Marcos 15

Marcos 15

Wesley wrote his great hymn And Can It Be?, he began the second verse with a line that could have been written with this statement in view: ’Tis mystery all: th’ Immortal dies: Who can explore His strange design? We will never fully understand what it meant for Christ die in our place, taking our sins upon himself, bearing our punishment, that we might be forgiven forever. Rest in this simple truth. He was forsaken that we might never be forsaken. Those who trust in him will never be disappointed, in this life or in the life to come. Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Amen. WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME? - Cyril Hocking THE LORD’S birth had been marked by a supernatural burst of light during the night-time, Luke 2:9–11; His death was now marked by a supernatural darkness for three hours from mid-day, 23:44. God shrouded the land in darkness to hide from man’s prying gaze the momentous transaction which took place between Him and His Son. It was at the end of this period of darkness that Jesus loudly uttered the most harrowing cry ever to pierce the skies—‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’, Mark 15:33, 34. It was the cry of One who had fathomed the very abyss of suffering and sorrow. Earlier, at the ‘place’ Gethsemane, He had been forsaken by His disciples, Mark 14:32, 50. At the ‘place’ Gabbatha, He had been forsaken by His nation, John 19:13–16. Now, at the ‘place’ Golgotha He was forsaken by His God. Our Lord was the true ‘scapegoat’, who entered the ‘land not inhabited (i.e. a land cut off, separated, solitary)’, Lev. 16:8–10; 20–26. Imagine the ‘live goat’, on Israel’s Day of Atonement, alone in some desolate and barren land, with its weary feet, its drooping head, its sunken eyes and its hoarse, pitiable bleat. Why, we enquire, did this goat have to suffer so? Because, scripture replies, all the sins, iniquities and transgressions of the people had been ‘put’ upon it, vv. 21–22. The goat had become the people’s representative before God and had to bear their sins away for another year. God laid our every sin on Christ and, in the darkness and the distance, He bore them away for ever, Isa. 53:6; 1 Pet. 2:24. Our Lord’s physical sufferings were, in effect, only the door through which He passed to something infinitely more fearful beyond. Nevertheless His cry of desolation provides us with some small window into His unspeakable spiritual anguish. Yet, when we have ventured as far as we are able, we are conscious that we stand only in the shallows of a vast, unplumbed ocean. The apostle Paul knew what it was to be forsaken by men, 2 Tim. 4:16. At that very time, however, he experienced the uninterrupted presence of the One who knew what it was to be forsaken by all—even by God Himself, v. 17. That very same Saviour, once forsaken for us, has pledged that by no means will we ever be forsaken by Him, Heb. 13:5. Acts 2:22-36 The Greatest Wrong God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. —Acts 2:36 Followers of Christ see His crucifixion as the greatest wrong in all of history. Yet they decorate church buildings with the cross, wear it as jewelry, and sing about it. Why would anyone cherish such a terrible symbol of suffering and shame? In ancient times many criminals and rebels died by crucifixion. It’s said that in the unrest after the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC, Roman soldiers lined a road in Galilee with 2,000 crosses, each bearing the body of an insurrectionist. Their purpose was to strike terror into the heart of anyone who even contemplated rebellion against Rome. Jesus’ death, however, was unlike any of these. Yes, He endured the same physical agony, but He underwent such a terrible sense of abandonment that He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:34). As the Son of God, He was experiencing the righteous wrath of His Father against the sin of all mankind. In dying, He fully paid the penalty for our sin and broke the power of death. To vindicate Christ’s work on the cross, God raised Him up from the grave (Acts 2:24; Romans 1:4). History’s greatest wrong secured our pardon from sin. And His resurrection assures our ultimate victory over death. That’s why we cherish the cross! —Herb Vander Lugt The cross of Christ reveals God's love at its best and man's sin at its worst. F B