Sixteen Sermons on Mark's Gospel
Mark 15:
September 5, 2003
by Rev. Stephen C. Magee
Introduction: The End and the Beginning
This morning we return again
to the Gospel According to Mark. We are
examining together what appears to be a written account of the way that Peter
the Apostle normally explained the story of Christ. We have come to a pivotal point in the
account – the death of Jesus Christ. Of
course this is not only a key moment in this one book of the Bible. When we touch upon the death of Christ, we
have the key moment in all of human history in front of us. We have the fulfillment of the entire plan of
God at the crucial crossroads of
The first half
of Mark’s good news addressed this key question: Who is this man? The answer: He is the Christ. The second half of the book is now nearing a
close, as the answer to a second question is so plainly presented. The question: Why has He come? Answer: To be crucified.
As we consider
the verses before us in the fifteenth chapter, we see the facts of the death of Christ.
But we also see these facts as more than bare facts. They have great meaning. It is the meaning behind these facts that makes them more than merely the end
of one great life. The account of this
death, rightly understood, is the solid rock of a new beginning, and a truth
that demands telling. From this point
forward, the story of heralds among the people of God will be “Christ
Crucified.”
THE PASSAGE:
The Facts of Christ Crucified
1. The Trial of Jesus Christ Before Pilate
As we consider the facts of Christ crucified presented in
this chapter, we begin with the trial of Jesus Christ before the Roman
Governor, Pontius Pilate. The leaders of
the covenant people, after convicting Him of blasphemy, hand over Jesus to
Roman authorities with a charge of high treason, apparently indicating that He
claimed to be King of the Jews. When
questioned about this before Pilate, Jesus will not save Himself. His answer is the very simple and somewhat
puzzling phrase, “You say.” The covenant
people, described here as a “multitude,” stirred up by their leaders, demand
the release of a murderer, and the murder of an innocent man by crucifixion.
2. The Mocking and Crucifixion
of Jesus Christ
Pilate then has
Jesus scourged – a brutal beating, and delivers Jesus over to the soldiers for
crucifixion. These civil authorities
mock an innocent man by calling Him the King of the Jews. A man, perhaps known to Mark’s readers
through his sons, is compelled to carry the cross for Jesus.
At the place
appointed for the crucifixion, Jesus refuses a drink that would have dulled the
pain that He was about to face. His
garments are divided among the soldiers.
Jesus is crucified under a written notice that declares Him King of the
Jews. He is put to death in the company
of two criminals.
Observers who
know something of His words and deeds are there, and they blaspheme Jesus. They refer to the rebuilding of the temple
and to His salvation. The leaders of the
covenant people also mock Him as one who saved others, but is unable to save
Himself. Even the criminals with Him
revile Him.
3. The Death and Burial of Jesus
Christ
The facts take a
different turn at this point, as the death of Christ is close at hand. The people and rulers have had Christ in
their hands, seemingly to do with Him whatever they desired. But now events that are beyond them begin to
take place.
First, darkness
covers the land for three hours. Then
Jesus quotes the opening of Psalm 22, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” and is misunderstood as calling for the
help of the Old Testament prophet Elijah.
Then Jesus dies with a loud cry.
A note is given to us that the veil of the temple in
There is
something that is apparently very unusual about the way Jesus died. We know this because the centurion who has
seen and heard all of this says, on the basis of the
way that Jesus cried out and breathed His last, that Jesus is the Son of God.
Some key women who had been with Jesus throughout His public life were among those observing the facts of His death and burial. An influential religious leader asks Pilate for the body of Jesus, and after Pilate summons the centurion to confirm that Jesus is indeed dead, this request is granted. Finally, Jesus is buried.
The Meaning of Christ Crucified
1. The People of God Insist on
the Cross of Christ
As we turn our attention to
the meaning of these facts, the account before us is very striking. What would at first glance appear to be a
simple description of what actually took place, upon further reflection, is
shown to be rich in meaning for those who can see the Sovereign Hand of
Almighty God making the wrath of His enemies into praise. As Peter says in Acts
2:22-23,
Men of Israel,
hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles,
wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves
also know – Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge
of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;
…
Knowing as we do that these events are happening by the
Hand of God, what do we see? We see the
horrifying spectacle of religious leaders accompanied by the people of God in a
loud demand for the release of a murderer, and then vigorously insisting that
the one who Pilate says is the King of the Jews – this Son of God – be crucified. They demand this. They shout for the guilty one to go free, and
for the innocent man to die in His place.
On the lips of a governor, who history tells us was not
an admirer of the people he governed, we have the
identity of Jesus given. Jesus is
announced to them as the King of the Covenant People of God – the Jews. This is true.
He is the King of the Israel of God.
If it is not surprising enough that such truth would come from such an
unexpected source, what is even more amazing is that the rebellious covenant
mob would actually be made to demand the substitutionary
death of Christ for a rebellious sinner.
Out of their own lips comes what we must insist for our own eternal life
and salvation: “Crucify Him.”
We are now those who glory in the cross of Christ. We thank God for the cross of Christ. We praise Him because through the cross, we
who are guilty have been freed, and the spotless Lamb of God was condemned,
that we might live. It was on their lips
before it was on ours. They declared the
meaning of the event, even though they were not aware of the profundity of
their cry. They spoke in hatred. We speak it with a deep sense of our own
unworthiness and great gratitude that the cause of the glory of God would lead
through the pathway of our forgiveness through the death of a perfect
substitute.
2. The Son of God Shall Be
Numbered With Transgressors
As we further explore the
meaning of these events, we see that this perfect Mediator does not defend Himself
in front of Pilate. His conduct is
unusual. Pilate marveled at this. Jesus was led through the worst indignities,
and yet He did not open His mouth in protest.
