Bethlehem and the Shadow of the Cross. (Mark 15:33-39)

 
The Christmas story tells us that God is with us now, the incarnate God made flesh in the vulnerability of a child and later in the agony of a dying man on a cross. The Word became flesh and did indeed dwell among us full of grace and truth. Luke tells us.

And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

(Luke 2: 7)

We see in the helplessness of a child born in humble circumstances the prequel of a life which embraced the rejected of society and overthrew the man-made structures of both religious and secular power in favour of the justice and love of God.  In the Advent story God is shown as embracing all humanity. An invitation is offered to all of us. No longer need we feel God is remote and far off because now we can imagine a new intimacy with God, and a new openness to others, because He became one of us. Understanding the facts that Jesus came to earth as a baby and died some 33 years later is one thing. However, knowing the significance of that life and death is quite another. What I would like to do this morning is talk about the significance of that one life, and how even in the nativity story the shadow of the cross still fell upon the manger in the stable.

Whilst many people in the world know that He was born in Bethlehem and he died crucified on Calvary, most still don’t know what that means.  Although many of us will be familiar with the Christmas story and the passages concerning His birth at the end of the day it that one life will end up on a cross a Calvery. Let’s pick up narrative of the end of that one significant life at verse 15:33 of Marks Gospel 

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

(Mark 15: 33)

Christ had now hung on the cross for six hours, and for the last 3 hours the whole land has been covered in darkness. Then this happens.

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?”).

(Mark 15: 34)

Please note this is the only time in the New Testament where Jesus calls God, God. At all other times He addressed Him as Father. So, this is significant. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”? Now on one level this is a straight quotation from Psalm 22, but the big question it raises is in what way did God the Father forsake God the Son? It was because at this point, this very point, that Jesus became our sin and died for the sins of the world and it at this point because of that sin God the father by necessity had to turn away. The text then goes on to say.

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.

(Mark 15: 35-36)

So, again they misunderstood Him, and because of that they mock Him. They thought He was crying out for Elijah to come and save Him but none of that was even close to what is really going on here. I have already alluded to the fact that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that is the simple way to state it. But the point at which we recognise that Jesus Christ did that for us is also the point at which we as believers, become Children of God. So, when we understand that Jesus Christ died for our sins and trust in him then, at that precise moment we become Children of God. 

Let me say that same thing another way. God becomes our father on that day because if we become His children, then He must become our father. When Jesus Christ died for your sins, it was in order to enabled God to become your father. The death of Christ makes it possible for us to be God’s children and for God to be our father. But there’s more.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

(Mark 15: 37)

We are told in John Gospel that it was at this point Jesus cried “it is finished”, and Luke also added that Jesus also said, “into your hands I commit my spirit”. Th e important point is illustrated by what happens next.

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

(Mark 15: 38)

Jesus died, and the temple veil is torn. I would submit to you that this is one of the deeply significant things about the death of Christ but in order to fully appreciate it fully you have to understand something about the tabernacle and later the temple. Let me see if I can do this justice. Imagine an area about twice the size of a football pitch, marked out by a barrier all the way around it. With a tented structure at one end. At the entrance end was a gate through which a select few could pass through to where there was a brazen alter. So only a select few where aloud to pass through that gate past the alter.

The next piece of furniture you find in this outer courtyard area past the brazen alter was a laver. A laver was a type of wash basin and only the priest could go to it. Standing there they would go through ceremonial washing and then only after that they could go into the tabernacle proper. Now the tabernacle was a large, tented area, about 60% the area of the floorspace as this church. Internally it was divided into two parts separated by a thick veil. The first part was called the holy place, and it contained an alter a candelabra and a table of showbread. The priest and only the priest would regularly go into that compartment, but even he couldn’t enter into the second area behind the curtain/veil.

That second area was called the holiest of holies and in there was contained the arc of the covenant and the glory of God was found in there. This Shekinah glory of God representing the very presence of God dwelled in that place. Only the high priest could go in there and he could only go in once a year, on one day, the day of atonement. 

So, what that whole tabernacle structure and area is teaching the whole nations was that if you were an ordinary man or woman, you didn’t have access to God. If you were lucky enough to be a man, you could get part way there. And if you were a priest, you could go into the Holy place. But only if you were a high priest could you actually enter into the Holy of Holies, the presence of God, and he could only do that on 1 day, once a year. So, the tabernacle was portable place for the presence of God to dwell amongst his people which was carried around and constructed anywhere and everywhere they paused to rest. (Explain Priest and Rope and Bells)

Later the tabernacle was replaced by a permanent structure called the temple. So, let me describe the temple. The whole area around the buildings is called the Court of the gentiles, anybody can visit that area, but if you were a gentile, you could only go here but no further. Pass through the main gate “The gate beautiful” and you could then enter what was called the women’s courtyard. Jewish men and woman could both go into that courtyard, but not the gentiles and the woman could go no further than that. However, beyond that, through the gate of Nicanor was the court of the Israelites, and only men could go there.

