“It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[e] When he had said this, he breathed his last. 47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breast’s and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.” Luke 23.44-49
It was horrific. Perhaps the worst and best day in history. We grieve and celebrate this ending. We grieve that Jesus had to die for our sins. We celebrate because he overcame death and was sent to save us. We do not applaud the persecution or the injustice, but we praise the One who endured the cross for our sake.
The cross is the only means to grace. Without his suffering and sacrifice, we would have no chance of heaven. Without his willingness to reveal God’s love for us, we would be eternally lost in our sin and shame.
Can you picture the scene from this day? The day became like night for three hours, from noon to 3 p.m. The sun stopped (v. 45). And the curtain of God’s Temple was ripped apart from top to bottom—a sermon all in itself. Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” And he died, breathing his last. Soldiers confessed that he was a holy man, or the Son of God. Bystanders beat their breasts and mourned. Many women disciples stood watching, mourning, and weeping.
And what if the story stopped at that exact moment? What if Christ had not been raised? Death would have enveloped him, and evil would have won. But the offering of the pure, blameless, spotless Lamb was complete. God received it. He invented it. He atoned for it. He justified it. And Jesus died, but three days later he would arise.
The moment of his death was terrifyingly horrible. The silence of the cross. The beaten, broken body of the Christ who healed many, brought dead people to life, and gave meaning to emptiness was dead upon the cross. We will sit in that moment for a period of time, not unlike Good Friday, when we are awaiting the resurrection.
We have found a Savior. We have discovered hope. Even when I sin and turn against the Lord, he still loves, still moves, still acts, and still saves.
He has saved us. Will we trust? Believe, repent, and receive?
“O Lord God, it is a rainy, dreary Sunday. The sun hides behind the clouds. The message of the cross is life. But as we sit in the death of Christ, we recognize his gift and our deliverance. We are thankful for his act of mercy, and ashamed that it was we who put him there. Come now, Holy Spirit, and reconcile your world. Help us walk in accordance with your ways. I trust you, Lord, and praise your name. For you are good, and your love endures forever.” Amen.