EGW WritingsMark 15

From Heaven With Love

Chapter 78—Jesus Dies on Calvary

HLv 495.1

“And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him.”

HLv 495.2

The news of Christ’s condemnation had spread, and people of all classes and ranks flocked toward the place of crucifixion. The priests and rulers had been bound by a promise not to molest Christ’s followers if He Himself were delivered to them, and the disciples and believers joined the throng.

HLv 495.3

The cross which had been prepared for Barabbas was laid on Jesus’ bleeding shoulders. Two companions of Barabbas were to suffer death at the same time, and on them also crosses were placed. Since the Passover supper with His disciples, Jesus had taken neither food nor drink. He had endured the anguish of betrayal and had seen His disciples forsake Him. He had been taken to Annas, to Caiaphas, to Pilate, to Herod, then again to Pilate. All that night there had been scene after scene to try the soul of man to the uttermost. Christ had not failed. He had borne Himself with dignity. But when after the second scourging the cross was laid on Him, human nature could bear no more. He fell fainting beneath the burden.

HLv 495.4

The crowd manifested no compassion. They taunted Him because He could not carry the heavy cross. Again the burden was laid on Him, and again He fell. His persecutors saw that it was impossible for Him to carry His burden further. Who would bear the humiliating load? The Jews could not, because the defilement would prevent them from keeping the Passover.

HLv 496.1

At this time a stranger, Simon a Cyrenian, coming in from the country, met the throng. He stopped in astonishment at the scene, and as he expressed compassion, they seized him and placed the cross on his shoulders.

HLv 496.2

Simon’s sons were believers in the Saviour, but he himself was not. Bearing the cross to Calvary was a blessing to Simon. It led him to take the cross of Christ from choice and ever cheerfully stand beneath its burden.

HLv 496.3

Not a few women were in the crowd that followed the Uncondemned to His cruel death. Some had carried to Him their sick and suffering ones. Some had themselves been healed. They wondered at the hatred of the crowd toward Him. And notwithstanding the angry words of priests and rulers, as Jesus fell beneath the cross these women broke forth into wailing. This attracted Christ’s attention. He knew that they were not lamenting Him as one sent from God, but He did not despise their sympathy. It awakened in His heart a deeper sympathy for them. “Daughters of Jerusalem,” He said, “weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.” Christ looked forward to the time of Jerusalem’s destruction when many who were now weeping for Him were to perish with their children.

HLv 496.4

From the fall of Jerusalem the thoughts of Jesus passed to a wider judgment. In the destruction of the impenitent city He saw a symbol of the final destruction to come on the world: “Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” The green tree represented Himself, the innocent Redeemer. God’s wrath against transgression fell on His beloved Son. What suffering, then, would the sinner bear who continued in sin? The impenitent would know a sorrow that language would fail to express.

HLv 497.1

Of the multitude that followed the Saviour to Calvary, many had attended Him with hosannas and palm branches as He rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. Not a few who then shouted His praise because it was popular, now swelled the cry, “Crucify Him!” When Christ rode into Jerusalem, the disciples pressed close about Him, feeling that it was a high honor to be connected with Him. Now in His humiliation they followed Him at a distance.

HLv 497.2

At the place of execution, the two thieves wrestled in the hands of those who placed them on the cross; but Jesus made no resistance. The mother of Jesus, supported by John, had followed the steps of her Son to Calvary. She had longed to place a supporting hand beneath His wounded head. But she was not permitted this mournful privilege. She still cherished the hope that Jesus would deliver Himself from His enemies. Again her heart would sink, as she recalled He had foretold the very scenes then taking place.

HLv 497.3

As the thieves were bound to the cross, she looked on with agonizing suspense. Would He who had given life to the dead suffer Himself to be crucified? Must she give up her faith that He was the Messiah? She saw His hands stretched on the cross; the hammer and nails were brought, and as the spikes were driven through the tender flesh, the disciples bore away from the cruel scene the fainting form of the mother of Jesus.

HLv 497.4

The Saviour made no complaint, but great drops of sweat stood on His brow. There was no pitying hand to wipe the death dew from His face; no words of sympathy and fidelity to stay His human heart. While the soldiers were doing their fearful work, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” His mind passed from His own suffering to the terrible retribution that would be theirs. No curses were called down on the soldiers who were handling Him so roughly, no vengeance invoked on the priests and rulers. He breathed only a plea for their forgiveness—they “know not what they do.”

