Jesus’ death
Jesus suffered on the cross for about six hours. During the last three hours there was darkness over the land while his suffering was at its greatest.
Finally, he cried out, ‘It is finished’. Then, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ Then he died.
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The next day was the Sabbath so the Jews wanted the men to be brought down from the crosses before the day ended.
Normally they would have their bones broken to make sure they were dead and so the legs of the two thieves were broken.
However, Jesus was already dead. Just to make sure, a soldier thrust his spear into Jesus’ side and the flow of blood and water was proof that he was really dead.
The torn curtain
Jesus’ death brought with it some miraculous events. One of Jesus’ disciples, Matthew, wrote in his gospel, ‘At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.’
The curtain of the temple separated the ‘Holy of holies’ from the rest of the temple. Its destruction implies that the separation between God and man is bridged by the death of Jesus, God’s Son.
Dig deeper
The Bible tells us that from the sixth hour to the ninth hour there was darkness over the land.
During that time Jesus suffered the darkness of separation from God the Father, expressed in his cry, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
The Bible says
Mark 15:33-36
At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ – which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
When some of those standing near heard this, they said, ‘Listen, he’s calling Elijah.’
One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ‘Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,’ he said.
John 19:30
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’
With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Mark 15:38-39
The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 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!’