The Grand Miracle: Six Words

Good Friday - Mark 15:33-39

Apr 18, 2025

Introduction. As we have been walking with Jesus through the last day leading up to his burial, I want us to pause and look at a few verses in Mark’s gospel which are a snapshot of the spring-loaded punch of the language and the intertextual dialogue that we are invited into. Mark isn’t merely recounting events which occurred. He is speaking of the significance of the events. Like hyperlinks embedded in an online article, our passage (all of the passages really) have words and phrases that invite us to look further and closer to what is being said. Tonight, I would like to look at six of those word-links. And so as we look at Mark 15:33-39, we will be looking at 1. The Darkness, 2. The Cry, 3. The Sour Wine, 4. Elijah, 5. The Torn Curtain, and 6. The Centurion.

Read the Sermon Passage: Mark 15:33-39 (ESV). “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!”

Firstly, let’s look at 1. The Darkness. Sixth hour to the ninth hour (12-3pm). Remember, this is not an eclipse, an eclipse does not take place when the moon is full. And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. You remember what God’s first command was? [Let there be light.] Do you remember which plague was the ninth of ten plagues that fell on Egypt? [Yes, darkness.] It was dark in Egypt for three days (Exodus 10:21-22). Darkness in the Old Testament is a physical manifestation of a spiritual condition. That darkness has fallen upon the ‘whole land” means that judgment has come. That an undoing of the order of creation has fallen…that the sustaining power of God that subdued the chaos is being withdrawn and judgment is coming. But upon whom is it falling? Mirroring the darkness of Egypt, on this Passover in Palestine, darkness falls for three hours? What plague ultimately follows the plague of darkness in Egypt? Do you see what is happening? The firstborn son is giving his life to the avenging angel. Justice and judgment isn’t falling on your son or on my son or on the firstborn male of our households. Judgment has fallen upon the Son of God.

Second, we have 2. The Cry. Jesus cried out: “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani!” It is the cry of any and every person who has succumbed to the confusion of calamity. It isn’t merely a cry of pain, it is a cry of abandonment. It certainly speaks to the degree in which our Lord Jesus suffered, but it speaks more. Why? Because these are the first words of the Twenty-second Psalm. Jesus is telling us, and Mark is showing us something. What is that? Psalm 22 contains more passages which allude to the events that are transpiring on Golgotha. Together with the opening words of the psalm we have Psalm 22:6-8, “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; ‘He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!’” If you’ve ever heard Handle’s Messiah, you cannot hear these words and not hear the chorus that sings them. And there is one more. Psalm 22:16-19, “For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” These words show us that Jesus is not merely the pitiful victim of men and it would seem God, but this is something more. When Peter rebukes Jesus, Jesus answers back by not only saying, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” What else does he say, “You have not in mind the things of God, but you have in mind the things of men.” That is, you are thinking contrary to what God’s mind is…what God’s plan is. Here we see that this is God’s plan unfolding. God’s will is being done, just as Jesus prayed it would be done.

Next we read, 3. The Sour Wine. You may remember that this too is prophesied in the Old Testament. But do you know where? Psalm 69:21 reads, “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.” Psalm 69 is another messianic psalm which speaks to the passion of the Lord’s Anointed. Psalm 69:4 reads, “More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore?” “…What I did not steal, must I now restore?” Psalm 69 was an important Psalm for the Apostles because it was only after the resurrection that the disciples understood the significance of God’s plan. Psalm 69:9 “For zeal for your house has consumed me.” John, in his gospel notes this in chapter 2 where he locates Jesus’ first cleansing of the temple. He says, John 2:17, “His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” But it was only after that they came to understand the second half of the verse which reads, “and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.”

Next we come to what could be the most obscure, but I think it is significantly important, and that is the reference to 4. Elijah. In Mark’s Gospel, in the Gospel record, the presence of Elijah is ubiquitous. Being able to identify Elijah is critical to coming to an understanding of who Jesus is. Mark is explicit. He identifies John the Baptist as one who preaches and calls Israel to repentance. He wears a camel hair tunic with a leather belt around his waist which is an explicit reference to the way Elijah the prophet himself dressed. Just like Elijah the prophet who confronted King Ahab of Samaria over his marriage to a non-Israelite who was leading Israel astray, John confronts King Herod Antipas whose relationship to his brother’s wife is a wicked betrayal as well. Both Jezebel and Herodias want their respective prophet killed though each respective King is captivated by their prophet’s teaching. Elijah stood before the Lord on Mount Horeb. John the Baptist stands before the Lord in the waters of the Jordan. Yet the people couldn’t come to terms with who the forerunner was and so they missed the One who follows. Here as Jesus hangs on the cross, they are still blind to what is taking place. You remember the last words of the prophet Malachi? You remember his prophecy? Malachi 4:1-6. “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts. “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” Good Friday is “the great and awesome day of the Lord.” And upon whom is falling the decree of utter destruction? Upon the Lord himself who is faithful to his covenant –who himself is paying the price for the covenant faithlessness of his people.

Next we come to 5. The Torn Curtain. We read (Mark 15:37-38), “And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” These two sentences are placed side beside because Mark wants us to understand that these two events which occurred miles apart are intimately connected. Jesus’ death coinciding with the temple curtain being torn tells us that the way into the garden has been opened. You remember what was beyond the curtain? [The Holy of Holies]. You remember what was in the Holy of Holies? It was decorated with paneling overlaid with gold with the images of the trees of the garden. And you remember what stood beside each side of the ark of the covenant? Two giant statues of cherubim even as cherubim ornamented the lid of the ark of the covenant which was called the mercy seat. Only one man, one time a year was allowed to enter this space and he did so in the fear of death to atone for the sins of God’s people. But now the way to mercy and forgiveness has been opened by the Son of God who himself is the propitiation of our sins. Jesus’ death as the Lamb of God has taken away the sins of the world.

And lastly we come to the word of 6. The Centurion. You’ll recall that Mark begins his gospel in an open contradiction of the kingdom of this world and the Roman empire and its Caesar, Augustus, who was himself called the “son of god” and who himself brought the Pax Romana. The first word’s of Mark’s gospel, “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the son of God,” is a direct contradiction. Yet, this centurion who has witnessed thousands of executions, who has seen thousands of men die saw something more significant than the pomp of any Roman emperor. He says (Mark 15:39), “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!’” Here, Mark is showing us, and the Roman centurion is telling us, if we will listen, that this one on the cross is the true Son of God who brings peace to all who believe.

Conclusion. Take time, friends over this next day to read and review these hyperlinked texts. Read through Psalm 22 and Psalm 69. Ask yourself to whom are you looking for peace. And know that Jesus has finished all that needs doing for you and I to have peace if we will only believe.

References

Keller, Timothy. Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God. New York: Penguin Books, 2013.

Wright, N. T. Mark for Everyone. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.

Cole, R. Alan. Mark. The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989.