|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Return to previous page |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
MARK: WORKING MESSIAH SIXTH DIVISION: HOW WILL THE MESSIAH ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM? 14:1-16:8 FIFTH SECTION: DOWN FROM THE CROSS AND UP FROM THE GRAVE 15:28-16:8
(Corresponding PowerPoint® presentation: Mark 6th Division 5th Section DOWN FROM THE CROSS or click here on Mark Sixth Division Down From Cross Up From Grave PP or click on this title on the Mark studies home page.)
In the Hands of God
The Outline: I. Come Down From The Cross And We Will Believe! 15:28-35
II. He Stayed On The Cross Until he Died. 15:33-41
III. The Body Of Jesus Is Placed In A Tomb. 15:42-47
IV. The Crucified Has Resurrected! 16:1-8
Review Questions To Aid In The Study Of Mark 15:28-16:8
A Huge Issue Once again we are dealing with four stories that “hang together”. Christ is left hanging on the cross by the Romans after they crucify him. He is now in the hands of God. Following are the four stories, the first two occur on the cross, the third at his burial and the four after his resurrection. The gospel writer leaves us in no doubt that Jesus actually died, was then buried and that after he died and was buried he rose again to life. Two facts are brought out that are important to what we believe.
Firstly we must understand that Jesus did die. He was not taken down from the cross before he died. There is religion which denies the fact that he really died. But the problem with this is that we then have no sacrifice for our sins. Secondly there is religion which leaves the impression that Jesus continues on the cross. To many he is still dead. He has not risen to life and therefore is not our mediator. They look to others for mediation with God. These two teachings rob us of hugely important aspects of our salvation in Jesus Christ.
At the third hour of the day, nine o’clock in the morning, they crucified Jesus. They also crucified two robbers with him.
I. Come Down From The Cross And We Will Believe! 15:28-35
Not Classical Literature! People passed by hurling insults at him as he hung on the cross. In 15:28-32 the evangelist emphasizes the insults and mockery that Jesus received.
I have been told that in the secular literature of the time of Jesus, there were virtually no detailed descriptions of crucifixions. Only the lower classes, slaves and the scum of society were crucified. The upper classes did not care to write about such a repulsive topic. When people were crucified the pain and agony was horrific. They actually suffocated to death. In the awkward position in which they hung it was virtually impossible to breath.
Foolish Power It is amazing to find that the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus are 2 of the main focuses of the writings of his followers. Paul states clearly that the preaching of the cross was foolishness and a stumbling block, but that at the same time its preaching is the power of God.
Destroying The Temple The taunt of those who passed by was, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself! The first part of this taunt was a reference to Jesus’ death and then resurrection. Those mocking him did not realize that he referred to his own body as the temple. They didn’t realize that to build the temple, the temple first had to be destroyed. To rise from the dead Jesus had to die first. To die he must stay on the cross! “Come down from the cross!” They cried. However, to fulfill his own prophecy, Jesus must stay on the cross.
Saving Himself Or Saving Us? But they said something else. They cried, “Save yourself!” Jesus’ purpose for being on the cross was not to save himself. He went to the cross to save us, not himself! These men thought Jesus was a helpless victim. They did not realize it was in God’s plan to have the Messiah die so that he might rise from the dead for our justification. So this section of four stories in Mark’s gospel begins with a prophecy. That prophecy was to be fulfilled within the three days that followed!
Straight To Heaven If you were to ask friends of a certain world religion if they believed that Jesus died on the cross he would tell you that he did not die in this way. Jesus was one of God’s prophets. God would never allow a prophet to die in this way! They would probably tell you Judas Iscariot or another person was put in Jesus’ place. They would tell you Jesus went straight to heaven without dying.
But you and I know Jesus tasted death for all men. By death Jesus destroyed him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and freed those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
The teachers of the law and the chief priests mocked him. “He saved others, but he can’t save himself!” Again the issue of salvation arises. But they did not understand that all the healings Jesus had done in his life time were temporary. Those he raised from the dead would eventually die.
The Next Miracle Is Eternal! They did not realize that the next miracle to be performed would not be temporary. It would be eternal. It would be for eternal salvation. It would not be a temporary bandage or patch on our sore of sin. It would be the giving of eternal life. Jesus’ salvation was not just physical either. His salvation was spiritual salvation. He would save us from our sins.
A Helpless Fool? Apparently they thought the greatest show of power would be to come down from the cross! They taunted him with the title of Messiah and King of Israel. If he merited these titles at all he would come down from the cross. With the cross in his powerful hands Jesus could destroy the Romans from Jerusalem to Rome single-handed.
If he came down and took over by force, oh yes, then they would believe. They were right! They would be forced to believe! That’s the way the Romans made other nations believe in them. They forced them to believe by the power of their military! Even the robbers on the other crosses heaped insults on him. Why not? Didn’t it take their minds off their own agonies? How could anyone be so stupid as to insist on being the King of Jews when it meant death on a cross? How could this man have allowed himself to be crucified without putting up a fight? He is crazy. He is a helpless idiot!
This first story takes us to verse 32 of chapter 15.
