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Mark 15: 25-39 (MSG) The Death of Jesus
"They nailed him up at nine o’clock in the morning. The charge against him—THE KING
OF THE JEWS—was scrawled across a sign. Along with him, they crucified two criminals,
one to his right, the other to his left. People passing along the road jeered, shaking their
heads in mock lament: “You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then
rebuild it in three days—so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you’re really God’s Son,
come down from that cross!” The high priests, along with the religion scholars, were
right there mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him: “He
saved others—but he can’t save himself! Messiah, is he? King of Israel? Then let him
climb down from that cross. We’ll all become believers then!” Even the men crucified
alongside him joined in the mockery. At noon the sky became extremely dark. The
darkness lasted three hours. At three o’clock, Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying
loudly, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you
abandoned me?” Some of the bystanders who heard him said, “Listen, he’s calling for
Elijah.” Someone ran off, soaked a sponge in sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to
him to drink, saying, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.” But Jesus, with a
loud cry, gave his last breath. At that moment the Temple curtain ripped right down the
middle. When the Roman captain standing guard in front of him saw that he had quit
breathing, he said, “This has to be the Son of God!”
As Christians how easy is it to understand the horror of death by crucifixion? The gospels
do not dwell on the unimaginable torturous death Jesus suffered for us. The gospels do
highlight the mocking by people as He hung on the cross in absolute agony. Agony He
new was coming His way when He asked the night before “My Father, if it is possible,
don’t make me drink from this cup.
But do what you want, not what I want.” Perhaps this
Easter we should give thought to what Jesus the man suffered for our sin
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