Mark 15:33-41
Jesus' Death on the Cross
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!”
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
Suffering is an emotional thing...It causes pain...Suffering is not something we search for, and yet God is Someone and Something we search for...One search subject so negative, and the Other so positive...
Yet in life suffering is sometimes what happens to us or our family...So suffering is sometimes what we get in life...Suffering fills no void in one’s daily routine...Suffering stretches out the days and nights...The days and nights can tire with suffering...
Is suffering is there to remind us?...Some sufferings seem to get etched in our minds and just remain...Is suffering to remind us of the cross?...Certainly when Jesus was tortured and died He suffered greatly...And we do remember how He suffered on the cross...Jesus certainly can relate to our sufferings...
And as suffering reminds one of the cross, we can be certain that Jesus is much acquainted with suffering with His experience on the cross...In our deepest sufferings it seems we are drawn together somehow...I think it was the suffering of a Son who had to experience the cross that brings many people together...