Mark 15:24
And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard His cry
and saw how He died, He said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"
NIV
There is something special about the Gospel according to St. Mark. It is
so fast paced that it gives the impression Jesus' ministry was like a
carnival. I mean no disrespect. There is so much going on. Crowds
everywhere. People trying to trip Him up. And then this climactic act.
He dies in such a manner that He impressed a Roman centurion who must
have seen hundreds of men die--many of them on the cross.
Jesus' death was somehow different. Just as He preached with authority,
He died with authority. Life was not taken from Him, He gave it freely.
How different it is with us. We hang onto life by our fingernails. We
try to cheat death any way we can. A face lift, some hair die, and
another layer of makeup. Who will know? Cream to remove age spots,
exercises to firm up those sagging areas. And when death finally does
come, fill our veins with formaldehyde so that when they take one last
look at us they will say, "Oh, he looks just like he's sleeping."
The truth is he is dead because He is a sinner. We say all the phrases,
"A Christian doesn't need to fear death," but we do fear it. We fear it
because we know what it is all about. Perhaps it is only a fool who
doesn't fear death. Only a fool calls Dr. Kavorkian. "Bring it on," the
fool thinks. "Free me from this life." But it is only out of the frying
pan and into the fire.
Not so with Jesus. No fear of death with Him. He owns death. He is its
master. He has conquered death as we say in the prayer, "Trampling down
death by death." We can only stand back in awe with the centurion and
say, "Surely this man was the Son of God." Yes, He was and He is. He
trampled down death by death so that we who are members of His body can
know that death really is just a brief sleep for us.
Rest weary souls who fight the good fight. Rest even now as you live.
Be refreshed knowing that death is no longer your enemy, but your door to
paradise. Amen.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, we know that we deserve only death, even eternal
death. But you loved us so much that you sent your only Son to die so
that we might live. For this we praise and thank you. We also ask that
you strengthen us by your Holy Spirit so that we never need to fear
death. And when we face death, let your Gospel ring in our ears so that
we may fall asleep as conquerors, amen.