/
RSS Feed
“I Identify With Christ” Galatians 2:15-21
“Are You Ready to Feel the Earth Move?” Mark 16:1-8
Are You Ready to Feel the Earth Move?
Mark 16:1-8
Introduction
This morning we will look at three stages of Christian life. One is doing things because we feel like we are supposed to. Then there is living in guilt and not knowing what to do next. The third, there is following a God given calling upon our lives. We have to make a choice where they will stay, of those three choices the one we stay at is either safe and secure or it will scare us to death. It is this decision and commitment to follow Christ wherever he leads to gives excitement and purpose to life.
Prayer
Jesus I pray for the people within this room. They are at different stages of life, from different parts of the world, from all different walks of life – but there is a common bond between us, and that is you. You go before us, this morning give us boldness to follow You as we never have before.
The Resurrection Causes Us To Expect the Unexpected (vv. 1)
“When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.”
In order to buy spices to prepare Jesus’ body for proper burial, the women would have had to have waited until sunset on Friday when the shops reopened after the Passover Feast. It was too late by then to prepare Jesus’ body.
Knowing that the shops were closed, Luke tells us that they chose to follow those who took Jesus’ body to the tomb to see where he was to be buried. John 19:39-40 tells us that Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea had already anointed the body, or placed over 75 pounds of spices around his body, and wrapped Jesus’ body in a cloth.
Apparently, Nicodemus’ and Joseph’s burial preparation was not adequate to the women’s standard so that night they prepared the spices, they had purchased. The next day they rested during the day of Sabbath in observance of the law.
It was a hot climate and after two and a half days, a body would have been well on its way toward decomposition. This willingness to deal with the decay shows the women’s devotion to Christ. Their willingness to purchase the expensive spices also shows their love for Him.
So the men (in John 19) and the women coming to him here early in the morning did not expect a resurrection of Jesus. If they had expected Jesus to come back to life, then they all would have been there waiting outside the tomb. Not to mention the male disciples are in no way even interested in going to the tomb until after they heard he had risen.
If the men and the women had expected Jesus to be raised again, why waste the money on spices, and why shed all the tears? No one really expected to see Jesus Christos again. Later on the angel says, “just as He had said (v. 7),” – but they didn’t believe Him. They expected to see the decaying corpse Jesus that they had laid in the tomb. But they did not expect to really see the Jesus who said, “I am the resurrection and the Life (John 11:25).”
What Jesus do you expect to be in your life? The disciples loved Jesus, the women loved Jesus but they did not believe in the resurrected Jesus (that would come later).
There are all kinds of different Jesus’ – There is little baby Jesus. We get him out once a year, set him some where in our homes, he may even bought him at Wal-Mart, he’s life size and plastic. But you know what, little baby Jesus is safe. He’s easy to take out and put away when it’s convenient or the season is over. Little baby Jesus doesn’t ask very much of us, only that we say, “awww how cute.”
There is also Sunday School Jesus – He’s there for me at the building and I can leave him there. He doesn’t follow me around, he is made of felt and I can pick Him up, stick Him on a flannel board, and next week when I come back, He’ll be right there. He had some interesting things to say but it’s not like I am going to take him with me anywhere.
There is also the dead Jesus – This Jesus makes me feel horrible. He went through all the agony of the crucifixion and bore my sins, and then he died. They buried Him, the disciples were sad, his mother was sad. Those close to him went away without hope. Tears were shed. This Jesus makes me feel guilty because of all the bad things I have done.
Is there another Jesus? And if there is another Jesus what do we really expect Him to be like, and how does this other Jesus affect us? Let’s have a look.
The Resurrection Causes Us To Live A Faith in Life (vv. 2-8)
“And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
The women did not expect to be able to get into the grave to prepare his body, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” A better way to read this sentence is, “and they kept on asking who will roll the stone away?” From the time they left their home, to the time they arrived they were asking this question.
“Salome, how are going to move that stone?” “Mary, I don’t know how, but we must go and do this.” They were driven in a respect for the dead, to anoint his body in a fitting way, they were fixated, they had to do this, even though they didn’t know how they would accomplish it.
These women were fixed on taking steps of faith in death. How they were going to do it, they didn’t know – but they took step after step that took them to the tomb. All along the way, they were looking down. They were carrying the weight of the spices, they were carrying the weight of the reality that their beloved teacher and friend has been brutally crucified.
And when they arrived and looked up, “And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.”
