HOLY WEEK: DAY 45

SCRIPTURE READING - DAY 45 (Good Friday)


Mark 15:33-39

And when the sixth hour had come, there
was darkness over the whole land until
the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour
Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,
lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God,
my God, why have you forsaken me?" And
some of the bystanders hearing it said, "
Behold, he is calling Elijah." And someone
ran and filled a sponge with sour wine,
put it on a reed and gave it to him to
drink, saying, "Wait, let us see whether
Elijah will come to take him down."

And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed
his last. And the curtain of the temple was
torn in two, from top to bottom. And when
the centurion, who stood facing him, saw
that in this way he breathed his last, he said,
"Truly this man was the Son of God!" (ESV)


MEDITATION BY Darren Prince


In our journey to encounter Jesus through the season of Lent, we come at last to his final moments on the cross. And even though we knew where this path would lead us, we find ourselves startled by it once again: stunned to see a tortured, bloodied Savior breathing his final breath alone. Agonized. Abandoned.

If anyone ever mistakenly thought that following Jesus was a journey of self-fulfillment, they’d do well to take another look at Christ on the cross. There, in his final hours, he is crucified, mocked, and left for dead.

Far from what the political pundits had predicted or feared, the Triumphal Entry on Sunday takes a sharp turn into the darkened hours of Friday. Rather than a coronation, he is taunted, spat upon, and crowned with thorns. Who could have expected that his finest hour would be his loneliest? And what does it mean to encounter the Messiah who is crying out, “My God—why have you forsaken me!”

This is the mystery of Christ’s work on the cross proclaimed: that in his hour of abandonment, he became our sin and suffered its brutal consequences. In his moment of separation from God the Father, our gateway to relationship was kicked wide open. His scream of loneliness, deservedly ours, becomes the victory yell that heralds true encounter. The curtain of the temple is ripped in two. The people of earth are reunited with the One who inhabits the Holy of Holies.

This scripture appropriately captures humankind’s two most likely responses. One person mocks Jesus’ helplessness, “Let Elijah pull him down!” It’s tempting to keep Jesus’ desperation for God at arm’s length, lest it hit too close to home—a little humor to put some distance between Jesus’ self-emptying surrender and my own consuming loneliness.

But another, the centurion, is stunned into immediate belief. He hears the Son cry out for the Father and instantly realizes what he’s witnessed. You can almost hear him choking out his proclamation of faith: “Surely, this man was the Son of God!”

With the reality of Christ’s work on the cross before you, which response is yours? You’ve come this far in the journey toward Easter—is this the encounter you hoped for?




REFLECTION


Slowly read back through the events of Good Friday in Mark 15. As you consider this day, what are you drawn to? What are you challenged by?


Read over Psalm 22–the psalm Jesus was likely quoting in his final moments on the cross. How does this psalm inform your understanding of Christ’s experiences on Good Friday?


Consider the two responses offered by the bystander and the centurion in Mark 15. How are you similarly moved to respond?