“The Orphan’d Cry” Mark 15:33-47
Christ’s Power Over Every Need
The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series
“The Orphan’d Cry”
Mark 15:33-47
Introduction
At the heart of the city of London is Charing Cross. All distances across the city are measured from its central point. Locals refer to it simply as “the cross.” One day a child became lost in the bustling metropolis. A city police officer (A “bobby,” as they are referred to in London) came to the child’s aid to try and help him return to his family.
The bobby asked the child a variety of questions in an attempt to discover where the boy lived, to no avail. Finally, with tears streaming down the boy’s face, he said, “If you will take me to the cross I think I can find my way from there.” What an apt description of the Christian life. The cross is both the starting place of our new life in Christ, but also the place we must return to, time and again, to keep our bearings in life.[1]
Prayer
The Hour Has Come (vv. 33-39)
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
(v. 33) “when the sixth hour had come,”[2] – 12pm.
At this moment, the Father considered him sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” And for that reason, the Father forsakes the Son, and Jesus feels the total wrath of God, the worst of which is separation and abandonment from God the Father.
Jesus is being cut off from God, Isaiah 59:2 “but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”
A. Darkness Over the Whole Land
(v. 33) “there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,” – “In the plague of darkness which preceded the first Passover, darkness over the land was the token that the curse of God rested upon it (Exodus 10:21).”[3] For the hours while Jesus was on the cross, – darkness as a sign of God’s curse was over the land. There was no natural cause for the sudden darkness, it lasted for three hours, and then was gone.
B. Jesus’ Cry of Dereliction
Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – Jesus knows why He has been forsaken by the Father; He is not surprised by the Father’s separation from him. Jesus is quoting the opening verse of Psalm 22. The psalm “portrays the desolation of the suffering of the righteous (vv. 1-21) and the eventual triumphant vindication of this one by God (vv. 22-31).”[4]
John Calvin put it this way, “If Christ had died only a bodily death, it would have been ineffectual . . . Unless his soul shared in the punishment, he would have been the Redeemer of bodies alone.’ In consequence, ‘he paid a greater and more excellent price in suffering in his soul the terrible torments of a condemned and forsaken man.’”[5] This psalm is an expression of a dreadful separation between the Father and Son, Jesus was God-forsakenness and cursed by God.
Bystanders misunderstand Jesus when He says, Eloi, and think He said Elijah, “Behold, he is calling Elijah,” People even today, still misinterpret what Jesus said.
B. The Temple Curtain Was Torn
(v. 38) “And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” – When Adam and Eve sinned by taking of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden they had to leave the Garden. When Cain killed his brother Abel, he had to leave the family – when humans sin against God they are separated from Him. The curtain in the temple is a symbol of this separation.
The Holy of Holies was where the ark of the covenant resided – which represented the presence of God, the curtain is between everyone and God. Once a year, a priest would enter the Holy of Holies and spread blood of a perfect lamb over the mercy seat. “This curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was 60 feet high and 30 feet wide.”[6]
When Jesus “breathed his last,” then the temple curtain was torn. Jesus completed his mission; He died as a sinless substitute for humanity. He took the complete wrath of God for our sin, and because of that, what separates man from God has been done away with. Once Jesus completed His mission, “his once-for-all sacrificial death has made animal sacrifices in the temple obsolete.”[7] All the feasts, festivals, instantly became obsolete – even the Passover meal was replaced with “The Lord’s Supper.”
Our sin has caused a distance between us and God. So, God chose one race of people amongst all the people of the earth to give His Word to and to have a relationship with (the Hebrews, Israelites, the Jews). God gave them the law so that mankind and God could in some sense have a relationship. In the law we see God requiring the slaughter of animals so that man’s sin could be atoned Atonement means “to cover.” The sin of mankind is still there, it has only been covered so that God’s wrath is held back. But you have to keep going back to the temple, keep offering bulls and goats to atone for your continuing sin. You have to keep covering the sin.
