“And it was the third hour (9am) when they crucified Him…And when the sixth hour (12pm) had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour (6pm). And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out, ‘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 if Elijah will come to take Him down.'” – Mark 15:25, 33-36
The crucifixion of Jesus was a long, drawn out event. We are told that after a sleepless night of trials and beatings He was nailed to the cross at 9am and He did not die until 3pm. For six hours He struggled for every breath…each one more difficult than the last. For six hours He hung by the nails feeling the pain…shedding His blood for you and me. This was not a quick fix that brought mercy and grace into our reach. Why? If the only purpose of the death of Jesus was to forgive our sins then why not do it and be done with it? Why draw it out?
We know that John and the women were there for the whole six hours. Standing…watching…listening…waiting. The suffering of Jesus must have seemed as if it would never end to this small group who loved Him. John had also been up all night. He must have been exhausted emotionally and physically, but he could not leave his friend. Maybe John was praying, “Father, if it is your will to take Him, do it quickly so He doesn’t suffer long.”
Six hours…
Jesus speaks seven times from the cross. We have looked at the first four “words” which probably were spoken in the first three hours between 9am and 12pm. Then Scripture tells us that there was a darkness that fell across the land. From noon to 3pm all of nature seemed to close its eyes as the Creator gave up His life for its restoration. The One who called “Let there be light!” was left in the dark in order to bring about our redemption.
Notice that it was not only dark, but there must have been an eerie silence. Nothing from the crowd recorded. Nothing from the soldiers. Nothing from the cross…and, I can only imagine, nothing from heaven. Silence.
To ponder this darkness and this silence can help us as we begin to meditate on the final three “words” of Jesus which He spoke as the darkness lifted. Jesus is the one to break the silence. These final phrases are spoken differently than the first few. They are uttered loudly requiring great effort. They are a dialogue between a dying Son and a grieving Father. They are emotional…raw…almost unnerving as they are pushed out with His final breaths.
We are preparing to look at words spoken in the last few minutes of Jesus’ life on the earth. Jesus exerts the extra effort to speak His final words out loud for those around the cross to hear…for us to hear.
Today, let us quiet our souls at the foot of the cross as we prepare to hear these last of the seven words.