Then just beyond the slaughter tables and the alter lay the court of the Priests, and guess what you had to be a priest to go that far. Then beyond that was the building that was the temple proper. (27m long by 17m High). Again about 2/3 the size of this building.

This Temple was a permanent building modelled after the tabernacle which was a movable transportable temple that the children of Israel took with them as the wandered in the wilderness. Within this temple proper you first entered through the vestibule into the holy place, then beyond that up some steps you entered into the Holy of Holies and those two compartments of the temple proper were separated by a veil, and it is this veil that is being talked about here. A veil that was about 30 feet wide and estimated at about 45 feet high and just like the tabernacle before it the whole structure, the whole edifice said that all of us can only go so far.

If you were a gentile, you could only go so far. If you were a woman you could go a little bit further but only go so far. If you were an Israelite, you could go a little bit further but only go so far and even if you were a priest, you could only go so far. And once again only the high priest could enter beyond the veil, into the holiest of holies, into the presence of God, and then only once a year. One man on the whole of God’s creation, and only once a year could enter into the presence of God, in that one particular place.

But the moment that Jesus died on the cross we are told that that barrier, that curtain was torn from the top to the bottom. That which separated people from the presence of God was torn wide open. When Jesus died everyone man and woman on this planet, that day and every day thereafter was invited and offered a welcome into the presence of God as Gods special children. We just had to cry out in repentance and faith to enter in.

The death of Christ and the tearing of the veil represents the fact that believers can now enter into the very presence of God, and you can do it today, even this morning. Prior to this it was one man (The High Priest) on one day (the Day of Atonement), once a year. But this means that every believer can now enter the presence of God not just today, but in every minute of every day. Which means every one of us can agree with that Roman centurion made when he too declared that, “surely this man was the Son of God”. 

 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!”

(Mark 15: 39)

So, here is the sum of this passage. The whole reason Christ was born on this earth was to bring about a situation whereby we can have God as our father, in order that, we can have access to God anytime, and any place. The ripping of the veil made God not only our father but is made God “Abba father”. 

“Abba” is a term of endearment and equivalent to our term Daddy, it indicates intimacy and trust. When Jesus death ripped the veil, we were all potentially given access to God, but access to God as Abba Father, our daddy. In other words, your father God is now approachable. Under the Old Testament system God was not approachable by everybody, the presence of God was limited to one person once a year.

The advent of Jesus is the beginning of the opening up of an initiation to approach God as our father without fear. And that invitation was delivered by the death of Christ and symbolically represented by the ripping of the veil. Believers around the world celebrate the birth life ministry and death of Jesus because God is now approachable. However, God now as well as being approachable, is Abba Father, he is approachable in a whole new way. Previously before the coming of Jesus, access to God was limited not only physically to one man, but it was also limited geographically to one place, ‘The Holy of Holies’. God presence was literally penned in. In John Chapter 4 Jesus speaking says this…. Listen carefully!

“Jesus replied, ‘believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem……. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks”.

(John 4: 21-23)

God is no longer accessible by a particular location, He is accessible in Spirit and in truth, anywhere. God is now available wherever and whenever you need Him. God is now available anytime and anyplace. God has made himself approachable, but remember you still have to approach him. He may be available anytime and anywhere, but you still have to go to Him. Remember back in the day, when you wanted to call someone, you had to find a phone box or go home.

God has given you a spiritual mobile phone, he has placed it on/in your person, and you can call him anytime. Abba Father is now not just approachable, he is now available, and you will never get a engaged signal, and you never get a answering machine message telling you to call back later. Call upon him when you need Him, and he will answer you all the time.

Why do you think he did all this? Why did he send his son to be born in a stable in Bethlehem? Why did he allow His son to die on a cross at Calvary? Why did he rip the veil from top to bottom. Why do you think he make himself approachable? Why did he make himself available? Because friends, He wants to hear from you. He wants to hear from you because He is your loving father, and He wants to hear from you, because He wants to help you. He just wants you to talk to him and lead your life according to the direction you gain from spending time with Him.

One of my cousins many years ago left Northern Ireland and joined the RAF, he rose through the ranks to that of Wing Commander and later became a big cheese in NATO. Earlier in his career when he was promoted to squadron leader, he still had a young family and I remember hearing that once when my uncle Norman said to one of my cousins, you Father is now a very important person, he is the leader of a lot of people.  His son said, will I still be allowed to call him Daddy. God is now your Father, because Jesus Christ came and walked this earth, and then died for our sins, we now have the opportunity to call upon God not just as Father, but more so as “Abba Father”. Anywhere, anytime, anyplace. Now and always.