Joel M Bradshaw

33And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Sonⁱ of God!” 40There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.–Mark 15

1. To put it into perspective, it was dark from Noon-3p. This doesn’t normally happen.
2. Studies have shown that in Jesus day there was a Northern Aramaic accent and a Southern one. Jesus would have spoke with the Northern one being raised in Galilee. His accent might have caused the ‘Elijah’ confusion in some from the southern Jerusalem.
3. Jesus, the Messianic Son of David, quoted David from Psalm 22:1.
4. Some in the crowd wanted to keep Jesus alive just to see if Elijah would come. Would the man who could calm the sea with his voice also call down support from Heaven? Give him something to drink so he will talk more!
5. If the curtain was torn from bottom to top, we would assume that some people did it. But from top to bottom in an era without construction cranes? The death of Jesus paid for the sin that once required separation from the holy.
6. The centurion had the most interesting view in history. I wonder if he is in Heaven? Many years ago I wrote a song pondering this man’s theological journey. His words may have come from a pagan polytheistic perspective, but they do speak to a great theological moment amidst the strange happenings at the death.
7. When many of the male disciples ran and feared for their lives, the women were present as much as they could be. They cared for Him in life and in death. They wouldn’t have been seen as a threat. Jesus would have been able to see them there. Sometimes just being quietly present is being a good friend to someone.–JMB