Gospel of Mark Study #54

“Darkness Over the Land”

Mark 15:33-47

Study #54 in Mark Series

INTRODUCTION:

I remember back in 1959 when as a 5^th grader our teacher told us that a solar eclipse would take place in a couple of days. She explained to us that a solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, temporarily blocking out much of the sun’s direct light. We were issued smoky lenses and warned not to look directly at the sun because it could blind us. When the day came, the tension mounted and sure enough for a few minutes the moon blocked out the sun and the world dimmed down a little bit. When it was over, we marched back into the classroom and continued our school day. No big deal. Nothing scary. Not particularly impressive.

TRANSITION:

In our text for this week, we learn about a day long ago when the whole land of Israel went black, not just dim, and not for just a few minutes, but totally dark for THREE HOURS! It happened at high noon and lasted until three o’clock. It scared the bejeebers out of people and sent them running to their homes. That is because they figured out very quickly that this was not a normal solar eclipse. In fact, they realized that this was not a “natural” phenomenon. During those last three hours that Jesus hung on the cross, God the Father turned out the lights. I believe He did it to call attention to the fact that the Savior was dying for the ugly black sins of the whole world, and according to the Scriptures the darkness continued to cover the land until Jesus breathed His last and died. Let’s look at the text.

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 33: When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.

• The Roman day started at sunrise, approximately 6:00 AM. That was Zero hour. According to Mark 15:25 Jesus was nailed to the cross at the “third hour,” which would have been approximately 9 AM. The “sixth hour” would have been high noon, when the sky suddenly went dark. And this was not just a big cloud temporarily blocking out the light from the sun. No, this was a major event in the heavens, which lasted for three full hours and affected the whole land of Israel. People have postulated that it was coincidently a solar eclipse where the moon passed in front of the sun. Listen, I have seen a couple of those, and they do not darken the whole sky. Things get a little bit darker for 2 or 3 minutes, but it is nothing frightening. When God blotted out the sun, He did it for three full hours and it scared the willies out of the people in Israel, especially those who were there witnessing the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. This was no coincidence, not by a long shot! Darkness at noon, by its paradoxical nature, was a fitting sign for God to give to those who had rejected His Son, who was the Light of the world.

Verses 34-35: At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  ³⁵ When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.”

• “At the ninth hour Jesus cried out…” That is, at 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon. At that point He had been hanging on the cross for approximately 6 hours. By Roman crucifixion standards that was not a long time. Depending on how the crucifixion was carried out some men suffered for days until death finally put them out of their misery. However, Jesus had already been severely beaten and had lost a lot of blood.
• What about these Aramaic words that Jesus uttered? “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  Many people believe that the God the Father abandoned God the Son on the cross. They base it on this statement by Jesus. I do not agree, however. I believe that in those last words Jesus was quoting Scripture, Psalm 22 to be exact, and that this was a triumphal statement of faith and victory rather than defeat and sorrow. Jesus cried out the words from Psalm 22:1, a familiar Messianic Psalm, one that most of those standing around the foot of the cross knew by heart. This Psalm of David starts with this plaintive cry but ends with a triumphant victory cry of praise for the God who rescues him. But the Psalm is full of references to the cross and that is why Jesus quoted it. By the way, David penned this psalm hundreds of years before the rise of the Roman Empire and the invention of crucifixion as a means of execution. Let’s see how this psalm points directly to Christ:

v  Verses 6-8: But I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned and despised by all!  ⁷ Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying, ⁸ “Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the Lord save him! If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!”

v  Verses 14-15: My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. ¹⁵ My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. 

v  Verses 16-18: My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet.  ¹⁷ I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat.  ¹⁸ They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing. 

• What we do know for a fact is that in that moment when Jesus died on the cross the desolation and pain of what He felt must have been excruciating because in that moment in some way that we cannot fathom the Father regarded Jesus as sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 explains it this way: “He [God the Father] made Him [Jesus the Son] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [in Christ].” If there was a barrier between the Father and the Son at that moment, it could only be because of sin, but Jesus had no sin, so it could only be our sin that cost Him such agony. In that horrible moment, if the Father turned His back, it was not on His Son, but upon the burden of sin that He carried, our sins.
• Note too that some of the scoffers standing there misunderstood and concluded from Jesus’ words that He was calling to Elijah to come and save Him. This was because of the similarity between the words, “Eloi, Eloi…” and the Hebrew name of Elijah. 

Verse 36: Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.”

• This sour wine they gave Him was basically just vinegar. It was old wine that had gone bad, but at least it helped to quench His thirst. However, it was not the drugged potion that the soldiers had tried to get Him to drink earlier (v. 23).
• Their statement about Elijah possibly showing up was just more mockery. They did not really believe anyone would or could come to rescue Jesus. Little did they know, He could have removed Himself from that cross at any moment. However, if He had chosen to do that we would still be in our sins and headed for Hell. I am so glad He stayed the course. 

Verse 37: And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last.