HLv 498.1

But their ignorance did not remove their guilt, for it was their privilege to know and accept Jesus as their Saviour. Some would yet see their sin, and repent, and be converted. Some by impenitence would make it impossible for the prayer of Christ to be answered for them. Yet, just the same, God’s purpose was reaching its fulfillment. Jesus was earning the right to become the advocate of men in the Father’s presence.

HLv 498.2

That prayer of Christ for His enemies took in every sinner from the beginning of the world to the end of time. Upon all rests the guilt of crucifying the Son of God. To all, forgiveness is freely offered.

HLv 498.3

As soon as Jesus was nailed to the cross, it was lifted by strong men and with violence thrust into the place prepared for it. This caused intense agony. Pilate then wrote an inscription in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and placed it on the cross above the head of Jesus. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” This irritated the Jews. They had cried, “We have no king but Caesar.” They had declared that whoever should acknowledge any other king was a traitor. Pilate wrote what they had expressed. No offense was mentioned, except that Jesus was the King of the Jews, a virtual acknowledgment of the allegiance of the Jews to Rome. It declared that whoever might claim to be the King of Israel would be judged by them worthy of death. In order to destroy Christ, the priests had been ready to sacrifice even their national existence.

HLv 498.4

The priests asked Pilate to change the inscription. “Write not, The King of the Jews; but that He said, I am King of the Jews.” But Pilate, angry with himself, replied coldly, “What I have written I have written.”

HLv 498.5

In the providence of God that inscription was to awaken investigation of the Scriptures. People from all lands were then at Jerusalem, and the inscription declaring Jesus the Messiah would come to their notice. It was transcribed by a hand that God had guided.

HLv 498.6

In the sufferings of Christ on the cross, prophecy was fulfilled. “The assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me: they pierced My hands and My feet... . They part My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture.” Psalm 22:16-18. His clothing was given to the soldiers. His tunic was woven without seam, and they said, “Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be.”

HLv 499.1

In another prophecy the Saviour declared, “I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave Me also gall for my meat; and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink.” Psalm 69:20, 21. To those who suffered death by the cross, it was permitted to give a stupefying drug to deaden the pain. But when Jesus had tasted it, He refused it. His faith must keep hold on God, His only strength. To becloud His senses would give Satan an advantage.

HLv 499.2

Priests, rulers, and scribes joined the mob in mocking the dying Saviour. The Father’s voice from heaven, witnessing to Christ’s divinity, was silent. No testimony in His favor was heard. Alone He suffered.

HLv 499.3

“If Thou be the Son of God,” they said, “come down from the cross.” “Let Him save Himself, if He be Christ, the chosen of God.” Satan and his angels, in human form, were present at the cross, cooperating with the priests and rulers, confederated in a satanic frenzy.

HLv 499.4

Jesus heard the priests declare, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Christ could have come down from the cross. But because He would not save Himself, the sinner has hope of pardon and favor with God.

HLv 499.5

To Jesus on the cross there came one gleam of comfort—the prayer of the penitent thief. Both men crucified with Jesus at first railed on Him; and one under his suffering only became more desperate and defiant. But his companion was not a hardened criminal; he was less guilty than many who stood beside the cross reviling the Saviour. He had seen and heard Jesus, but had been turned away from Him by the priests and rulers. Seeking to stifle conviction, he had plunged into sin, until he was arrested and condemned.

HLv 500.1

On the cross he saw the great religionists ridicule Jesus. He heard the upbraiding speech taken up by his companion in guilt: “If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us.” Among the passersby he heard many repeating Jesus’ words, and telling of His works. The conviction came back that this was the Christ. Turning to his fellow criminal, he said, “Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?” The dying thieves no longer had anything to fear from man. But on one of them pressed the conviction that there is a God to fear, a future to cause him to tremble. And now, his life history was about to close. “And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man hath done nothing amiss.”

