Seeking Jesus Day Thirty-One – Mark 15:21-47

Oh there is so much to talk about in this passage! Let me just share a few thoughts. I am sure you have many of your own.

1. The Supernatural Darkness. The world turned dark in the middle of the day, from noon until 3pm. That must have been so eerie. This event is mentioned in other places outside of the Bible. Thallus, a historian who wrote in 52A.D. in his third book of histories, refers to it as an eclipse of the sun, but Julius Africanus in 221 A.D. dissents from Thallus, explaining it could not have been an eclipse. In addition, we find accounts from Tertullian and Phlegon, a Greek author, who wrote a chronology soon after 137 A.D. and spoke of “the greatest eclipse of the sun” and that it “became night in the sixth hour of the day (noon) so that stars even appeared in the heavens. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea.” So, even in the secular world, there was wonder and speculation as to why the world went dark. Fascinating.
2. The Tearing of the Temple Curtain. The curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was thick and sturdy and yet it tore from top to bottom (Mark 15:38). Again, that should not have happened. Not ever. Certainly not all at once. And most certainly not at the exact moment of Jesus’ death. God indicated miraculously that the separation between man and God no longer had to be enforced by any physcial curtain. Jesus had made a way for us to have direct access to God. I’ve often wondered if the priests who came to know Christ mentioned in Acts 6:7 partly came because they saw that curtain torn in two: “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith” (emphasis mine).
3. The Cry of Abandonment. Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” in verse 34. This was another sign that our sins were on Jesus and the Holy God turned away from His own Son. What an agonizing moment that must have been. I think it must have been the worst moment of all for Jesus, and the reason He asked for another way in the Garden of Gethsemane.
4. Alexander and Rufus. Who were they, that the Christians Mark wrote to in his gospel would know them? They must have been followers of Christ, these two men who, as children, might have seen their dad carry the cross for Jesus! Don’t you just want to know their story???
5. The Centurion. This man must have seen hundreds of crucifixions. Yet, Jesus—who chose the moment of His death and gave up His own spirit—died so differently that he was instantly converted, believing Jesus was the Son of God. Wow.
6. The Women. So brave, so strong, so broken, standing there watching and with Him. He noticed them and even asked John to take care of his mother (recorded in John 19:27). Did their presence bless Him?
7. Joseph of Arimathea. How did he know Jesus? And what boldness to ask for the body and publicly identify with the one who was just murdered. I’d like to know more about him, too.

Well, how about you? What were your thoughts as you read about the most significant day in all of human history? I can’t wait to read your comments.

My recorded verse: “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid.”

My response: They were there to the bitter end, Lord! Grieving, hurting, but mindful of Your broken body, wanting to give You honor even then. I want to have that kind of loyalty, all the way to the end of my life. Only with Your help and Your strength and Your grace, Lord. Only then.