The Sixth Day, the Sixth Hour
“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”Genesis 1:31 (KJV)
Man was made on the sixth day. Mark tells us when the Son of man died, and the details are worth slowing down for. “And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.” Then, “when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.”
At the ninth hour Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” and soon after he gave up the ghost. In Mark’s account that is about six hours on the cross. And it was “the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath”: the sixth day of the week.
On the sixth day of creation God made man and called it very good. On the sixth day of another week, God’s Son hung on a cross to redeem what man had ruined. Then, as at creation, came a sabbath of rest after a finished work.
Read slowly. The details aren’t random. They are written so we would see that God finishes what he starts.
Read it yourself
Read Mark 15:25–42 and note every time of day Mark mentions.
What does it mean to you that Christ finished his work before the sabbath rest?
Lord Jesus, you finished the work on the cross. Thank you for redeeming what we ruined. Amen.