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Sermon Notes

Mark–the Right Now Gospel
Chapter 15
Part 24
“Jesus’ Suffering and Crucifixion”
Mark 15:1-2 “Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. 2 Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.”
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Now, this time we’re looking at the sufferings and crucifixion of our Lord. We will particularly make use of the synoptic gospels as Matthew and Luke often add details Mark doesn’t.
Here in the first 2 verses it is Pilate now interrogating Jesus. He asks him if he is indeed the king of the Jews
Luke’s gospel informs us that Jesus had been charged with three things by the Jews:
• that he perverted the nation;
• that he forbade giving tribute to Caesar; and,
• that he said that he was Christ, a King.
So Pilate is focusing on the third accusation–that he claimed to be a king, in particular of the Jews. To which Jesus replies, “It is as you say.” Or, what you say is true.
3 “And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. 4 Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!” 5 But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.
Now, we saw in 14:60 that the high priest was also amazed that Jesus didn’t defend himself. But what the high priest should have caught is that this was a direct fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy regarding the Messiah:
Is 53:7 “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”
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Here is where the narrative takes a turn to reveal just how far down the human heart can go.
6 “Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. 7 And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.”
So Barabbas was a murderer, chained to other murderers, all headed for crucifixion. Look at what the mob now says:
8 “Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. 9 But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. 12 Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” 13 So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!”
So this mob, worked into a frenzy by the chief priests, the very teachers of Scripture, moved by envy, begin to demand the release of a cold blooded murderer over Jesus!
Pilate at this point seems to seek Jesus’s release. No doubt in part because his wife “sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”–Matt 27:19
14 “Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?”
But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!”
15 So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.”
What a stunning thing to witness. No doubt to his own great shock, the murderer Barabbas is unchained and freed to walk away, while the spotless, utterly innocent Son of God takes his place to be crucified!
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Now in the narrative we again witness the utter depravity of the fallen human heart.
16 “Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium (the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole garrison. 17 And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, 18 and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. 20 And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.”
The “whole garrison” would have been all of the governor’s armed guards from the guardhouse, who were released with no restrictions on doing to him what they pleased.
Matthew Henry writes, “He wore the crown of thorns which we deserved, that we might wear the crown of glory which he merited. We were by sin liable to everlasting shame and contempt; yet to deliver us, our Lord Jesus submitted to shame and contempt.”
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After his totally brutal treatment, our Lord is led away to be crucified.
The Prophet Isaiah might be quoted here:
Isaiah 52:14 “But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.”
Isaiah 53:5-6 “But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”
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21 “Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.
One thing worth noting here is that we read later in Romans 16:13 of a “Rufus chosen in the Lord” as prominent among the Christians of Rome. Furthermore, Paul speaks of the “mother of Rufus” as being also his mother—meaning she had been endeared to him by her motherly kindness—and so we are led to the belief that the wife of this same Simon of Cyrene must, at some time or other, have come within the inner circle of St. Paul’s friends!
So apparently, this same Simon, chosen to bear our Lord’s cross, became a believer along with his entire family!
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22 “And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it. 24 And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.”
The crucifixion of Jesus and the dividing of his garments by the casting of lots were yet another fulfillment of Bible prophecy out of the Psalms:
Ps 22:16-18 “My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. 17 I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat. 18 They divide my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing.”
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25 “Now it was the third hour (9 am), and they crucified Him. 26 And the inscription of His accusation was written above:
THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. 28 So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12).
29 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”
–We note here that those who said this had believed the lies of the false accusers that had accused Jesus of claiming he would tear down the Temple and rebuild it in 3 days. False reports spread like cancer!
31 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.”
Yet here we know the ‘rest of the story’ on those crucified with him through Luke’s gospel,
“One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” 40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” 43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”–Luke 23:39-43
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Jesus Dies on the Cross
Now, Jesus remained alive on the Cross from 9 am to 3 pm–for 6 hours. We read:
33 Now when the sixth hour (high noon) had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour (from 12 high noon to 3 pm). 34 And at the ninth hour (3 pm) Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Once again, this is a direct fulfillment of Ps 22:1, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
35 “Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” 36 Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”
Luke informs us that it was, once again, the heartless Roman soldiers that mockingly offered him the sour wine.
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37 “And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.”
Luke’s gospel tells us what he said as he cried out, “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed his last.”–Lk 23: 46
38 “Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”
This veil was massive–20 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 4 inches thick. It’s primary purpose was to physically and symbolically separate humanity from the presence of God. This massive veil was torn in half from top to bottom.
This signified that the very Presence of God abiding in the Holy of Holies, formerly accessible only to the high priest once a year on the day of Atonement, was now accessible to one and all through the shed blood of Christ!
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39 “So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
Here again, Matthew gives more information. He records that immediately following Christ’s death, “the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, ‘Truly this was the Son of God.'”–Matt. 27:51-54
So who were these people raised from the dead?
The order of events is important. First, when Jesus breathed his last, there was an earthquake that split the rocks–referring to the manner of burial in that day. The dead were buried in stone sepulchres, in solid rocks or in caves of rocks. The stone sepulchers were shattered by this earthquake.
One commentator writes, “In the opening of the graves at the moment of the Redeemer’s death, there was a glorious symbolic proclamation that the death which had just taken place had “swallowed up death in victory.”
Then following his resurrection, many of the exposed bodies rose from the dead. We don’t know who they were. It is probable that they were persons who had recently died because they appear to have been known in Jerusalem. No doubt when Jesus ascended to glory, they were taken up with him!
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