HLv 500.2

When condemned for his crime, the thief had become despairing, but strange, tender thoughts now sprang up. The Holy Spirit illuminated his mind, and little by little the chain of evidence joined together. In Jesus, mocked and hanging on the cross, he saw the Lamb of God. Hope mingled with anguish in his voice as the dying soul cast himself on a dying Saviour. “Lord, remember me when thou comest into Thy kingdom.”

HLv 500.3

Quickly the answer came, soft and melodious the tone, full of love and power the words: Verily I say unto thee today, Thou shalt be with Me in paradise.1The comma in Luke 23:43 is often misplaced in English translations. No comma existed in the Greek text. With longing heart Jesus had listened for some expression of faith from His disciples. He had heard only the mournful words, “We trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel.” How grateful then to the Saviour was the utterance of faith and love from the dying thief! While even the disciples doubted, the poor thief called Jesus “Lord.” No one acknowledged Him on the cross save the penitent thief, saved at the eleventh hour.

HLv 501.1

The tone of the repentant man arrested the attention of bystanders. Those who had been quarreling over Christ’s garments stopped to listen and waited for the response from Christ’s dying lips.

HLv 501.2

As He spoke the words of promise, the dark cloud that seemed to enshroud the cross was pierced by a living light. Christ in His humiliation was glorified. He who in all other eyes appeared conquered, was Conqueror. He was acknowledged as the Sin Bearer. They could strip from Him His raiment, but they could not rob Him of His power to forgive sins. It is His royal right to save all who come to God by Him!

HLv 501.4

Christ’s position “in the midst” between the thieves was done by direction of the priests and rulers to indicate that He was the greatest criminal of the three. But as Jesus was placed “in the midst,” so His cross was placed in the midst of a dying world lying in sin. And the words of pardon spoken to the penitent thief kindled a light that will shine to earth’s remotest bounds. In His humiliation, Jesus as a prophet had addressed the daughters of Jerusalem; as priest and advocate He had pleaded with the Father to forgive His murderers; as Saviour He had forgiven the sins of the penitent thief.

HLv 501.5

At the foot of the cross stood His mother, supported by John. She could not endure to remain away from her Son, and John, knowing that the end was near, had brought her again. Looking into her grief-stricken face, He said to her, “Woman, behold thy son!” then to John, “Behold, thy mother!” John understood and accepted the trust. From that hour he cared for Mary tenderly. The Saviour had no money with which to provide for His mother, but He provided that which she most needed—the tender sympathy of one who loved her because she loved Jesus. And John received a great blessing—she was a constant reminder of his beloved Master.

HLv 502.1

For nearly thirty years Jesus by His daily toil had helped bear the burdens of the home. And now, even in His last agony, He provided for His sorrowing, widowed mother. Those who follow Christ will respect and provide for their parents. From the heart where His love is cherished, father and mother will never fail of receiving thoughtful care and tender sympathy. And now the Lord of glory was dying. All was oppressive gloom. Not the dread of death, not the pain of the cross, caused Christ’s agony. His suffering was from a sense of the malignity of sin. Christ saw how few would be willing to break from its power. Without help from God, humanity must perish, and He saw multitudes perishing within reach of help.

HLv 502.2

Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid the iniquity of us all. The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing on His heart. All His life Christ had been publishing the good news of the Father’s pardoning love, but now with the terrible weight of guilt upon Him He could not see the Father’s reconciling face. This pierced His heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. So great was this agony that His physical pain was hardly felt.

HLv 502.3

Satan with fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance. Christ felt the anguish the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath on Him as man’s substitute, that broke the heart of the Son of God.

HLv 503.1

The hosts of heaven veiled their faces from the fearful sight. The sun refused to look on the awful scene. Its full, bright rays were illuminating the earth at midday, when suddenly it seemed to be blotted out. Complete darkness enveloped the cross. “There was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.” There was no natural cause for this darkness, which was as deep as midnight without moon or stars. It was a miraculous testimony given by God that the faith of after generations might be confirmed.

HLv 503.2

In that thick darkness God’s presence was hidden. God and holy angels were beside the cross. The Father was with His Son. Yet His presence was not revealed. In that dreadful hour Christ was not to be comforted with the Father’s presence.

