Mark 15:33-41 – Darkness and a Torn Curtain
Jesus is betrayed, slandered, beaten, humiliated, insulted, and nailed to a wooden cross. As He hangs on that cross in the middle of the day, surrounded by people mocking Him, darkness falls over the land for three hours. The Light of the World is being destroyed, and the darkness is a sign of God’s curse come upon Jesus.
At the end of the darkness Jesus cries out in agony. His cry of God forsaking Him comes from Psalm 22 verse 1. This is the worst suffering that ever Jesus endures. It is a suffering that we can’t even begin to understand. Jesus’ close relationship with the Father, a relationship that has existed from all eternity, is broken. For the sake of His people, the wrath of God is being poured out on their substitute. Jesus is suffering an eternity of hell for each of His people on that cross. But Psalm 22 is a psalm that ends in triumph, and Jesus’ cry from that psalm is a cry of faith and victory.
As Jesus dies, the heavy curtain of the Temple that divides the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place tears from top to bottom. Only God can tear this curtain from the top, allowing men to see the holiest place of all, previously forbidden to any but the high priest once a year. Jesus Christ has broken down the barrier between a holy God and sinful men. Because of what Jesus has done, men can come to the presence of God, without a priest, in prayer.
Questions
- Why did the land get dark for three hours?
- Had God forsaken Jesus and why?
- How do we come into God’s presence?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks for all that our Lord has done for us.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.