Mark 15: The Passion (II)

12 March 2015: Pilate’s Conundrum

Opening prayer: Thank You Lord for the opportunity for Bible Study. Open our eyes to see more of Jesus today. Amen.

Scripture: Mark 15:1–15

Analysis: To guiltlessly kill Jesus, the chief priests needed approval from the Romans, the official ruling authority, to execute capital punishment via crucifixion. Yet, Pontius Pilate found Jesus guiltless of any charge. Within the Jewish religion it could be blasphemy, but what has religion got to do with state law? While the chief priests continually accuse Jesus of crimes deserving capital punishment, Jesus’ persistent silence stunned Pilate. This Man is not rebutting His accusers! In a self-defensive world, our quite confidence in God will stun the people around us.

Pilate tried to release Jesus. Customarily, he released a prisoner during the Passover. During this Passover, the choice is between Jesus, the alleged King of the Jews and Barabbas, a notorious robber. They could choose between a docile man who preached and taught or a murderer who could go our killing even more people. The final decision was, however to free the robber. What would Pilate do now? He tried to persuade them of Jesus’ innocence, but they would not change their mind. All they can chant is “Crucify Him!”, and Pilate, having a duty to preserve his role as governor, had no choice but to accede to their request.

We view the chief priests here as antagonists, but this action is highly symbolic of Jesus’ finished work. Barabbas, the “sinful” murderer, essentially represents all of us. He who was free became bound, so that we who are bound can become free. Jesus, at this juncture, chose to remain silent and silently grasp the horrible future that would await Him, so that He can save humanity, so that we can declare loudly our freedom in Him.

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. [Mark 15:15]

How bad was the scourging? Isaiah 53 tells us that by His stripes we are healed, but 1 Peter 2:24 interprets the word ‘wounds’ as a single wound. In other words, the whipping and scourging was so numerous and so bloody that the wounds on His back appeared to be a single wound. By His stripes, we are healed. How much farther can His love go?

Closing prayer: Thank You Lord for bearing our punishment. The magnitude which we face trials is incomparable to the torture You suffered for the restoration of humanity. We rest in You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

13 March 2015: Torturous Insults

Opening prayer: Thank You, Lord, for this morning, for the opportunity to indulge in Your Word. Thanks for providing us the scarce time to do so. We want to see Jesus. In His precious name, Amen.

Scripture: Mark 15:16–20

Analysis: Reading the older versions of the Bible may mislead us to think that the soldiers really did honour Jesus, like bowing the knew and hailing Him as king. However, truth be told, they were mocking His divinity, similar to some friends in our schools who blaspheme the name of Jesus. Let’s count the number of insults on Jesus (Mark 15:17–19). Gathering the whole garrison together, they:

1. Clothed Him with purpke

2. Placed on His head a crown of thorns

3. Salute, "Hail, King of the Jews"

4. Struck Him on the head

5. Spat at Him

6. Mockingly worship Him

7. Stripped HIm of His purple robe

The NLT bears it out nicely, but let’s study the Greek explanations of Mark 15:19: And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and (passively) kneeling down in homage to him. [Mark 15:17–19]

Remember that a whole garrison of religious leaders are executing these insults. There perhaps are more that are not recorded, but for our purposes, these are the seven.

Notice the purple robe: this all happened after Jesus was scourged into pulp. By covering Him with a robe, the blood would have dried up on the cloth, and stripping the robe tears the skin again. Torturous? Yes. God’s justice does seem torturous to us. Yet, we were supposed to take it, but He is bearing it for us. And Jesus haven’t even taken up His cross yet.

We would think that there isn’t any hope for these torturers. Yet, Jesus died for them too! We are on equal ground with them because we are all tainted with sin, and it’s His amazing grace that washed us completely of our sin. Never marginalise the outrightly unrighteous, because we all are unrighteous people made righteous in the blood.

Jesus did not just suffer physically, but mentally as well. He could have given up. But He probably had the biggest mental battle ever and chose to continue for the salvation of His people. He actively chest persevere. How much farther can His love go?