Later, He refused to take anything to dull the pain of this atoning
suffering. The text quotes from Isaiah
53:12 in describing this work the preexistent Son of God consented to do in His
covenant with the Father before the world was created. It was an agreement to be the Lamb of God,
and thus to suffer for the elect – to be their suffering King. Let me read to you Isaiah 53:12.
Isaiah 53:12 12 Therefore
I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with
the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with
the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the
transgressors.
This verse tells us that the Son of God went to the cross
as a warrior for battle. He poured out
His soul unto death. This could be
observed, at least in part. It was seen
and heard, at least by the centurion.
This Suffering Servant yielded His life as an
atonement for sin. He offered
Himself up for us. He cried out in the
words of Psalm 22, and made the promise that the righteous worshiper makes in
that vow psalm – that He will deliver the praise of the nations to the
Father. He won a people for the Father
by being numbered with transgressors. In
doing this He bore the sin of many. This
is the same group that He calls in another place “my sheep.” They are “His people” who are saved from
their sins through His blood. And He
prays for this same group, as One who was willing to
be numbered with transgressors.
He was determined to build the
3. The Justice of God is
Satisfied for the Elect
This willingness of Christ to suffer for the elect, and
the surprising call of the crowd of covenant people for the crucifixion of Christ,
meet in this most extraordinary moment of human history in the death of
Christ. But there is something else
going on here. There is another party to
this covenant. God the
Father. Will He be satisfied with
this one death? Will forgiveness of sins
come to the people of Christ? The answer
is clearly given to us as we consider the involvement of the Father in these
great events.
It is the Father who has commanded the Son to live and
die for us. It is the Father who has
brought about the fulfillment of His plan at just the right time. It is the Father who makes even the wrath of His
enemies to praise Him. It is the Father
who hears the cry of the Son and will provide deliverance. The temple will be built, and the people of
God will be saved. He is working out His
Sovereign will in this one great death.
The horror of that moment is felt in the thick darkness that comes by the
hand of God. The land is under a curse
as the blessed Son of God gives Himself for sinners. But when the light returns, and the Son of
Man has died for the elect, God immediately approves this sacrifice, in the
tearing of the veil in the temple. A new
and living way to the Father through the Son has come. There is much cause for rejoicing. Even before the resurrection, and
anticipating that great morning, the news is already good. Jesus Christ, the sinless One, fully God and
fully man, the Son of the Father in truth and love, has won for us such a great
salvation through the cross.
He is the
Christ, and He Came to be Crucified.
APPLICATION:
The Church Needs to Believe the Facts of the Cross of Christ
Again in Our Day.
There is a child who watches
movies about spiritual theories. He
knows what he has been taught, but he hears many other opinions. How is he to sort all this out? He needs to know the difference between lies
and the truth. He needs to know that
these facts of the cross are true. They
are not a myth created by a clever poet or filmmaker. The Christ presented here is a true
historical figure. He suffered under
Pontius Pilate. He was put to death on a
cross for us. Something happened in the
sky. Something else happened in the
temple. When He cried out and breathed
His last it was very unusual. It was the act of One
yielding up His life for a purpose, rather than the gasping of a desperate
criminal fighting to stay alive. Like
that young boy or girl that I can easily imagine among you this morning, all the church needs to hear and believe
the facts of the cross of Christ in our day.
The Church Needs to Embrace the Meaning of the Cross of Christ
Again in Our Day
There is a mother who wonders if she can keep on going
with the life she has before her. She is
tired. She is daily called to a life of
humility, submission, and service. She
believes in Christ and the cross, but she needs to see the relevance of it
all. She needs to know again not only
the facts of the death of Christ, but the meaning. She needs the strength that this atoning
death provides, so that she can die daily – so that she pick
up the cross like Simon the Cyrenian, and follow
Jesus. She needs to be able to do this
willingly as an act of joyful submission, and not as an act of compulsion,
requiring an armed soldier nearby to keep her going. She needs inner strength that can only come
from knowing the meaning of the death of Christ for His church. Like that woman
that I can easily imagine among you this morning, all the church needs to know and embrace the meaning of the cross
of Christ in our day.
The Church Needs to Preach the Truth of the Cross of Christ
Again in Our Day.
There is a man who has not yet achieved what he has set
out to do in his life. He seems to start
so many things and finish so few. He is
continually putting out the latest fire.
Money comes into his pockets, but it seems to go out at least as fast as
it goes in. He is starting to wonder if
there is any real purpose for anything, at least as it pertains to him. Will he ever amount to anything? Is there a harvest in any endeavor? He believes in Christ. He knows the meaning of the cross. But He needs something more. He needs to see that He has a purpose
together with the rest of the church. It
is a purpose that goes beyond his job, his hobbies, his possessions, and his
desires. He must willingly and solidly
engage himself together with all the church in the work of the preaching of
Christ crucified. If he keeps on
spending his money and his time on lesser things, it will continue to drip away
from him. His prayers need to be for the
message of the cross, which is preached through the church. If he will not give his all for that
enterprise, something will be missing.
He has come to the Kingdom for such a time as this. But will he see it as his purpose, and as his
joy, to be engaged in the work of proclaiming the cross of Christ?
Conclusion: We Are Not Beyond the Cross of Christ
Men and women,
boys and girls, we must never, never think that we are beyond the cross of
Christ. This is our
everything. This is the message that must be lifted high that the world
may know the love of God, and that the Lord may be glorified through the
worship of His saints. Believe the facts
of it. Embrace the meaning of it. Preach the message of it. Amen.