Will you take your Bibles and turn to Mark's gospel? We have now come to Mark chapter 15. And we will be examining verses 33 through 41, under the heading "When Hell Came to Calvary." Follow along as I read the text beginning with verse 33 of Mark 15.

 When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.

At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, 'ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?'  which is translated, 'MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?'

When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, 'Behold, He is calling for Elijah.'

Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave Him a drink, saying, 'Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.'

And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last.

And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  

When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, 'Truly this man was the Son of God!'

There were also some women looking on from the distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and Joses, and Salome.

When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and minister to Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem."

 From the outset, let me ask you a question, how much do you hate your sin? How badly do you hate the fact that you simply do not love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength? That you fail miserably when it comes to loving your neighbor as yourself? How much do you hate the fact that many times you are selfish? You are proud, you're drawn to the things of this world; you're lazy. Do you hate your sin enough to confess the following statement? That I deserve what Christ suffered on the cross on my behalf. The unimaginable agony that Jesus suffered is our substitute is beyond anything that we can imagine. And it really shows us how much God hates sin. And I might add, it will reveal to us how much we love it, in comparison.

The wrath of God that he bore on our behalf is described in that great summary text of the gospel in Second Corinthians 5:21, that "He made Him who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." That's what happened at the cross; he took my place on the cross. I like to think of it this way, he took my place on the cross, as if he had lived my life of sin. And I took his place for eternity, as if I had lived his life of perfect righteousness. And when we reflect upon the horrors Christ endured, in our place, we get some sense of how unfathomably wicked sin really is and therefore why God abhors it so, and why he punishes it with the full fury of His wrath. Do you see your sin for what it really is? Can you describe some of your sin in specific terms? How do you respond to your sins when God reveals them to you through His Word, or through some other brother or sister in Christ? Through your wife, or your children. Do you respond with humble conviction and confession and repentance? Or do you get defensive, angry, you justify, rationalize, blame shift. My we're great at seeing the speck in our brother's eye, but we can't see the log in our own right. I want you to understand dear friends, that sin deserves our utmost contempt, even as it animates God's utmost wrath. And of course, sin is man's inability to conform to the moral character and desires of God. The Bible says that sin is lawlessness, it is rebellion against the Most High. Much of it we are even unable to see. Sin is a state or a disposition of the soul that corrupts every aspect of who we are. It blinds men and women to the gospel. We look at what's going on in our country today as the consequences of sin. Mexican and Chinese criminal drug gangs human sex trafficking, fitness fentanyl pouring across our borders can be killing over 100,000 a year. The brutal killing of unwanted infants the vile sexual perversions of the LGBTQ mafia. It is sin that would cause there to be a drag queen parody of Leonardo da Vinci's rendition of the Last Supper during the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Paris Olympics. And dear friends it is sin that will destroy your life, and your testimony, and your marriage, and your family. Unless you deal with it as if it is a cancer that will destroy you. And fortunately, it was dealt with at the cross. That's the good news of the gospel of grace.

 In 1887, one of the most compelling and powerful descriptions of sin that I've ever read, was published let me read it to you. Quote, "It is a debt a burden, a thief, a sickness, a leprosy, a plague, poison, a serpent a sting. Everything that man hates it is; a load of curses and calamities beneath whose crushing most intolerable pressure, the whole creation growneth. Who is the hoary sexton that digs man a grave? Who is the painted temptress that steals his virtue? Who is the murderous that destroys his life? Who is the sorceress that first deceives and then dams his soul? Sin. Who with icy breath, blights the fair blossoms of youth, who breaks the hearts of parents, who brings old men's gray hairs with sorrow to the grave? Sin. Who by a more hideous metamorphosis than Ovid ever fancied, changes gentle children into vipers, tender mothers into monsters and their fathers into worse than Herods; the murderers have their own innocence? Sin. Who cast the apple of discord on household hearts? Who lights the torch of war and bears it blazing over trembling lands? Who by divisions in the church rends Christ's seamless robe? Sin. Who is this Delilah that sings the Nazirite asleep, and delivers up the strength of God into the hands of the uncircumcised? Who, with winning smiles on her face; honey, flattery on her tongue stands in the door to offer the sacred rites of hospitality and when suspicion sleeps, treacherously pierces our temples with a nail? What fair siren is this, who seated on a rock by the deadly pool, smiles to deceive, sings to lure, kisses to betray and flings her arm around our neck to leap with us into perdition? Sin. Who turns the soft and gentle is hard to stone? Who hurls reason from her lofty throne and impells sinners, mad as Gadarene swine down the precipice into a lake of fire? Sin."

