Mark 15:38-41

Passage

The curtain of the temple was torn in two as Jesus died.  When the centurion who was standing at the cross saw how He died, he declared that truly Jesus was the Son of God.  There also happened to be some female disciples of Jesus who were looking on from a distance.  These were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Salome.  When Jesus was in Galilee, He had ministered to them.  There were also many other women who followed Jesus who had followed Him to Jerusalem.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The temple curtain is torn.  This curtain was the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy place.  This curtain kept those priests who were not prepared to enter into the presence of God from actually entering into the presence of God.  Do not miss the spiritual significance of this testimony in the Gospel accounts.   We are told that the curtain is torn because with the atonement of Christ’s blood all people are now able to enter into the presence of God.  It is neither our works nor our own righteousness that allows us to enter into the presence of God.  It is Christ’s death on the cross that allows us to be righteous and enter into the presence of God.

How does this single statement reinforce the idea that salvation is through “grace alone?”  Are you prepared to enter into the presence of God?  Are you already in the presence of God?

Second Thought:

The centurion recognized Christ by the way He died.  This might seem strange.  But remember that the Romans were masters at crucifixion.  They were masters at it because this was a very common means of executing people in the Roman Empire.  No doubt this centurion had seen a multitude of crucifixions over his years of service.  But in all the crucifixions that he had seen, he had never seen anyone die like Jesus died.  This man, who was a veteran soldier in that he was a centurion, had never seen anyone die with the grace and presence of spirit that Jesus displayed.  He had never seen anyone give up their spirit and die as Jesus did.  To put it fairly bluntly, I’m willing to bet that the centurion had never seen anyone submit in the moment of their death.  This man saw Jesus submit to the power of the cross because He was submitting to God.  The centurion saw this and responded.

What can this story teach us about the power of submission with respect to our public testimony?  To whom are you submitted?  To what are you submitted?  How does this impact your testimony?  What testimony are you actually giving through your life?

Third Thought:

All of the Gospels – not just Mark – make a point to mention the women at the crucifixion.  In fact, every Gospel except Luke included at least one name of a woman not included in any of the other Gospels.  When we put this all together it means that there were many female disciples of Jesus at the crucifixion.  I think the early writers of Jesus’ salvation story are making a very intentional point.  Jesus actively taught women.  Jesus welcomed women into His inner circle.  Jesus accepted their presence as equals.  They responded.  I believe it is this dynamic of Jesus that eventually leads us to Galatians 3:28.  When we are truly in Christ, we no longer see status – any status – period.  We don’t see rich or poor.  We don’t see free or slave.  We don’t see male or female.  Instead, we see “child of God.”  Anything less is our humanity trying to superimpose itself onto the faith God is attempting to create within us.  Remember, the temple curtain was torn.  In Christ there is now nothing between us and God for all of us.

Why is Christianity ultimately counter-cultural to every culture?  Why is the call to become a Christian inherently a call to leave behind our worldly culture rather than to “make our worldly culture more Christian?”  Why is this such an important point to realize?  Why might this point be easiest to make through social categories such as women (or slaves, in the case of the verse from Galatians)?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 15:42-47