Saturday Gospel Daily Devotions

SATURDAY, 15 APRIL 2023

TEXT: Mark 15:33-47

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, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

40: Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome.

41: In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

42: It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached,

43: Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.

44: Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.

45: When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.

46: So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

47: Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

(New International Version Holy Bible)

TOPIC: TRULY, HE DIED!

Today's text affirms the certainty of the death of Jesus Christ. The soldiers, the disciples, Pilate and others witnessed the fact that Jesus truly died. But while on the cross, He had to cry out to God. So the soldiers thought that He was looking for a way to escape and so called upon Prophet Elijah for deliverance.

But there was one person among them who saw and heard everything differently - the centurion. He is recorded to have (in verse 39) "heard his [Jesus] cry and saw how he [Jesus] died, and he [the centurion] said, 'Surely this was the Son of God!" Till today, we still have these two groups of people, even in the church.

Jesus' death means different things to different people. For some, it provides a job to earn a living while others see it as a means for attaining a certain social status. But there are still those who see it as the open door that brought them salvation and forgiveness for their sins.

Without the death of Jesus, which means the shedding of His blood, there cannot be forgiveness of sins. Hence, all of us would have perished. But, praise God, Jesus died and secured our redemption.

QUESTION: Are you washed in the blood that Jesus shed on the cross?

PRAYER: I am so glad that Jesus died and shed His blood that by grace through faith, I have been washed and I am redeemed. Amen.