Meditation on Daniel 6 for the Easter Vigil

✠ In the name of Jesus ✠

    This final reading from Daniel teaches as clearly as any of the previous readings about Christ’s burial and resurrection, and about our own dying and rising with Him.
    Daniel was one of many Israelites who had been taken captive by the Babylonians and carried away to live there in exile.  During the 70 years of exile, these worshipers of the Lord were outsiders, strangers in a strange land.  They longed to return to the Promised Land which God had given them.
    Isn’t that also how it is for God's New Testament people?  We also as Christians are like exiles in a foreign land, carried away for a time because of our sin.  This is not our true home.  St. Paul writes in Philippians, "Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself."  As citizens of heaven we do not desire to follow the ways of the world, and therefore the world is often set against us.  The citizens of the world will try to make trouble or trip up those who are faithful to the truth of the Word.  In that sense we are not only in foreign territory but we are in enemy territory.
    That was certainly how it was for Daniel.  Because he was faithful to God and because he was distinguishing himself above all others in his service to the king, his enemies set out to undo him.  They knew that Daniel faithfully worshiped the Lord daily, praying toward Jerusalem.  And so they tricked the king into making a law that would forbid Daniel or anyone else from doing that for 30 days.  Anyone who broke that law was to be thrown into the den of lions to be killed.  Daniel, of course, refused to obey such a godless order, and he was condemned to death.
    This is also how it was with Jesus.  In His day he was upsetting the power structure by refusing to bow down to the man made ways of the Jewish leaders, and therefore he was a threat.  They set about to get rid of him.  Though he was blameless in every way, yet through deceit and trickery and betrayal they schemed to have him arrested and sentenced to death.  Not only did they bring false testimony against Jesus, but then they manipulated the mob into forcing Pontius Pilate to crucify Jesus.  Just as Darius didn't want to kill Daniel, Pontius Pilate didn't want to kill Jesus.  But through the conniving of Christ's enemies, he decided that was the politically expedient thing to do.  In the end he sent Christ off to His death as the innocent Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
    When Daniel was placed into the pit where the lions were, a stone was brought and laid over the entrance to the pit.  And the king sealed the entrance with his own signet ring.  So also Christ was laid in the tomb, and a stone was laid across the entrance to the tomb.  Furthermore, that entrance was sealed with a Roman seal and guarded by Roman guards so that no one could come and steal the body.  Both Daniel and Christ seemed to have been defeated.
    But when Darius came to the den of lions early in the morning (as it was on Easter), he called out to see if Daniel was still alive.  And Daniel responded, "My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths, so that they have not hurt me."  Is that not exactly what Christ did in an eternal sense through His death and burial?  He is the Angel, the Messenger of the Father, who shut the lion's mouth.  I Peter 5:8 says that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  But Christ through His death confronted the lion and defeated him.  He shut his mouth forever.  For He took away the sin with which Satan could mangle us.  Now the devil has no power over us, just as the lions had no power over Daniel.  The beasts of Satan and sin can no longer bring us any eternal harm.  Christ has shut the lion's mouth.
    Daniel was taken up out of the pit unharmed.  So also Christ arose from the tomb in His full resurrection glory as the conquering Son of God.  But all those who were set against Daniel were thrown into the lions' den in Daniel's place, and it is written, "The lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den."  So it will be for all those who are set against Christ and against those whom He has chosen in baptism.  Those who lay traps for the people of God will be caught in their own snares.  Trusting in Christ and clinging to Him, we will see our vindication in the end.  Satan and all those who reject or ignore Christ will be cast into the pit of hell. 
    Let us then live patiently as exiles in this world.  Let us pray with the Psalmist, "Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies; In You I take shelter."  For truly the Lord is our shelter from Satan, the world, and the grave.  He is a mighty refuge and a strong fortress to save us.  He has gone down into the pit and He has come out vindicated and victorious, and He now gives us to share in His resurrection.  Even as Easter will surely be revealed in all its glory in the morning, so our Lord Jesus will surely be revealed in all His glory when He comes again.  And we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is, no longer exiled, but home with Him in the New Jerusalem above.  

What Darius the king said is certainly true of our Lord Jesus.
“For He is the living God,
And steadfast forever;
His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed,
And His dominion shall endure to the end.
He delivers and rescues.”

