Jesus is in agony. Nature is in darkness. Humanity is in awe.

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1 Introduction In Luke s gospel we have seen Simon carry the cross (v.26); the criminals alongside the cross (vv.32-33); the calls from the cross; the clothing beneath the cross (v.34); the citation over the cross (v.38); the conversion on the cross (vv.40-43) and now a dark cloud descends covering the cross (v.44). Jesus is in agony. Nature is in darkness. Humanity is in awe. How do we explain the cross? Some have suggested Jesus died as a martyr in a lost cause. Others suggest His death is our example of sacrifice. The Bible teaches that God the Father and God the Son conducted an eternal transaction on the basis of righteousness and love. Let s look. The Total Darkness (vv.44-45a) 44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Luke the dutiful doctor/historian records the exact hours before Jesus death. The sixth hour is about 12:00 PM in the afternoon. The ninth hour is 3:00 P.M. Luke uses the Jewish way of reckoning time. Mark s gospel records that darkness fell over the whole land (Mark 15:33). The darkness was a miracle. It is the time of the Passover. It could not have been an eclipse. Chuck Swindoll writes; It was as if creation were mourning the death of its Maker (The Darkness and Dawn; preface not numbered). Some have suggested that God provided a thick black blanket to cover Christ s nakedness and shame. In the Old Testament darkness was a cosmic sign of mourning. Amos 8:9-10; I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad day-light...i will make that time like mourning for an only son. Earlier Jesus told the religious leaders (Luke 22:53); But this your hour when darkness reigns. Others have suggested it speaks of the utter darkness of sin, humanity s sin. The theologian Richard John Neuhaus in his book Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross (.2) Every human life, conceived from eternity and destined to eternity, here finds its story truly told. In this killing that some call senseless we are brought to our senses. Here we find out who we most truly are, because here is the One who is what we are called to be. (Jesus) cries, Come, follow me. Follow Him there? We recoil. We close our ears. We hurry on to Easter. But we will not know what to do with Easter s light if we shun the friendship of the darkness that is wisdom s way to light. Death precedes resurrection and darkness precedes life. 1

2 This awesome, thick blanket of darkness becomes a type and picture of loneliness and separation. Men are in darkness separated from God, estranged from the light. "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." (John 3:19-20, NKJV). In those three black hours, sin was poured upon Christ s soul until he became sin (R. Kent Hughes; Luke Vol.2; p.390). "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV) Imagine Jesus is a reservoir. The filthy flood of sin empties upon Him, every sin, all sin; wave after wave of murder and pride, adultery, hatred, jealousies, lies, transgressions, violations, blasphemies, ungodliness, wickedness. The banks of his shores are never touched. It s as if a single drop of water is placed in a vast empty ocean and is immediately evaporated by the Sun of His hot holiness. There in the darkness, Jesus takes our sin, our sins are imputed to Christ, and even more wonderful and inexplicable; His righteousness becomes ours. The Torn Veil (v.45b)...and the veil of the temple was torn in two. Craig Keener in the IVP Bible Background Commentary writes; The veil (KJV, NASB) or curtain (NIV, TEV, NRSV) is probably the one between the holy of holies inhabited only by God, and where no mortal could enter except the high priest once each year and the sanctuary where the priests ministered (Ex 26:33). Although the point of the veil s rending may be that God provides access for all people into his presence, it is more likely that it indicates instead the departure of God from the temple, as in Ezekiel Keener, C. S., & InterVarsity Press The IVP Bible background commentary : New Testament. InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, Ill. 2

3 The veil of the temple or the curtain of the temple was the inner veil (katapetasma). This is the curtain which separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. There was another veil an outer curtain (kalumma); which separated the Holy Place from the outer court of the temple. There were 13 curtains in the temple. The inner veil was woven with expensive yarns from Babylon in blue, white, red, and purple, with representations of cherubim. It was perhaps as thick as a New York telephone book. It s function was to block vision. In a recent trip to Israel, we went to the Temple Institute. The young tour guide described the Holy of Holies as the most sacred place, in the most sacred temple, in the most sacred city, in the most sacred country in all the earth. It was the place where the very presence of God was symbolized as dwelling in a unique and special way. It was closed forever to everyone except the High Priest, one day, once a year. He could only enter in on the Day of Atonement (Ex.26:33). You need to understand something. At the very hour that Jesus died, the High Priest would be rolling back the outer curtain in order to expose the Holy Place to the people who had gathered to worship in the surrounding temple court. As he rolled back the outer curtain exposing the Holy Place for worship, both he and the worshippers would stand in amazement and in awe. Why? Because they would see the inner veil, torn ripped rent from top to bottom. There they would stand, experiencing and witnessing the Holy of Holies, the very special place where the presence of God Himself was supposed to dwell something the people had never ever seen before. With the curtain torn, the Ark of the Covenant, the blood soaked mercy seat and the cherubim were momentarily opened to the world. "Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split," (Matthew 27:51, NKJV) Matthew s gospel tells us the veil was torn in two from top to bottom. This means the veil was torn by God Himself. Another miracle. "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:19-22, NKJV) "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation," (Ephesians 2:13-14, NKJV). It is a symbol of both joy and judgment. Unlimited access for the believer. Certain judgment for the unbeliever. The Terminal Statement (v.46) 3

