As Jesus endured the physical agony of crucifixion and the spiritual weight of sin, causing darkness to come over the land, he cried out the opening line of Psalm 22. Perhaps, someone misheard him and thought he was calling on Elijah. Some thought that Elijah might come and rescue Jesus, because it was believed that Elijah’s return would signal the coming of the Messiah. But, just as many had misunderstood Jesus’ life and ministry, they misunderstood him here, too.

Jesus died, but this was no ordinary crucifixion and no ordinary death. It should have taken much longer for Jesus to die even accounting for his physical beating leading up to his crucifixion. When Jesus died, the curtain of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The curtain was a sign of the separation between humanity and God that sin caused. Only the High Priest could enter through the curtain once each year on the Day of Atonement to seek forgiveness for the sins of Israel. The curtain was torn from top to bottom to indicate that this was God at work and only God could deal with the problem of sin once and for all.

The centurion, who witnessed Jesus’ death, had most like seen many people crucified before, yet there was very different about Jesus that he said something he could not say about anyone else. The centurion saw Jesus for who he was and is an example of all who come to Jesus through the cross. The crucifixion appeared to be a terrible defeat, but, on the cross, sin is defeated. DR

Questions

1. What was significant about the darkness which covered the land?
2. What was significant about the tearing of the curtain in the Temple?
3. How do we help others to see Jesus the same way as the centurion at the cross?

Prayer

Gracious God, we thank you that Jesus became sin for us even though he did not sin. We thank you that Jesus endured the humiliation, shame and agony of the cross. Help us to be truly thankful for the cross and shape our lives by Jesus’ sacrificial love. In his name, Amen