City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,  45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, ‘Certainly this man was innocent!’ 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.”

-Luke 23:44-49 ESV

Reflection

In Luke’s measurement of time, the first hour is 7:00 a.m., daylight would appear and everyone would wake up. The sixth hour is 12:00 noon, when broad daylight is expected, the ninth hour is 3:00 p.m., broad daylight still expected. Jesus was crucified at 9:00 a.m., or the third hour (Mark 15:25), He was on the cross for three hours of broad daylight, and three in complete darkness. What was going through the crowd’s mind as darkness fell at noon? Did the words of Amos 8:9, the prophecy darkness at noon and of judgement, fill their hearts with dread? Or of the ninth plague of the First Passover, the Plague of Darkness (Exodus 10:21-23). Did any of the chief priests regret their choices? The complete darkness, no sun, no moon, and no stars, was the wrath of God and His divine judgement of sin. While His Son suffered on the cross as the Sacrificial Lamb, He turned His Face from that ugly sight.

The temple curtain was 60 feet high, 30 feet long, and 4 inches thick, and was meant to separate the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, direct access to God. It would have been impossible to cut without extremely sharp tools, great strength, and a lot of time. Yet it was immediately torn in two from top to bottom, giving all who believe in Jesus and what He’s done direct access to God (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38), no way that could have been an accident, it only happened by supernatural means.

Crucifixion was a long, cruel death of asphyxiation due to exhaustion and the building up of carbon dioxide and fluid in lungs and heart, leading to respiratory and cardiac failure. The fact Jesus could speak, or even shout, during His final moments was only by supernatural means. The True Passover Lamb had been sacrificed and the price was paid.

A centurion – a commander of one hundred soldiers and a pagan – witnessed these supernatural occurrences, knew these were not mere coincidences, and recognized Jesus for who He was. And the crowd, even the ones who were baying for His Blood, returned home sorrowful. In the Bible, beating the chest is a gesture for deep sorrow (Isaiah 32:12), repentance (Luke 18:13), and mourning (Nahum 2:7), like punching the heart. Did they, like the centurion, recognize Jesus as the Son of God (Mark 15:39)? Were they sorrowful for their potential judgement or out of repentance?

Jesus’ friends and caretakers, who had known Him for a long time, witnessed all that had passed and would tell the story to all the known nations (Acts 2:1-12).

Application

Jesus died for your sins. What will you do with this sacrificial gift?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your gift of salvation. Thank You for doing the hard work on the cross so I can be free from sin and come home to You. Teach me to use Your gift for Your glory. In Your name I pray, amen.