Mark 15:17-38 … The tearing of the Curtain (02/02/17)
“And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him … After mocking him, they stripped him of the cloak … [and] offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And then they crucified him … The Chief Priest, along with the scribes who were mocking him, said: ‘He Saved others yet he cannot save himself’ … Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.” ~ unknown (Mark 15:17-38)
This passage is important for several reasons – starting with the fact that it comes from the Gospel of Mark (the first Gospel written; the Gospel from which both Matthew & Luke were later adapted), and ending with the fact that it speaks both literally & figuratively of the immense power that comes from The Way of Christ; a way steeped in perfect Love & willing self-sacrifice for others … Please consider the following tidbits that further illuminate the same:
*Note that the purple cloak and crown of thorns both symbolized royalty – mockingly by the Romans, true enough, and yet all true royalty is inevitably mocked by the faux-royals supposedly in power at the time of mocking. Indeed, the evidence that the authorities completely misunderstood Jesus & his mission was shown by their fully errant (and somewhat paranoid) proclamation of Jesus as “The King of the Jews” – and this even after Jesus himself had repeatedly renounced &/or rejected that same announcement (see John 6:15 & Mark 15:2 et al) …
*Note as well that myrrh, which was sometimes used as a potent painkiller in Jesus’ day, was offered to Jesus before his crucifixion, and was rejected by him – probably because it would have dampened the depth of sacrifice he was trying to show those in attendance …
*In addition, note that later Jesus does imbibe a drugged drink (Mark 15:36) just before he “breathed his last” (the Greek written here is actually “exepneusen“, a term which often meant “to voluntarily choose to breathe out one’s last breath” – Strong’s #1606) …
*Note the additional evidence of the Romans’ utter cluelessness seen in the utterance “but he couldn’t save himself”; not realizing that Jesus had indeed purposefully chosen to be crucified (indeed that he had himself organized the entire affair), much less the fact that to walk The Way of Christ means per se to never choose to save one’s self …
*Finally, note that the tearing of the temple curtain symbolized the destruction of the church’s power to keep the people separate from God – symbolized that there no longer needed to be an intermediary for people to come to intimately know the Divine – symbolized that all we have to do is follow Jesus’ Way of willing self-sacrifice, radical Kindness, and unconditional Love in order to attain entrance into his Kingdom of Heaven (see Luke 17:20-21 + John 13:15-17 et al); a fact that he showed others quite clearly on Golgotha when he essentially put himself up on the cross – an incredibly courageous gift of self-sacrifice which turned out to be his final “sermon.”
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