Jerusalem. Golgatha. Place of the skull.
From noon to three in the afternoon, three crosses stood dimly backlit against this backdrop of suffocating darkness. The shadow of death had surely descended upon this place. On the middle cross, an innocent man was nailed.
Earlier in the day, the crowds had shouted definitively, “Crucify Him!” The arms of Jesus are now outstretched. His back shredded by a whip. His face gnarled by beatings. Lines of both fresh and dried blood streaked down his face, arms, legs and torso. He had been falsely accused, mocked, and witnessed gambling for his own garments. A crown of thorns was buried deeply into his scalp. He was near death. Mary and John watched as He struggled to do the simplest of tasks – breathe. A sign above His head read, “King of the Jews.” Matthew 27 reads…
About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
The curtain of the temple tore from head to toe. The ground shook. The once dead walked the streets of the ancient city.
Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world….had died.
His body would be taken down from the cross by friends and followers. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus secured and prepared His body. Other than John, ten of the disciples had scattered. For those witnesses who had remained at the foot of the cross, I imagine the moment had to have been one of unimaginable grief and maybe even awe. A friend fallen. A son lost. The hands that had broken bread the day before….lay lifeless with open, gaping wounds where the nails once were. He would be placed in a tomb within a garden.
God had provided Abraham a ram in order to spare Isaac. No such ram would be provided for Jesus. His Father would watch as His son spoke through the agony of the moment and took his last breath. The cornerstone had been rejected with resounding finality.
But in that darkness, man’s enmity against God had been forgiven. A new covenant had been forged, and John 3:16 are its terms. His death was a final atonement for all of the mistakes that every person has ever made. On our account, Jesus had been obedient unto death.
The physical and mental suffering of Jesus would set the stage for God’s greatest miracle. What was to come next had already been foreshadowed with both Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus.
Discover more from Rob's Innovation in Education Blog
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
