Loud Cry

Mark 15:37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

What is the impact of one overheard cry? In Beirut, Lebanon where that tremendous explosion happened over a month ago, the workers stopped and were silent when a signal was detected below the rubble. On 9/11 and the following days silence was a frequent response when unexplained sounds were heard.

New parents listen for cries in the night, a parent’s response to the first attempts to communicate with their newborn. Soon they learn what the different cries mean and things get a little bit easier. At the other end of life, families wait around the sickbed listening for the last faint cries of their loved one.

But there was something different about the cry of Jesus from the cross. Was it the tone of the cry? I am sure the guards had heard many a cry from the Roman crosses used to execute their enemies. Curses and derision, unrepentance and accusation, pain and agony are probably the usual cries. They were expected.

But this Jesus person was different. The Centurion, the equivalent of a company commander in our modern Army with 100 troops under him, would have been briefed about the prisoners whose deaths he was overseeing. He would have been given a summary of the charges and any intelligence about the possible threats their death might reasonably provoke. They had to be ready.

But there was something about Jesus’ cry that was different. Most of the cries probably reinforced the character of the person on the cross. Their anger and hatred probably flowed like water. But not with Jesus. After the other cries the soldiers probably were thinking, “Rome did the right thing in killing this one.”

But there was something about Jesus’ cry that was different. We know that because the Centurions conclusion is so different from what we might reasonably expect a condemned man to cry from a cross. And he had heard many a cry.

But Jesus’ cry was different. The Centurion concludes that Jesus was the Son of God. What exactly was the nature of His death that led to this conclusion? He was right there observing Jesus’ last moments. Did Jesus look with compassion on this Centurion? Did He mouth “I forgive you.” We will never know.

But something happened that was very different. “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

What is your conclusion as you look at Jesus in these final moments? What have you concluded about Him?