Mark 15 - The Crucifixion

Mar chapter 15 go ahead and turn there please when we left off last Wednesday covering chapters 13 and 14 Jesus had been arrested and already condemned by the Sanhedrin and this chapter begins by saying 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 let me stop there for a moment and just explain why they're doing this the reason that Jesus of course had to be taken to Pilate is because although they had that they the Sanhedrin had the authority to condemn Jesus and even condemned him to death in the sense of charging him with something that was worthy of death under Roman law they couldn't carry out the execution remember they're under the the thumb of the Romans and so what they have to do is they have to convince the Roman procurator that the charges against this man are such or serious enough for him to be put to death and of course that means they have to put a spin on it that is going to somehow satisfy Roman law because really what they truly have against Jesus has nothing to do with Roman law but that's of course how they have to kind of spin it in order for Pilate really to even care and you know go along with this verse - and Pilate asked are you the King of the Jews and this is really the only question he cared about the answer to this was the only question that he cared about because Roman law had no room for another king of course competing with the emperor in Rome so if Jesus claimed to be a king then that would of course be treason and it would be punishable by death and so this is the question that Pilate most wants an answer for and you'll notice that he answered him and said you have said so interesting kind of a strange response but it says and the chief priests then Accu Timm of many things pilot again asked him have you no answer to make see how many charges they bring against you but Jesus made no further answer in fact it says pilot was amazed because of it now mark omits the dialogue between Jesus and pilot related to his kingship and and it's given us actually in a different account in a in a broader way but to read this account you almost get the impression that pilot confronted Jesus about being a king and Jesus semi claimed to be a king and Pilate didn't do anything about it that's kind of the impression that mark leaves you just because he doesn't give kind of the full dialog that went on between these but these men but John is the gospel writer who in fact helps us to understand what really was said between these two men he develops it further and I'm talking about between Pilate and Jesus to the point that Pilate came to the understanding that Jesus was not a threat to Rome let me put this on the screen for you from John chapter 18 quite a bit of verses here but he says jesus answered my kingdom is not of this world if my kingdom were of this world My servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews but my kingdom is not from the world then Pilate said to him so you are a king again that's the only question Pilate really cares about and jesus answered you say that I am a king for this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice Pilate said to him what is truth an incredible question when you're looking truth embodied right in the eye and it says after he said this he went back outside to the Jews and told them I find no guilt in him so this better explains why you know Pilate didn't feel like this was a threat to Rome again the question he put to him is are you a king and Jesus said essentially I am but he said My Kingdom is not of this world and what that means is I'm not a threat to Rome I'm not a threat to the established kingdom of Rome and and that's where Pilate basically decided okay I don't care you're nothing to me if you're not causing any problems you know to to the authority and the establishment of authority from Rome here in Israel I don't care you can go and say you're the kingdom of tweedily dumb tweedily-dee I don't care as long as it doesn't affect us right here it's not my problem of course that's not where pilots gonna get to leave it but it says in verse six now at the feast and it's talking about here this is during Passover so it's essentially saying during Passover he Pilate used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked and among the rebels in prison and there were obviously several who had committed murder in the insurrection there was a man called Barabbas and the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them then he answered them saying do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews for he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up and that's of course a correct perception and you can see here that Pilate is hoping that the people are going to demand the release of Jesus and kind of give him an out you know and help him to be able to release Jesus because that's what he wants to do about him and then he can just tell he can just tell everybody it was the will of the people right no big deal but verse 11 tells this the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead and Pilate again said to them then what shall I do with the man you called the king of the Jews and they cried out again crucify him and Pilate said to them look at this question Why What evil has he done this is where you can see Pilate is arguing for Jesus's release at this particular point he's basic he knows that this is this is a trumped-up charge as it relates to all these things that there accusing him of he sees no evidence that this man might be crucified but it says here at the end of verse 14 that they shouted all the more crucify him and to make the situation worse for Pilate you would not want to be Pilate by the way but to make the situation even worse for Pilate Matthew tells us that his wife even got involved in the process let me put this passage up on the screen for you Matthew 27 while he was sitting on the judgment seat this is while all this is going on it says that his wife sent word to him saying have nothing to do with that righteous man for I have suffered much because of him today in the dream men take note of that listen to your wives but ultimately it made no difference it says in verse 15 so Pilate look at this look at this wishing to satisfy the crowd and that's always going to get somebody in trouble released for them Barabbas and having scourged Jesus he delivered him to be crucified and the soldiers led him away inside the palace that is the