At the ninth hour (from sunrise) – 3pm
What day is
this on? (Mark 15:40-47)
After Passover the night before, this is Preparation Day when everyone
is madly rushing around buying supplies and cooking meals for the High Sabbath
tomorrow that commences the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread. The city is packed with
thousands of pilgrims from afar, eagerly expecting the long awaited Messiah,
promised to appear right now by Daniel the prophet.
So where is the Son of God?
Crucified as a common criminal, His bloodied naked body remains hanging
just outside the city gates for all to gawk at until after sunset.
The women following Jesus have faithfully watched from a distance and now Joseph shows amazing courage by fronting Pontius Pilate who is surprised.
“Jesus is dead already?” Yes Pilate, Jesus has been in control – not you.
He deserves a rich man’s burial... and gets it. Isaiah 53: 9
