From noon to three in the afternoon darkness descended at what should be the brightest part of the day. The darkness was accompanied by Jesus crying out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Jesus suffered physically, but his spiritual suffering for us is incomparable. People waited for Elijah to come, but Jesus breathed his last. He had to die for the sin of humankind.

When Jesus suffered like this, amazing things happened. The temple curtain that represented the separation between holy God and sinful man was torn from top to bottom. A hardened Gentile centurion confessed the crucified Jesus to be the Son of God. And Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the very Sanhedrin that condemned Jesus, now went to Pilate to claim Jesus' body and take care of his burial. These wondrous things testify that the darkness has passed. Since Jesus died, life has come to the sinful world. God is revealed to sinners. Men are made new. Thank God for Jesus, who came to suffer, be rejected, and die for us.


Application: Lord, help me to live as a new person today. Make my life a testimony of Jesus who died for me.
One Word: Jesus' death is life for the world