✠ In the name of Jesus ✠

Meditations on the Scriptural Stations of the Cross

1) Luke 22:39-46
Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane

39 And [Jesus] came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

    Already here, it is written that our Lord is in agony.  He is not yet being physically beaten or scourged.  And yet He suffers deeply in both body and soul.  For He is in a very real sense carrying the weight of the world.  Gethsemane means “olive press” where olive oil was pressed out.  Jesus experiences here the greatest of pressing and pressure, as even the blood is pressed out of His body with His sweat that falls to the ground.  He knows the suffering that lies before Him.  Above all, Jesus does not wish to be cut off from His Father whom He loves with perfect love.  That the Father would turn His back on Him at the cross was an unbearable thought.  But this Jesus does for you.  He submits Himself to the Father’s will out of love for you, that you may share in His love with the Father.    
    Remember Jesus’ agony when you yourself are in mental or emotional anguish, when the weight of the world seems to be pressing down on you, when you are pressed or depressed, and there seems to be no way of escape.  Remember Jesus, who did not escape, who will not let you be tempted or tested beyond what you can bear.  He is your escape.  He is your rest and your refuge.  He drank the cup of judgment, so that now there is no condemnation for you who are in Christ Jesus.  You are given to drink the cup of salvation.  The cup of God’s mercy overflows to you in Jesus.

 2) Mark 14:43-50
Jesus is betrayed by Judas

43 And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” 45 And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 46 And they laid hands on him and seized him. 47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. 48 And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” 50 And they all left him and fled.

    Swords and clubs are instruments of power and force and coercion.  They are what the chief priests and scribes and elders wield to lay hold of Jesus.  They are what even Peter tries to use to defend Jesus.  But for both it is in vain.  God’s kingdom cannot be established by the use of force and worldly power.  God’s kingdom cannot be stopped or undone by the use of force and worldly power.  For His kingship is exercised not through coercing His subjects but through the giving of Himself for His subjects.  In love He rules the hearts of His people through faith.  We dare never put our trust in the powers of this world to establish or save the church.  We dare never behave as Peter did and think the success of the Gospel is dependent on our wisdom and strength.  The Gospel thrives precisely in apparent weakness and defeat.
    Even in the midst of the physical roughness here, the most hurtful thing that is done is Judas’ betrayal.  This cuts to the heart, even for Jesus who knew in advance what would be done.  As a true man, Jesus feels the human hurt of having a friend and follower stab Him in the back, all with a smile and a kiss, all while His companions flee for cover.  Remember this when people deceive and betray and use you for their own ends, when they bring you to tears.  Jesus has been there for you, He is with you in your hurt to deliver you, to vindicate all who take refuge in Him.

3) Mark 14:55-65
Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin

55 Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. 56 For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.
57 Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, 58 “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’” 59 But not even then did their testimony agree.
60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” 61 But He kept silent and answered nothing.
Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
62 Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? 64 You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?”
And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.
65 Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.

    “As a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He opened not His mouth.”  For Jesus had not come to defend Himself against false accusations but to defend us against the true accusations that the devil would lay against us.  He allows Himself to be condemned in our stead. 
    Put under oath, Jesus does speak the truth of who He is, the Christ, the Son of the Blessed, who will come again on the Last Day for judgment.  But here in His first coming, He allows Himself to be placed under judgment, that there might be deliverance from the final judgment for all who take shelter under His wings. 
    Jesus had used His spittle to heal, to give sight.  Now He is spit upon by those who are blind to who He is–that He is the true temple, where God’s presence dwells in bodily form.  He will be  destroyed in death and then raised up in glory on the third day, that the people of God might have an eternal dwelling in Him. 

