DAY Eighteen of Twenty-one "Son of God"

DAY Eighteen of Twenty-one "Son of God"

Mark 15:39

39When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Mark 15:21-40

21A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus' cross. (Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.)

22And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”).

23They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it.

24Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice to decide who would get each piece.

25It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him.

26A sign announced the charge against him. It read, “The King of the Jews.”

27Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

29The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Ha! Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days.

30Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

31The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can't save himself!

32Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!” Even the men who were crucified with Jesus ridiculed him.

33At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock.

34Then at three o'clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

35Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah.

36One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. “Wait!” he said. “Let's see whether Elijah comes to take him down!”

37Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last.

38And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

39When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

40Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph), and Salome.

SORTING IT OUT “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shining on them.” Isaiah 9:2

The darkest day in history was filled with light.

Jesus, the Son of God, hung dying on a cross—a gruesome, inhumane death, one the Romans reserved for foreign enemies, violent criminals, and slaves. The Incarnate Word was stripped, beaten, and humiliated. Hope itself must have seemed to die that day.

And yet, this grisly, painful day of darkness is bursting at the seams with hidden light. What Jesus did, through His death, resurrection, and ascension, was destroy death itself. History was forever changed. Jesus made it possible for every person who ever lived to be eternally reconciled with God.

Because of Jesus’ death, if we believe in Him, we will not die. We will not die. Our earthly bodies will cease to exist, but our souls, our very essence, will never die.

Jesus’ sacrifice was incalculable. Our gain from His loss is indescribable. And in that darkest moment, the light of God was getting ready to burst forth with a glory that would change the world.

YOUR TURN When Jesus died, the officer at the foot of the cross acknowledged Him as the Son of God. What would it take for you to make that same acknowledgement?

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