Romans 3:23-26 “For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Propitiation – is a turning away of wrath. Jesus’ blood being shed turns away God’s wrath. “Jesus paid the price for my sin, but I still should be ashamed of my behavior, right?” 1 John 2:1-2 “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” Not only does Jesus’ blood turn away God’s wrath from all of our previous sin, He also has covered all future sins as well. “ . . . the implication of verse 2 is not only that our sins are purged, but also that his displeasure is removed – God’s wrath is propitiated.”[8] He remembers your sin no more. Neither should you.
Notice the detail, “from top to bottom.” Mankind did not rip the curtain from the bottom up. God ripped the curtain from top to bottom. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16. Through Jesus’ separation from God, we are able to no longer be separated from God.
Why is it that mankind perishes if they don’t believe in Jesus? Because they are separated from God because of their sin (like Adam and Eve, Like Cain, etc.) So God provided one way for us to be brought close to Him once more – Jesus. God poured out on His Son all the wrath of every sin you have ever done, or will do in the future – you are clean. What about the sin you haven’t done yet, it’s already been taken care of.
Isaiah 1:18 “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;”
Hebrews 10:19-20 “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, . . .”
C. The Centurion Takes Notice
(v. 39) “And when the centurion[9], who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” – This man was convinced that this man was a religious fanatic when Jesus was presented for morning comedy relief for the battalion. He probably started the day with the assumption that a man convicted of the crime was deserving of death. He watched as Jesus was led to Calvary, nailed to a cross and lifted up – The centurion took in all the evidence, all the days occurrences and this battle hardened leader of men, he had an open mind, and he changes his mind about Jesus.[10]
The Women Remain (vv. 40-41)
40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
Mark mentions that there were several women and even names them by name. “The significance of the presence of these women to Mark is that they were eyewitnesses to the primary events proclaimed in the gospel, the death (vv. 40-41), burial (v. 47), and resurrection (16:1) of Jesus. The details of what took place could be substantiated by their testimony.”[11]
These women are long-term followers of Jesus, from the Galilean period (v. 41). We also get a glimpse that “they followed him and ministered to him,” – Jesus’ lifestyle and the disciples as well had a support network that supplied material needs, contributions, and those that followed Jesus from place to place were not just the 12 disciples, but a whole group of women as well.
When the disciples flee, we see what is left behind. The women of Jesus’ ministry are faithful to the end, and it will be women who first experience what is to happen in chapter 16, and it is to these women that they will give an account of what happens next, because the men are all gone. Remember this is Mark’s account given in a time when women had no legal status or could give testimony in court.[12] But even with Jesus’ death, they are still devoted to Him. “Women had always been a significant part of Christ’s life and ministry. It is not surprising to see them as a significant part of his death.”[13]
A New Disciple Takes Courage (vv. 42-47)
42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council[14], who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock.[15] And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
(v. 43) “Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, — Mark tells us where he is from, his occupation, and that he was “looking for the kingdom of God.” We can discern that Joseph was well liked and respected by others. He had done very well with his occupation and therefore was quite wealthy. But you can easily put in your name, where you are from, your occupation, and then add on and was “looking for the kingdom of God.”
Mark 1:14-15 “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” “The kingdom means the reign and rule of the promised Messiah in power and grace.”[16] There was something different about Joseph and Nicodemus who asked “how can a man be born again?” (both religious leaders) who were able to see something none of the others religious leaders saw. They were looking for God.
What are you looking for?
It was out of that looking for the kingdom that Joseph “took courage . . .” Joseph steps out of the darkness, and with courage and boldness asks Pilate for Jesus’ body. Time was of the essence now, and clock was ticking – Jesus’ body had to be taken down, and buried before the setting of the sun, in order to keep the law.
“since it was the day of Preparation” all the preparations that needed to get done had to be done a day ahead of the sabbath since no work could be done on that day. He had two to three hours to do the work of burying Jesus before the sabbath begins. Joseph purchases a burial shroud, wraps Jesus up, and lays him in the tomb.