Dear friends, because God is infinitely holy, he hates, not only sin, but the sinners who commits it. Often you hear the phrase, "God hates the sin but loves the sinner." It's not a biblical concept. It's not the sin that will be sent to hell, it will be the sinner. But we see biblically is that "The wrath of God," Jesus said, "abides upon the unbeliever," John 3:36. We see in Psalm five, five, "You hate all who do iniquity." Psalm 11, verse five, and following, "The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence, His soul hate. Upon the wicked, He will rain snares; fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; the upright will behold His face." You see, this is why all sin must be punished either by the sinner or by a substitute. And my goal this morning is to make you hate your sin, more than ever, and frankly, to make you hate your sin, more than you hate the sins of others. Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor and spirit," right? Those who recognize the depths of their depravity who realize that they are utterly destitute, that they have no resources whatsoever to somehow merit God's grace, that they are totally dependent upon his grace. That's the attitude we must have. He also said, "Blessed are those who mourn." The idea of mourning over our sin, broken over our innate rebellion; that godly sorrow that results in repentance that leads to salvation. And he said, "Blessed are those who hunger and who thirst for righteousness." A righteousness that is foreign to ourselves. Those who long for that foreign righteousness that can never be achieved, but can only be received as a gift from God. And as we see Christ hanging on the cross, not only must we see the suffering of our Savior and his great love for us, but we must see the horrible reality of sin. I hope that you will all say with the psalmist in Psalm 139:23, and following, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me and lead me in the way everlasting."

So I want to this morning, cause you to hate your sin, more than ever, but secondly, to make you love the Savior more than ever. As Peter said, In First Peter, one eight, "...though you have not seen Him, you love Him. And though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

As we look at this text this morning - the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior - I want us to focus on three primary categories that I hope will be of benefit to you first, we will see the miraculous signs. Secondly, we will focus on the heart wrenching cry. Thirdly, the voluntary surrender and finally the awestruck reaction. So let's dive into the text. Beginning in verse 33, of Mark 15, "When the sixth hour came..." that would be 12 noon, "...darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour." And this brings us to point one, and that's the issue of the miraculous signs. Now bear in mind that by this time Jesus has been on the cross for three hours, and he has made three statements thus far. First, he has said "'Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.'" That was probably stated when he was being nailed to the cross. And secondly, he said to the penitent thief, "'Truly, I say to you, today you shall be with Me in paradise'" Luke 23:43. And then, finally, he will say, in John 19 beginning in verse 26, "'Jesus then saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved..."referring to John the Apostle, "...standing nearby, He said to His mother, "'Woman, behold your son!' Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!'  From that hour, the disciple took her into his own household." Indeed, it wasn't his mother, but he wanted him to treat her as such; he had compassion for his widowed mother, and he did not commit her into the care of her half brothers, because at this point, they still did not believe in him. That didn't happen until after the resurrection.

But now as we look at this text, we see that at noon time, when the sun is at its zenith, when it is the brightest, God, the Father, appears in the darkness. And this symbolizes his judgment, as we see all through Scripture. This was an ominous sign from God. The text says, "....darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth." Now "land" here can refer to the whole earth; we don't know if it covered the whole earth, text doesn't say, perhaps it was regional. Some of the early church fathers like Tertullian, and Origin report that the darkness extended at least across the borders of Israel and encompassed the entire Roman Empire. So we don't know its ultimate scope, but we do know from scripture that the divine presence would often materialize itself. And sometimes the Shekinah glory of bright light, that dazzling light; and sometimes in clouds of smoke, in ominous darkness, like you would see, for example, in Exodus 19, at Mount Sinai.

And sometimes, we see it mentioned in the context of eschatological judgment, for an example in Amos five verse 20, "Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it?" Joel chapter two beginning of verse 30, "'I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.'" Jesus spoke of the same thing in Matthew 24, beginning in verse 29. There we read, "'But immediately after the tribulation of those days, THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.'" And friends at the cross, we see a harbinger of this coming day of judgment. We see the terrifying darkness of God the Father descending in judgment, pouring out his wrath on the incarnate Son.