governor's headquarters and they called together the whole battalion they wanted to have a little fun with him and they clothed him in a purple cloak mocking him obviously for the color of a king and twisting together a crown of thorns they put it on him and they began to salute him hail King of the Jews and they were striking him with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him 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 verse 21 tells us they compelled a passerby Simon of Cyrene who was coming in from the country obviously for the celebration of Passover and it tells us here that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus and they and that he carried the cross of Jesus interesting isn't it that mark mentions Simon by name even his sons includes his sons names in the passage which tells us that Simon and his sons were known to the early Christians and those who mark assumed were probably going to read this letter otherwise there would be no reason to add these names to the account but the fact that the names are in there are that these men became well known to the early church and it says that in verse 22 they brought him to the place called Golgotha which means place of a skull and they offered him wine mixed with myrrh but he did not take it that was something to dull the pain but Jesus wanted to drink the full brunt of of the this cup which was the wrath of God and and take it for us and it says and they crucified him and divided his garments among them casting Lots for them to decide what each one or what each should take and of course all of this was in fulfillment of various prophecies but one specific prophecy I just loved you know Psalm 22 will look actually at a few passages from it but let me show you this first one from Psalm 22:16 through 18 David writes for dogs encompass me and that was a term used for Gentiles a company of evildoers encircles me look what he goes on to write they have pierced my hands and feet that never happened to David this is spoken prophetically I can count all my bones they stare and gloat over me look at the specifics of this part of the prophecy they divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots this was written 1,000 years before the birth of Christ and with such incredible specific detailed accuracy of the crucifixion by the way it says in this prophecy they they pierced my hands and my feet this is before crucifixion was invented they weren't crucifying people yet at the time that this prophecy was given the Romans came up with this crucifixion form of execution for the worst of the criminals it was illegal to do it to a Roman citizen it was so cruel so torturous so evil and they even thought it so and yet the Lord speaks of it a thousand years before it took place verse 25 and it was the third hour when they crucified him now according to the Jewish reckoning of time that would be 9 a.m. because according to the Jews the day essentially began to be counted at 6 a.m. so the third hour is 9 and that's a detail that mark alone records for us and it tells us in verse 26 the inscription of the charge against him read the King of the Jews were told in other Gospel accounts it was actually written in three different languages and when someone was crucified for any kind of a crime it was the Roman custom to write the name of the individual who was being condemned and then a description of their crime on a plaque which was then hung above their head on the cross and all four Gospels record this practice and although we know Pilate didn't consider Jesus to be a threat to Rome as it related to him being a king this was on pretty much all he can write I mean what else is he gonna write is he gonna put on there Jesus of Nazareth we crucified Him because the people bullied me into it I mean that was the only other thing to say so he had to put what he could and that is you know King of the Jews although Jesus made it clear his kingdom was not of this world verse 27 and with him they crucified two robbers one on his right and one on his you know Pilate had no idea he was fulfilling prophecy when he when he set that whole thing up let me show you a passage from Isaiah chapter 53 speaking of the Messiah he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors what that means is he was crucified right next to criminals he was numbered right along with them although he had done nothing wrong he was numbered right there with them verse 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 and you know that's a misunderstanding of what Jesus said they said save yourself and come down from the cross so also the chief priests and the scribes mocked him to one another saying he saved others he cannot save himself let the Christ the King of Israel come down now from the cross that we may see and believe and it says that even those who crucified who were crucified with him also reviled him at least to the at the beginning both of them did check out this interesting prophecy from Psalm chapter 22 once again all who see me mock me they make mouths at me they wagged their heads he trusts in the Lord let him deliver him let him rescue him for he delights in him once again a thousand years before Jesus was crucified this prophecy was written down to speak of the suffering of Messiah look at verse 33 fascinating verse it says and when the sixth hour had come which again would be noon by Jewish reckoning there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour now this is one of several phenomena that mark records related to the death of Jesus this is the first of these things and he speaks here now of three hours of darkness inexplicable darkness in the middle of the day and by the way that gospel writers don't attempt to try to give some kind of a scientific explanation for what happened I'm sure they didn't no they just said it got dark now we know we know what time of year this was we know that this wouldn't have been any clips of any kind unless God supernaturally did something beyond the usual times and seasons and rotations of planets and so forth but again they don't try to do that were left here to deduce rather that it was nothing less than a sign of God's judgment on human sin I really believe that the darkness that took place there for three hours visualized what was taking place on the cross because darkness is often a sign that we see in the scripture that is connected to judgment when judgment is going on you guys remember right in Egypt