HLv 503.3

In the thick darkness God veiled the last human agony of His Son. All who had seen Christ in His suffering had been convicted of His divinity. Through long hours of agony He had been gazed on by the jeering multitude. Now He was mercifully hidden by the mantle of God.

HLv 503.4

A nameless terror held the throng gathered about the cross. Cursing and reviling ceased. Vivid lightnings occasionally flashed from the cloud and revealed the crucified Redeemer. Priests, rulers, executioners, the mob, all thought their time of retribution had come. Some whispered that Jesus would now come down from the cross.

HLv 503.5

At the ninth hour the darkness lifted from the people, but still enveloped the Saviour. No eye could penetrate the deep gloom that enshrouded the suffering soul of Christ. Then “Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?” Many voices exclaimed: The vengeance of heaven is upon Him because He claimed to be the Son of God! Many who believed on Him heard His despairing cry. Hope left them. If God had forsaken Jesus, in what could His followers trust?

HLv 504.1

When the darkness lifted, Christ revived to a sense of physical suffering, and said, “I thirst.” One of the Roman soldiers, touched with pity, took a sponge and dipping it in vinegar, offered it to Him. But the priests mocked His agony. His words, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” they misinterpreted. They said, “This man calleth for Elijah.” The last opportunity to relieve His sufferings they refused. “Let be,” they said, “let us see whether Elias will come to save Him.”

HLv 504.2

The spotless Son of God hung upon the cross, His flesh lacerated with stripes, His hands nailed to the wooden bars, His feet spiked to the tree, His royal head pierced by thorns. And all that He endured—the agony that racked His frame, and the unutterable anguish that filled His soul at the hiding of His Father’s face—speaks to each child of humanity, declaring, For you the Son of God consents to bear this burden of guilt; for you He spoils the domain of death; for you He opens the gates of Paradise; for you He offers Himself as a sacrifice—from love to you.

HLv 504.3

Suddenly the gloom lifted from the cross. In trumpetlike tones that seemed to resound throughout creation, Jesus cried, “It is finished.” “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.” A light encircled the cross, and the face of the Saviour shone with a glory like the sun. He then bowed His head and died.

HLv 504.4

Amid the awful darkness, Christ had drained the dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied on the evidence of His Father’s acceptance heretofore given Him. Acquainted with the character of His Father, by faith He rested in Him whom it had ever been His joy to obey. And as He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father’s favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor.

HLv 505.1

Again darkness settled on the earth, and there was a violent earthquake. Wild confusion ensued. In the surrounding mountains, rocks were rent asunder, and went crashing into the plains. Sepulchers were broken open, and the dead were cast out. Priests, soldiers, executioners, and people, lay prostrate on the ground.

HLv 505.2

When the loud cry, “It is finished,” came from the lips of Christ, it was the hour of the evening sacrifice. The lamb representing Christ had been brought to be slain. The priest stood with lifted knife, the people looking on. But the earth trembled, for the Lord Himself drew near. With a rending noise the inner veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom by an unseen hand, throwing open to the gaze of the multitude a place once filled with the presence of God. The most holy place of the earthly sanctuary was no longer sacred.

From Heaven With Love

One Crucified Thief Believes

HLv 501.3

I say unto thee today, Thou shalt be with Me in Paradise. Christ did not promise that the thief should be with Him in Paradise that day. He Himself did not go that day to Paradise. He slept in the tomb, and on the morning of the resurrection He said, “I am not yet ascended to My Father.” John 20:17. But on the day of apparent defeat the promise was given. “Today,” while dying on the cross as a malefactor, Christ assured the sinner, “You will be with Me in Paradise.”

From Heaven With Love

Christ Dies Triumphant

HLv 505.3

All was terror and confusion. The priest was about to slay the victim; but the knife dropped from his nerveless hand, and the lamb escaped. Type had met antitype. The great sacrifice had been made. A new and living way was prepared for all. Henceforth the Saviour was to officiate as priest and advocate in the heaven of heavens. “By His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Hebrews 9:12.

Sons and Daughters of God

We See Christ on the Cross, August 1

SD 220.1

And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. Mark 15:25.

