We celebrate today as ‘Palm Sunday’…He enters Jerusalem…headed for the Cross The Biblical Vision of Christianity has to include the Cross. Our text is not a complete recounting of Christ’s Crucifixion, yet enough for us today. We read the story knowing the end, but let us pause today and do our best to fully understand all of the theology and we find at the Cross.
Let us pause and fully discover what we can about God and how HE thinks of us. Let us pause and consider what it cost & what was bought with that cost. It bought MY salvation, Your Salvation…eternal communion with the creator of all. Today when we see what it cost, might it inspire us to live worthy of that cost.
In this passage there is no words from Jesus to His disciples…Only one short [famous] quote and a loud cry [no words given it here] from Jesus’ lips in this whole passage. And yet for His people there is much said and much to contemplate..
Pray
Mark Pt. 40 [15:21-47] NASB
21 They pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross.
- Step #1 in being crucified is to drag the instrument of your death out of the city
- They leave The Praetorium [Roman Fortress / Stronghold]
- Going thru the city… ‘Via Dolorosa’ = Way of Pain / Path of Suffering
- This encounter takes place near the gate [entering the city from the country]
- This particular city gate was and is known as the Sheep Gate [Sacrificial Lamb]
- The encounter is a prophetic enactment of what EVERY follower of Christ does
- Because Christ’s Crucifixion cost SO much all HIS share in the burden
- When Christ makes you His you share in what He is all about: Saving Souls!
22 Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23 They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. 24 And they crucified Him, and divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take. Psalm 22:18
- The place of a skull was the busiest intersection on the exterior of the city
- It cost all the possible pain; Christ knew He could not cut a single corner
- It cost all the possible humiliation; gambling for His stuff [memorabilia]
- The vilest people [Like YOU & ME] take the stuff of the most Holy
25 It was the third hour [9am] when they crucified Him. 26 The inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 27 They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. 28 [And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.”] Isaiah 53:12d
- Timeline of last 12 hours: They left the city before 9pm [gates closed]
- ‘They crucified Him’ What does that entail?
- The mocking sign and the ‘Bad Company’
- Every bit of status & reputation He had was GONE
- That is just how He came, the relate ability of Christ is amazing
29 Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”
- At the crossroads coming into the city so everyone would know His humiliation
- Just five short days ago He was being treated like a King…
- ‘If you are god’… They expected God to be selfish, they did not know God!
- The people He is dying for don’t appreciate it…He could have said: I quit!
- Indeed the cost was enormous!
31 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. 32 Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.
- The chief priests showed up to see the effect of their handiwork
- They were joining in and leading the abuse
- These are the leaders of the people that God had set apart as His Own
- ‘If you do ______ we will believe’…Classic statement of unbelief
- Even the guys getting killed along with Him got in on the act
33 When the sixth hour [noon] came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 At the ninth hour [3pm] Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
- 9am – 3pm: Six Hours On The Cross!
- We heard verse 18 of Psalm 22 acted out by the Roman soldiers
- We hear from Christ’s mouth verse 1 of that same Psalm [underrated Psalm]
- HE quotes Scripture that was 1st seen as David [son of man] crying out to God
- The ultimate cost was being separated from God by your sin, my sin, OUR SIN
35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.” 36 Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.”
- Who is a bystander at such a thing [curious, quasi-jewish, travelers]
- They think he is saying Elijah! Rather than Eoi… [lack of scripture knowledge]
- They want to keep Him alive so Elijah will come take Him down [ignorance]
37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last.
- Mark & Matthew don’t record what Jesus says when He cries out
- John’s Gospel quotes Him as saying: ‘It is finished!’
- To pay for all of mankind’s sin, past, present & future took the perfect sacrifice
38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
- The Spiritual Gravity was so massive, miracles happened
- A sign of outreach from God
- A sign of recognition from Mankind
- Dead saints were resurrected [Matthew 27]
40 There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome. 41 When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and minister to Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.
- This is a unique statement in literature of the time and for centuries to come
- The naming of a woman or women not attached to a man [lots of Marys]
- The male disciples are nowhere to be found…
- Christ was the 1st feminist!
42 When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
- Preparation Day for the Sabbath [Sabbath during Passover]
- Joseph, similar to Nicodemus: part of the Religious Elite yet believing in Christ
- Scattered through a totally corrupt Jewish nation, there were remnants of faith
- Did Joseph believe Jesus would rise from the dead? Will he be in heaven?
44 Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. 45 And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
- How would the centurion know if Jesus was dead or not?
- Joseph took Jesus down from the cross
- Being well off He owned a tomb that was to be his resting place
- They used gravity as the force to keep the stone in place
47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid.
- It seems as though the two Marys were watching Joseph, saw what he did
- They had plans…we will see next week
- We know how the story ends…they did not
WHAT THE CROSS COST
Physical pain beyond our comprehension
Humiliation of unfathomable intensity
Complete and total Abandonment
Loss of all reputation and standing
WHAT THE CROSS DID NOT COST
God’s Love for humanity
God’s Willingness to reach out to His Children
God’s Accessibility to EVERYONE
God Patience with You to grow as His Child
What is Your response to what God did?
If You have Biblically Surrendered Your Life to Christ
~ Live Everyday in light of the cost
~ Live with Unending Gratitude because of the cost
~ Live in Biblical Obedience because of the cost
~ Live with Kingdom Focus because of the cost
If You Have Not Biblically Surrendered Your Life to Christ
~ Ask God to reveal Himself to You
~ Become a student of Scripture
~ Give your life to God as best as you can right now