READ: Deuteronomy 19, 20; Psalm 86; Mark 15:33-47
SCRIPTURE: Mark 15: 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)
35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
OBSERVATION: During the Lent days, particularly in Good Friday services, Mark 15:34 is remembered as the fourth Saying of Jesus on the cross. When Jesus was on the cross, before and after his death those who were standing at the place did not understand the importance of the crucifixion. However, the most crucial and unbearable pain for Jesus during the crucifixion was not the insults, mockery, and the pain of his bruised, bleeding body. It was his separation from the Father, when the sin of the whole world was laid on him, according to the Scriptures. Jesus' death on the cross was the manifestation of God's great love for humanity. It was the extraordinary and unimaginable death. Jesus' loud cry tells us that it was not an ordinary death. A man of God rightly says, "since he desired to save us, he was not willing to save himself." The bible says that Jesus bore our sins so that "in him we might become the righteousness of God" and "we might die to sins and live for righteousness" (2 Cor.5:21; 1 Peter 2:24). In Jesus' death, we find a start or a beginning of our life of redemption. When Jesus breathed his last, the sin lost its power over humanity. He nailed it on the cross and became victorious.
APPLICATION: More than remembering the Sayings of Jesus on the cross, I need to understand why Jesus died and what he had accomplished for me through crucifixion. His perfect atoning sacrifice helps me to restore the lost relationship with God, and to receive the salvation of God. I pay nothing, for he paid it all. When I accept Jesus' sacrifice, I start to enjoy every blessing in him. For I live in him, the law of sin and death has no control over me.
PRAYER: Jesus, you became forsaken by God to save me from the clutches of sin, and to lift me up. Thank you for your everlasting love. You have done your part that I may become the righteousness of God and to live for it. My savior, help me to remember your love to live a sin free, righteous life today and forever. Amen
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