The Story of Jesus

Chapter 23—Calvary

SJ 143.6

“And they that passed by railed on Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save Thyself, and come down from the cross.” Mark 15:29, 30.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 103, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 103, 1897, par. 12

“Ah, thou destroyest the temple, and buildest it again in three days, save thyself, and come down from the cross.” [Mark 15:29, 30.] When Christ had made reference to destroying the temple, He had referred not to the temple at Jerusalem, but to the temple of His body. His words were perverted. He was the one to be destroyed. He had said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” [John 2:19.]

Our Father Cares

The Divine Substitute, September 18

OFC 273.2

“He saved others; himself he cannot save” (Mark 15:31). It is because Christ would not save Himself that the sinner has any hope of pardon or favor with God. If, in His undertaking to save the sinner, Christ had failed or become discouraged, the last hope of every son and daughter of Adam would have been at an end. The entire life of Christ was one of self-denial and self-sacrifice; and the reason that there are so few stalwart Christians is because of their self-indulgence and self-pleasing in the place of self-denial and self-sacrifice.

The Story of Redemption

Nailed to the Cross

SR 222.2

After Jesus was nailed to the cross, it was lifted by several powerful men and thrust with great violence into the place prepared for it, causing the most excruciating agony to the Son of God. And now a terrible scene was enacted. Priests, rulers, and scribes forgot the dignity of their sacred offices, and joined with the rabble in mocking and jeering the dying Son of God, saying, “If Thou be the King of the Jews, save Thyself.” Luke 23:37. And some deridingly repeated among themselves, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.” Mark 15:31. The dignitaries of the temple, the hardened soldiers, the vile thief upon the cross, and the base and cruel among the multitude—all united in their abuse of Christ.

This Day With God

The Divine Substitute, August 15

TDG 236.2

“He saved others; himself he cannot save” (Mark 15:31). It is because Christ would not save Himself that the sinner has any hope of pardon or favor with God. If, in His undertaking to save the sinner, Christ had failed or become discouraged, the last hope of every son and daughter of Adam would have been at an end. The entire life of Christ was one of self-denial and self-sacrifice; and the reason that there are so few stalwart Christians is because of their self-indulgence and self-pleasing in the place of self-denial and self-sacrifice.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Lt 132, 1910

25LtMs, Lt 132, 1910, par. 13

Jesus, suffering and dying, heard every word as the priests declared, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” [Mark 15:31, 32.] Christ could have come down from the cross, but it is because He would not save Himself that the sinner has hope of pardon and favor with God.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Lt 12, 1911

25LtMs, Lt 12, 1911, par. 15

Jesus, suffering and dying, heard every word as the priests declared, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” [Mark 15:31, 32.] Christ could have come down from the cross, but it is because He would not save Himself that the sinner has hope of pardon and favor with God.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 12 [Nos. 921-999]

MR No. 999—Christ as Sacrifice and High Priest

12MR 385.2

“And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour” [Mark 15:33]. Not only did the darkness enshroud the immediate location where the cross stood, “there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.”

12MR 386.1

[Mark 15:34-37, 40, 41, quoted.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 91, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 91, 1897, par. 2

“And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.” [Mark 15:33.] Not only did the darkness enshroud the immediate location where the cross stood: “there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.”

12LtMs, Ms 91, 1897, par. 5

“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the Ghost. ... There were also women looking on a afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome: (which also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.” [Verses 34-37, 40, 41.]

12LtMs, Ms 91, 1897, par. 7

There was a mighty earthquake. The rocks were rent; the graves of many dead burst opened, and all nature was in commotion, expressing her sympathy with her dying Author. The Roman centurion, in charge of his soldiers, halted at the cross, and when Christ uttered the cry, “It is finished; into thy hands I commend my spirit,” overpowering conviction came upon him. “Truly,” he said, “this man was the Son of God.” [John 19:30; Luke 23:46; Mark 15:39.]