• Neither Matthew’s nor Mark’s Gospels tell us what that loud cry was, but Luke’s and John’s do. They record Him saying two things: “Father, it is finished! Into Thy hands I commit My spirit.” After He shouted these words, He “expired,” that is, He breathed out one last time and gave up His Spirit unto death.
• “…and breathed His last” In Greek this is just one word. The KJV gives us the expression, “He gave up the ghost.” It has become a euphemism for death in English, but it grows out of a misunderstanding of the Greek word used here: exépneusen, which simply means to breathe out, literally, to “expire.” Notice, Jesus did not die because His organs ceased to function. He died because He had finished His work and now it was time to surrender up His spirit.
• The Jews had been very anxious all afternoon to get this whole thing over with because they all had someplace to be. Mark does not mention it, but John’s Gospel says that late in the afternoon the Jewish leaders went to Pilate to request that the legs of all three men might be broken to get them to die more quickly so that they could get on with their Sabbath rituals (cf. John 19:31-37). You see, with their lower leg bones shattered the condemned men could no longer push themselves up against the nails that were pounded through their feet into the lower wood block to relieve the pressure on their diaphragms. This would hasten their deaths because of lack of oxygen. In other words, they would die of asphyxiation. Pilate granted the request of the chief priests, so his soldiers were sent word to break the legs of the three prisoners. They first broke the legs of the two thieves, however, when they came to Jesus’ cross, they discovered that He was already dead, so they did not break His bones, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Psalm 34:20 and Exodus 12:46 that “not a bone of Him shall be broken.”
• However, just to make sure that Jesus was truly dead one of the Roman soldiers rammed a battle spear into Jesus’ side. John 19:34 tells us, “…immediately there came out blood and water…” proving that He was indeed dead because His blood serums had already begun to separate. 

Verse 38: And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

• In that moment, when the Son of God completed His sacrifice for your sins and mine, some amazing events took place. Mark only recorded one of them but there were more. Mark, as well as the other Gospel writers tells us that in that moment, at the hour of the evening sacrifice in the Temple located just a few blocks away, when the maximum number of priests would have been present, the giant curtain that hung from the ceiling inside the Temple and divided the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, was suddenly ripped in two. It was instantly split down the middle. That by itself was amazing, but what made it even more amazing was the fact that it tore, not from bottom to top, but from top to bottom.
• For those who witnessed it, that was proof that this was not a natural phenomenon. It was not the result of fabric fatigue. That veil was super-strong and very thick. It was made of many layers all woven together to form a thick, opaque curtain. But in that moment when the Son of God died, God Himself ripped the veil in two, from top to bottom.
• But why? What was the significance and symbolism of that veil? For that we turn to Hebrews 9:7-8 and 10:19-22. There we read: “But only the high priest entered the inner room [i.e., the Holy of Holies], and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. ⁸ The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning… ¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” In other words, when God ripped that curtain from top to bottom in that moment when Christ died, He was showing to everyone that the blood of Jesus had made a way for us to have direct access to God, into the Holy of Holies through the shed blood of His Son. The Final Atonement had been made.
• Just an interesting sidelight: I believe that the ripping of the veil in the Temple must have had a profound effect on many of the priests because the Scriptures tell us that many of those priests later came to saving belief in Christ. Acts 6:7 says, “And the word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.” I believe that some of those must have been present in the Temple that day when God tore the veil down the middle.

Verse 39: When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

• A centurion normally had 80-100 men under his command and was roughly equivalent to a Captain in our modern US Army. However, on that day the officer oversaw a small detachment called a contubernium (i.e., a squad of 8-10) assigned to carry out the crucifixion. Without a doubt, he had seen many men die, probably many of them by crucifixion. But this man, Jesus, was different from all the rest. That soldier stood facing the cross, looking up into Jesus’ face. He heard the words that Jesus spoke. He saw the love in His eyes. He heard the conversation between Jesus and the thief on the other cross. As Jesus breathed His last breath, the old soldier said, “Truly, this man was the Son of God.” Some scholars have said that we must understand his statement in light of his pagan religious views, but I believe that this man was given an insight into who Jesus really was and his testimony comes all the way down to us. He was not merely stating that Jesus was “a son of a god.” He was correctly concluding that Jesus was “the Son of the True and Living God.” In one sense, that battle-scarred Roman soldier was the first to take his stand, “beneath the cross of Jesus,” like the old hymn puts it. And that is all God has asked any sinner to do. He asks him to come in faith to Jesus. I believe that is what this centurion was doing. 

Verses 40-41: There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less [i.e., Little James] and Joses [i.e., Joseph], and Salome. ⁴¹ When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and minister to Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

• It is interesting to note that these women were the last disciples to leave the foot of the cross and the first ones to arrive at the tomb. It says they looked on from a little way away but at least they were there, and they remained faithful to the end. John’s Gospel in 19:25-27 tells us that Mary, Jesus’ mother, and the apostle John were also standing near the foot of the cross.
• Mary Magdalene [i.e., of the village of Magdala] loved the Lord Jesus with all her heart and followed Him through most of His ministry. Luke 8:2 and Mark 16:9 tell us that Jesus had freed her from the demonic oppression of seven demons, which unshackled her spirit to believe in Him and become a child of God. She never forgot what Jesus had done for her.
• By the way, by comparing this text with Matthew’s account we learn that this lady, Salome, was the mother of James and John, and therefore was the wife of Zebedee (cf. Matthew 27:56).

