Living Intentionally Ministries

It is 2:56 p.m. Jesus is beginning to lose consciousness. Reality is fading in and out. Jesus' muscles are beginning to convulse. Mary turns away and sobs uncontrollably.

It is 2:00 p.m. Jesus has been on the cross for 5 hours. He barely clings to life. Moments from his past are racing through his mind. "Mom was so mad when I stayed in the temple when I was a kid.... Dad was so happy when I could finally carve our initials into furniture we had made.... The look on Zacchaeus face when I looked up at him in the tree." Moments of distraction from the pain are gone as soon as they arrive. Jesus has not eaten since he shared the Passover meal with the disciples. That was 19 hours ago. He is dehydrated. He pushes on his feet, pain shoots through his entire body. "I'm so thirsty."

It is 1:00 p.m. It has been as dark as night for one hour. The crowds are no longer mocking Jesus. They are curious. Why isn't the sun shining? They had seen him do so many miracles. No doubt some of them believed Jesus might actually come down off the cross. He hangs there, bleeding to death, his body going into shock, often on the edge of suffocation as his lungs begin to fill with fluid. And while he could have called on a thousand angels to rescue him, he does not.

It's 12:00 p.m. In the middle of the day, when the sun is at its highest, the sky goes black. It is as dark as night. The people watching Jesus are shocked. They're afraid. They don't know that in this moment, all of creation is in mourning.