April 14, 2001 Devotion

MARK 15 (Continued)
"Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may
see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him. And
when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land
until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud
voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being
interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
(vv 32-34)
Mark gives the crucifixion by the clock. On the third hour Jesus was put
on the cross, and at the sixth hour (which would be 12 noon) darkness
came down. The high noon sun was covered, and darkness came down over
the cross. From the sixth hour to the ninth hour, that would be until
three o'clock in the afternoon, there was darkness.

Notice that the first three hours were from 9:00 AM until 12 noon; the
second three hours were from 12 noon to 3:00 PM. Jesus hung on the cross
for six hours. In the first three hours there was physical light; in the
second three hours there was physical darkness. But in the first three
hours there was spiritual darkness; and in the second three hours there
was spiritual light! Why? Because in those first three hours man did his
worst. They crucified Him and reviled Him. In the first three hours man
was working, doing his very worst; in the second three hours God was
working. Jesus was suffering at the hands of man in the first three
hours; He was suffering FOR man in the last three hours. In the first
three hours He was dying because of sin; in the second three hours He
was dying for the sine of the world. So during the time of the physical
darkness, there was actually spiritual light and God was working. In
those first three hours sin was doing all it could to destroy Him; in
the second three hours Jesus is making His soul an offering for sin. In
those last three hours Jesus paid for the sins of the world. It is
during that time that He was made sin for us; He became sin for us. He
was forsaken of God and yet, even at that time, God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto Himself!

"And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil
of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom." (vv 37-38)
Jesus did not die because His bodily organs refused to function. He
surrendered up His spirit. Jesus gave up the ghost. He could not die
until He had given up His spirit ~ He dismissed His spirit. At that very
instant, the veil was torn in two. The veil speaks of the humanity of
Christ. (The Book Leviticus gives more understanding of the veil
because it has to do with the service in the tabernacle.) That veil
speaks of the humanity of Christ, and this carries a tremendous message.
The humanity of Christ, or the life of Christ, shuts us out from God.
His sinless life shows how sinful ours is! The minute He died, the veil
was rent. It is His death that brings us to God ~ not His life!
"And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the
linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of rock, and
rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre." (v 46)
The stone was rolled in place and was sealed. Roman soldiers guarded it
day and night. . . .

God Bless you today as you remember what "Easter" is truly about.

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