Forsaken King

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Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father, I, too, say “amazing love how can it be? That, thou, my God should die for me!”

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 Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“Lifted up was he to die. / “It is finished” was his cry; / … Hallelujah! What a Savior!” (Philip P. Bliss)

Think Further

Who can know what is going through Jesus’ mind at this point? Luther, it is claimed, said, “God forsaken of God: who can understand it?” The onlookers do not understand (35). They fail to see the significance of Jesus’ quotation from Psalm 22:1; a psalm which shaped his understanding of his death. Perhaps they are influenced by their expectation that Elijah would return as a herald of the Messiah (Mal. 4:5).

The women (40,41) may not understand, but at least they are there. The word “follow” is the language of discipleship; in our concentration on the twelve we forget that Jesus included women among his disciples (Luke 8:1-3). They may not understand, but at least they are there, showing solidarity with, and concern for, their Lord. It is they, not the twelve, who are the witnesses of his death, burial, and, initially, of his resurrection.

The centurion does not understand, but he does have a profound insight. In what R.T. France describes as “one of the Christological high points of the Gospel,” he has captured something that the devout and expectant Jews missed, and a reminder that Jesus, as he had pointed out (John 10:16; 12:32; Matt. 22:1), has come for all humanity.

We, ourselves, do not understand, at least not completely. We can rejoice in the new access symbolized by the torn temple curtain, knowing that at the moment of apparent failure Jesus has accomplished the perfect will of God and has opened the way into the presence of God for all. We can have confidence that the old order has gone and the new has come. But there are depths to God’s love for broken men and women that will always lie beyond our full comprehension.

Apply

Today, as you reflect on the mystery of the cross, pray that you may feel something of Jesus’ agony and sacrifice.

Closing prayer

Father, today I think of all that the Cross means to me: the way opened to Your heart, salvation offered and sins forgiven, the opportunity of a new beginning. Thanks be to God!

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