April 13, 2017
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Black Friday

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Loving Lord, continue to walk with me through this Holy Week journey. Gather me at Your table and fill me with Your grace.

Read Mark 15:33–41

[33] At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. [34] And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). [35] When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” [36] Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. [37] With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. [38] The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. [39] And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” [40] Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. [41] In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“What wondrous love is this that led the Lord of bliss, to bear the dreadful curse for my soul?” (Anon.). Reflect on the lyrics of this old Camp Meeting song.

 

When God acted to save his people from Egypt, he sent darkness. When
God acted to save all people from sin and death, the darkness returned. This passage goes from
darkness to light, from abandonment to vindication. Mark wishes us to engage fully with the
horror of Jesus’ experience—and yet he also points to signs of hope from that day. Jesus, the
living fulfillment of the Scriptures, quotes Scripture at his time of abandonment and as he dies.
His cry is real; his loss of the Father is appalling. His chosen cry is from a psalm that begins with
an extraordinary prediction of the details of his suffering, but which ends in the vindication of
the sufferer. “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families
of the nations will bow down before him” (Psa. 22:27).
The priests returned to a Temple where the barrier to God’s presence had been torn apart, from
top to bottom, as though by divine hands. Despite all the lies at his trial, Jesus’ words about the
Temple began to be fulfilled. Our way to the presence of God had been won by the Son’s loss of
the presence of God. When Jesus predicted his death he called it “a ransom for many” (Mark
10:45). Unlike most human violence, this torture and death was not meaningless or purposeless.
By God’s grace, savage and unjustifiable violence was transformed into the means of salvation
for all. When the darkness lifted, a pagan executioner acknowledged “the Son of God” (39).
We are more privileged than the centurion. Through Mark we know Jesus’ identity and purpose
to a degree that he could not. On this day we can only bow before the Father in grateful
adoration.

When God acted to save his people from Egypt, he sent darkness. When God acted to save all people from sin and death, the darkness returned. This passage goes from darkness to light, from abandonment to vindication. Mark wishes us to engage fully with the horror of Jesus’ experience—and yet he also points to signs of hope from that day. Jesus, the
living fulfillment of the Scriptures, quotes Scripture at his time of abandonment and as he dies. His cry is real; his loss of the Father is appalling. His chosen cry is from a psalm that begins with an extraordinary prediction of the details of his suffering, but which ends in the vindication of the sufferer. “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him” (Psa. 22:27). The priests returned to a Temple where the barrier to God’s presence had been torn apart, from top to bottom, as though by divine hands. Despite all the lies at his trial, Jesus’ words about the Temple began to be fulfilled. Our way to the presence of God had been won by the Son’s loss of
the presence of God. When Jesus predicted his death he called it “a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Unlike most human violence, this torture and death was not meaningless or purposeless. By God’s grace, savage and unjustifiable violence was transformed into the means of salvation for all. When the darkness lifted, a pagan executioner acknowledged “the Son of God” (39). We are more privileged than the centurion. Through Mark we know Jesus’ identity and purpose
to a degree that he could not. On this day we can only bow before the Father in grateful adoration.

 

Apply

What curtain do you feel still separates you from God (38)? When did the crucifixion begin to make a real difference in your life?

Closing prayer

“There is great power in his death, yes. We are strongly moved when we stand at Calvary, yes. Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble…” (Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, 1918–2015).

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