Mark 15: Removing the Barrier
"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself!"
Everyone, it seems, is demanding a miracle. At the trial before the Sanhedrin, the priests slap Jesus and challenge him, saying, "Prophesy to us Christ. Who hit you?" (Matthew 26:68) Pilate and Herod, who have heard rumors about Jesus' powers, beg for a show. The grieving women who have followed Jesus all the way from Galilee yearn for a miracle of rescue. The disciples, cowering in fear, ache for one.
On the cross, one of the criminals crucified with Jesus taunts him, saying, "Aren't you the Christs? Save yourself and us!" (Luke 23:39) The crowd milling about the site takes up the cry: "Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him...Let God rescue him now if he wants him" (Matthew 27:42-43) But there is no rescue, no miracle. There is only silence. The Father has turned his back, or so it seems, letting history take its course, letting everything evil in the world triumph over everything good. For Jesus to save others, quite simply, he cannot save himself.
Why must Jesus die? Theologians who ponder such things have debated various theories of "the atonement" for centuries, with little agreement. Somehow it requires love- sacrificial love- to win what cannot be won by force. One detail that Mark includes may provide a clue. Jesus has just uttered the awful cry, "My Go, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He, God's Son, identifies so closely with the human race- taking on their sin!- that God the Father must turn away. The gulf is that great. But just as Jesus breathes his last, the curtain of the temple is "torn in two from top to bottom" (verse 38).
That massive curtain has served to seal off the Most Holy Place, where God's presence dwells. As the author of Hebrews later notes (see Hebrews 10), the tearing of that curtain shows beyond doubt exactly what Jesus' death on the cross accomplished. No more sacrifices will ever be required. Jesus has won for all of us- ordinary people, not just priests- free access to God's presence. By taking on the burden of human sin and bearing its punishment, Jesus removes forever the barrier between God and us.
"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself!"
Everyone, it seems, is demanding a miracle. At the trial before the Sanhedrin, the priests slap Jesus and challenge him, saying, "Prophesy to us Christ. Who hit you?" (Matthew 26:68) Pilate and Herod, who have heard rumors about Jesus' powers, beg for a show. The grieving women who have followed Jesus all the way from Galilee yearn for a miracle of rescue. The disciples, cowering in fear, ache for one.
On the cross, one of the criminals crucified with Jesus taunts him, saying, "Aren't you the Christs? Save yourself and us!" (Luke 23:39) The crowd milling about the site takes up the cry: "Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him...Let God rescue him now if he wants him" (Matthew 27:42-43) But there is no rescue, no miracle. There is only silence. The Father has turned his back, or so it seems, letting history take its course, letting everything evil in the world triumph over everything good. For Jesus to save others, quite simply, he cannot save himself.
Why must Jesus die? Theologians who ponder such things have debated various theories of "the atonement" for centuries, with little agreement. Somehow it requires love- sacrificial love- to win what cannot be won by force. One detail that Mark includes may provide a clue. Jesus has just uttered the awful cry, "My Go, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He, God's Son, identifies so closely with the human race- taking on their sin!- that God the Father must turn away. The gulf is that great. But just as Jesus breathes his last, the curtain of the temple is "torn in two from top to bottom" (verse 38).
That massive curtain has served to seal off the Most Holy Place, where God's presence dwells. As the author of Hebrews later notes (see Hebrews 10), the tearing of that curtain shows beyond doubt exactly what Jesus' death on the cross accomplished. No more sacrifices will ever be required. Jesus has won for all of us- ordinary people, not just priests- free access to God's presence. By taking on the burden of human sin and bearing its punishment, Jesus removes forever the barrier between God and us.
No comments:
Post a Comment