Abiding in Easterనమూనా

ABIDING IN EASTER - LENT DEVOTIONAL by BRYAN CRAIG

DAY 45

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!”

Mark 15:33-39 ESV

Today we commemorate Good Friday. It’s always been strange to call this day “good” when our Lord Jesus died on this day. Just as we remember our loved ones’ death days with sadness, we would hardly see them as good…unless we have an eternal perspective. For Jesus and all who believe in Him, death is not the end. This death of Jesus was good news, for it opened the door to Heaven for us. The curious line about what happened in the Temple, where the curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, has major significance. In the Temple, there was an inner sanctuary called the Holy of Holies, where the presence of God dwelt on earth. Only the high priest, once a year, could go through the curtain, to enter this sacred place. Even this was considered a dangerous proposition, for man could be struck dead in the presence of God at any moment.

As Jesus died, God tore the curtain to signify that there is no more separation between God and man. The “dividing wall of hostility”, caused by the original sin of man and the resulting expulsion from paradise, was destroyed. (See Ephesians 2:14) All of us followers of Jesus are now granted priestly access to the Holy of Holies. This is good news!

APPLICATION:

The “ninth hour” was 3:00 PM, so Scripture marks Jesus’ time of death. So, perhaps you might stop what you are doing today at 3:00 PM and spend some time meditating on Jesus’ death and praying to Him. Let the sadness of His pain and suffering and feeling forsaken slowly turn to joy, as you think of His death as your birth. Because He died, we can now live.