when God was pouring out the plagues upon Egypt judging Egypt for their sin and particularly Pharaoh for his relentless rebellion against the word of the Lord do you remember that one of the plagues that God brought upon the nation of Egypt was it says a darkness that could be felt it wasn't just dark it didn't just look dark it felt dark I don't even know what that feels like exactly I don't think I want to know but it was a connection that we make in another passage of scripture related to judgment that is is going on darkness also expresses lamentation and sorrow let me show you a fascinating passage from Amos chapter 8 this is kind of buried in the Book of Amos it says and on that day declares the Lord God I will make the Sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight now this connection is made in Amos about the the judgment of the Lord and the mourning and lamentation that go along with the the the heaviness that that sin produces in the ha of God to the degree that you know the Sun stops shining and and I believe that's what's going on here on the day of Christ's crucifixion there is judgment happening and the heart of God is heavy with the sin of man and darkness covers this area for a period of three hours excuse me moving on verse 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 and some of the bystanders hearing it said behold he's calling Elisha 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 but you can tell they completely misunderstood what Jesus was saying this cry of Jesus from the cross and had they been better acquainted with their own scriptures they might have known that Jesus was once again speaking the words of prophecy again from Psalm 22 on the screen here it begins this song by saying my God my God why have you forsaken me why are you so far from saving me from the words of my groaning the exact words that Jesus would utter on the cross and then in verse 37 it says Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last we know what that loud cry was it was a victory cry it's one thing I don't like about some of the Hollywood versions of the crucifixion some of them don't give the the ending cry you know like I think Jesus meant it it was a victorious thing it was a loud cry it wasn't just this whispered sort of a thing it is finished he said it is finished and what he meant was it is paid in full it was a cry of victory it's done it's finished it's paid it's completed there's nothing remaining that needs to be paid related to this and and it's a glorious thing it's a wonderful it's a life-changing declaration for you and I oh if Christians across the centuries would meditate and embrace the full understanding of what it means to say it is finished we wouldn't have gotten into all this theological doctrinal junk where we add things on to believing in Jesus Christ and say you have to do this and you have to do that you have to take this and you have to go there and you have to do you know if we would just believe that what Jesus said on the cross was true it's done it's paid in full just put your wallet back in your pocket there's nothing more to be paid done I love that phrase I gotta tell you I always have loved that phrase verse 38 this is that one of the other phenomenon that mark tells us about it says in the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom he doesn't even explain what that is you know it was a powerful sign of what Jesus had just accomplished on the cross the curtain you'll remember separated in the temple the holy place from the most holy place and only the high priest could go past that curtain into the holy place and he'd only go there once a year and he alone could go into that most holy place and he had to be carrying the blood of the sacrifice and there he would make atonement for his own sins and the sins of Israel once a year on the Day of Atonement nobody else could go in there it was closed and that was a that was the exact message God was wanting to convey it's call it the way is closed you can't go you can't get in there you want to go into the presence of God sorry closed door shut you can't go only the high priests can go there now what's happening Jesus dies on the cross he breathes his last after this victorious cry and the curtain of the temple is torn in two showing what the way is now open the way has been made open for you and I to enter into the very presence of God you know what's crazy about that how very few people actually go there I mean who have the right to go there how few Christians really ever take time to enter into the presence of God to say god I'm I'm coming into your very presence I'm gonna spend time in the Holy of Holies with you not by my own power not by my own Authority not by my own ability I'm gonna come now through the blood of the Lamb I am literally clothed in the righteousness that you have earned for me on the cross that is how I come into the this holy place now how often do we do it the Bible says that we can come with confidence into you know before the presence of God unfortunately we don't we don't do that but but this is such a powerful sign come the invitation is now to come verse 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 there were also women looking on from a distance among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James the younger and Joe says and Salome II 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 and when evening had come since it was the day of preparation that is the day before the Sabbath Joseph of Arimathea a respected member of the council who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died and that's because it was not uncommon for people to hang on a cross for days before they would actually die middle of verse 44 and summoning the Centurion he asked him whether he was already dead when he learned from the century that he was dead he granted the corpse to Joseph Joseph brought a linen shroud and taking him down wrapped him in the linen shroud laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb Mary Magdalene Mary the mother of Josas saw where he was laid you

Channel: Calvary Chapel Ontario

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Keywords: Bible, Bible teaching, Thru-the-Bible, verse by verse, Calvary Chapel, Bible study, Christianity, New Testament, Old Testament, Mark 15, Crucifixion, Death of Jesus

Id: rqi5XjcQPSk

Length: 25min 20sec (1520 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 15 2017