Later we know at the time of the death of Jesus, and we'll discuss this more in a moment, but the veil of the temple, the veil that separated the holy place from the Holy of Holies was rent and to from top to bottom. Furthermore, in Matthew 27, beginning of verse 51, at that same time, we read that, "...the earth shook and the rocks were split, the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many." Now can you imagine witnessing all of this? The effect of this is recorded, for example, in Matthew 27, verse 54, "Now the centurion, and those who were with him, keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, 'Truly, this was the Son of God.'" But it was out of the terrifying darkness of the Father's presence, that he poured out His infinite and just wrath upon the infinite and just sin bearer. The one who knew no sin, endure an eternity of punishment, while hanging on that cross; something that we can't even begin to comprehend. This dear friends is when hell came to Calvary. And there on that cross when he was drinking to the very deepest dregs the cup of humiliation and bitterness, we hear a heart wrenching cry.

This brings us to our second division. And we read about it in verse 34, "At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, 'ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?' which is translated, MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?'" That I might add, is the Aramaic version of Psalm 22 one. If you look at Matthew's account in Matthew 27, verse 46, he changes the Aramaic to the Hebrew, "'ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?'" But what we see here, beloved, is that out of the judicial darkness of the Father's presence, and out of the unfathomable sufferings of his wrath that Jesus was enduring, the Son of God cries out in agonizing despair. There he experienced that horrifying separation and abandonment that he had never experienced before; that he had never known, and frankly, anabandonment that we will never know if we've been united to faith; united to Christ in faith. You see the fury of divine wrath, combined with the absence of the divine presence, really describe the torment of hell. This is what Jesus dreaded more than all else. This is what caused him to sweat drops of blood in the guard. Can't you hear that heart wrenching cry? The 20th century British preacher and author G. Campbell Morgan said this, "The logical, irresistible, irrevocable issue of sin is to be God- forsaken. Sin in its genesis was rebellion against God. Sin and its harvest is to be God-abandoned. Man sinned when he dethroned God and enthroned himself. He reaps the utter harvest of his sin, when he has lost God altogether. That is the issue of all sin... Now listen solemnly, and from that Cross here the cry, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" That is hell. No other human being has ever been God-forsaken in this life. Man by his own act alienated himself from God, but God never left him... What explanation can there be of this cry from the lips of Jesus? None other is needed than that declared by His herald three years before... "Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world!" He has taken hold upon the sin. He has made it His own... On that cross, He was made sin, and therein He passed to the uttermost limit of sin's outworking. He was God-forsakem. He knew no sin. He was made sin. He was forsaken of God."

Can I personalize this? As we look at, for example, Isaiah 53 and verse five. Read it this way, He was pierced through for my transgressions. He was crushed for my iniquities, the chastening for my well being fell upon him. And Peter describes this in First Peter 2:24, He Himself bore my sins and his body on the cross, so that I might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by His wounds, I am healed. But oh, what wonderful news. The forgiveness, the cleansing, the redemption, the reconciliation, the blessing, the unspeakable joy of being in Christ eternal life, all because of the cross. As we read in Isaiah one and verse 18, "Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they will be like wool." Beloved, do you remember that day when the Spirit of God moved upon your heart and open your eyes to behold the Savior's love for you? I remember it, and the many days hence. One that would cause me, and I'm sure you, to sing great lyrics of Isaac Watts, "Alas, and did my Savior bleed and did my sovereign die? Would he devote that sacred head for such a worm as I? Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity, grace unknown and love beyond degree. At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith, I received my sight. And now I am happy all the day."

Now, as we see Jesus upon the cross, in the midst of his agony to further fan the flames of his suffering, some of the derisive onlookers misinterpreted what he said, perhaps deliberately so, Notice verse 35, "When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, 'Behold, He is calling for Elijah.'" And certainly "Eloi, Eloi," it could sound like Elijah, especially when you are severely dehydrated. My father told me that when he was shipwrecked in the Pacific, in those days and nights, he said the dehydration was so bad that his tongue swelled. And the men weren't able to hardly communicate with one another because their tongues were so swelled. And so it could be that Jesus' speech was no doubt slurred at this point. And this would not be an unusual assumption for the people who had gathered there, even if they intended to inflict further humiliation, because the prophet Malachi's prediction of the Messiah's returned, included the promise that Elijah or an Elijah like Prophet - we know later on from the New Testament it was a reference to John the Baptist - but an Elijah would somehow herald the Messiah's return. For example, in Malachi four five, "'Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.'" So perhaps they're thinking to themselves, all right, given this ominous darkness, obviously, God is up to something here; maybe this is the day of the Lord. So if this Jesus is what he says he is, if he truly is the Messiah, perhaps he is summoning Elijah to help him, et's see what happens.