4 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit. Having said this, He breathed His last. Before Jesus died, before he slips behind death s curtain, he has one final statement to make. A thousand years earlier, David, the ancestor of Jesus wrote; Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have ransomed me, O Lord, God of truth (Psalm31:5). David s prayer is to be preserved from death. For Jesus it is a prayer of trust in the Father in the moment of death. Before bed, the pious Jew prays this prayer; Into your hands I commit my spirit. Jesus prays the prayer right before He enters the ultimate sleep, the sleep of death. Jesus gives a preface to the prayer by saying, Father Abba. It is a matter of Biblical and historical fact that no Jew prayed that way before Jesus The spirit is the deathless part of man which survives apart from the body. Jesus and Paul both taught both resurrection of the body and the immortality of the soul. David s song, David s prayer, reflected his childlike confidence in the Father s capable heart, not just for this life but for the next life. Jesus died that day. His heart burst. His lungs filled with fluid. His organs began to systematically shut down. His lungs collapsed. The expression, He breathed His last is the translation of a precise word which means he breathed out. We might say expired. Mark has the same word (Mark 15:37). Matthew s gospel reads yielded his spirit or in the old King James yielded up the ghost. What does the death of Jesus mean? Jesus is both High Priest and King and Sacrifice. As the High Priest He loves us, as the King He has the power to save us, and as Sacrifice He gives us grace. What does the death of Jesus mean to God? It means the manifestation of His righteousness against sin. Romans 3:25; 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, But it also is a revelation of love to man. John 3:16; 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. The righteousness of God can not be indifferent to sin. The love of God cannot be indifferent to the sinner. At a single place righteousness and love are completely satisfied; the cross. From a human standpoint, the cross means redemption we are brought back to God. 4

5 1 Peter 3:18; 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, From a human standpoint, the cross means holiness we are made fit to dwell with God. Titus 2:14; 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. The death of Jesus becomes the subject of praise forever. The death of Jesus means life for the believer. "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18, NKJV) The Testimony of the Centurion (v.47) 47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous Man! Luke reports the reaction of the supervising officer on the scene in charge of the crucifixion. A centurion had charge over a hundred soldiers. We are not told whether he participated in the gambling at the foot of the cross. We are told he witnessed the events. I suspect from the passing of sentence by Pilate, the scourging, the Barabbas incident, the march to the cross and all the hours he hung on the cross. Mark s gospel (15:39) and Matthew s gospel (27:54) emphasize the impression made on this centurion by the phenomena of darkness and the earthquake. 54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God! Matthew s gospel says they feared greatly or they were filled with awe. In Luke s gospel they glorified God. The expression was commonly used in the early church to describe people who came to faith or confidence in Jesus. The testimony of the gospels is not wow we crucified an innocent man. The typical Roman officer would have had little concern over the guilt or innocence of any Galilean. He would have simply carried out orders from his commander. What he saw left him deeply disturbed. Roman centurions were men of the highest character and personal discipline. The Travail of the Crowd (vv.48-49) 48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. 5

6 The centurion was not the only one disturbed. The whole crowd joined in and began to beat their breasts. Their agitation did not end at the cross they walked away deeply disturbed. There is a sense in which not understanding everything, they do understand something, a terrible injustice, a horrible act has been perpetrated on an innocent man. There seems to be some sense in which they fear there will be some divine retribution, God s judgment on themselves. The people were stricken in conscience. Some were being prepared in their hearts for a message that Peter would preach at Pentecost. 49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. Luke mentions another set of witnesses who observe from a distance. But serve as a contrast unlike the other people watching there is another group. All is used in the Greek text to indicate a large number of sympathizers and acquaintances all those known to Him. We are not given crowd composition. Are the remaining eleven there? We know some of the women are there who followed Him from the Galilee. Mark names Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Salome. Matthew also names the first two but he has the mother of the sons of Zebedee where Mark has Salome. John 19:25 lists either three or four women. He has three Marys; the mother of Jesus; Mary the wife of Clopas; Mary the Magdalene. Luke s interest is there reaction, they stood at a distance. The distance seems to be more related to the police barricade or the line drawn by the soldiers where no further approach could be made. Remember Jesus had spoken to John and His mother (John 19:25). At some point the soldiers let them come close enough for that exchange. They waited to see what would become of the body. Nothing would be done until the soldiers could dispose of all three and the two criminals were still alive. If normal procedure were followed, the bodies would be thrown into the nearest pit where they could easily be covered, or more likely they would be thrown like the carcasses of animals onto the burning garbage heap in Gehenna. They watched, knowing that it would not be delayed. The Sabbath would begin at sunset and the bodies could not be left on the cross on the Sabbath (Ray Summers; Luke; p.312). The burial shroud of Jesus contains more than just His body; in it the payment for the sins of the entire world. Conclusion Erwin Lutzer in his book; One Minute After You Die: A Preview of Your Final Destination; p.13; 6

7 Death, our enemy, can be our friend when God gives us the final call. We can be glad He has given us a shaft of light to illumine the darkness. Death is not a hopeless plunge into the vast unknown. Martha Snell Nicholson This isn t death---it s glory! It is not dark---it s light! It isn t stumbling, groping, Or even faith it s sight! This isn t grief it s having My last tear wiped away; It s sunrise it s the morning Of my eternal day! This isn t even praying It s speaking face to face; Listening and glimpsing The wonders of His grace. This is the end of pleading For strength to bear my pain; Not even pain s dark memory Will ever live again. How did I bear the earth-life Before I knew this rapture Of meeting face to face The One who sought me, saved me, And kept me by His grace! 7