Christ’s Object Lessons

The Lost Piece of Silver

COL 196.4

The value of a soul, who can estimate? Would you know its worth, go to Gethsemane, and there watch with Christ through those hours of anguish, when He sweat as it were great drops of blood. Look upon the Saviour uplifted on the cross. Hear that despairing cry, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Mark 15:34. Look upon the wounded head, the pierced side, the marred feet. Remember that Christ risked all. For our redemption, heaven itself was imperiled. At the foot of the cross, remembering that for one sinner Christ would have laid down His life, you may estimate the value of a soul.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 25, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 25, 1898, par. 7

One, a centurion, was more deeply moved than the others. He stood by the cross until the death of Christ, and heard the voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” [Mark 15:34.] He heard, too, the words that penetrated everywhere, “It is finished.” [John 19:30.] The darkness that covered the earth, and wrapped its gloomy pall about the cross and the form of Jesus, the rending rocks, the earthquake, combined to produce a scene which those who witnessed [it] would never forget. And the centurion was convicted. “Truly this was the Son of God,” he said. [Matthew 27:54.]

God’s Amazing Grace

Heaven Itself Imperiled, June 16

AG 175.2

The value of a soul, who can estimate? Would you know its worth, go to Gethsemane, and there watch with Christ through those hours of anguish, when He sweat as it were great drops of blood. Look upon the Saviour uplifted on the cross. Hear that despairing cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). Look upon the wounded head, the pierced side, the marred feet. Remember that Christ risked all. For our redemption, heaven itself was imperiled. At the foot of the cross, remembering that for one sinner Christ would have laid down His life, you may estimate the value of a soul.

In Heavenly Places

Righteousness Through Christ, January 9

HP 15.6

Hear His cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). He was treated as a sinner, that we might be treated as righteous, that God might be just, and yet the justifier of the sinner....

Patriarchs and Prophets

Chapter 43—The Death of Moses

PP 475.3

He followed the Saviour to Gethsemane, and beheld the agony in the garden, the betrayal, the mockery and scourging—the crucifixion. Moses saw that as he had lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of God must be lifted up, that whosoever would believe on Him “should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:15. Grief, indignation, and horror filled the heart of Moses as he viewed the hypocrisy and satanic hatred manifested by the Jewish nation against their Redeemer, the mighty Angel who had gone before their fathers. He heard Christ’s agonizing cry, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Mark 15:34. He saw Him lying in Joseph’s new tomb. The darkness of hopeless despair seemed to enshroud the world. But he looked again, and beheld Him coming forth a conqueror, and ascending to heaven escorted by adoring angels and leading a multitude of captives. He saw the shining gates open to receive Him, and the host of heaven with songs of triumph welcoming their Commander. And it was there revealed to him that he himself would be one who should attend the Saviour, and open to Him the everlasting gates. As he looked upon the scene, his countenance shone with a holy radiance. How small appeared the trials and sacrifices of his life when compared with those of the Son of God! how light in contrast with the “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”! 2 Corinthians 4:17. He rejoiced that he had been permitted, even in a small measure, to be a partaker in the sufferings of Christ.

The Story of Redemption

A Lesson in Filial Love

SR 226.1

Inanimate nature expressed a sympathy with its insulted and dying Author. The sun refused to look upon the awful scene. Its full, bright rays were illuminating the earth at midday, when suddenly it seemed to be blotted out. Complete darkness enveloped the cross and all the vicinity about, like a funeral pall. The darkness lasted three full hours. At the ninth hour the terrible darkness lifted from the people, but still wrapt the Saviour as in a mantle. The angry lightnings seemed to be hurled at Him as He hung upon the cross. Then “Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Mark 15:34.

Testimony Treasures, vol. 1

Wives of Ministers

1TT 36.1

I saw the wives of the ministers. Some of them are no help to their husbands, yet they profess the third angel’s message. They think more of studying their own wishes and pleasure than the will of God, or how they can hold up the hands of their husbands by their faithful prayers and careful walk. I saw that some of them take so willful and selfish a course that Satan makes them his instruments and works through them to destroy the influence and usefulness of their husbands. They feel at liberty to complain and murmur if they are brought through any strait places. They forget the sufferings of the ancient Christians for the truth’s sake and think that they must have their wishes and way, and follow their own will. They forget the suffering of Jesus, their Master. They forget the Man of Sorrows, who was acquainted with grief—He who had not where to lay His head. They do not care to remember that holy brow, pierced with a crown of thorns. They forget Him, who, bearing His own cross to Calvary, fainted beneath its burden. Not merely the burden of the wooden cross, but the heavy burden of the sins of the world, was upon Him. They forget the cruel nails driven through His tender hands and feet, and His ex piring, agonizing cries: “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34. After all this suffering endured for them, they feel a strong unwillingness to suffer for Christ’s sake.