Closing prayer: Lord, You were tortured by us. We have sinned against You. Lord, we ask for Your forgiveness and receive Your grace. You were tortured that we be made whole. Lord, indeed, You love us with an everlasting love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

16 March 2015: Atop Mount Calvary

Opening prayer: Thank You God for showing us how much You love us and how much more You would love us in the passages to come. We love You, Lord. We love You. In Jesus’ name Amen.

Scripture: Mark 15:21–32

Analysis: For the record, the Roman soldiers did not convince (compel) Simon to carry the cross, but brutally forced him to. They aren’t nice at all. Mark also does not record the physical and mental struggle Jesus faced having been physically and mentally tortured as He carried the cross up Mount Calvary.

Calvary was the Greek name of Golgotha, the place of the skull. Jesus died at the place of the skull that our minds may be restored and live.

Traditionally, wine mixed with gall was used as a anaesthesia against the excruciating pain that those condemned to death suffer. Jesus refused it so that He would endure the cross fully conscious of the sufferings that await Him. That’s our Jesus. Even when given a choice to opt out of pain, He refused.

Mark remains faithful to his purpose in writing this account, focusing on Jesus’ struggle on the cross and not en route it. Jesus was centre even at His death. Also, while all four accounts paints a slightly different version of the inscription of the charge against Him, Mark describes merely Jesus’ role: the King of the Jews. As far as Mark was concerned, Jesus was doing God’s will as His servant.

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, He was accused. Right at the start, He was accused in trying to prove Himself to the devil. Halfway in His ministry, He was accused of blasphemy and was asked time and again to prove Himself. Now, at the cross, even, Jesus was tempted to, once again, prove that He is indeed the powerful one. Four whole verses are dedicated to this accusing. Jesus was mocked, challenged and outrightly humiliated on every account at the cross.

This was physical and mental, but not yet spiritual, for spiritually we see Him give up the most precious thing of all: God’s presence. Our Jesus gave His all. He gave it all. How much more can we restrain? As He takes us through life, it’ll be more of Him and less of us (John 3:30), it’ll be about giving. It’ll be all about Jesus.

Closing prayer: Thank You God for so loving us. Jesus, it’s incredible how You gave it all pre-Cross and at the Cross. For us, You would go all the way without compromise. Lord, You love us. Thank You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

17 March 2015: Our Primary Restoration

Opening prayer: Lord, we come to receive restoration from You. We want Your favour. We want to steward it well and pass it on. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Scripture: Mark 15:33–41

Analysis: From 9:00 am (third hour) to 3:00 pm (ninth hour), Jesus hung on the cross. 9:00 am was the traditional time when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, picturing Jesus as the Sacrifice of all sacrifices.

For the first three hours (9:00 am to 12:00 pm) Jesus faced judgement by mankind, being condemned for His supposed blasphemy and sacrilege. Yet, from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm (ninth hour) darkness covered the land. Now, Jesus faced judgement by God. At this point in time, Jesus took upon Himself all the sins of all men of all time. The “Calvary Animation Video” by New Creation Church [A1] greatly aids one in visualising it.

This is the only time Jesus called God “My God (Eli from Hebrew: Elohim)” instead of “My Father (Hebrew: Abba)”. At the cross, Jesus did not just suffer physical and mental torture, but also was banished from God’s presence. God as a Father was heartbroken, but as a righteous judge cannot tolerate sin. Thus, we see God’s love and justice: His justice in condemning Jesus, His love for sparing us.

Jesus was forsaken, that we may never be forsaken. Jesus, who had always viewed God as Father, cried out, “My God, My Father” so that we, who have always viewed God as supreme judge and Creator, can cry out “My Father, My Father”. We are adopted as sons! (Romans 8:15)

This time around, Jesus accepted the sour wine, which was used in Bible times as a cheap, refreshing stimulant [A2]. Thus, He wanted to be consciously aware of our judgement on Him. To that degree Jesus loves us. Jesus was frequently compared with Elijah. Considering how Elijah the great prophet was physically raptured (2 Kings 2:11) the people thought Elijah would return to save Jesus. Their eyes were fixated on the material, while God was dealing with sin in the spiritual, later revealing to them by tearing the curtain.

