Marcos 15

Marcos 15

Ironside - "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?—Mark 15:33, 34. In considering the sufferings of our Lord on the cross, it is important to remember that the six hours during which He hung upon the cross were divided into two parts. From the third hour (9 a. m.) to the sixth hour (noon) the sun was shining down upon the scene. During these hours the emphasis is put upon His sufferings at the hands of sinful men. Nothing that man could do to or against Him had anything to do with making atonement for sin. But from the sixth to the ninth hour (3 p. m.) darkness enshrouded the scene, and the Son of Man was hidden from the eyes of the throngs gathered about the cross, while God was dealing with Him about our sins. Then He was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). Then the bitter cup was pressed to His lips, and He drained it to the dregs. His awful cry of agony and abandonment, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" tells us as nothing else could something of what it meant for Him, the Holy One, to stand before God as our Surety and to bear the judgment which our sins deserved. "Should worldly pleasures so attract, The vision of my soul to dim, Lord, lead me back to Calvary, That I'll again remember Him. Should I my love for souls thus lose, Thy claims, Thy cause, Thy call neglect, And other friends and interests choose, May I not then Thy thorns forget. Should bright success or weary toil, Thy dealings, or Thy firm commands, Tempt me to boast or to complain, Show me Thy bleeding feet and hands. —T. J. Bach. Lawrence Richards - DEVOTIONAL Why? (Mark 15:21–41) As Jesus died, He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (v. 34) These words are undoubtedly the most mysterious in Scripture. It’s not that we can’t grasp what they mean. Some, of course, say the words reflect the pained surprise of a God-intoxicated man, who finally realized that God would not lift Him from the cross. But the New Testament gives us a better explanation. Paul said that Jesus was made “sin for us” (2 Cor. 5:21). In a moment of time, the dammed-up flood of human sin was released, and cascaded with awful force upon and into the Son of God. In that moment, when the Son of God became sin for us, the Father looked away. For the first and only time in all eternity, within the matrix of the one God, Father and Son were brutally torn apart. So we do know what the words mean. What we can never understand is what the experience they represent meant to Father and to Son. We can never plumb the depths of Jesus’ anguish, or sense the waves of pain that echoed out through all eternity. We can never envision the corrosive scars that sin engraved on sinlessness. All we can do is stand at the foot of the cross, hear that cry, and realize that what Jesus did for us cost Him more than we can begin to imagine. And say, “Thank You, Lord.” Personal Application The best thanks we can give is not framed in words, but in our lives. Quotable Thou has given so much to me, Give me one more thing—a grateful heart, Not thankful when it pleases me, As if Thy blessings had spare days, But such a heart Whose pulse may be Thy praise. -George Herbert Mark 15:35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, "Behold, He is calling for Elijah." He is calling for Elijah: Mk 9:11-13 Mt 17:11-13 Mt 27:47-49 Mark 15 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Matthew 27:47-49+ And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48 Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. 49 But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, "Behold, He is calling for Elijah - Some writers (Morris below) think the bystanders misheard "Eloi" as "Elijah." The NLT paraphrase has "Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah." Clearly that is an interpretative rendering and is a good reminder that while the NLT is an excellent paraphrase, one needs to be discerning when using it for serious study. Always compare more literal translations (NAS, ESV, CSB, NET). NET Note- Perhaps the crowd thought Jesus was calling for Elijah because the exclamation "my God, my God" (i.e., in Aramaic, Eloi, Eloi) sounds like the name Elijah.