From Eternity Past

Chapter 43—The Death of Moses

EP 337.3

He heard Christ’s agonizing cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Mark 15:34. He saw Him lying in Joseph’s new tomb. The darkness of hopeless despair seemed to enshroud the world. But he looked again and beheld Him a conqueror ascending to heaven, escorted by adoring angels and leading a multitude of captives.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 5 (1887-1888)

Ms 41, 1887

5LtMs, Ms 41, 1887, par. 19

At the ninth hour the terrible darkness lifted from the people, but still wrapt the Saviour in a mantle. The angry lightnings seemed to be hurled at Him as He hung upon the cross. Then “Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” [Mark 15:34.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 106, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 106, 1897, par. 11

“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” [Mark 15:34.] The wrath of God fell upon Christ. This was the hiding of the Father’s countenance. Though innocent, Christ was treated as a sinner, that through His merits sinners, though guilty, might be treated as the loyal and obedient children of God. Christ died with the sins of the world imputed to Him, that His righteousness might be imputed to the sinner. When the sense of the loss of His Father’s favor was withdrawn, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of bitterness.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 235, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 235, 1902, par. 18

The Lord has proved and pledged His great love to us. He paid the penalty of our transgressions, which was death. He was delivered up for us all. Our sins were transferred to His soul. They were laid upon Him and He was treated as if He was guilty of our sins. He suffered the penalty of death under the weight of the tremendous load. He puts away the sins of every believing soul. The smoke of that sacrifice ascended to heaven and darkened the earth in its dreary blackness. The words, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” were followed by the loud, despairing cry, “It is finished.” [Mark 15:34, 37; John 19:30.] The dying, anguished cry of the Victim upon the cross shook the earth; the rocks rent, the graves opened, the earthquake alarmed the people, while the darkness hid the face of Christ.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 111, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 111, 1897, par. 26

“Jesus, knowing that all things were [now] accomplished,” cried out with a loud voice, “It is finished.” The work that Thou gavest Me is accomplished. [John 19:28, 30; Mark 15:37.] Thus He gave His dying testimony to men and angels that the work He came to earth to do was to save a perishing world by His death.

Jesus, Name Above All Names

Bleeding Victim, July 27

JNN 221.1

And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.—Mark 15:37

From Splendor to Shadow

The Time of Christ’s First Coming Specified

SS 360.2

Then, said the angel, “He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [seven years].” For seven years after the Saviour entered on His ministry, the gospel was to be preached especially to the Jews; for three and a half years by Christ Himself, and afterward by the apostles. “In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” Daniel 9:27. In the spring of A.D. 31, Christ, the true Sacrifice, was offered on Calvary. Then the veil of the temple was rent (see Mark 15:38), showing that the time had come for the earthly sacrifice to cease.

Daughters of God

Women at the Cross

DG 67.2

When Jesus was thought to be dying beneath the burden of the cross, many women, who, though not believers in Christ, were touched with pity for His sufferings, broke forth into a mournful wailing. When Jesus revived, He looked upon them with tender compassion. He knew they were not lamenting Him because He was a teacher sent from God, but from motives of common humanity. He looked upon the weeping women and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, but weep not for me, but for yourselves, and for your children.”

DG 67.3

Jesus did not despise their tears, but the sympathy which they expressed wakened a deeper chord of sympathy in His own heart for them. He forgot His own grief in contemplating the future fate of Jerusalem. Only a short time ago the people had cried out, “His blood be on us and on our children.” How blindly had they invoked the doom they were soon to realize! Many of the very women who were weeping about Jesus were to perish with their children in the siege of Jerusalem.—The Spirit of Prophecy 3:151 (1878).

DG 67.4

The women of Galilee had remained with the disciple John to see what disposition would be made of the body of Jesus, which was very precious to them, although their faith in Him as the promised Messiah had perished with Him.... The women were astonished to see Joseph and Nicodemus, both honored and wealthy councilors, as anxious and interested as themselves for the proper disposal of the body of Jesus.—The Spirit of Prophecy 3:174, 175 (1878).