Lenten Reader | Day 39

April 3rd, 2026

At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 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?”).

When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

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.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 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!”

Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 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.

It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

Mark 15:33-47

Curtain Torn

We think of the Gospels as eye-witness accounts, and inclusion of events by all four gives credibility. Matthew, Luke and Mark (in 15:33-41) list characters and happenings on Good Friday between noon and 3 pm: total darkness; Jesus crying out twice and then dying; bystanders being less than helpful; a centurion seeing the Truth; women watching from afar and…

“The curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.”

This symbolic yet essential outcome of Jesus’ death was unseen by anyone most likely until the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement six months later. Why was this included in the list?

Theologians smarter than I can debate the significance and details of the torn curtain. Many sermons have been preached on the subject, including two really good ones by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 3 and Hebrews 9. But the bottom line is that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross guaranteed our inheritance and granted us access to our Father.

The slaughter of offered animals was able to cleanse the obvious, outward sins, but the blood of Christ is able to “purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14). This once-and-for-all gift could not be inherited until Jesus’ death had been established (vs. 16), and the list from the eyewitnesses does that.

It pleases God to be a mystery worth solving, a treasure worth seeking, a gift worth unwrapping. And His greatest work is often found in hidden places. Significant spiritual moments don’t have to be seen or discussed in public, or Instagrammed, or even recognized by religious people.

When we spend time in the deep places of his Word and our hearts, we honor Jesus’ sacrifice.

“If you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

Theresa Manchester