Mark wrote when they crucified Jesus, “they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which said, And he was numbered with the transgressors. And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, you that destroy the temple, and build it in three days, Save yourself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him. And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 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 have you forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calls Elias”, and in chapter fifteen and verse thirty-six of his book, Mark shared how, “one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar” where we read:
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.
The verse reads, “And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, ...” Mark began with the words, “and one ran” or “and a certain person made haste” “and filled a sponge” which means “and made full of a fungus which soaks up liquid” “full of vinegar” or “filled with a mixture of sour wine and water which the Roman soldiers were accustomed to drink”, “and put it on a reed” which means “and placed or bound the sponge upon a staff or rod made of a reed”, “and gave him” or “and bestowed, granted, supplied and furnished Jesus with the sponge”, “to drink” which means “to imbibe”, “saying” or “uttering, declaring and proclaiming” the following words. Mark shared how a person “ran speedily” and “filled a sponge with a sour wine and water mixture”, bound it upon a “rod” and presented it to Jesus while declaring the following words.
The verse continues, “... Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.” Mark added the words, “Let alone” or “allow and permit Jesus to be hindered no longer”; “let us see” which means “permit and allow the crowd of people who were watching Jesus hand on the cross to perceive, notice and discern” “whether Elias” or “if Elijah who was a prophet in Israel whose name means my God is Jehovah” “will come to take him down” which means “will arise, come forth and appear to detach Jesus from the cross”. Mark shared how the person with the sponge filled with vinegar told everyone not to “hinder” Jesus any longer so they might see if “Elijah” would descend to set Him free from the cross.
When we think through Mark's words in this verse, we see how another person was involved in attempting to give Jesus some type of relief from His suffering, but this time they did so with the motive of seeing whether “Elijah” would respond to what Jesus said. Jesus was calling out to His Father God, but the crowd thought He was calling to “Elijah” and the people wanted to see if “Elijah” would rescue Him. Jesus went through this process because He wanted to provide “salvation from the penalty for sins” for every person who will put their faith and trust in Him. God desires to give every person “everlasting life”, and those who are wise will yield their lives to Him and not wait to see proof from what is perceived to be what is necessary.
Next time Mark shares how, “Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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