The Sanhedrin have worked so hard to get Jesus killed, they would not have been pleased with Joseph’s desire to give Jesus an honorable burial.[17] Notice it is not the religious leaders who are interested in Jesus’ burial, Duet. 21:22-23 even says, “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.”
The gospel of John tells us that Nicodemus and Joseph together prepared his body. The two men, “wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb.” (v. 46) “cut out of the rock.” – most people were buried in the ground, but the wealthy would prepare a body, and place it in a carved out tomb (which was very labor intense and therefore expensive) then once the body was decayed they would place the bones in stone box called an ossuary.
The last thing Joseph does is “he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.”
The last thing in the Passion narrative from Mark is that, “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.” The woman followed the body in silent pain and mourning to the tomb, where they watched Joseph and Nicodemus take Jesus into the tomb. “They were there not just to watch, however, but to know where to return to after the sabbath.”[18]
As we consider Jesus on the cross, there are three things to take away:
Our sin must be extremely horrible[19]. Stott says, “what sent Christ there was neither the greed of Judas, nor the envy of the priests, nor the vacillating cowardice of Pilate, but our own greed, envy, cowardice and other sins, and Christ’s resolve in love and mercy to bear their judgement and so put them away.”[20]
God’s love must be wonderful beyond comprehension. God had every right to leave us in our sin. He could have abandoned us to our fate of being lost, but in His grace (love toward the undeserving) we were pursued by a loving God who sought us out, and did what was required to save us from ourselves.
Christ’s salvation must be a free gift. Jesus purchased our salvation at the cost of His own life. So what is there left for us to pay? Jesus even says from the cross, “it is finished.” There is nothing that we can contribute. So stop trying to earn your way into heaven – you don’t have to be anything. But who can look at the cross of Christ, take in all that He did to save us – and then run to sin even more? The cross is the most powerful incentive to live a holy life.
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[1] https://thepastorsworkshop.com/sermon-illustrations-on-the-cross/
[2] Amos 8:9-10
[3] William L. Lane, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids; Michigan, 1974) 572.
[4] William F. Cook, Jesus’ Final Week, From Triumphal Entry to Empty Tomb (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman and Holman Publishing, 2022) 133.
[5] John R. W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove; Illinois; Intervarsity Press, 1986) 81.
[6] Andreas Köstenberger, The Final Days of Jesus (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Publishing, 2014) 162.
[7] Köstenberger, 162.
[8] Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey, Andrew Sach, Pierced For Our Transgressions, Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Books, 2007) 84.
[9] Tradition has called him Longinus.
[10] George Arthur Buttrick, General Editor, The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VII (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1953) 908.
[11] Lane, 577.
[12] R. T. France, The New International Greek Commentary, The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002) 665.
[13] Max Anders, General Editor, Holman New Testament Commentary, Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; B&H Publishing Group, 2000) 261.
[14] Luke 23:51 tells us that he did not consent to the council’s actions to have Jesus killed.
[15] Fulfilled Isa. 53:9 “and he made his grave . . . with the rich in his death.”
[16] R.C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Mark’s Gospel (Minneapolis; Minnesota; Augsburg Publishing House, 1964) 730.
[17] Cook, 138.
[18] France, 669.
[19] Stott, 83.
[20] Stott. 83.
“Found Guilty” Mark 15:1-32
“Found Guilty” Mark 15:1-32
Christ’s Power Over Every Need
The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series
“Found Guilty”
Mark 15:1-32
“We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,” 1 Cor. 1:23
Introduction
On January 23, 1968, the USS Pueblo, a US Navy intelligence ship was hijacked by North Korean patrol boats in international waters off the coast of North Korea. The incident provoked a tense diplomatic and military standoff for eleven months. The eighty-two surviving crew members were taken into captivity. In one particular instance, thirteen of the men were required to sit in a rigid manner around a table for hours. After several hours, the door was flung open, and a North Korean guard brutally beat the man in the first chair with the butt of his rifle. The next day, as each man sat in his assigned place, again the door was thrown open, and the man in the first chair was brutally beaten. On the third day, it happened again to the same man.
