Mark 15:33-47 - Jesus: dead and buried

The most earth-shattering moment in the history of the world...

Mark 15:33-47

God came as human being: Jesus and at this point in Mark's gospel we read of how he died. It's a monumental moment.  The death of God!  No wonder big things started to happen like it going pitch black for 3 hours in the afternoon (v33).  Far too long to be explained in purely natural ways.  Jesus' death was shaking the world.

This is the first time in the history of everything that God the Son has been separated from God the Father (v34).  The separation is a necessary part of the punishment for the sin of the world and Jesus willingly takes it, even though it's painful beyond what anyone could imagine.  Crucifixion is torture enough but separation from God is something far worse. 

The sponge they use to offer Jesus a drink is often cited as a moment of kindness and mercy from those standing nearby but as we've seen, those standing around the cross were mocking Jesus throughout all this.  It's unlikely to be kindness on their part and those who loved Jesus were watching from a distance (v40).  In Israel, the crucifixion site is well known and nearby there are ancient public toilets where they used sponges to clean themselves after using them.  It has been suggested by some that this would have been the sponge used to offer Jesus a drink.  It wasn't an act of kindness but a disgusting act of cruelty and mockery. 

As Jesus breathes his last, the curtain in the temple is torn from top to bottom (v37-38).  This is a huge sign.  The curtain was to separate people from God and only the high priest was allowed to enter through the curtain once a year.  They used to tie ropes onto his ankles just in case he dropped dead while in there and they had to drag him out.  Such was the fear people had of the presence of God because of his perfect holiness and their sinfulness.  The fact that the curtain was torn top to bottom shows that God is doing it and showing us what is really happening on the cross as Jesus dies.  Jesus is blasting open the way back to God for everyone by dying on the cross in our place for our sin.  God is making it possible for people to know him personally and be forgiven once and for all.  No more curtain, no more priests - just God and his people.

Whilst many remained against Jesus and no doubt continued to mock him, the way Jesus died is enough to convince the Roman centurion that Jesus was who he claimed to be - the Son of God (v39).

We've seen already how Jesus' closest friends had scattered in fear (Mark 14:27) but some of the women who loved Jesus were also some of the bravest.  It's interesting that it's the women whose dedication to Jesus means they stick around watching from a distance (v40-41).  The men have run away scared.  I really think it's a challenge to the church in our time where most Christians stepping up to serve and lead are women and too many Christian men fail to turn up to learn, let alone step up to lead. 

One man who does step up is Joseph of Arimathea.  He's someone who is waiting for the kingdom of God and the Messiah - God's chosen rescuer (v43) and he has great courage and conviction to stand before Pilate boldly asking for Jesus' body.  Pilate is shrewd and doesn't take Joseph's word for it that Jesus is dead.  he knows the rumours about Jesus claiming he would come back from the dead and he wants to make sure no-one can claim it has happened.  The centurion confirms it and so Joseph is allowed to take Jesus' body and bury it properly in his tomb.  The rock that covered the entrance to the tomb would have taken five men to move it.  Jesus is definitely dead and buried.  But the tomb is a loan.  In three days Jesus will give it back!

And who else is there to witness the safe burial of Jesus?  It's the women again (v47).  The same women who have been committed to Jesus throughout the toughest of times.

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Mark 15:21-32 - Crucified and mocked

Jesus is crucified and mocked by the religious leaders, passers by and even those being crucified with him...

Mark 15:21-32

Romans were experts in torture and killing.  Jesus had been beaten and whipped to the point where his flesh was bare and then he was made to carry the cross to the execution site.  Many people died before they reached even this point.  Jesus is so exhausted that he's physically unable to carry the cross any further and so Simon (a passer-by) is forced to carry it for him.

As Jesus is dying on the cross, Mark tells us about those who mock him...

The Roman soldiers carrying out the crucifixion show their apathy and disrespect by passing the time playing games and gambling for Jesus' clothes (v24).  Like many people today, they can't even be bothered to pay any attention to Jesus.  They play games instead and pretend nothing else matters.

The passers-by show their ignorance by totally misunderstanding what Jesus was getting at when he talked of destroying the temple and rebuilding it in three days (v29-30). They use it as an excuse to hurl insults at him and have no idea that Jesus had actually been speaking of his death, burial and resurrection.  Today there are many whose ignorance leads them to insult rather than question what they don't understand about Jesus.

The religious leaders are just as bad, mocking Jesus to each other (v31), no doubt in an attempt to feel better about getting him killed.  Like many religious people today, their religion stops them seeing the truth about Jesus and they can't believe anything about God unless it benefits them, reinforces their tradition or they see it with their own eyes (v32).

Mark only briefly mentions the criminals dying with Jesus but he records that even they spent their final breaths insulting him (v32).  From Luke's account we get more detail about one of them who seems to have had a change of heart (Luke 23:39-43) but like some people today, one of them remains stubbornly against Jesus right until the bitter end.

Many people today insult Jesus by ignoring him, playing games, remaining ignorant, following religion, or choosing bitterness.  But the real question is whether or not Jesus was telling the truth when he claimed he would come back from the dead in three days.  That would change everything!

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Mark 15:1-20 - And justice for all

So Jesus goes on trial again, this time before Pilate.  But justice is the last thing on people's minds...

Mark 15:1-20

The religious leaders aren't happy with Jesus and they're desperate to find a decent reason to kill him but so far they haven't been able to.  No-one had.  On one occasion, Jesus even challenged people saying, 'Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?  If I'm telling the truth, why don't you believe me?' (John 8:46).  They hope that by taking him to Pilate (the local Roman authority), they'll be able to get him sent down somehow.  If they can stir up the crowd enough, Pilate just might have him killed just to avoid the hassle.

Jesus doesn't defend himself and Pilate can't find anything wrong with him.  He'd like to let him go and he knows that would be the right thing to do but he's scared of the people.  He doesn't have the guts to do justice as a leader so he lets the people decide instead.  He invites the crowd to choose one of two people to be released: Jesus - a man with no solid evidence to suggest he's done even the slightest thing wrong, or Barabbas - a murderer with no shame about it.  Pilate hopes they'll make the obvious choice but they don't.  The religious leaders have done their job well and got the crowd so stirred up about seeing Jesus killed that that's all they care about.  The crowd shouts loud enough and Pilate gives them the final decision. Jesus - the innocent man, will die because that's what the people want.

The Roman soldiers drag Jesus off, mocking him and his so-called kingdom and beating him as they go.  Jesus is meant to be a king but what kind of king ends up this way without a fight?  Yet for Jesus, this IS the fight.  Hundreds of ancient prophecies have pointed to this.  Jesus is called the 'lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world' (Revelation 13:8).  In other words, this has been God's plan since the beginning.  He will get his justice AND save billions of lives in the process!  It's all about to kick off!

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