33 Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 35 Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” 36 Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.” 37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. ~ Mark 15:33-37
In Mark 15 Mark gives us the vantage point of the Lord Jesus from the cross. At the foot of the cross were unbelievers and believers. Among the group were the religious leaders who thought they had manipulated the death of the Lord Jesus. They gloated over His seeming helplessness.
Many today don't like the cross because it is a reminder of their sinfulness. But, a gospel that doesn't have at its core the cross is powerless. Its power comes from its message: there is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends. This is, of course, what the Lord Jesus did for us on that day so many years ago.
In v.33-34 of today's passage we read, "33 Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' which is translated, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'"
In v.33, Mark tells is it was the sixth hour of the day. That means it was noon since the first hour of the day was six in the morning. At this point the Lord Jesus had hung on the cross for three hours, beginning at noon until three o'clock in the afternoon. And then it was dark over the whole land.
This was a darkness of secrecy. In the Old Testament the high priest on Yom Kippur (Passover) went into the holiest place through the veil in darkness to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat. In doing so, forgiveness for sin was granted by God for those willing enough to believe. The transaction was made alone, in secrecy and under the cover of darkness. It was a holy transaction between earth and heaven that took place in the dark.
This also was a darkness of wickedness. The people lived in the darkness when the Lord Jesus came to this earth. He came to give those who lived in darkness light, the light of His salvation. The physical reality of darkness pictured the spiritual reality of the reign of sin and death to that point. Darkness speaks of evil in the Bible and light speaks of the righteousness of God. The cross of the Lord Jesus was the worst crime ever committed by humanity. They tried to extinguish the Light of the World but they failed to do it. "The light shined in the darkness and the darkness could not put it out."
This also was a darkness of judgment. Before the Passover lamb was sacrificed in Egypt, the ninth plague was darkness over all of Egypt for three days. It was a darkness they acutely felt. It was part of God's judgment. And then, the tenth plague was the death of the firstborn picturing the death of God's firstborn Son.
In v.34, we are given the fourth saying from the Lord Jesus while He hung on the cross. "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' which is translated, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
The Lord by this time had already spoken three times while hanging on the cross. The only saying that Mark records of all the seven were the words recorded in v.34. These words are the exact first words of Psalm 22 which begins with what seems to be defeat, yet ends with victory. This is the way of the God of the Bible: He always wins in the end. Of course, there have been many times when it appeared that He was done, but in the end He is found victorious always.
Mark gives this statement from the Lord in Aramaic which sounds similar to the name of Elijah in Hebrew. The people thought the Lord Jesus was calling for Elijah because there was a Jewish belief that if you were in a time of great distress, you could pray to Elijah and he would deliver you.
The Lord Jesus spoke these words because as the Father was judging our sin in His body as He hung on that tree, the Lord Jesus deeply felt the separation. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 we read, "God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in him." God treated the Lord Jesus like you and I deserved to be treated, so He could treat you and I like the Lord Jesus deserved to be treated.
God the Father poured out His wrath on His Son that day, so that He would not have to upon us. The Lord Jesus was damned, so that you and I would not have to be.
In v.35-36 of today's passage we read, "35 Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, 'Look, He is calling for Elijah!' 36 Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, 'Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.'"
When someone ran to the Lord to give Him some sour wine. At first glance, it looked like this man was moved with compassion. It appears he ran to provide the anesthetic that would have deadened the pain of the Lord Jesus. But, his motive was to see if something exciting was yet to happen as the rest of v.36 reveals. This man was moved not by compassion but by curiosity. He gave the Lord Jesus the sponge so he would not die too quickly. Of all those who were gathered around the cross that day, this man represented the thrill-seekers who desired the pleasure of watching a man die in agony.
In v.37 of today's passage we read, "And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last."
Just before the Lord Jesus died, John tells us He cried out "Tetelestai" which means "It is finished." Tetelestai was a financial term used when a debt was paid in full. The death of the Lord Jesus on the cross was more than enough to pay the debt that our sin had created. And, in the end, God won the battle between good and evil, the war between life and death.
