Have you ever had a good situation turn bad in a short amount of time? I remember driving home once from my last day of work for the year (as I started a Christmas-New Year’s break), heading to a couple’s house for dinner, and thinking about how many days in a row I was going to have off. My car stalled out on the highway, though, leaving me unable to even get to the side of the road as two lanes’ worth of holiday traffic tried to fit into the lane next to me. And, being many years ago, this was before I had a cell phone, so I couldn’t call for a tow or let my wife or dinner hosts know what was going on.
Mark 15:25 identifies the time of Jesus’ crucifixion as “the third hour”, or about 9am. Think about that: Jesus taking His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane and asking them to pray for Him may have been only 12 hours before then, with a lot taking place overnight and in the morning.
As you may know, darkness fell over the land from about noon and Jesus died around 3pm. While crucifixion was a horrible means of execution, I wonder how much the pain and sorrow of being separated from God the Father (because the perfect Son of God was carrying our sins) also led to Jesus’ death.
Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
Mark 15:40-41 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.15.40-41.NIV
Let’s appreciate that the crucifixion of Jesus probably shattered the hopes of those who were expecting Him to conquer the Romans. It had only been five days since Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem as a king, riding on a colt. A Roman execution for the stated charge of being the “King of the Jews”, right after the residents of Jerusalem had celebrated their historical rescue from Egypt (i.e., at Passover, which was marked that Thursday evening), would have really burst their bubble.
Yet, as mentioned here, certain women remained in attendance, even at the crucifixion. We might ask ourselves why they stayed.
- Did these women truly have the selfless love for Jesus that He had taught them?
- Did they care for Him enough to see this through?
- Did they have some inkling that He could miraculously come down from the cross?
I’m not sure, but these women were still following Jesus, despite what had changed in the last 24 hours. (By the way, based on Matthew 27:56, Salome may have been the mother of the apostles James and John. [per Black, p.281])
After Jesus died around 3pm on Friday, though, His Jewish followers who remained faithful to Him only had a few hours until the Sabbath began at sundown. (In addition, I appreciate that Mark 15:43 explains how it took courage on Joseph of Arimathea’s part to ask Pilate for Jesus’ body.) The preparations were necessarily hasty, given the short amount of time, but they seemed to have been respectful.
Like the women who remained committed to Jesus even at and after His crucifixion, let us also remain faithful even when things seem bleak. History and experience tell us that – time after time – God grants some of His most amazing interventions to His people when we don’t know how in the world things can work out. And, that’s the secret, isn’t it: when there’s no way in the world for a solution, only God can act for good, to His praise and glory.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for December 21, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Mark, by Allen Black. © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 