Knowing the man could not survive, the next day, another young sailor took his place. When the door flung open, the guard automatically beat the new victim senseless. For weeks, a new man stepped forward each day to sit in that horrible chair, knowing full well what would happen. The guards eventually gave up in exasperation. They were unable to overcome that kind of sacrificial love.
Jesus knows what is coming, but does it anyway – out of love for His creation. Though sinless, he took our place before the judgment of God against our sin.[1]
Prayer
Jesus is Falsely Accused (vv. 1-5)
And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. 2 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further answer[2], so that Pilate was amazed.
(v. 1) “the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council.” – consultation; “to prepare a concerted plan of action (Gould).”[3] The plan they came up with was to arrest him early in the morning, when no one else was around, then present him to the Roman authorities with charges that he was claiming to be a king, and threatening to tear down the temple in three days.
First off, their proceedings were not legal, and they are choosing to follow some of the law, while ignoring other parts – which is typical who want to justify their own sin. But Duet. 17:6 says, “On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.”
So, the religious council tries to round up witnesses in the middle of the night. In their haste to gather a crowd, they don’t have time to coordinate the testimonies so there were contradictions, and obvious false statements.[4] The stories don’t match up, they are obviously coursed and false. But eventually, they have their little trial, and they consult together to have Jesus killed.
But with all the hatred toward Jesus, these various groups “did not have the power to execute a capital sentence.”[5] The Romans did not allow those they subjugated to execute because it kept those who collaborated with the Romans from being killed[6] (like the disciple Matthew). So, they have to take Jesus to Pilate. Pilate listens to the religious leaders accusing him of many things, that seem to pass him by. The religious leaders know that a Roman prefect would not care about their claims of his ‘blasphemy’ so their accusations have to be more political.
So, Pilate is eventually hooked when he focuses on their accusation that Jesus is claiming to be a king, and he asks him (v. 2) “Are you the King of the Jews?” This is the only question that Jesus responds to, “And he answered him, “You have said so.” These would be Jesus’ last recorded words before the cross. “Jesus has said all there is to say, and now lets events take their predictable course.”[7]
There were several attempted riots, and attacks against the Roman occupation of Jerusalem, so the Sanhedrin are trying to lump Jesus in with these Zealots and nationalist leaders (going back to their question about paying taxes to Caesar in Mark 12:13ff.)
Jesus is Falsely Condemned (vv. 6-15)
6 Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. 7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
As Jesus and the disciples were finishing up the feeding of the five thousand, there was a zealot political group, that after they saw Jesus perform this miracle, they wanted Jesus to lead a revolution, John 6:15 “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” Jesus was relentless about controlling the narrative and the direction that He was going as the Messiah – he was not going to be forced to be a political revolutionary. But now, he is standing next to Barabbas, a murderous insurrectionist, as though they are the same.
(v. 10) “For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.” – he was perceiving, it was gradually occurring to Pilate, what was really going on here. Through all the lies, the false accusations, and even the twisted accounts – Pilate sees this gathering for what it was.
The “the chief priests, elders and scribes and the whole council” were envious of Jesus and his popularity among the people, his influence, his ability to teach the Word of God, His ability to get out of their little traps, everything about Jesus pointed to their darkened and evil hearts. Pilate saw all this for what it really was – envy. Pilate sees Jesus as a harmless religious fanatic not deserving of death by crucifixion. He even declares Jesus to be innocent on three separate occasions.[8]
(v. 10) “But the chief priests stirred up the crowd,” – “That was the plan of Judas to get the thing over before those Galilean sympathizers waked up.”[9] Go to the Garden of Gethsemane early in the morning, present him to the Roman officials early in the day. This crowd, was not the same crowd that waved the palm branches, laid down, their coats in the street, and yelled out Hosanna! This crowd has been gathered by the religious leaders, and they have “stirred them up.” (seismos), shook up like an earthquake.