II. He Stayed On The Cross Until he Died. 15:33-41
Now we go to the second story from chapter 15:33 to 41.
Where Were God And The Prophets? Jesus’ enemies had mocked him. What about God and the prophets? What would they do?
Jesus called out in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This second story tells us that the only source of Jesus’ salvation had abandoned him. He was forsaken by God! Paul tells us that Jesus was made sin for us. Jesus died for us. This why he was forsaken!
Some standing there thought he called Elijah. One man thought Elijah, one of the Jewish prophets, might come help him. The Jews probably thought of Elijah like many nominal Christians think of the saints. People pray to saints to help them. This man even offered Jesus wine vinegar to revive him a little.
But neither saint, nor angel, nor God took Jesus down from the cross.
He Stayed Put On The Cross! Jesus stayed on the cross. He stayed on the cross for us. He stayed on the cross as a sacrifice.
He stayed on the cross as a perfect sacrifice. He stayed on the cross as a blood sacrifice. He stayed on the cross as a human sacrifice. He stayed on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice. He stayed on the cross as a sacrifice for sins.
Jesus stayed on the cross!
In modern terms we can say with great reverence that Jesus “stuck it out”. He stayed where he must. He stayed there on the cross to the bitter end.
Have You Ever Been Nailed? From time to time we also find ourselves “nailed to a cross”, learning obedience by the things that we suffer. We don’t want to stay there. The pain is unbearable. It hurts. The Lord uses the things we suffer physically, emotionally and spiritually to work out his salvation in us.
There was once a boy rejected by his classmates at boarding school in Africa. He had offended them in the fifth year. There was a great divide between the fifth and sixth year. The fifth on down were the “little kids” and the sixth on up to the eighth were the “big kids”! He was in the fifth year and his “girlfriend” was in the sixth. He was invited to join the big kids on their outings.
He was proud and paid little attention to those in his class. A couple of years later they got their own back on him.
Now he was alone with them and they made a concerted effort to leave him out of their life. He had no other friends. For about 4 or 5 months, which felt like eternity, he went through a time of despair. Up to that time he had not suffered anything quite like it. He couldn't tell his parents or the school staff. They would reprimand the class and the persecution would go underground! He had nowhere to turn. He was alone.
The Pickle Club When everyone arrived at school that year, the 7 people in the class were each given a plastic pickle by the teacher. She formed the "Pickle Club". One child arrived late and had no pickle. There was one short. One night as he undressed and he noticed the pickle pinned to his shirt. The next morning he saw it was missing and that the child who had just arrived was wearing his pickle! It was a clear sign that he was out of the club! He was trapped. He desperately wanted to escape his pain and humiliation. But there was nothing he could do. In fact he deserved what he was receiving. He had to stay in the middle of that pain until God had done in him what was needed!
You cannot compare the sufferings of the Lord on the cross with what he suffered as a boy. But we can say that Jesus remained on the cross until he accomplished all he needed to accomplish, in dying for our sins. In the story the boy we see something similar, and at the same time different. He as a boy had to change his attitudes and they were changed through suffering. That suffering was not only for his own good but for the good of others. The Lord learned obedience by the things that he suffered, which is a mystery to us. He suffered for the good of others, that through his death we might have eternal salvation. In his case as a boy, what he suffered was also for the good of others. Dealing with him would be easier in the future. He had learned a little more about humility and how to treat others.
The Curtain Was Torn According to verses 36 and 37 Jesus stayed on the cross until he died! At the moment he died the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom. When the centurion saw him die he said, “Truely this man was the Son of God (15:39 AV/KJV).”
There were women witnesses of all this. Some religious teachers taught that the witness of one man was equal to that of two women. That was to change! God honored the witness of the women. Women and men may normally have some different roles in life but women were equal in person and in value to men. Notice how women played such an important role as witnesses at the cross and at the resurrection.
III. The Body Of Jesus Is Placed In A Tomb. 15:42-47
Dead And Down The third story, in chapter 15, verses 42 to 47, tells us that Jesus was taken down from the cross. But he was taken down after he died. His enemies were not as bothered with him now. Now he was dead. In Matthew they are concerned that no one steal his body and then lie that he was alive. A friend of Jesus, a prominent member of the Jewish Council, Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate for the body. He was given it, he took it down and wrapped it in linen and placed it in a tomb.
Burial Spot It’s your family and friends that bury you. The Romans and enemies might have thrown Jesus in a common grave. They might have lost track of him. This did not happen. He was put in a tomb of rock and a large stone was rolled in front of it. It was a secure place, a definite place and a clear place! This was to prove important later. While Jesus’ friends may have lost hope when he died, their provision of a specific tomb was important in demonstrating proof of the resurrection.
Now, let’s review. Firstly, Jesus’ enemies, the people and even those crucified with him mocked him. He did not save himself. Secondly, God and the prophet of Israel abandoned him. Elijah did not save him. Thirdly, one of Jesus’ friends, a prominent council member, made the kind effort of burying Jesus. That help, without doubt, was too little and too late to save him from death.
IV. The Crucified Has Resurrected! 16:1-8
A Visit To The Tomb In our final story chapter 16:1-8 two of those women, who had helped Jesus in his ministry, Mary Magdalene and Salome, went to the tomb.
