From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.
Mathew 26:45
The gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus was nailed to the cross at 9am (Mark 15:25). Matthew marks the last moments of Jesus' life to be about 3pm. In Matthew, the implementation of His execution took 27 verses. Less than 5 minutes to read a very matter of fact narration of an excruciating, tragic event in the life of Jesus.
Six hours. 27 verses. 5 minutes. The irony is not to be lost.
But vast amounts of sermons and books have been written since that day. The event is memorialized yearly.
There's more to the cross than the crucifixion. It is the culmination of the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. It is the beginning of a three-day event upon which all eternity, time, substance and space hinge.
And Jesus is at the center of it all. His obedience, His blood and what it means to us. His death and His resurrection are the linchpin on which everything holds together. And if the soul will refuse to be nailed to this hinge, that person will separate into the eternal free fall of oblivion.
Jesus,
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11)
all crowns tarnish in time
then rust then dust
and perish in the end
at pass forever to oblivion
yet there is one
fashioned first in thistle thorns
by mock and scorn of mortal hand
and mashed on precious brow
then ere third dawn
He stepped strong
from forsaken tomb
to claim His throne again
and that crown will never end
why seek the living among the dead?
do you not know our Dread Champion
has vanquished in conquest decisive
our fundamental foe
and did our hearts into
His glorious crown embed
- revel8r, 4-12-20