It was also during this hour, that Jesus said in John 19, verse 28, "'I thirst.'"  "'I thirst.'" Then in another cruel act of mockery, we read in Mark 15:36, "Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, 'Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.'" There's absolutely no bounds to the wickedness of man.

Mark then describes the end of our Savior sufferings; verse 37, "And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last." And John tells us that it was at this point, according to John 19 and verse 30, that Jesus shouted, "'It is finished!'"  "Tetelestai" - to be fully accomplished, to be perfected, as in the completion of a transaction of, or the payment of a debt in full. Martin Luther said this, "In this word, "It is finished!" will I find comfort myself. I am forced to confess that all my finishing of the will of God is imperfect, piecemeal work. While yet the law urges on me that not so much as one tittle of it must remain unaccomplished. But Christ is the end of the law. What it requires, Christ has performed." And because of this, we can echo that great doxology of the apostle Paul record in Colossians two beginning of verse 14, Christ has "...canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." What a magnificent reality. It is finished. And Luke records his final prayer in Luke 23:46, "'Father into Your hands I commit My spirit.'" Dwight Pentecost, many years ago said this, quote, "Christ did not die because life slowly ebbed from His veins. His life was not taken from Him. Christ died because of an act of His will. He dismissed His soul from His body. Christ was sovereign over His death as He was sovereign over His resurrection."

We come thirdly then to the voluntary surrender. And here we witness the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, and certainly the veracity of the authority of Jesus words, because we must understand, his was a voluntary sacrifice. For example, in Isaiah 53:12, again, we read, "He poured out Himself to death." And Jesus promised in John 10 and verse 18, "'No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative, I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.'" And Luke tells us in Luke 23:46, "'FATHER, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.' Having said this, He breathed His last." As I see this, in my mind's eye, I realize that at that point, the work of redemption was accomplished. Atonement was made for those chosen by God, those whose names had been written in the Lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world, the elect of God, Christ's bridal church. The work the Father had given him, was now accomplished. He has now given his life as a ransom for many; the sins of all whom the Father had given him, in eternity past were now paid in full. And Jesus said in John 6:37, "'All that the Father gives Me will come to Me and the one who comes to Me, I will certainly not cast out.'" And all of this was based upon Christ's atoning work.

And for this reason, we can go to Paul's words in First Corinthians one beginning in verse 23. Where he says, "...we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block to Gentiles foolishness." And my, isn't that the truth? You tell people today about the crucifixion of Christ and what happened at the cross, they laugh at you like you've got two heads. "...But to those who are the called..." who are the called  -the elect of God, those chosen by God - "...both Jews and Greeks," christ crucified is "...the power of God, and the wisdom of God." Paul goes on to say, "For consider your calling..." and I thought about this a lot this week as I was meditating on these passages. Consider my calling, that efficacious call of God, when, by the power of his Spirit, he drew me unto himself in the miracle of regeneration. "Consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are..." What we see in this passage is, God has chosen those whom he will call, those whom he will irresistibly compell; again that efficacious call to saving faith. Why would he do that? To shame the wise of the world. And, notice what the text says, "...so that no man may boast before God." I do not share in the glory of my salvation. It's all of grace. And he goes on to say, in verse 26, and following, "But by His doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that just as it is written, 'LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.'"

We must bear in mind here that only those whom God has chosen will believe. Why? Well, according to First Corinthians 2:14, that, "...natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised."  Therefore, God must do something. And think about this, while the Lamb of God was on the cross, something was being done. We read about this, for example, in Second Corinthians 5:19, "...God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself..." The "world" here, referring to every ethnic group without distinction, the entire sphere of mankind, not the world without exception; he didn't pay the sins for the whole world, otherwise, no one would go to hell. But he's speaking here of the world without distinction. Then he says, "...not counting..."  or it could be translated, "reckoning," "...their trespasses against them..." So who are those in the world whom God has reconciled to himself through Christ? All those whose trespasses are not counted, are not reckoned, against them. Therefore, all those whom God has declared righteous, because of the imputed righteousness of Christ, the elect of God for whom Christ died. And Paul speaks of this as well in Romans 8: 30, "Those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified, and these whom He justified, He also glorified." My, what a magnificent, unfathomably glorious work of grace that occurred on the cross. And at the end of Second Corinthians 5:19, we read, "...and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation." And my, what a magnificent privilege that is, and responsibility that is, to preach the gospel, in all of it's clarity, and all of its offense.