Pilate was normally a resident in Caesarea, but at Passover time, when Jerusalem was crowded with pilgrims, he took up residence in his ‘praetorium’ (official residence) in Jerusalem. Pilate is there to keep things calm, to calm down the stirred up crowds, to maintain the peace. Also, the man who helped Pilate get this appointment had been executed for treason against Caesar – so he was under additional pressure to appear loyal to Caesar which the leaders used against him.[10]
(v. 15) “So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.” – The crowd was growing more and more unruly, Pilate was charged by Caesar to keep the peace, so out of fear of the crowd, fear of being reported to Caesar, he delivered Jesus over to be crucified.
“The final stage of Jesus’ Roman trial concludes with a scourging. Roman scourging was so brutal and violent that prisoners would occasionally die before crucifixion. Even though Jesus survives this form of torture, the beating ensures he will die before sundown. During the scourging, he is tied to a post and beaten with a whip interwoven with bone and metal until his skin and tissue are shredded . . .
The irony in each Gospel account is palpable: Jesus, a man declared not guilty by the Roman governor, is nonetheless given over for execution – an outrageous and transparent miscarriage of justice.”[11] Barabbas, a murderer and insurrectionist, goes free. Crucifixion was designed for people like Barabbas, as a warning – “murderers and insurrectionists will die a horrible excruciating death, so don’t do that.”
We are already beginning to get a picture of substitutionary atonement or penal substitution. John 3:35-36 says “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Why did God the Father send Jesus to the cross? Justice demands that His wrath against sin had to go somewhere – either on us, or a substitute provided by God for us.
Isaiah 53:5-6 “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Jesus is Falsely Honored (vv. 16-20)
16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
The Praetorium was the governor’s headquarters, and was where the 600 soldiers of the battalion were housed. Roman soldiers were known to play cruel games with condemned prisoners, so what they do to Jesus is not out of character for them. At this point he would have been covered in blood, his back flesh cut open, and would have struggled to stand.
They strip him of his clothes, and place a purple cloak around him (the color of royalty), make him a crown, but of thorns and push it down on his head, and mock him, and “salute him, yelling out “Hail, King of the Jews!” They then strike his head with a stick, further driving the crown of thorns into his scalp and they spit on him.
Once the men grew tired of mocking, beating, and playing their game, they put his clothes back on him, and lead Jesus away to be crucified.
Jesus is Fiercely Crucified (vv. 21-32)
21 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull)[12]. 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
After being scrouged, and beaten by the soldiers, Jesus carries the 30-40 pound cross beam of the cross (patibulum) until he can’t carry it any further, so “they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross” More than likely this was a pilgrim who had come into Jerusalem for the Passover celebrations and later became a Christian, and was known by Mark.
(v. 24) “And they crucified him,” – None of the Gospel writers provide any details concerning the actual crucifixion. If you were reading the Gospels in the first century you more than likely had some idea of what was involved in the process. “Victims either died from physical trauma, loss of blood, or shock, or succumbed to suffocation when they no longer had the strength to lift themselves up to breathe. There were numerous crucifixion techniques, but the use of nails and a crossbar was common.”[13]
(v. 25) “And it was the third hour when they crucified him,” – 9 am.
Scourging was not enough for the religious leaders, they follow Jesus all the way to the cross. The crowds mock Jesus, the religious leaders stand around in their in their victory – they are finally done with Jesus, their plan had worked, and the fact that God had not stepped in to stop them only reinforces their idea that they are righteous in their actions against Jesus.
If this truly was the Son of God, then the Father would not allow this to happen to His Son, “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” They ask for one more miracle. Why would God allow His Son to be tortured and mocked this way; why does God the Father not step in and end this? Even those crucified with Jesus mock him.
The chief priests and the scribes say, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross” What they don’t understand is that yes Jesus could come down from the cross, but He chose to stay on the cross, so that others may be saved.
