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Mark 15:37 “And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.”

  We are tempted to take issue with the translation here. This is not the last breath of Christ. The gospel record makes that quite plain. But, the translation I can assure you is quite accurate.
  But why? Why would Mark make it sound so final? Because it was final. Mark couldn’t make it anything but what it was. Jesus died, period. He didn’t swoon, go into a weird coma, fake death, or anything of the kind. He actually died. It was final.
   So then how can we move forward from there? Isn’t that the end of the story? No, because finality doesn’t stop Almighty God. That was it, but it wasn’t. As Revelations tells us He was alive, and He was dead, and He is alive forever. It’s not doubletalk, it is just plain fact. Praise God!

Heavenly Father, thank You for Christ. His death, His burial, His resurrection, His ascension, all are a great blessing to us. We can never praise You enough! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Been sick, no post today.

Mark 15:36 “Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”

  Would we believe the gospel accounts more of they were identical? No. They would be less authentic. So, we see the order of things a bit different in the accounts only because each leaves different things out. Mark here leaves out the fact that Jesus had said ‘I thirst’ and that this is why the person took the sour wine to Him. This person then makes the statement recorded here in Mark.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your great loving kindness, and for Your truth. You have done wonderous works. I will proclaim Your great goodness for all of my days. You alone are worthy, and You have given me an eternal song to sing for You. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

I will be taking a vacation from posting this week. I hope to resume next Monday.

Mark 15:35 “Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!”

   They misunderstood what Jesus said. In His condition, that’s not very surprising. He would have been difficult to understand. They thought He was calling Elijah to help Him.
   We must keep in mind that the religious elite among the Jews thought Jesus was possessed by the devil. They likely thought He wanted to speak to Elijah in much the same way as Saul spoke to Samuel. And, they expected the message to be the same. Jesus had already met with Elijah, but through the power of God, and not the devil. And Elijah had discussed with Christ His plans concerning the crucifixion.

Heavenly Father, thank You for planning all of this and telling us about it. We are amazed as we think of Your role in history. You have loved us with an everlasting love. You are worthy of our praise for ever! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.

Mark 15:34 “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

   We generally do not hear any incredulity in connection with this statement. But, it is quite difficult to understand. God will not look upon sin. All of the sins of all of mankind were there on the cross. Jesus took them upon himself. This was all in the plan.
   Then why would Jesus ask a question? Didn’t He understand what was going to happen? His other words on the cross show us that He understood it all very well. But the question was asked rhetorically. He did not receive nor expect an answer. It serves to show the depth of our sin. It was a exclamation in the form of a question. How much would be necessary to cause the Father to ‘forsake’ the Son? We don’t even completely understand what this means. What we do know is that it was something awful, and Jesus endured it for us.

Heavenly Father, we will praise You forever for the Son! Jesus is our Hope, our Joy, the love of our souls. Thank You for the cross! It isn’t pretty, but it is beautiful to us who were lost forever without it. All praise be to You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 15:33 “Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.”

  This would be about three hours, from about noon to about three in the afternoon. We don’t know the exact extent of this darkness. It seems it covered at least the region of Judea. And, given the wording here, it was evidently not just due to a regular thunderstorm. There was something more ominous about it. It was clear to those in attendance that it was connected to the location of Christ on the cross.
   Many these days would, as the ancient Jews, see a sign. But, signs are not always what we might want. The Lord chooses what He will for signs. They are portents of His plan, not simply shows to impress. It is best to already believe in and know God before these signs come, so that we may know what they mean. Though we have the last book of the Bible, there will be many unprepared and surprised on that day. And, those many signs will not produce belief on the scale we might imagine.

Heavenly Father, You love us so much and have given us so much. May we never digress from Your Word! We will cherish the relationship we have with You. It is so good to have a God Who communicates to us not only through signs in the heavens. We praise You for Your plan is perfect! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 15:32 “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.”

   And would they believe? They hadn’t believed up to this point, why would this change anything. These men had lived in hypocrisy so long, the truth was elusive to them. Though there were some who’s conscience pricked them more, their fear of man was greater.
   We know that one of the thieves was saved on this day. But, it seems that he at first mocked Christ with the rest of them. Likely, he was taken in by what the Jewish leaders were saying, thinking them genuine. Thus, he probably just repeated what he heard. Keep in mind too that early on he may have been under the influence of the wine and myrrh mixture that Jesus rejected.

Heavenly Father, may we be delivered from taking part in mocking. We would bring honor to You in all things. Your praise shall always be in our mouths. Give us opportunities for witnessing, and for praising. We will lift high the Name of Christ. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 15:31 “Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.”

   These men comforted their conscience with these words. The guilty feel it and must justify themselves. Mocking only adds sin to sin, but it is one of the devil’s tricks and easy for men to fall into.
   It is funny that in their taunt they freely admit that he saved others. Indeed, one of Jesus’s most notable miracles, raising Lazarus, was something they found it impossible to deny. There were too many witnesses.

Heavenly Father, thank You for another day. You give us each day to use for Your glory. We think of it as ours. You know it is Yours. We will honor where honor is due. Serving You, though our duty, is our pleasure and privilege. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Mark 15:30 “save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”

   And what an irony is this! They jeeringly tell Him to come down, and yet it was their salvation He was securing. Now, many would reprimand me and say He only died for those whom He would save. But say it this way, He only saves those for whom He died. That He died for the sins of the whole world the Scripture plainly teaches, but there is a sin which shall not be forgiven. To transgress the witness of the Holy Spirit that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and to continue in it, is what brings eternal fire to a person’s feet.
  Some of these very men would be forgiven and will later attend the marriage supper with the rest of us the saints. Yet, many are even now burning in their torments. And why, because Jesus died not for them? No, because they persisted in their belief that Jesus is not Who He has been clearly proven to be. The lake of fire boils not in waiting for sinners. It sears in living heat for all of eternity they who would pass into their death without the blood of Christ. For, they count it an unclean thing, devoid of any saving power. This is the blasphemy spoken of in this same passage.

Heavenly Father, I can never claim a boast in anything I have ever seen or done in this flesh. Indeed, my actions do nothing but condemn me as a sinner who has fallen far short. But, thanks be to You Father that I can boast in knowing You. I know the saving grace of the blood of Christ. It saves and thus sanctifies my sinful soul. There is now no more condemnation. And, in Christ I am not just to be made perfect, but given rights as a son, an adopted heir with my Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. This is what gives me access to heaven now, and admittance to it later. Thank You Father! I praise You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.