through this part and get to the good part.  Get to the resurrection.  We know it’s coming.  We know it’s almost there.  We know what happens.

I think because we know it, it’s easy for us to forget, they didn’t.  I mean, yeah, Jesus told them He would rise from the dead, He told them that He must die and be raised again, so they “knew” but they didn’t get it.

Can you imagine being them?  Can you imagine seeing Jesus breath His last before your very eyes, without really believing what is to come?

We see here so much.  We see the curtain torn within the Temple.  With that happening, no longer must you go to God through the priest, but now all of us, you, me, everyone, we have access to God. Through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, we all have access to the throne room of grace.

We see the fact that Roman centurion saw all that happened, and believed that Jesus was the Son of God.  No one does what Jesus did.  We all fight for our life, no one lays it down like Jesus did, to save the world.  If you ever want to know what love looks like, this right here.  If you ever doubt that you are loved, this right here.  If you ever feel as though no one cares, this right here.

One other thing, that to me, is truly beautiful about Christianity.  Look at who remained?  John’s Gospel tells us that he was there as well, but look.  It was the women.  They stayed.  When everyone else fled, they stayed.  And look what else the text tells us, they followed and provided for Jesus.

They were part of the team. They were valued.  They were important.  In that culture, that just wasn’t so.  That wasn’t the way that it worked.  But in Jesus’ kingdom, that’s the way that it works.  All are loved. All are valued.  All have a place.  Jesus died for all.  He died for the world.

And we see that today.

Yes, I know in a few days we’ll read about Easter.  But stay here for a while.  Remember what He did for us.  Remember what He endured for us. Remember.

And be thankful.

Friday we’ll look at Mark 15:42-47.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

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