As we return to Mark 15, verse 37, again, "And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last." Verse 38, "And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." Now, this veil separated the holy place from the Holy of Holies. And it was a perpetual reminder that sinful man cannot enter into the presence of a holy God apart from the shedding of innocent blood. The supernatural ripping would have occurred at 3pm. And that would have been the time when many of the priests were there in the temple, busy making sacrifices. God's timing is always perfect, right? Imagine the shock. You're a priest working in the temple, you're basically covered with blood. There's been three hours of darkness and all of a sudden you look and the veil is ripped from top to bottom. They're horrified because suddenly, they can see into the Holy of Holies. Not only that, at the same time, according to Matthew 27, verse 51, "the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many." Now, the Jewish people, in particular, certainly the priests, were aware that the presence of God was often associated with darkness, as well as with earthquakes. There's many examples of this throughout scripture. But for a moment, I would like to take you into the temple so you can see with your own eyes through the words of eyewitnesses, what it looks like. And here I quote, Josephus, a first century Roman historian, Jewish historian as well. I'm just going to quote a little bit of it. "The entire house was divided into two parts within, it was only the first part of it that was open to our view. Its height extended, all along to 90 cubits in height."  By the way, that's 135 feet. "And its length was 50 cubits." That's 75 feet. "And its breadth 20. But that gate, which was at the end of the first part of the house, was, as we've already observed, all covered with gold, as was its whole wall about it. It had also golden vines above it, from which clusters of grapes hung as tall as a man's height. But then this house, as it was divided into two parts, the inner part was lower than the appearance of the outer and had golden doors 55 cubits altitude." These are golden doors now that are 81 feet high. "And 16 in breadth." They're 16 feet wide. "And before these doors, there was a veil of equal largeness with the doors. It was a Babylonian curtain embroidered with blue and fine linen, and scarlet and purple and of contexture that was truly wonderful. Nor was this mixture of colors without its mystical interpretation, but it was a kind of image of the universe. For by the scarlet there seemed to be enigmatically signified fire,by the fine flax; the earth by the blue the air, and by the purple, the sea. Two of them having their colors the foundation of this resemblance, but the fine flax and the purple have their own origin for that foundation, the earth producing the one in the sea the other. This curtain had also embroidered upon it all that was mystical in the heavens, accepting that of the 12 signs representing living creatures." End quote. Another Jewish scholar and historian, Edersheim, says this quote, "The veils before the most holy place, were 40 cubits," that's 60 feet long, alright,  60 feet long, "and 20 cubits" that's 30 feet wide. So we're not talking about a little curtain here, all right?  "And they were of the thickness of the palm of the hand, and wrought in 72 squares, which were joined together. And these veils were so heavy, that in the exaggerated language of the time, it needed 300 priests to manipulate each. If the veil was at all such as described in the Talmud, it could have not been rent in twain by a mere earthquake of the fall of the lintel. Although its composition in squares fastened together might explain how the rent might be as described in the Gospel." Amazing, it was rent from top to bottom. Some would like to say because of the earthquake it fell and then it tore into it's not at all what the text says. Another scholar said this, by the name of Shepherd, "Matthew connects the phenomena directly with the death of Jesus, calling attention to the fact that it was rent from top to bottom by God's hand, throwing open thus the Most Holy Place to all men. Previously, only the high priest entered the holy place. And that, once a year on the Day of Atonement, to offer on behalf of himself and the people. Early evangelical tradition held to this supernatural interpretation, which is confirmed for us by the Hebrew epistle. This significant portent was doubtless the explanation for the fact that a great number of priests became Christians in early apostolic time. The way is open now for all men to come boldly to the throne of grace, through the atoning death." End quote.

 And this, of course, is what we read in Hebrews 10, beginning in verse 19, "Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place, by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way..." Originally that language meant freshly slain, but it's its derivative, meaning is fresh and recent. The idea here is that the way of access is the result of the atoning work of Christ, "...by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great high priest, over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." You see, because of what happened there, access into the presence of God is now available to all who trust in Christ as Savior. We do not need a priest, we do not need a mediator, to come into the presence of God. There is only one mediator between God and man, it's the man Christ Jesus. No more sacrifices, no more ritual ceremonies that look forward prophetically to that which was fulfilled in Christ.

