Mark 15:33-41

< Back to Mark Index


TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Crucifixion

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. "My God, My God," was not a question of surprise or a cry of despair.

  2. Entrance into the Holy of Holies is now permitted and encouraged.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Let's follow the example of the women who followed Christ.

QUESTIONS

  1. Discuss the darkness of Mark 15:33. Could the darkness have been explained away as a natural event?

  2. What is the meaning of "Eloi, Eloi?"

  3. Discuss Mark 15:37

  4. What did the veil of the temple signify?

  5. Was, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" a cry of despair?

  6. From which Psalm did the Lord quote?

  7. Can we comprehend God's requirement of the penalty for sin?

ANSWERS

  1. The darkness was over the land for three hours, from noon until 3:00 P.M. During these three hours, the judgment of a holy God fell on Christ for our sins. The darkness was real, but it symbolized God's judgment on sin. A first-century non-Christian historian tried to explain it away as a natural event, a solar eclipse. The Christians refuted this because it was during the Passover, during the time of a full moon.

  2. "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani," is Aramaic for "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" "Eloi" is from Matthew 27:46, the Hebrew transliteration of "My God."

  3. When Jesus cried out and breathed His last breath, it was most likely the cry recorded in John 19:30, "It is finished." It was not a last gasp of exhaustion. The Lord's life was not taken from Him. He gave it as an act of His will. It was a cry of victory, for the sin question was finished. He accomplished what He had come to do.

  4. It divided the holy place from the holy of holies, where only the designated priest could enter once a year, on the Day of Atonement. The rent veil meant that the holiest place of all was now open to believers. See Hebrews 10:19-22.

  5. No. It was not a question of surprise, or a cry of despair. The Lord fully realized what He was going through in His work of atonement on the cross.

  6. Psalm 22:1

  7. No. We cannot understand why God had to forsake or abandon His Son. Such love is beyond our comprehension, but we can fully appreciate what Jesus did for us on that cross, and that the Father allowed it (and even planned it for our salvation). We can know that Christ suffered the judgment of the holy wrath of God against sin, our sin, and that Jesus died as our substitute.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. What does the rent veil mean to you?

  2. "Truly, this man was the Son of God!" What do the words of the Roman Centurion mean to you?

CHALLENGE

  1. The women who followed Christ ministered to Him. They were faithful in their devotion to Him. How are you following their example?

KEY VERSES

  • "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Mark 15:34) "Truly this Man was the Son of God!" (Mark 15:39) "The women followed Him and ministered to Him." (Mark 15:41)



Mark, Talks, New TestamentDeb HarmsMark 15:33-41