These women were about to be challenged to go deeper in their faith. Now was a time to take steps of faith in life. In their minds they could see themselves preparing a body for burial (as hard as that was) but they couldn’t see themselves doing what the Resurrected Jesus was telling them to do! When we encounter the Resurrected Jesus, it changes everything.
They discover that there is an angel there who tells them that “He has risen; he is not here.” And look at their response – (v. 8) “And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
They had the strength to do what they were supposed to do. Women were supposed to take care of this kind of stuff. Are you ok, with doing what you feel a good mom or dad is supposed to do? Are you ok with doing what a good spouse is supposed to do? Go to church, be a nice person, don’t cuss, help out somewhere.
They had the faith to make their way to the tomb – they didn’t know how they would move the stone, but they went anyway. But when the angel told them to be missionaries, when the angel told them to proclaim, “He is Risen.” They are over come with fear and trembling.
In bewilderment they fled. They said nothing – they were afraid. These women who had the strength to prepare the decayed body of their good friend – were blown away with what to do with a resurrected Jesus.
They did not expect to see an angel, to receive instructions, or to be sent as God’s representatives or messengers. They simply did not expect their lives to be any different than they were right then.
They want their friend, healer, teacher, that Jesus back. They want the Jesus they can hug, and have smile at them. They don’t know what to do with the Resurrected Jesus who sends them to be on mission. They don’t want things to change, but God has a bigger plan.
Get this, being a Christian is more than doing what you are supposed to do. You don’t need the Resurrected Jesus to do what the world expects for a good person to do. When we encounter the Resurrected Christ He sends us and calls us to do things that are beyond what our tiny minds can fathom. We must have Him, if we are to accomplish the size of tasks He calls us to.
The women “8Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” When was the last time you encountered Christ and upon understanding the scope of what he desires to do through your life that it left you trembling?
“Lord I can’t do that” bewildered “Lord, how is that even possible?” When was the last time as you stood in His presence that you could say nothing, under the weight of the calling upon your life – “Lord you will do this through my life?”
The Jesus who had been with them, is now the resurrected Christ who would go before them. The angel said, “’He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” He is not here – where is here? He is not where you are at this moment. Right now you are standing in the tomb, under the weight of spices to anoint a body.
Drew, you don’t know how bad of a person I am. If you could see my heart then you would know that there is no way that Jesus could forgive me. He is not here – He has Risen! He has moved on. It is time for you to move on as well. Jesus goes before us, He call us to do great things on His behalf, “just as he tells us.”
The Jesus on the cross does leave us feeling guilty, he died for our sins – but the Resurrected Jesus tells his angels to give a message to the disciples. Remember all the disciples had left Him, and denied Him, and felt absolutely hopeless.
1 Corinthians 15:17, 19 “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” The resurrection changes things.
The angel says, “tell his disciples and Peter” – why does Jesus specifically send a message to Peter? Matthew 26:69-75 “Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said. 70But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. 71Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!” 73After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.” 74Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. 75Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.”
Peter swears that he would never leave Jesus, even if it cost him his life – but only a short time later, sure enough he denies Jesus on three different occasions. Peter felt horrible because of his sin, but Jesus was going before this disciple who had fallen and failed.
Because Jesus completed our restoration back to God, and finished what was required for salvation – we who have failed and fallen in Christ can keep on going. We can start over. He still goes before us; He still calls us to follow Him.
He goes before us into eternity, John 14:1-3 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
When the disciples get to Galilee Jesus sends them on a mission; Matthew 28:16-20 “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Just as Jesus sent the women, and the disciples, Jesus also sends us. What if I fail “Jesus is not in the tomb, He is Risen.’ “How will I know what to do?” Jesus goes before us, He will lead the way. What if I die, “Jesus has prepared a place for us.”
We are in three areas of faith, one is doing what you are supposed to do, walking in death. One is to do what we have been sent to do, walking in life. But don’t get stuck in the tomb – Jesus is not there, He has gone on before you. What step of faith do you need to take this morning?
Closing
The first step might just be asking Jesus for forgiveness of your sin, and thanking Him for dying on the cross. He did this for us as a gift that each person can receive or deny. Another step might be moving beyond the guilt of your send and asking God to show what He desires to do through your life.
Someone here may already know the answer to that question, but has been holding back and not fully surrendering to what God has told you or called you to do – whatever the commitment is, do it today.
“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.
_____________________
[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
/
RSS Feed
“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.
_______________________
[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.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- …
- 18
- Next Page »