John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” In order for Jesus to complete his mission of being sent into the world by the Father, He has to stay on the cross.
(v. 26) “And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” – This was supposed to be a deterrent to anyone who saw it; that is what happens to people who oppose Caesar as king. This man claimed to be king (of the Jews) and so he was executed for it. The other gospels tell us that it was written in Aramaic (the common language in Palestine), Latin (the official Roman language), and Greek (the international language of the empire) in order to ensure the widest readership among the thousands of people traveling to Jerusalem.
Everyone who saw the sign was told Jesus said he was the King of the Jews. As we stand at the foot of the cross and look at Jesus, we are faced with the same question, “Was Jesus’ claim to be the Savior of the world true? Was he the true king?
Jesus never married, or had any children. He never owned a home, property, and when find Jesus at the cross, his only earthly possessions are what he wore to his own crucifixion. (v. 24) tells us that the soldiers, “divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take[14](fulfilling yet another prophecy)” One of the benefits of being on crucifixion duty, as a soldier, was that you get to keep the person’s possessions.[15] He literally leaves this world with nothing to His name, except His mission.
Was Jesus successful?
The way we look at history and the course of this world is based on Jesus – there was a time before Jesus (BC) and the time after Jesus (AD) Anno Domini, Latin for “in the year of the Lord.” It’s 2023, Two thousand and twenty-three years since Jesus came to the earth. Jesus changed everything – He alone provided the way for mankind to be saved from their sins, and have a relationship with God.
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[1] Rodney L. Cooper, Holman New Testament Commentary, Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman and Holman, 2000) 253.
[2] Isa. 53:7
[3] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 1 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1932) 391.
[4] Andreas J. Köstenberger, The Final Days of Jesus (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway, 2014) 109.
[5] R.T. France, The Gospel of Mark, A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002) 624.
[6] William F. Cook, Jesus’ Final Week, From Triumphal Entry to Empty Tomb (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman & Holman Publishing, 2022) 111.
[7] France, 625.
[8] Cook, 111.
[9] Robertson, 393.
[10] Köstenberger,127.
[11] Köstenberger,141.
[12] “The Latin Vulgate translates “skull” as calvarie, from which we get the word Calvary” (Cook, 122).
[13] Köstenberger,152.
[14] Psalm 22:18 “they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”
[15] Cook, 124.
What Role did the Holy Spirit Play at Jesus’ Crucifixion?
Two weeks ago I preached a sermon that dealt with a general broad study of the Holy Spirit, and the following is a response from a member of DBCC. I asked him if I could post it, and give my response as a blog entry. So, thanks Billy for a great question, and for letting me share it. My responses are given in italics.
Drew,
I just wanted to say thank you for today’s sermon. It was one of those little triggers that helped a lot of different things click into place for me in terms of my understanding of the core aspects of central doctrine. If you don’t mind I’d like to run a quick version by you to check that I haven’t mixed anything up – mainly in reference to the Holy Spirit as that was the topic of today’s sermon and also because I don’t want to make this an essay of epic proportions.
In short, I tend to think of creation, God’s plans, & etc. in terms of logic and engineering. Maybe that’s weird, but I think we all have to have some sort of parable or framework with which to aid our minds when we ponder the infinite. I know this framework doesn’t work for everyone, but it seems compatible with the description of our creator in Proverbs and elsewhere (he had his reasons for what he did and they were wise and well thought out). As an example: I’ve managed to grasp the concept of sin as a deviation or perversion of God’s intent or design (because design intent is something engineers work up all the time).
When you were going over the many titles of the Holy Spirit (Spirit of: holiness, knowledge, might, truth, grace, judgment, adoption, revelation, etc…) it struck me that the Holy Spirit is the essence of these things: the standard by which the designs of God the Father are defined. Just as there’s a big platinum sphere by which a kilogram is defined, the Holy Spirit is love, is truth, is the very aspect of God’s design by which we recognize the goodness of God. Taking the greatest fruit, love, as an example: the Holy Spirit’s defining capacity is made most clear when it comes alongside of us and, as much as our own acceptance of the Spirit allows, we can see love in the light God defines it as. In fact – it is only then that we may comprehend true love enough to understand the purity and magnitude of the love Christ had for us when he died on the cross and respond appropriately.