4) Luke 22:54-62
Jesus is denied by Peter

54 Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. But Peter followed at a distance. 55 Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. 56 And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also with Him.”
57 But he denied Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”
58 And after a little while another saw him and said, “You also are of them.”
But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”
59 Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!”
Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” 62 So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

    Peter has three chances to confess that he knows Christ.  Three times Peter fails.  He would have to live for a while with the awful emptiness of his disloyalty and failure.  We know that weakness of the flesh, too, when we deny Jesus with our words or behavior, seeking to avoid negative consequences to our reputation or our income or our life.  Apart from Christ, Peter can do nothing, in spite of his good intentions.
    Jesus had told Peter this would happen.  When it occurs, as the rooster crows, as Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin, He turns and looks at Peter who is there in the courtyard.  Jesus did this not simply to cut brash Peter down to size, but also to teach Peter that His love would remain despite Peter’s sin.  This was not a look of anger, but of sorrowful compassion.  Peter would call Jesus’ words to mind and weep.  But he would also realize that Jesus didn’t reject him even though He knew this about him ahead of time.  So also with you–Jesus knows you and how you will stumble and falter.  And yet He doesn’t reject you; He sticks with you despite yourself.  The rooster’s crow is not only a call to repentance but also a call to faith in Jesus, who looks on you with constant love.

5) Mark 15:1-15
Jesus is judged by Pilate

15 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. . .
6 Now at the feast Pilate was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. 7 And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. 8 Then the multitude, crying aloud,[b] began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. 9 But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.
11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. 12 Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”
13 So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!”
14 Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?”
But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!”
15 So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them.

    The name Barabbas means “son of the Father.”  But this Barabbas did not act like a child of God, but of the evil one.  He was a murderer in the rebellion.  And so Barabbas represents us.  For all sin ultimately is rebellion against God.  It is the attempted murder of God, to get Him out of your way so that you can run things the way you want without any interference or consequences.  This is what the chief priests were doing.  They handed Jesus over because of envy, because He was a threat to their plans and their power.  They were a more pious version of Barabbas, rebelling against God in the name of religion and good order, very literally seeking to murder God.
    And the Father allows them to succeed.  And their success is their undoing.  Evil is overcome by getting its way.  The wicked fall into their own trap.  Sin and death and the devil are overcome by the crucifixion of Jesus.  Justice is satisfied by this injustice.  Christ takes our place in death so that we may be real Barabbases, real sons of the Father through Him.  The Savior is made to be sin so that we are made to be true children of God in Christ.

6) John 19:1-5
Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns

19 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. 2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. 3 Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands.
4 Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”
5 Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”

    Sin has dehumanized us, turning us in on ourselves rather than outward in love toward God and others. Beastly thoughts and words and actions often proceed from us. Survival instincts dominate. So it is written, "Man is like the beasts that perish" (Psalm 49:12).
    "Behold the Man!" Pilate says.  Here is the One who is truly and fully human, who is not degraded and corrupted by His own sin. Here is the only real Man, who lays down His life for fallen creatures like you to raise you up as the people of God, His own beloved bride, His Church. He willingly allows Himself to be treated inhumanely to rescue you, to restore your humanity, to give you to share in His life and His glory. By His wounds you are healed and forgiven.
    Behold the One who wears thorns on His head as a crown, to redeem you from the curse on the ground which you were created out of. Behold the Ram whose horns are caught in the thorny thicket of sin, who is offered up in the place of you Isaacs as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
    This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, that is, the King of all those who are the true children of Abraham. He reigns in mercy over His baptized ones, over all you who believe in His promises, and who are credited with His righteousness by grace alone.


7) John 19:14-17
Jesus carries His cross

14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!”
Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”
The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”
16 Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away. 17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.


    Golgotha, Place of a Skull.  What happens with the skull, with the head, is a key theme of salvation and deliverance in Scripture.  The very first explicit promise of the Gospel in Scripture is that the Redeemer would crush the serpent’s head.  When God gave victory over the enemies of His people, there were many times when the taking of the enemy’s head was a sign of triumph.  Goliath was decapitated.  Jael pounded the tent peg through the temple of Sisera’s head. 
    Now, our final and ultimate deliverer carries His weapon, His cross to the Place of a Skull.  There He drives His cross into the Skull like a sword, to defeat the power of death, to destroy the work of the devil.  Though Jesus’ feet are pierced, yet those same feet crush Satan’s head and pulverize the power of the grave. 
    This is why Jesus bears His cross.  This is why He allows Himself to be delivered over to be crucified, to deliver you from the powers of darkness and bring you as His own into His kingdom of light, where you will serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

8) Mark 15:21
Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene

21 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.


