Mark 15

Death has been a subject that I've always had a hard time relating with. I've never really had a death hit home to me (knock on wood), but that doesn't necessarily mean I count myself lucky. I think I've just been indifferent to it all because I've been blessed with life day after day. I read tragic stories everyday about death and know people who've been through the toughest days bc of deaths in their families. I can feel the brokenness in those situations, but when I think of my life, I rarely feel the need to cherish the lives around me. That's a sad story.

Chapter 15 is all about Jesus' death. From the time is taken away, to being sentenced to crucifixion by the people, to the mocking and lashing brutality, to his last breath here on Earth. A death that seems so over the top, extreme, cruel, and unjustified...but a death that was necessary for God's plan. It's sad to realize that the parallel to it all is that we (you and I) were those people taking him away, yelling for his crucifixion, spitting on him, mocking him, lashing him. We put Him on that cross because we knew nothing, but to accuse someone who was just trying to speak truth. And two centuries later, we still struggle with these issues as a mankind. Christian or not, we are men and women who fail to see past our own thinking. We rationalize, investigate, and dictate what is "truth" and what is "good" bc we are man. We rule this world, right? Well..of course not. Our own thinking is that in itself...just thinking. When we are captivated by other people, circumstances, and supernatural wonders, we commonly just sit and think about it. And leave it at that. Verse 39 paints an image that is so far removed from our thinking, we would almost laugh at someone if it happened next to you. "And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said 'Truly this man was the Son of God!' " Not much thinking going on there. Just conviction and proclamation. He saw and he believed. He was so captivated by what he believed to be truth and he let himself go from rationalizing and second-guessing bc it was THAT convicting.

I hope the world can be captivated like the centurion. Granted the world is so broken right now (in all aspects of life) that hope is very tough to materialize. But if we truly believe that God's plan is uncontainable, then one day all the nations will proclaim and all the nations will bow with conviction that the truth of Christ Jesus reigns supreme.