Mark 15: 33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
39 And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
Mark 16: 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

If you have not read Mark 15 and 16 in while do so. It gives a different look at the Cross and afterwards. The Cross has countless answers to the questions in this life. After the Cross every generation was to be ready for the Harvest. There are different ways people come to believe like those at the Cross that saw the darkness in day time and the earth quake when the veil tore.

“Mark 15:29 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, 30 Save thyself, and come down from the cross.
31 Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. 32 Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.”

God could have took Jesus off that Cross and gave those those mockers what they wanted but He did not. God could have Jesus walking right now on earth as He did with Peter, but He did not.

“Mark 16: 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

Terrible things were done to Jesus that day and terrible things have been since.

“Matthew 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.”

I will never forget the morning after my first bridge walk in a drought and it rained, my life was forever changed. God never did things as we would , we would have never sent our only child to face that Cross ,as the greatest act of love ever done. How do we know in our time of everything man made , what is God made???

Some people will never believe , that was true the day of the Cross and today. For those that could or would believe , it takes different things for that to happen. Those at the Cross that came to believe ,came to believe because they knew Who made the sun go dark or they knew Who made the earth quake.

There is going to be and has been a harvest and some only need to hear the Word. Some are reminded with a rainbow or eclipse. Some get back towards the barn with the wheat in a flood , hurricane , fire or earthquake. Some it takes financial loss or sickness. Some it takes a drought and famine as in the time of Joseph. For some none of that works and it takes facing death like the thief on the Cross. All these things God has always used, as He did with Moses and Pharaoh or Job. War is the last thing anyone wants to face except those that live for it. We have always been in a spiritual war and it turns physical when God wants it to.

“Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”

That veil had to be destroyed by an event only God controls , at that perfect time. Some come to believe and understand what the new Temple meant by that event. Those that did not or do not believe , never believed the Scriptures from Genesis 1 to that day. They created and create their own version of what this life is about. If somewhere in your memory bank you believe Genesis 1 and Colossians 1:16 , even of you are hanging out with the tares , God knows what takes you back to the wheat.

Money, war , earthquakes , hate , storms , drought , famine , disease and evil have always been on earth. People have always adapted or grown desensitized. A mass shooting turns many back to the barn of wheat. A Hurricane Harvey turn many back to the barn of wheat, Jesus knows what the world offers. God did not take Him down from that Cross because we needed Jesus to mediate for us in Heaven. That is real love and we have a choice to be with the mockers with the tares and make this life about this life.

God's love is so great He will help us be wheat. Not sure what it takes for any of you , to be all about Colossians 1:16 but know what God uses and why. This world always had an expiration date since the Garden. Jesus left very clear instructions what to look for and to always be ready to be gathered into the barn. There were lives lost in the mass shootings that gave life to others. Jesus died on that Cross to give life eternal to those that truly believe. Mark tells us the Word confirms. Jesus told them Who He was but many did not believe till the earth shook or the sun went dark.

We will get a repeat of those natural events. Take time today to think of every evil thing you fear or hate. Those are the things humans will spend eternity with because they mocked the Word and the signs and wonders of God. They had the choice and we do , know the signs and wonders backing His word , as they are all around for those that will listen and watch...
Lord help us be wheat gathered into Your barn...