Jesus Dies for Our Sins

Scripture: Luke 23:44-49

44 By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 45 The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. 46 Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last. 47 When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this man was innocent.” 48 And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow. 49 But Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching. (Luke 23:44-49 NLT)

Darkness fell across the whole land for three hours. The light from the sun was gone. God was dying on a cross and the world went dark. At some point in these three dark hours, Matthew tells us, the earth shook, the rocks split apart, and tombs were opened in the cemetery. Suddenly, in that moment, the heavy curtain in the sanctuary of the temple that separated the ordinary people from the holy place where God lived, was ripped apart, torn down the middle. Suddenly, there was no longer an artificially constructed wall between God and man that only a few special people could pass through, that could only be entered by sacrifices and rituals. Hebrews 9 and 10 gives us a detailed explanation about how Jesus’ sacrifice removed the dividing wall between God and man, and between us and others.

Imagine the foolish efforts of the religious leaders to hurriedly stitch the curtain back together before it was time for the high priest to go behind the curtain into the “Holy Place” to offer a sacrifice! Think of our own foolish efforts to maintain a safe distance by putting empty rituals between us and God!

And think of this! His friends had deserted him and for the first time he did not feel his Father’s presence. Matthew and Mark tell us Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus was totally alone for the first time in his life. He couldn’t feel his Father’s presence, but as he finished his once-for-all sacrifice for sin, he entrusted his spirit into his Father’s hands and breathed his last breath. What an act of faith on the part of the Son of Man!

Prayer:

Father, Thank you for removing the curtain between you and us by tearing it open from the top, from your end. We could never have done it from the bottom, from our end! Jesus, thank you for your suffering and sacrifice and for that final act of faith in which you entrusted your Spirit to the Father – an act of faith in death and darkness that brought light and life to the whole world. Thank you for finishing the work! Amen!