Mark 15 - 2.29.24
S –34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? (which means “My god, my God, why have you forsaken me?). Mark 15:34
O – After all the events had happened just the way Jesus had told them they would, His disciple betraying him, another denying Him, He was then handed over to be crucified. Even though Pilate gave the Jews a choice of prisoners to release, knowing Jesus was innocent, they chose Jesus. They mocked him, beat him, spit on him and nailed him to a cross.
A – There is so much to talk about in this chapter, but two things stick out to me today.
One is that we complain about so many things; so much that is unjust in our lives, and in our world. We complain about giving our time and attention to others because we are too busy or overwhelmed. We are tired, broke and in pain, yada yada yada. But if we think about what Jesus did for us… really take the time to think about it, perhaps we’d shut up?! Or rather we should. Maybe that’s harsh, but as a Christian and a follower of Christ, we have nothing to complain about! And I’m speaking to myself here. Jesus endured everything He did as a completely innocent man….FOR us, who are NOT innocent in any way! He is the leader who paved the way and made the ultimate sacrifice for us. We are His followers and nothing we endure will EVER be comparable to what He endured. Because of us, He had to be separated from the Father for that moment He took on our sins, and Because of Him, we never have to be separated from the Father. There is no sacrifice that we must make to be with Him AND we get to be in eternity in heaven with Him, which none of us deserve.
The second thing is something that has always stood out to me because as we just read in Mark 14, Jesus KNEW He was going to be arrested, tortured, beat, and killed on the cross. He was willing to make that sacrifice all along, yet in this one moment it’s as if He is wondering why this was happening and that never made sense to me. I did some digging in gotquestions.org and found some things to help clarify.
In those awful moments, as evil men were allowed to do whatever they wanted to Jesus, our Lord expressed His feelings of abandonment. He did not ask why God was forsaking Him out of surprise. He knew in His mind that he would be separated from God. However, in that moment, the pain of being separated from His Father, as God placed the sins of the world on His Son, Jesus felt the desolation of being unconscious of His Father’s presence. He knew it was coming but perhaps did not expect to feel disconnected from the Father and that was a pain ultimately worse than the physical pain.
Isaiah 53:4-5 Surely, he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us He was made a sin offering, and He died in our place, on our account, that He might bring us near to God.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
I don’t think we can ever grasp what that felt like to Jesus. He was the one being who had direct communication and access to God all His life, and suddenly could not feel God’s presence. What despair that would have felt like.
P – Thank you God that I, we, NEVER have to be separated from you. Thank you for the ultimate sacrifice of your beloved son! Thank you that you are with us in all that we do, and in every difficult and joyful circumstance. You protect us, rejoice with us, comfort and love us today, tomorrow, and always. Thank you that there is nothing that I must endure to be in your presence or to spend eternity with you. Help me Lord when I am feeling sorry for myself and my circumstances to remember that Jesus already paid it all for me and there is nothing on earth that I need to fear, worry, or complain about. Thank you that in a world that can feel so chaotic that I can live in the peace of knowing you are with me always. Amen!
- Crystal Flory
