Mark 15:33-38
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) 35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” 36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
As many of us set out for worship on Resurrection Sunday, we may have thought of the sacrifice that was made for us or maybe even thought about the new outfit that came with “Easter.” Our minds may have been set on the feast that would happen after the worship experience or the gathering of our family members. Regardless of what we thought about we already knew the sermon the preacher would preach. He or she would say something like this: “Christ came to give us life and life more abundantly. The condensed story says; He came. He lived. He ministered. He performed miracles. He healed. He taught. He was accused. He was prosecuted. He was convicted. He was hung up for my hang ups. He suffered. He bled. He died. He was buried. He rose with all power in His Hand.”
You may have heard “I just know that they Crucified my Lord and Your Savior. He Hung, He Bled, He Suffered and He Died! Didn’t HE Die!? HE DIIIIIIEEEED! Didn’t HEEE DIE! They took HIM off the Cross and put HIM in a borrowed tomb! Put the ROCK in a rock and sealed it with a rock. But early Sunday Morning THE ROCK rolled the rock away! It was a testimony of the ROCK!”
Regardless of how the story went you already knew what was going to happen. In the text we see that Christ felt abandoned and all alone but yet HE still died. We see that the people were mocking HIM but yet HE still died. Year in and year out we go to church hearing the same old story, but what is most important is it is a new day. Why is that important? When Christ died on the cross HE made it possible for every new day to take place in our lives. When HE shed HIS blood, HE made it possible for man to live more abundantly and to have access to eternal life. Although we hear this year after year and for some of us Sunday after Sunday, we need to take the time out to PRAISE GOD FOR THE NEW DAY! Nothing has changed in the story, but after we hear the story there ought to be a change that takes place!
Thank GOD that HE sent HIS SON and they called HIM Jesus! Thank GOD that He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon, Remember An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.
Understand that Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living just because He lives.
SAME STORY, BRAND NEW DAY!