    Jesus is so weak from the beatings and the flogging He has endured that He can only carry the cross for a short distance.  The lack of sleep, the loss of blood, the weight of the world’s sin causes Him to fall beneath the burden of the cross. 
    And so a man named Simon of Cyrene is compelled to carry Jesus’ cross.  Simon was in the city for the Passover feast and was probably pulled out of the crowd randomly by the Roman soldiers to do this duty.  And yet it wasn’t entirely by chance that this happened.  For God chose Simon to perform this special task which would give a vivid picture of Jesus’ own words, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up the cross and follow Me.”
    So it is for you.  In your baptism you were chosen by God to bear the cross.  You received the sign of the holy cross on your forehead and on your heart to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified.  You are given to carry that cross daily, bearing the burdens of the callings into which God has placed you, sometimes suffering because of faithfulness to the truth of Christ. 
    But notice the fundamental distinction between you and Christ.  Though you take up the cross, yet you do not bear the judgment against sin.  That’s all on Jesus.  He bears the real burden.  He bids you to follow after Him beneath the cross that you may receive all the benefits of His suffering.  That’s how it is that Jesus can say, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”  Freed by Jesus’ cross from the crushing weight of sin’s curse, we find it to be a light load that brings rest and peace to our souls.

9) Luke 23:27-31
Jesus encounters the women of Jerusalem

27 And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. 28 But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’ 31 For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

    The faithful women mourn what is happening to Jesus, to their Lord and Teacher.  They are powerless to stop it.  But Jesus tells the women not to weep for Him but rather to weep for themselves at what is coming, great tribulation for the faithful.  If persecution and suffering come when Jesus is present, how much more so when He is no longer seen by the enemies of the Gospel!  Weep for a world that is dry wood without the Gospel, that brings upon itself disorder and chaos and pain by its faithlessness, that invites God’s judgment, even as Jerusalem was overrun in the year 70 A.D. and blood flowed in the streets.  How much more easily the dry wood burns than the fresh green wood!  Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
    Jesus’ cross is green wood for us, flowing with life, bearing the fruit of salvation for us.  Weep only for where that fruit is rejected.  Weep only that the ingratitude for God’s mercy finally brings judgment and death for those who refuse Him.  Pray for those who are unrepentant, that they  may be granted penitent hearts and be restored to God through Christ, and may eat of the green tree of life.

10) Luke 23:33-34
Jesus is crucified

33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
And they divided His garments and cast lots.


    Jesus is numbered with the transgressors, treated as a common criminal and worse, just one of three men receiving the death penalty.  There He is, not above it all, distant, keeping His hands clean, but right in the middle of it all, being dirtied with our sin, that we might be cleansed forever.
   Our Lord Jesus is slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, even for the very ones who crucified Him.  “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” 
    Sin makes us ignorant.  We don’t know what we’re doing.  Even when we do know we’re doing something wrong, we don’t grasp how deeply we are hurting others and ourselves.  We don’t know how we are slapping God in the face.  But Jesus prays for us, anyway, “Father, forgive them.”  Here is the ultimate picture of God’s love for us, that He dies for sinners, even for His enemies, His persecutors.  Before we could ever ask Him for help or seek His forgiveness, He was already there to save and redeem us.  He doesn’t require us to change before He’ll love us.  His forgiving love is the very power that changes us. 
    Jesus’ prayer to His Father is surely heard, and so your are surely forgiven.  He has borne the nakedness of your shame so that you may be covered with His garments of mercy.

11) Luke 23:39-43
Jesus promises Paradise

39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ,[a] save Yourself and us.”
40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

    Jesus was mocked so thoroughly that even one of those who was crucified with Him joined in, telling Him to save them if He was the Christ.  Of course, that’s exactly what Jesus was doing.  But this criminal couldn’t see that.  Even in death he was not repentant for his sins but was full of anger and denial.  He was a goat at Jesus’ left hand.
    But there is also a sheep at Jesus’ right hand.  Learn from this second criminal how to come before God.  Do not complain in bitter anger at God for the crosses in your life, many of which are caused by our own foolishness; for those crosses are for the putting to death of your old sinful nature.  Look to Christ in repentance; trust in Him.  His steadfast love endures forever.  Pray with the thief on the cross, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
    How gladly the repentant thief must have received Jesus’ reply, words that will apply to you and to all Christians on the day of your death, “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise.”  Those two words, “with Me” define for us what Paradise is.  It is to be with Christ.  Where Christ is, there is heaven, where the curse of sin and death is no more, where there is no sorrow or pain or crying.  It is to be restored to communion with God in a way that is even closer and deeper and better than what Adam and Eve knew in the Garden.  To be in Christ’s merciful presence is to have the fullness of life and joy and peace.  As the Psalm says, “At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  

