Day 6: Jesus Dies
Mark 15:33-35 (ESV)
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”
And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
There are moments in life when the light goes out and all is dark. Sometimes it’s sudden, the phone call in the middle of the night that upends everything and snuffs the light out in our lives. Sometimes it’s a slow dimming, the helpless feeling we get as we realize that the countless prayers for the healing of a loved one aren’t going to be answered the way we hoped. There are times when our souls cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” and it feels like all is lost.
On a spring day in the early first century, the entire universe experienced this moment. The light of the noonday sun was overcome as the darkest moment in all of history occurred.
Just days before the light was shining bright as Jesus made a triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The disciples were full of hope that the Light of World was about to shine forth and bring His people out of darkness. They never thought that the darkness could touch the Light until the unthinkable happened. On a hill outside of Jerusalem, the Light of the World went out.
But it is in the darkness that the new day begins. In the Bible, the new day begins not at sunrise, but at sunset – and there was evening and morning the first day (Gen 1:5). The Sabbath, the rest of God, begins at sunset on Friday. The gateway to God’s rest opens in the darkness.
I have known seasons of darkness. I’ve known the sudden and the slow. I’ve known the darkness that descends from outside and the darkness that overwhelms from within. More than likely, I’ll know them again. While I will never love the darkness, I no longer fear it. I’ve come to know and learned to trust that the darkness means only that another curtain is being wrent; another barrier between me and new life in God’s presence is being torn down; another gateway is being open to a new day. This doesn’t turn the darkness into light, we must still travel through the hours of dark to reach the new day, but we can do so with knowledge that there is a new day of rest and peace on the other side of the darkness.
Day 8: Jesus is Resurrected!
Matthew 28:1-10 (ESV) Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the...
Raised Forever
Easter is the celebration of all celebrations! Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death and is raised to life. The resurrection of Jesus is not some legend that has been passed down through the ages meant to give us an excuse for another holiday. In Easter we see the...
Day 7: Jesus’ Body is Taken Down From the Cross
Mark 15:42-47 (ESV) And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and...
Day 5: Jesus’ Garments Are Divided
John 19:23-25 (ESV) When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not...
Day 4: Jesus and Simon Are Made to Carry the Cross
John 19:17 (ESV) and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. Matthew 27:32-34 (ESV) As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. And...
Day 3: Jesus is Mocked and Tortured
Matthew 27:27-31 (ESV) Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his...
Day 2: Jesus is Condemned
Matthew 27:15-26 (ESV) Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for...
Day 1: Jesus is Arrested and Tried
Mark 15:1-5 (ESV) And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And...
A Hallelujah Holiday
Keeping the Savior at the CenterWhen many of us think Easter, egg hunts and chocolate bunnies immediately come to mind. True, many of today’s Easter festivities focus more around the coming of spring than the resurrection of our Savior, but the heart of the holiday...