Forsaken

Mark 15:33-47

³³ And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ³⁵ And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” ³⁶ And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” ³⁷ And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. ³⁸ And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. ³⁹ And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” ⁴⁰ There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. ⁴¹ When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. ⁴² And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. ⁴⁵ And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. ⁴⁶ And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

This passage is well worn and rightfully so. In the death of Jesus, we see the culmination of God’s plan of salvation for sinners. This passage is rich with the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, details about God’s heart and passion for His people, and a glimpse behind the relationship between the Father and the Son.

The first word that drew me in is “forsaken”. Jesus describes Himself as utterly forsaken. That has long been a fascination for me. The mystery that is the Trinity rises up and grabs our attention. How can God be separated from Himself? I don’t have an answer – I just ask the question every time I read this passage. Because we cannot answer that question, neither can we truly understand the fact that Jesus is utterly and completely alone with our sin. As I reread that sentence, I realize it doesn’t even begin to do justice to the monumental conundrum of that moment for Jesus. It is a singular, unrepeatable moment in the vast expanse that is eternity. God existed as an undivided entity outside of time before the crucifixion and after His death, He stretches out into eternity to come. But in that moment – separated. The pain of that experience is beyond our understanding and we simply must hold it in mystery.

The significance of the temple curtain being torn in two – from the top down – is a critical moment in the history of our faith as well. In that tearing we find ourselves in the presence of God – each one of us personally. No longer are believers separated from God by sin. Instead, the Father has accepted the final sacrifice of the Son and He is now eternally present with His people. The earth has shifted.

Jesus is buried by Pharisees (Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus). That is a completely unexpected turn of events. In that bold and brave action, we know that not all of the Pharisees stood against Jesus and His Gospel. Up until this point, we learn that Jesus’ message did indeed impact His greatest enemies. The Gospel is available to all!