We come now to the last day of our Lord’s life on this earth. This was the day He was to die for the sins of the world. That’s why He came.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” - Mark 10:45 (Amplified)
The idea behind the word “ransom” is that He came to pay the price required by the law of God to free us from our bondage to sin. Jesus hung on the cross for approximately 6 hours. Mark says that they crucified Jesus around the third hour (around 9 AM). Now we read of what happened at the sixth hour (noon). (READ TEXT)
1. The actions on the cross - vs. 44-46
A. There was darkness for three hours - v. 44-45a
We’re told with the sun is at its height, darkness covered the land from the sixth hour (noon) until the ninth hour (3 PM) - three hours. This darkness was a supernatural act of God in fulfillment of prophecy.
“In that day” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.” - Amos 8:9 (NIV)
The Gospels, tell us what Jesus said from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34); “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43); “Woman, behold your son! Behold your mother!” (John 19:26-27); “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34); “I thirst.” (John 19:28); “It is finished.” (John 19:30); and “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46).
Matthew and Mark say that after those 3 hours, Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It wasn’t as if He expected the Father to rescue Him - but rather, for our benefit, He expressed what had just occurred during those three hours. Jesus declared that He’d paid our ransom. The price required by the law of God to free us from our bondage to sin. He was abandoned by the Father. Jesus had only known unbroken communion with the Father. But on the cross, He experienced complete loneliness and abandonment. In His humanity, Jesus suffered hell for us as He experienced what it feels like to be abandoned by God. He experienced on the cross the horror of hell itself as the sins of the world were poured out upon Him.
When Jesus talked about hell He used many terms, with one being “outer darkness,” I’ve heard people laugh about going to hell. They make fun of it and say, “If I go to hell that’ll be all right: I'll have plenty of company down there. We’ll just have a big party together.”
But the Bible says hell as a place of darkness. You’re not going to see anyone in hell. You’re not going to be having a big party in hell. You’re going to experience what it means to be lonely, as no human has ever been lonely in this life. For eternity, never to see anyone else. For eternity, to cry to God for mercy and never hear an answer.
“Jesus, the infinite Son of God, was able to suffer in a finite period of time on the cross, what you and I, being finite human beings, would have to suffer for an infinite period of time in hell.”
As symbolized by darkness and illustrated by His cry, we understand that Jesus suffered our hell so we wouldn’t have to.
B. How Jesus laid down His life - v. 46
John says Jesus said, “I thirst.” After receiving a drink, He declared “It is finished,” which is one word in the Greek, which means, “paid in full”. After paying the ransom to set us free from sin’s bondage; having done what He came into this world to do, Jesus died. As Luke tells us, “Jesus called out in a loud voice ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’” Jesus wanted everyone to know that He chose when to die.
We have noted that when Jesus was arrested, it was not the mob who was in control, He was; and when Jesus stood trial six times before three different courts, it wasn’t the judges who were in control, He was; and now, at His crucifixion, it wasn’t the Roman soldiers who were in control, nor was it death that was in control, He was.
“No one takes my life away from me. I give my own life freely.” - John 10:18a (Easy to Read)
They borrowed a bed to lay His head when Christ the LORD came down; They borrowed the donkey in the mountain pass for Him to ride to town; But the cross that He bore was His own. He borrowed a room on the way to the Tomb the Passover lamb to eat; They borrowed the cave; for Him a grave; they borrowed the winding sheet. But the cross that He bore was His own. The thorns on His head were worn in my stead, for me the Savior died. For guilt of my sin the nails drove in when Him they crucified; But the cross that He bore was His own.
C. The temple curtain was tore in two - v. 45b
Luke says when Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. This curtain consisted of two curtains, 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, as thick as the palm of a man’s hand, woven in 72 separate squares, and joined together. Think of the force required to tear it! That’s why it’s interesting what we’re told by Matthew and Mark that the curtain was tore from top to bottom. In other words, God tore the curtain in two.
The curtain mentioned is the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. The Holy of Holies was where the Ark of the Covenant was, which symbolized the throne of God and the presence of God. The supernatural tearing of this curtain symbolized two things:
1) Because of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, animal sacrifices in the temple were obsolete. They were only representative of the sacrifice that saves, which had just been paid by Jesus on the cross.
2) Because of Christ’s sacrifice, all who receive Him as our Savior and Lord have direct access into the presence of God.
“The debt was so great, that while man alone owed it, only God could pay.” - Anselm
2. The reactions to the cross - vs. 47-49
A. Some were filled with confusion - v. 49
One gets the idea that there was a bit of disillusion on the part of the disciples that day. They had expected things to turn out differently. At this point, the couldn’t understand how what had occurred could be part of God’s plan. Eventually, they would come to understand the full impact of the cross, but now, they were overwhelmed with grief.
Sometimes, the circumstances of life can cause us to become confused. It is then that we need to look afresh to the cross and realize the full victory Jesus won for us there. What does the cross teach us when it come to overcoming our daily struggles and life’s disappointments?
1) The power of God is bigger than any burden. If God’s power could relieve me of my burden of sin, His power can relieve me of the burden of grief and disappointment.
2) Wait on God and trust Him. In just a couple of days, Jesus would be raised from the dead and all would be well. Likewise, when we face daily disappointments we need to turn to God, trust in Him and wait on Him. He will reveal to us His solution in His time.
(Sunday’s coming video)
B. Some were overwhelmed with conviction - v. 48
Some, having witnessed how Jesus had died, were convicted about what had been done. We will never know about the people mentioned here, as to whether of not they responded as they should to the conviction they felt. Could they have been some who later responded to this conviction with repentance and faith in Christ at Pentecost?
“‘God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!’ Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’” - Acts 2:32; 36-37 (NLT)
Somebody once said, that “Sitting on the fence gets you nothing, except maybe a few splinters in your rear.” Well, when it comes to deciding if you are going to choose to accept Christ, you don’t want to be dragging your feet. Sitting on the fence when it come to whether or not you choose Christ will get you something far worse than a few splinters. The opportunity to choose Christ is one you don’t want to take for granted. We’re all going to spend an eternity somewhere. If you don’t choose Heaven, you’ll get Hell by default. So when you feel conviction, it time to make the right choice.
C. Some were moved to confession - v. 47
Matthew’s account (Matthew 27:54) tells us the Centurion not only acknowledged Jesus as being a righteous man, but as the Son of God.
Conclusion: Earlier, we referred to our Savior’s bearing our sin during those three hours of darkness and His crying out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus was actually quoting from Psalm 22:1. You need to read this Psalm and notice the prophetic references to the cross. One interesting phrase from that psalm is found in verse 6: “I am a worm and not a man . . .” The Hebrew word for “worm” is most interesting. It’s the name of a particular worm, crushed to extract its blood, to create a crimson red dye, used to dye the robes of kings.
Jesus left His royal throne in glory and came to a sinful world to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, being crushed for our sins, shedding His precious blood, so that we, through faith in Him, might be privileged to wear the robes of royalty!
Today, for whatever victory you may need - from hell, from sin, from daily difficulties, provision has been made for you through the cross.