12) John 19:25-27 
Jesus speaks to Mary and the disciple

25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

    When we suffer, we tend to turn inward on ourselves, to meditate on our pain, even to wallow in it.  We find it hard to get outside of ourselves and focus on others.  But not our Lord Jesus.  Behold His love!  In His final hours He is thinking not of Himself, but is making sure that His mother is cared for properly.  Jesus had other brothers and sisters who might have looked after Mary.  But the Scriptures remind us that not even they believed that Jesus was who He said He was.  And so our Lord places His mother into the care of John, who stood by Him with Mary in her hour of need, even as John is placed into her care as her son.  It was important that Mary be placed into the hands of one who was faithful to Christ.
    For Mary is a picture of the Church, which has given birth to us all in baptism as members of the body of Christ.  And John is a picture of the Church’s pastors, who in turn care for her in the ministry of the Word and the Sacraments.  These words of Jesus apply also to us, then, as pastor and congregation, “Woman behold your son.” “Behold, your mother.”  Our Lord cares for us from the cross, setting the solitary into the family of the church and bringing comfort to those who mourn.

13) Luke 23:44-46
Jesus dies

44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last.

    Darkness covers the land at midday, in token of the darkness of judgment that Jesus was enduring.  It’s as if the sun itself could not bear to look at the death of the Son of God and hid its face.
    Jesus’s final words, though, are confident words of faith and trust in His Father.  They are from Psalm 31.  “In you, O Lord, I trust. . . quickly deliver me! . . . For you are my rock and my fortress . . .  You will bring me out of the net they hid for me, for you are my stronghold.  Into your hands I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth. . .  I will rejoice and be glad in your faithfulness.”  After Jesus’ other anguished words on the cross, here Jesus expresses assurance in His Father’s love and faithfulness.  He breathes His last, certain that the Father will deliver Him and raise Him up again.
    As one who is not only fully divine but also fully human, Jesus has a spirit, a human soul.  At this moment of His death He entrusts His spirit to His Father.  He dies like a child falling asleep in the arms of his father.  Remember these words of Jesus when the time comes for you to breathe your last breath.  Remember that by entrusting Himself to the Father, Jesus has entrusted you to the Father.  Your spirit even now is held safely in His hands.  As the baptized you live in Christ, and He is in the Father.  When you are experiencing affliction in your last days and last moments, you also are given to pray these words with peaceful trust and to breathe your last knowing that God will deliver you, too, and raise you up again.  “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”

14) Mark 15:42-47
Jesus is buried

42 Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. 45 So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

    Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Sanhedrin, the very group that had condemned Jesus to death.  Perhaps he had spoken up but was greatly outnumbered at Jesus’ trial.  Perhaps he had not spoken up at all.  But here he takes courage, and goes to Pilate the governor, and asks for the body of Jesus, that Jesus might be given an honorable burial, and not be left for the vultures.
    It may be that you identify with Joseph, feeling outnumbered in your life when it comes to the things of Jesus, sometimes remaining silent for lack of courage.  Let us then stand with Joseph now and take courage.  In the light of Jesus’ death, we see that nothing else is so important as our Lord and His holy cross, even in the face of untrustworthy civil authorities.  Let us ask for the body of Jesus, seeking the Holy Sacrament of His body and blood every week, that we may honor His Word and be honored by the gifts that He gives to us in His Supper. 
    Jesus is buried in a new tomb hewn out of rock.  For He has come to be Rock of our salvation by conquering the grave, bringing new life out of death.  By being laid in the tomb, He has truly made your grave a place of Sabbath rest, of peace, from which you will awaken in the resurrection to everlasting life.  And so we say with the Psalmist, “In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.”


All Images © 2013 Nicholas Markell | Eyekons
The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.