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Commentaries
English
Luke
  
44Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.45Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.46And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’" Having said this, He breathed His last.47So when the centurion saw what has happened, he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!"48And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.49But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.


Darkness enveloped the entire land on that Good Friday, from noon to 3 PM We do not know if this failure of the sun’s light was attributed to a sandstorm, to an astronomical accident, or to condensation of the spirits of demons, as Jesus said on the night on which he was betrayed, that it was the hour and the power of darkness. He who was crucified was hanged in Satan’s temptation, motionless, and unconscious, because of his excessive pains, which no human body could undergo. We know but a little about those three hours of agony and passion. The tempter came to the innocent soul of the Son of God, and whispered to him: "God has left you. He hates you. You are sinful, because you called yourself the Son of God. Now, you sense the angriness of the just Judge. I shall snatch you and take you a prey to hell. You are absolutely a reprobate.
Jesus’ subconscious was filled with the word of God. He memorized the verses of the Scriptures from his childhood, his mother Mary taught him how to pray faithfully, and the Holy Spirit filled his heart. If the human spirit were unable to participate in wrestling with the spirits, and the Holy Spirit would take the place of the believer with groanings, which cannot be uttered, how much more would he who was born of the Spirit of God had experienced at the attacking hour of temptation, in spite of the weakness of his whole body, and without any spontaneous prevention, that the Holy Spirit is the divine Comforter and the mighty Advocate who represents, supports, and helps the believer in the name of God in his striving for faith even to the end (Hebrew 9:14).
We see the result of this striving between heaven and earth that was centered in him who was crucified, when the high veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. This veil used to separate the Holy of Holies, i.e. the abode of God from the chamber called "the Holy Place", as a token of the entire end of the order of the Old Testament. If a believer from now on is immediately admitted to the holy God through his belief in Christ, then the Son had built for us the way to the Father, reconciled us, and perfected us once. The entrance to God, which was previously privileged to the high priest once a year on the great Day of Atonement, is privileged now to every Christian at all times and everywhere. He may come boldly, sprinkled with the blood of the Lamb, to the throne of grace, and give thanks for himself, uttering the prayer of continuous intercession for others. The striving in Jesus’ soul on the cross had opened to you the way to God. Thus you are accepted to the Holy One through the blood of Christ who was crucified.
Christ’s death is holy. We have a proof that Jesus did not die in doubt, unbelief, bitterness, and hopelessness, but went out prevailing and triumphant from his struggle against Satan. His last cry of victory was a prayer of gratitude and faith, which shows us his unbroken harmony with his Father. In his address to the Creator, he does not call him "God" as if he were a distant great Judge, as the Psalmist did in (Psalm 31:6), but he calls him "Father", proving his oneness with him in the Holy Trinity. Christ overcame God’s wrath on the cross. This is the essential meaning of the cross. Since then, God does not condemn the followers of him who was crucified. God consumed his Son instead of us. Yet the Lamb of God overcame the wrath of the Holy One through his humility and meekness. He put his pure spirit in the hands of the angry God, believing and confessing that he was but his loving Father. His faith had saved him.
Christ truly died, and his Spirit separated his body, but his soul did not go astray in the empty badlands, but rested peacefully in the hands of God. Christ always continued holy, and his power never decreased. Death had no power over him at the moment of his death, for he died for us, but lived in God forever.
Luke explains to us the impression that Christ’s sufferings and death made upon the centurion who watched attentively the three crucified persons, lest their neighbors take them down from the cross and crucify others in their likeness instead of them. This gentile testified openly that Jesus was unjustly crucified, and that he was certainly a righteous man. This strange testimony was heard and sensed by all the spectators who saw frightfully God’s wrath poured on the Just, and wished Jesus’ intercessory prayer could not come to nothing. Jesus’ disciples and followers did not all run away at the hour of danger, but followed him from afar, particularly the women who came as near as they could to him, and noticed exactly every word and movement of Christ until his last cry. They had kept for us the seven words of Christ, which he said on the cross. These words are the true treasures of Christianity. Did you keep them by heart, understand them exactly, and believe in them truthfully?

Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ, the holy Lamb of God. We magnify you and glorify your Father in the Holy Spirit, for you have finished the salvation of all men on cross once and forever. We worship to you, thank you, love you, and give our lives thankfully to you. Please accept us and keep us from all temptations that we may continue one with you in grace.
Question
How was Christ buried?