They hoped to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. They could do even less for Jesus than Joseph had done. Jesus was dead three days. Hope in his power was fading. This feeble effort was uncertain. The stone at the tomb was too big for the women to move. At that moment these two women came face to face with the reality of the resurrection. Jesus did not save himself. God did not save him. He forsook him. Joseph was too late to save him. He could only bury him. The women were too weak, to even anoint his body, too weak to move the stone, let alone even think of saving him.
The Magnificent Truth! It was then, at that point, when all hope and power is gone that they are told the enormous, magnificent truth. The stone was rolled away. A man in a white robe was sitting there.
He said, Don’t be alarmed! You’re looking for the crucified Jesus! He is risen. Tell Peter and the others. Go to Galilee. He goes before you.
In spite of those calming words the women were terrified!
Does he Still Hang On A Cross? I wonder if you are looking for Jesus. I hope it is not on the cross where you are looking for him. Jesus had to be on the cross for a time, but only for a time. He had to be there till he died. If my Jesus is a figure hanging on a cross then it is time for me to be terrified and alarmed. He is no more than other prophets. He is still dead.
Bringing Hope To The Peoples Of The World But if our Jesus is no longer lying in that tomb near Jerusalem then we have hope. We look for the Jesus of the resurrection. If we seek him, he will be found. As a boy, I used to hear the African people where I grew up weeping and wailing for their dead at night. As a child it frightened me. Death is frightening and it brings sorrow. But now it does not bring sorrow as the world sorrows. The world sorrows without hope. The resurrection of Jesus has restored our hope.
The strap line on our OM letterhead reads, “Bringing hope to the peoples of the world”. We can bring hope on two levels. Distributing educational books through the ships, care to AIDS patients, educating the poor or helping refugees with solar ovens, and many other ministries can bring a short term hope, and I personally am so excited about them. On a second and eternal level our desire is to share the hope of a resurrected, living Savior with those who have not yet heard and believed. Isn’t it wonderful that ministries to peoples’ physical, emotional and educational needs can accompany the message of hope through the resurrection of Jesus.
If we haven't yet, let's begin to think and pray for the millions that live in places such as the islands of the oceans, south Asia, the Americas, and on the Red Sea coast in the Sudan, to name just a few. May they come to have the same hope in that great Savior, who rose again and who lives!
In 1 Peter 2:23, Peter tells us that Jesus entrusted himself to God, to the just Judge.
IT WAS BY THE HAND OF GOD THAT HE WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD!
Let’s Review:
Questions To Aid In The Study Of Mark 15:28-16:8 1. Jesus had demonstrated enormous powers during his ministry calming the storms on Galilee, walking on the water, healing the sick, raising the dead and casting out “Legion” of demons. What did he not do to save himself? 15:28-32 2. Besides the excruciating physical pain of the cross how did the people around the cross of Jesus add to this pain, as explained in 15:28-32? It is interesting to note that the word excruciate comes from two other words, ex=from and cruc=cross! 3. In the next scene, 15:33-41, what relationship is being described? What is taking place in that relationship? 4. When you stop and think of how most men probably reacted to their suffering on the cross what is missing in Jesus’ vocabulary? Was this what influenced the centurion to say that surely Jesus was the Son of God? 15:28-41 5. In both of these first two scenes on the cross, 15:28-41, the temple is mentioned. One has to do with the temple being torn down and rebuilt in 3 days and the other refers to the tearing of the curtain of the temple. What did these two references represent? Can you think of other scriptures that tell us? 6. In both these first two scenes, 15:28-41, what does the gospel writer make clear about whether Jesus came down from the cross while he was still alive? How did at least one man misinterpret the words of Jesus leading him to think Elijah might appear and take him down? 6. If the disciples had fled and except in the case of one or two exceptions, apparently did not witness his death on the cross, who were there in some numbers to witness Jesus’ death? 7. The third scene, 15:42-47 tells us that the centurion confirmed something very important to Pilate about Jesus. What was it and why was it important? 8. What was the tomb like where Jesus’ body was buried? Why might this be important later when his followers announced his resurrection? 9. What was the intention of the women mentioned in the fourth scene, 16:1-8, and what was the problem they faced? 10. Why were they not able to carry out their intention? How did the need to do what they planned disappear? 11. What were they told to calm their fears? What were the five facts about Jesus that the young man dressed in a white robe used to identify him? 12. What were the 3 things that the young man in a white robe told the women that would happen in relation to Jesus’ disciples and Peter. Why do you think Peter was mentioned specifically? 13. How do these four scenes testify to the facts that Jesus really did die on the cross, but that he did not remain dead, rising from the dead? 14. What does Jesus’ death represent to you? What does his resurrection mean to you? Support your claims from other Bible Scriptures.
©Copyright 2005-2006 John (Jack) W Rendel. All rights reserved. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Home | Studies | Itinerary | Donations | Privacy Policy | e-mail Back Return to top of page |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Visits to this page: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Return to
Spanish or Portuguese | |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
©2006-2046 John (Jack) W Rendel |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