The curtain here is far thicker than the curtains we are used to, about 2 meters wide. Tearing it bottom up is hard. Tearing it top down was far harder, yet God did it. When Jesus gave up His spirit, He testified to the finished work of punishment of sins. God tore the veil, symbolising a restoration of relationship between God and man. Today, we can have restoration in our relationship with our Creator! Everyone saw the astounding Jesus, but Mark records for us one confession: that of the Roman centurion. The Gentile is given credit over the Jew.

Where Jews are mentioned, they are ladies, considered to be lowly in Bible Times. They served Jesus throughout His ministry before the Cross. By His grace, God uplifts the lost, the last and the least in the Kingdom.

Today, because Jesus took upon our sinful nature and judgement at the cross, we can now take on His righteous nature and receive God’s unmerited favour through His relationship, stewarding it well by serving Him and passing it on.

Closing prayer: Lord, we are covered by Your grace. Thank You Lord for restoring us to a confident expectation of good of life in You. We thank You that because You were forsaken, we may be accepted. Thank You for Your love for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Acknowledgements:

[A1]: Calvary Animation Video. (2014, May 19). Retrieved March 16, 2015, from https://youtu.be/I1f2HnzWbjA

[A2]: Mathis, D. (2010, May 27). The Wine Jesus Drank. Retrieved March 16, 2015, from http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-wine-jesus-drank

17 March 2015: The Virgin Tomb

Opening prayer: Thank You Lord for supplying time. It’s great to receive bits of Your Word and it’s awesome to indulge in it. We feed from You, Lord, and expect to be blessed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Scripture: Mark 15:42–47

Analysis: Jewish culture forbids any form of work done on the Sabbath, and considering Joseph to be a respected Jewish leader, he needed to get his job done before the day is over. Thus, Joseph, one who sought the kingdom of God and found it in Christ alone, swiftly requested from Pilate the body of Jesus.

‘Arimathea’ in the Hebrew means ‘The Heights’. Even the high and lofty serves our Lord, in this case, in the form of a proper burial further pressured by the imminent Passover.

Pilate however was shocked that Jesus had already died. Criminals usually took two or three days to die, often from shock or lack of oxygen, as muscles used for breathing grew weak*. It shows us that Jesus truly has power over the timing of His death, when to lay down his life. He did not die the natural course, but gave up His spirit as He cried, “Father, into Your hands I commit my Spirit” (Luke 23:46). He acted according to the will of God instead of the wisdom of man.

To quickly end the lives of those crucified, in preparation for the crucifixion, the soldiers broke the bones of the thieves beside Jesus, but not Jesus, so that prophecy in Psalm 34:20 may be fulfilled:

He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

Yet, Mark did not include this detail as it would not have benefited the Gentile Christians who had no idea this prophecy had existed (they do not read the Old Testament). Mark remains focused on recounting the event as a whole, that Pilate granted the corpse to Joseph upon knowing that Jesus did in fact die.

An astounding parallel is found in Mark 15:46 —

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. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

Compared with Luke 2:6 (parentheses mine)

She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a (rock) manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

From the virgin womb to the virgin tomb. That is the earthly work of Jesus, God’s Servant. Jesus lived to die; now, we die to live. Yet, the death of Jesus is not the end. Mark sets the stage for the resurrection by describing the Mary’s taking note of where Jesus was. The grave did not stop Jesus, but we will wait to see if the resurrection really occurred or not.

Closing prayer: Thank You Lord for having the Cross as your main goal on earth. Thank You for loving us. Thank You for doing the will of the Father and making a way for our restoration. We adore You and stand in awe of You. In Your name, Amen.