Matthew 27:45-56, The Death of Jesus
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[c] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[d]
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph,[f] and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
We can be thankful for those who are stalwart in principle because we all benefit. This quality does not come without cost.
“What if I’m wrong?” Jesus was a human. You know the thought crept into his mind. And as the sin of the world was being piled upon his shoulders he could feel the comforting presence of his father diminish. So, he cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Can you imagine the panic Jesus must have felt? There’s no coming back from a mistake this huge. Jesus and Judas would have been eternal roommates.
But, by the grace of God, the divine Jesus prevailed and offered salvation for the world. My point is…it surely wasn’t easy. I doubt the dying part was the hard part. I’m sure it was the fear that when he crossed that threshold into eternity he would find that God was not there.
It should make the strongest man tremble…
We see glimpses of it through history. Martin Luther was excommunicated. We have to remember the time and place. There wasn’t another church down the block. The Roman church was it. If you weren’t a member you were eternally lost. We owe a great debt to a man who was bold enough to risk his own eternity for the sake of our own.
Or Jim Elliot and Nate Saint.
I want to be counted among these giants. Not so my name goes down in history, but so my life has the same kind of meaning. Thank you Jesus, for setting the example.
Live boldly out there today…
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