Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good day, dear people.

It’s dry out there at present. I just heard the mower start up…so Thano is out there cutting some grass. You can just about sit and watch it grow right now.

Lots on the list…a guy is coming shortly with his boat so I can apply some graphics. Then I need to do some milling and line out some other logs. I think I’ll need to buy more logs to meet current orders. I’m in the process of putting a special sale sign out by the road for some garden sheds we’ve made and have for sale. I need to move them…even if we take a beating by selling under cost.

Have a great day. Love, Dad/Ray.

The Gospel of Mark does not present much supernatural phenomena surrounding the crucifixion of Christ. Yes, there was the strange accompanying darkness at midday. But that could have been explained by a meteorologist who might inform us that a huge dust storm in Northern Africa had caused dust clouds to blow over Palestine at this very point in time. Mark does not mention the earthquake that Matthew describes where some graves supernaturally broke open and certain ones who were dead were raised to life again. While the accounts are not identical in the Gospels, the first three, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all mention the supernatural event that happened in the Temple: “The curtain of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”

My imagination has some fun with the scene of how the Jewish leaders would have dealt with the torn curtain. To what degree did they acknowledge that it was obviously supernatural? What did they do about it? Most likely they did their best to keep it quiet, just like they will do the resurrection. Most likely they did their best to repair or replace it so they could carry on with business as usual. “We’re not going to allow a little bit of weird stuff to interrupt what is most important to us!—the eradication of this Jesus-as-Messiah movement!”

What is the significance of the phenomenon of the broken curtain? The obvious answer is really quite wonderful. Not only did Jesus cry out, “It is finished” (Jn 19:30), but the overseeing Father was making the same statement with this curtain. Think of it. It declares that the Old Testament system is now obsolete. No more sacrifices. No more priests. No more Temple ceremony. It’s all fulfilled and finished in the sacrifice of the perfect “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29). We have a New and improved arrangement available. We are now free and invited to “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16). If that does not turn your heart’s gears, I think you may need an overhaul.

Question: When do you NOT have a “time of need?”