Moreover, as we read in Hebrews four, beginning in verse 15, "...we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Now, you must understand that all of this was utterly inconceivable to the Jewish people. They knew that because God is holy, he is utterly transcendent, he is completely distant, unapproachable. And his dealings with his people, under the Old Covenant,were primarily indirect, not intimately personal. But all of this changed because of what Christ did at the cross. Beloved, if I can make this very practical to you, I know that some of you right here today, some of you, within the sound of my voice, are struggling deeply with issues in your life. Some of you, some of you are struggling with heartbreaking realities. And one of the things that you need right now more than anything else in the world, is God's mercy. And what we're told here is that because of what Christ has done, you have a sympathetic high priest, that can feel what you feel. So often, when people are hurting, others will say, "Boy, I know what you're feeling." No, you don't. I can't know what you feel, I might have some idea, I have something to compare it to. But I don't know what you're feeling. But Jesus does. We have a sympathetic high priest that understands all that we feel. And because of what he did, we can enter into the presence of the living God. And we can enjoy sweet communion with him and experience the fullness of his mercy. This is the priesthood of the believer. Bear in mind, unlike Israel, who collectively had to stand outside the veil and only the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies once a year and then he would disappear from their view, and he would go into the presence of God and they would all be left outside - we see something radically different now. Because of Jesus, we see that Jesus, yes, he has disappeared in his ascension;  he went into the presence of God the Father, he currently intercedes on our behalf, and one day he is going to reappear in all of his glory; but in the meantime, because he entered into the veil - because his flesh was the veil - and we can come into the presence of God and because we are united to him, we have access into the divine presence right now, if you have trusted in Christ as your Savior.

Finally, will you notice the awestruck reactions? In verse 39, "When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed his last, he said, 'Truly this man was the Son of God!'" Can you imagine witnessing all of this and standing right there, in front of Jesus? Luke 23:47 and following, "Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, 'Certainly this man was innocent.'" And then we read this, "And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts." Now, what was the motivation for that? Well, certainly in their culture, that was a sign of intense grief. Many times, it was just a superficial response. Maybe some of them were genuinely concerned, because what they had witnessed with the darkness, the earthquake. Certainly they must have been saying, "what has just happened here?" The centurion, along with other soldiers, and many onlookers were fully aware of Jesus' innocence. But now to experience all of this? Remember, Mark's primary audience in his Gospel, would be the Gentiles, primarily Roman believers. And what is happening now is he is setting the stage for what's going to occur at Pentecost, after Christ's resurrection, when many of them will hear the truth summarized in Peter's great sermon, recorded in Acts two beginning in verse 22. I'll read you a portion of it. There he said, "'Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus, the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know - this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men, and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.'" And as you read on in Acts two and following, you read the rest of the story, many 1000s came to faith in Christ, and it continues on and on today, as Christ builds his church.

Back to Mark 15, verse 40, "There were also some women looking at on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene..." Remember Mary Magdalene was the one that had the seven demons that Jesus cast out; my what a testimony. Won't it be great to speak with her someday and hear her extol the glories of Christ? "...Also Mary the mother of James the Less..." He was one of the 12, "...and Joses and Salome." That was the wife of Zebedee, the mother of James and John, and also the sister of Jesus' mother, Mary. These were obviously women that loved Jesus deeply.

Verse 41, "When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and ministered to Him; and there were many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. "You know, every time I think of this passage, I thank God for faithful, godly, loving women in my life. And this church is filled with them. And in that I rejoice. Little did these women understand that in just a little bit, they would see an empty tomb. Oh what a joy must have filled their heart on that resurrection day. And you know, that's the joy that awaits all of us who know and love Christ.

Indeed dear friends, hell came to Calvary, but it will never come to anyone who has put their faith in Christ as Savior. But it will be the eternal abode of those who don't. And so I plead with you as a minister of the gospel, get serious about your relationship to the living God. Have you truly been broken over your sin and come to him and cried out for the mercy that he will grant you, all because of what Christ has done on the cross, or will you continue to live for yourself, and one day hear him say to you "depart from me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you." Hallelujah what a Savior, amen? Hallelujah what a Savior. Let's pray.

Father, thank you for the magnificent truths that we have just read, and as we as we contemplate them, our hearts are just overwhelmed with a sense of sorrow and grief, knowing what you endured; especially knowing that you endured those things on our behalf. And when we think of the implications of this, for our life and for eternity, all we can say is thank you, Lord Jesus. And come quickly. And we pray this in the name of Jesus and for his sake. Amen.