Mark 15:24-41

Mark 15:24

What took place around the Cross of Christ.

I. Notice what mendid during the crucifixion of Christ. (1) The soldiers. They are careless and confident. They cast lots for the clothes of the Lord. Their thoughts are all for this world. So many among ourselves know well the Lord's mantle, and have it in their hands namely, His Word and Sacraments, the means of salvation which the Church offers. But the use they make of it is thoughtless and careless. (2) The crowd of Jews. They pass by mocking and shaking their heads; some from malice, others from ignorance and a darkened mind. Many pass the Cross merely as spectators as if it were possible for any of us to be no more than a spectator of it. We shake our heads doubtfully, we understand the Lord's words imperfectly or wrongly, and then we complain that they are foolishness. (3) The little group of friends. They stood afar off, beholding partly from fear of the Jews partly from fear of the heartrending sorrow of a near approach. So with us. But the nearer to the Cross the richer the blessing. This is well illustrated in the case of the penitent thief.

II. Notice what God did during the crucifixion of Christ. (1) He darkened the sun and made an earthquake. Such phenomena occur also when the Crucified comes near to our spirits, if only we could see them. The life of the senses formerly so joyous now loses its charm. We guess then what powers of darkness have been carrying on their work in us. We feel that the decisive hour has come, when light or darkness must win the day. The pillars of our being shake; we feel something beforehand of the day of judgment. (2) The veil of the Temple was rent in twain. On that day heaven and earth were rolled up like worn-out garments, and a new creation began. The way into the holiest of all was opened in the hour that Jesus died. (3) The graves were opened. Thus God showed that the new creation was to be that creation of resurrection and of life for which all saints in the former dispensation had waited. In the hour when Christ comes to us we have this witness also. We feel the dawn of a new day arise, a new life of love and of knowledge. This feeling may pass away, but yet it is like the first coming of spring to our souls; we see the dawn of own resurrection day appear.

R. Rothe, Nachgelassene Predigten,vol. ii., p. 81.