DAY #81: March 22, 2009 - Mark 15:22-41

Some scholars say Golgotha (translated Skull Hill) derived its name from its appearance, a hill with a stony top that might have been shaped like a skull. Golgotha is the Hebrew word for “skull.” The familiar name “Calvary” is derived from the Latin calvaria (also meaning “skull”). Golgotha may have been a regular place of execution in a prominent public place outside the city along a main road. Executions held there served as examples to the people and as a deterrent to criminals.

Mark’s words are simple and direct: They nailed him to the cross. Indeed, Mark’s Roman readers needed no elaborate description; they knew it all too well. Crucifixion, instituted by the Romans, was a feared and shameful form of execution. Death came by suffocation as the person lost strength and the weight of the body made breathing more and more difficult. Contrary to the discreet paintings of the Crucifixion, Jesus was crucified naked. Roman soldiers had the right to take for themselves the clothing of those crucified, so they gambled for Jesus’ clothes. This act had also been prophesied (Psalm 22:18).

An execution could provide hours of grisly entertainment for spectators. The Gospels describe various responses within the crowd as Jesus was dying. Some openly taunted him. His opponents gloated. Those who had the most information about Jesus rejected his claims, while one prisoner who had very little information placed his trust in him.

Jesus was placed on the cross at nine o’clock in the morning. A signboard stating the charge against him was fastened on his cross as a warning. Because Jesus was never found guilty, the only accusation placed on his sign was the “crime” of calling himself King of the Jews. This sign was meant to be ironic. A king, stripped and executed in public view, had obviously lost his kingdom forever. But Jesus, who turns the world’s wisdom upside down, was just coming into his Kingdom. His death and resurrection would strike the deathblow to Satan’s rule and would establish Christ’s eternal authority over the earth. Few people reading the sign that bleak day understood its real meaning, but the sign was absolutely true. Jesus is king of the Jews—and the Gentiles, and the whole universe.

When James and John had asked Jesus for the places of honor next to him in his Kingdom, Jesus had told them that they didn’t know what they were asking. Here, as Jesus was preparing to inaugurate his Kingdom through his death, the places on his right and on his left were taken by two criminals.

A person who wants to be close to Jesus must be prepared to suffer and die as he himself was doing. The way to the Kingdom is the way of the cross. If we want the glory of the Kingdom, we must be willing to be united with the crucified Christ. Insult was literally added to injury when it came to public crucifixion. People passing by shouted abuse at Jesus. They again used the twisted accusation that had been brought against Jesus at the council, taunting him that if he could boast of building the Temple in three days, surely he had the power to save himself from the fate of the cross. Ironically, Jesus was in the very process of fulfilling his own prophecy. His body was being destroyed, but in three days he would rise again. Because Jesus is the Son of God who always obeys the will of the Father, he did not come down from the cross to save himself. If he had done so, he could not have saved us.

Mark recorded the final scene of Jesus’ earthly life with graphic imagery. The dark sky was pierced by an anguished cry of abandonment. Those watching were gripped with awe. Jesus had been put on the cross at nine o’clock in the morning. Death by crucifixion was slow and excruciating, sometimes taking two or three days. Three hours passed while Jesus put up with abuse from bystanders. Then, at noon, darkness settled over the land for three hours. We do not know how this darkness occurred, but it is clear that God caused it. Nature testified to the gravity of Jesus’ death, while Jesus’ friends and enemies alike fell silent in the encircling gloom. The darkness on that Friday afternoon was both physical and spiritual. All nature seemed to mourn over the tragedy of the death of God’s Son.

Jesus did not ask this question in surprise or despair. He was quoting the first line of Psalm 22, a prophecy expressing the deep agony of the Messiah’s death for the world’s sin. Jesus knew that he would be temporarily separated from God the moment he took upon himself the sins of the world, because God cannot look on sin (Habakkuk 1:13). This separation was the “cup” Jesus dreaded drinking, as he prayed in Gethsemane. The physical agony was horrible, but the spiritual alienation from God was the ultimate torture. Jesus suffered this double death so that we would never have to experience eternal separation from God.

Jesus’ last words were, “It is finished!”. His work on the cross was complete. The Temple had three main parts—the courts, the Holy Place (where only the priests could enter), and the Most Holy Place, a place reserved by God for himself. It was in the Most Holy Place that the Ark of the Covenant, and God’s presence with it, rested. The room was entered only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, by the high priest as he made a sacrifice to gain forgiveness for the sins of all the nation (Leviticus 16:1-34). The curtain in the Temple was between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. Symbolically, the curtain separated the holy God from sinful people. By tearing the curtain in two, God showed that Christ had opened the way for sinful people to reach the Holy God.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

Eternal life in heaven with God is only possible because of the work that Jesus did on the cross. He did His all. What am I willing to do to get people into heaven? What price am I willing to make? What sacrifice is He calling me to bring in order for the work of God to be accomplished in the lives of people? Lord, today I say once again. I am yours. You name it and it is done.

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)

Lord, draw people to COV this morning. Draw people into a right relationship with you. Open their eyes. Open their hearts. Give our people courage and boldness and faith in greater measure everyday.