By: Dale Weckbacher
Mark 15:37-39
And Jesus uttered
a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the
curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And
when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he[c] breathed his last, he
said, “Truly this man was the Son[d] of God!”
(ESV)
For those of us still going to a
job Monday through Friday, Friday is still something to look forward to because
at the end of the day, there are two days off to do what we want to do. However, the coronavirus crisis has tarnished
this as people now work from home with the weekend being more time at home but
with a different routine. However, even
this weekend routine has suffered and means staying at home with nowhere to go
and nothing to do but even with this disruption in routine, Friday is still a
good day.
Mark
15:33-47 records the events of Jesus’ death and burial which occurred on a
Friday. Each year Christians remember
the death and burial of Jesus, calling it Good Friday. To outsiders, calling a day remembering the
death and burial of someone good, may seem strange but this is due to a lack of
understanding the significance of the events of Good Friday in providing
salvation and forgiveness of sins for humanity.
The death and burial of Jesus had to occur for there to be a
resurrection three days later. If the
events of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection were a Shakespearean play, it
would have three acts,
1) Tragedy
– For the followers of Jesus living in the moment of Jesus’ crucifixion, the
events occurring on that fateful Friday were anything but good. Looking at it from their perspective, they
have spent the last few years following someone they believed was their Messiah
evidenced by the lavish praise they offered when Jesus entered Jerusalem on
Palm Sunday (Mark
11:1-11). The act one tragedy for
this play may have started with this high point, perhaps providing flashbacks
to some of Jesus’ greatest miracles such as the healing of a blind man (John
9), the calming of a storm (Matthew
8:23-27), the casting of a demon into a herd of swine (Matthew
8:28-34), and the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John
11:38-44). The feelings of despair
and hopelessness at witnessing Jesus’ crucifixion and death may have been due
to unrealistic expectations by Jesus’ followers, expecting Jesus to march into
Jerusalem and immediately establish his kingdom. When in a crisis in our lives, we tend to ask
God to end the crisis and deliver us out of it but sometimes it is God’s
intention for us to go through the crisis to test our faith, perfect us, and
make us complete and lacking nothing (James
1:2-4). Sinful humanity is not ready
for citizenship in the Kingdom of God until there is forgiveness of sin
requiring the death of the spotless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
2) Reflection
– Christians often focus on the tragedy of Good Friday and the celebration of
resurrection Sunday while ignoring act two of the play, the silence of
Saturday. The process of building strong
faith means we may need to go through a crisis (James
1:2-4) but also involves waiting. Isaiah
40:31 reminds us that waiting renews our strength because it is during this
waiting period that we have time to reflect.
For the disciples now hiding out of fear, the waiting period was a time
to reflect on what Jesus taught them. This
may have included reflection on the times Jesus foretold of his death burial
and resurrection (Mark
8:31-37; 9:30-32; 10:32-34), creating anticipation about what may occur on
Sunday. This anticipation of a
resurrection from the dead is possibly why Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother
of Joses stayed at a distance to see where Jesus was buried (Mark
15:40, 47) so they could return on Sunday to see if a resurrection had
occurred (Mark
16:1). During a crisis as we wait and
reflect on what is happening, we can react in fear looking at the circumstances
like the disciples, or in faith, remembering what Jesus said like Mary and
Mary. As believers in Christ, I pray we
react in faith.
3) Celebration
– What sets Christianity apart from other religions is the empty tomb. Christians to not make a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem to worship at the tomb of their leader but can go to Jerusalem and
see an empty tomb without a body.
Instead of worshipping a dead prophet or teacher and reflecting on his teachings,
Christians reflect on the teachings of Jesus who sits at the right hand of God
the Father making intercession for their needs (Romans
8:34). Christians also have the hope
of a glorious eternity with God made possible by a living Savior who promised
to return (Revelation
21:1-8). Even in the middle of a
global pandemic, Christians can celebrate knowing that Jesus is alive and
sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and a glorious future of eternity
with God will occur when Jesus returns.
The coronavirus is a global
tragedy that has led to people dying or getting sick, people losing jobs, and
potentially everything they worked for all their lives. People with other health issues considered
elective must suffer from their illnesses as Covid19 patients have a preference. My prayer is that people will take this
tragedy and reflect out of faith knowing that we worship a risen savior that
sits at the right hand of God the Father interceding for us and will come back
to live with us. However, God does not
force himself on people and gives them a choice, will they depend on God to
save them in faith or cower in fear. I
invite those reading this who have not chosen to accept Jesus as their savior
to do so now by praying with me,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, spent
three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord
of my life.
We will get through the tragedy
of the coronavirus but not by cowering in fear over dying or getting sick, but
by faith in God knowing that we have an advocate with God through Jesus (Romans
8:34) and a glorious future with God in a pristine world free of deadly
viruses (Revelation
21:1-8). We will survive this crisis
by taking time to reflect and meditate on the promises of God contained in the
Bible and our glorious future with Christ.
May God bless everyone reading this post.
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