Verses 42-43: When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

• This was Friday (i.e., “Good Friday”), and the Sabbath was about to begin. Sundown marked the beginning of Sabbath and so everything had to be fast-tracked to get it done before nightfall. Joseph of Arimathea, a good and righteous man, who was also a member of the Sanhedrin, and as far as we know, the only member to vote against the death of Jesus, went to Pilate at great personal risk and asked for Jesus’ body. Mark does not comment on the condition of Joseph’s soul, but John fills in the gaps for us. In John 19:38-40 we learn, “Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away.  ³⁹ With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes.  ⁴⁰ Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth.
• It is too bad that it took this tragedy to get Joseph and Nicodemus out of the closet. It is sad that they waited so long to decide to fly their flags. But better late than never. I am certain though, that for the rest of their lives they were plagued with guilt over having done so little for Jesus before His death.  

Verses 44-45: Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead.  ⁴⁵ And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

• The centurion that Pilate summoned was almost certainly the one we met up in verse 39, the one who had concluded that indeed, Jesus was “the Son of God.” Upon hearing the report of Jesus’ death Pilate granted Joseph’s request. 

Verses 46-47: Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb, which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid.

• The newly hewn stone tomb where Jesus’ body was laid to rest belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. According to Matthew 27:60 it was a brand-new family burial chamber and had never yet been used. The place where Jesus was laid was almost certainly the very spot where Joseph planned for his own body to be laid someday. The friends of Jesus were as poor as church mice. They had no tomb, no money for burial clothes or for spices. But the two rich guys, Joseph, and Nicodemus, apparently provided everything that was needed. John 19:39 tells us that Nicodemus brought over 75 lbs. of spices and herbs for the burial. By the way just as a side note, according to Middle East experts that was about what would be called for in a royal burial. Nicodemus was giving Jesus the honor of a king’s funeral. In fact, both Joseph and Nicodemus are to be honored and commended because, as secret disciples of Jesus, they took a bold stand when most of the disciples were absent, hiding in terror.
• Joseph rolled the stone down in the track in front of the door. Then the Romans sealed the tomb and posted a squad of soldiers to guard it. Matthew tells us that this was done at the insistence of the Jewish chief priests and Pharisees who went to Pilate and said: “Sir, we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’  ⁶⁴ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”  ⁶⁵ “Take a guard,” Pilate answered.  “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.”  ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard” (Matthew 27:63-66).
• This is an amazing part of the story because it was a fulfilment of prophecy. Isaiah 53:9 says, speaking about the Messiah who would appear more than seven hundred years later, “And they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth.” 
• “Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid.” Evidently these were the only two mourners who stayed until the very end to witness Joseph and Nicodemus closing the tomb. But God bless them! They were faithful to the end.

CONCLUSION:

As I read these verses one thing just jumps out at me—not even one person in this story really seemed to believe that Jesus would rise from the dead. Not the 11 apostles, not that band of righteous women, not Joseph or Nicodemus, and apparently not even Jesus’ own mother. None of them said, “Cheer up guys. We don’t have to worry because He won’t be in this cold tomb for long. In a couple of days, He will rise again, just like He told us.”           

Despite all they had seen and heard over the past 3½ years, their faith had just been beaten up by the “facts.” They had seen Jesus be scourged and had watched Him die. That was their new reality. Those were the facts. The darkness had blotted out the light just as surely as the sky had been dark all afternoon.         

But is this not what often happens to us too? When something horrible happens we immediately jump to the conclusion that all is lost, that God has fallen off His throne, or that He has suddenly contracted Alzheimer’s regarding us and our personal situation. We start to “awfulize.” That is a word I made up. It means to see things in the most awful way possible.

The disciples were so busy “awfulizing” that they totally lost sight of the fact that everything that had happened was written on Jesus’ Day Planner. He and the Father had it all under control, but they lost sight of that and went all weak in the knees.

There is an old saying that goes, “Seeing is believing,” meaning that we believe in what we can see with our eyes. However, our eyes can easily be tricked. Ask any magician or sleight-of-hand artist. The reality is that “Believing is seeing.” Faith opens our eyes to see what is there, behind the scenes, behind the so-called “facts.” The fact was that everything was running according to God’s timetable. They just could not see it. Their minds and hearts were darkened to the truth. Oh, that we would learn to walk by faith rather than by sight! It is a sad commentary that none of the Jesus followers in this story managed to do that, and as a result, they missed out on much of the blessing that could have been theirs if only they had trusted in God’s plan and God’s promises rather than give in to what their lying eyes told them.