The Death of Jesus
(Mat 27:45–56; Luk 23:44–49; John 19:28–30 )
Mark 15:33-36 (EHV) When it was the sixth hour, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 At the ninth hour Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah!” 36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. They said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”
V33 When it was the sixth hour, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.
The sixth hour is 12:00 noon, and the ninth hour is 3:00 p.m. This darkness corresponds to judgment, a warning sign to Israel, and a covering for shame. Personally, I believe this is a supernatural phenomenon, not a natural event that just happened at that time.
A comment from Precept Austin:
“Darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour – This is supernatural darkness, for it was the middle of the day. This was the Father crushing His Son just as prophesied in Isaiah 53:10-11 “The Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief” in order that “as a result of the anguish of His soul,” He might justify many by bearing their iniquities.” How widespread was the darkness? We cannot state with certainty, but given that the Greek word for land (ge) is translated “earth” (165 times in 213 NT occurrences), it would strongly suggest this was global darkness. And although Satan is the prince of the power of the air and of darkness, this darkness was not devilish but divine. Neither was it natural (an eclipse), but it was supernatural.
“Was in global darkness? The scriptures do not really tell us. Lk 23:45 does say “the sun was obscured” which might suggest global darkness (but I am speculating). The main point is that Jesus bore the WHOLE sin debt for the WHOLE world so “that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16). And that’s NOT speculation!”
V34 At the ninth hour, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus cries out the anguish from His soul, “Why have you forsaken me?” This is a quote from Psalm 22:1. A forsakenness that affects even us, Christ-followers. For in love, He knew this was coming, and yet, in love, He obeyed (Matthew 26:42) and suffered for our sins. This is a suffering that no human could ever understand or experience.
How could Jesus, God the Son, be separated from God the Father?
Jesus is referring to His human nature, not His divine nature, which cannot be separated from God the Father and God the Holy Spirit (John 10:1).
A beautiful thing about the Psalms is the pouring out of human emotions. This is how they felt in many situations. They are all inspired. Much comfort can be drawn and learned from them. Our Lord Jesus in His human nature feels this pain of being forsaken.
(Holman Commentary) “God was distant from Jesus as he hung on the cross and did not answer his plea, yet he trusted God for his deliverance.”
V35 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah!”
The leaders and the people were apparently ignorant of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. They knew their beliefs but sometimes their knowledge of the Scriptures was lacking. Compare Jesus speaking to the Sadducees regarding Levirate Law mentioned in Mark 12:24-27.
V36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. They said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”
The sour wine is cheap wine that over-fermented into vinegar and mixed with water. Sometimes herbs were added to it. This was probably the case, intending to somewhat ease Jesus’s discomfort.
Someone else said, “Don’t, let’s see if Elijah will come to help him.” Pure mockery fueled by hate.
In Revelation 20:12 at the final judgment (the Great White Throne Judgment), all the nonbelievers from all ages are standing before Jesus for their sentencing. Two sets of books are opened. The first in the Book of Life, which contains the names of those who trusted in God. The other set is all the thoughts, desires, words, and deeds they ever did. All of which will be publicly revealed to the entire world. So, whoever said this mockery has had their evil words recorded for that final day. Hopefully, they truly repented.
We learn:
- Jesus suffered.
- Jesus was mocked and tortured.
Questions:
- Have we placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ?
- Have we been mocked or tortured for the Gospel?