Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Mark 15:33-39 (NIV)
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” 36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,[b] he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
Jesus is on the cross. This is a brutal and horribly painful way to die and it is also very, very public. Jesus is hung in the midst of a crowd who is searching for understanding. Every cry is met with a flutter of activity as the people gathered try to make sense of what is happening. It’s not until Jesus breathes his last that we have the definitive word on this moment in history. From the lips of a Roman Centurion, a man outside the family of Israel, we hear this simple proclamation, “‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’” (Mark 15:39) And it has forever been the same. On the lips of nearly every people group, including the people of Israel, Jesus has shown himself to be the Son of God. Today, reflect on this reality. Jesus’ early ministry was focused on the people of Israel, God made a way for each one of us to hear and know that he is God’s Son and we have forever been changed.