Of course, the Holy Spirit is far more active than just a set of definitions and design parameters. You said that the Holy Spirit is responsible for renewal and regeneration. I’m quite a bit less sure about this next set of thoughts, but as I see it, there was no greater feat of renewal and regeneration than the resurrection of Christ – was this the work of the Holy Spirit (as opposed to God the Father or Christ himself)? It would make sense logically as Christ had surrendered divinity (or the form of Godliness) while a man, and God was viewing Christ in light of our sins which he took upon himself, so this alienation needed a third party to act.
Since it is not Billy’s intent to focus on the divinity of Christ, or the idea of Christ’s incarnation I will just point to this article, especially the section “Emptied His Glory?†http://kenosis.info/index.shtml I especially like his remark about going on vacation with your family — do you want your wallet to be concealed or empty? The only way for Christ’s death to be a substitution for the sin of mankind would be if He were fully divine. Christ concealed his divinity in flesh, he did not cease to be divine.
Also, as a church, for the Christmas series we are memorizing John 1:1, 14a — I wish that I would have encouraged the church memorize all of 1 John 1:14, because it goes on to say, “
I know there are passages that talk about Christ raising himself from the dead and stealing the keys & etc… so it’s entirely possible that he resumed his form of Godliness just after the point of death (likely for some of these events) but there was still a breach which needed someone to say “those sins died with Christ, but since he was innocent they couldn’t stick through with his resurrection – so look at him now” (I imagine there was probably more technical lingo and quite a bit more fanfare than that). Could this be right? Is it even close to how the Holy Spirit had a role in our most pivotal point in history?
Mankind’s sin is described to us as being a debt that is owed to God. Mankind can not repay this sin debt, so God in His love provided a way (the only way, John 14:6) through the substitutionary death of His Son Jesus. Jesus was fully God, and fully man. We see in Matthew 3:16-17 Jesus’ baptism, “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; [17] and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.â€Â (ESV) The Holy Spirit, in that Jesus was a man, rested upon Him, empowered Him, counseled Him, etc. and was with with him (paraclete) even through His death on the cross, and resurrection. We do not see any indication that once The Holy Spirit “rested upon Him” that He ever left Him. even in His death.
Romans 6:3-4 says that “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (ESV) So if we are discussing the Trinity, and who did what regarding the substitutionary atonement of mankind’s sin, The Father was the one who sent the Son and raised Him from the dead by His glory, The Son became flesh and lived a perfect sinless life and took the sin of the world upon Himself  and died in its’ place, and the Holy Spirit who strengthened, counseled, and walked beside Christ through it all. God (as a Trinity) is the only hero in the salvation story, the Father who gives, the Son who endures, and the Spirit who strengthens — the God who is love.
In light of the Holy Spirit’s activities with believers, I think serving as the design parameters fits well with why it is the Holy Spirit who is responsible for renewal, regeneration, and sanctification. What better than the definition of holiness to transform us to be more and more like that standard by which God designed.
Anyway, thanks again for the sermon. I really appreciate it when they get a little technical and you rattle off a lot of cross references and points to consider.
Also, if you’re taking requests for the Christmas series – I’ve always wanted to hear it according to Revelations 12. Matthew and Luke have some great stuff, but nothing strips away the sentimentality of a baby in cold weather (and the resulting trees, ornaments, gifts and etc…) than dragons, the heavenly D-day and our continuing war.
I’ll have to get back to you on that one.
Let me know what you think,
Billy
PS – carbon copied to Heidi since she had to miss the sermon.
Heidi and Billy faithfully serve at Daybreak Community Church, and are great friends. Thanks again for you for your question and encouragement.