It was 9:00 in the morning when they crucified him. A sign announced the charge against him. It read, the King of the Jews. Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right, one on his left. The people passed by shouting abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. Ha. Huh.
Look at you now. They yelled at him. You said you were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. Well, then, save yourself and come down from the cross. The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. He saved others. They scoffed, but, uh, he can't save himself.
Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross. We can see it and believe it. Even the men who were crucified with Jesus ridiculed him. At noon, darkness fell over the whole land until 3:00. Then, at 3:00, Jesus called out with a loud voice, eli, Eli lema sabachthani, which means my God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. Wait, he said, let's see whether Elijah comes and takes him down. Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last.
Luke 27:51-52, 54. At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and exclaimed.
“Surely he was the Son of God.” Mark 15:25 27
They said was. Jesus was dead. They checked. They made sure the body was placed in a tomb and left there. What a celebration the devils must have had. They had just killed the Messiah. The one who prophets had said would save the world was dead. What a victory! Imagine Jesus defeated mankind, forever held captive by Satan and his dark horde.
But hang on, friend. Sunday's coming.